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The Weird Tales of Conan the Barbarian
Before he conquered books, comics, and movies, Robert E. Howard's immortal character Conan the Cimmerian was born in the pages of the pulp magazine Weird Tales . Reprinted as they originally appeared in that legendary publication from 1934 to 1936, this ferocious anthology gathers many of the barbarian's most famous adventures.
Featured tales include "Red Nails," the tale of a lost city and its corrupt inhabitants; "The Hour of the Dragon," recounting an attempt to depose Conan as king of Aquilonia; and "Beyond the Black River," in which Conan battles the Hyborian Picts. Two additional stories include "The Devil in Iron" and "The People of the Black Circle."
Featured tales include "Red Nails," the tale of a lost city and its corrupt inhabitants; "The Hour of the Dragon," recounting an attempt to depose Conan as king of Aquilonia; and "Beyond the Black River," in which Conan battles the Hyborian Picts. Two additional stories include "The Devil in Iron" and "The People of the Black Circle."
400 pages, Paperback
First published March 16, 2016
3 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Robert E. Howard
2,983 books2,649 followersRobert Ervin Howard was an American pulp writer of fantasy, horror, historical adventure, boxing, western, and detective fiction. Howard wrote "over three-hundred stories and seven-hundred poems of raw power and unbridled emotion" and is especially noted for his memorable depictions of "a sombre universe of swashbuckling adventure and darkling horror."
He is well known for having created—in the pages of the legendary Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales—the character Conan the Cimmerian, a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can only be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond.
—Wikipedia
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
He is well known for having created—in the pages of the legendary Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales—the character Conan the Cimmerian, a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can only be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond.
—Wikipedia
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 14, 2022
An issue I have with hero characters is that they have to be substantially more likeable than others. It doesn't matter what gets thrown at Superman because he will overcome it and that's boring. What makes a character that you know won't/can't lose is that they are charming in their own right or you can never guess at how they are going to overcome the challenge they face. Indiana Jones or Sherlock Holmes are great examples. Conan the Barbarian is not one of these. At the end of the day, he will emerge triumphant and does little more than stab or strangle the problem, whatever it may be. It's predictable and if that's your thing, more power to you. I appreciate more variety, but Howard does twist the formula enough and really comes up with some wild arenas for Conan to do what Conan does best.
There's a lot more baked into Conan that I'm not gonna waste my breath on here, such as the women inevitably being busty damsels in distress, the big bad always being a practitioner of ancient evil magicks and more snakes than the reptile house at the local zoo. Seriously there is a snake of some kind in every story. I think I can give these books a rest knowing I am somewhat of an expert now.
There's a lot more baked into Conan that I'm not gonna waste my breath on here, such as the women inevitably being busty damsels in distress, the big bad always being a practitioner of ancient evil magicks and more snakes than the reptile house at the local zoo. Seriously there is a snake of some kind in every story. I think I can give these books a rest knowing I am somewhat of an expert now.
June 27, 2016
This collection of short stories originally published in Weird Tales from 1934 through 1936 serves as a great introduction to the Conan sword and sorcery epics.
Magic, bloody battles, dark arts, and a healthy dose violence and adventure populate each of the short stories and that of the novel, THE HOUR OF THE DRAGON which rounds out the collection. Whilst there is an element of repetition to each of the stories, they are all entertaining, with THE PEOPLE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE and RED NAILS being standouts.
Conan, more a king than barbarian for the most part cuts his way through all manner of enemies in search of a damsel in distress, a Jewell that hold magical power, or a kingdom in need of taking. There's not a lot of depth and, novel and RED NAILS aside, little by way of supporting characters. This is ok though, Conan isn't meant to be a deep and meaningful read - it's meant to be greedily consumed whilst loosing yourself in the fantastical world he resides and conquers.
I've used the term 'popcorn pulp' many times in other reviews and THE WEIRD TALES OF CONAN THE BARBARIAN is just that, albeit a little more meaty given the number of short stories and bonus full length novel readers are treated to.
I was provide a copy of the book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
Magic, bloody battles, dark arts, and a healthy dose violence and adventure populate each of the short stories and that of the novel, THE HOUR OF THE DRAGON which rounds out the collection. Whilst there is an element of repetition to each of the stories, they are all entertaining, with THE PEOPLE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE and RED NAILS being standouts.
Conan, more a king than barbarian for the most part cuts his way through all manner of enemies in search of a damsel in distress, a Jewell that hold magical power, or a kingdom in need of taking. There's not a lot of depth and, novel and RED NAILS aside, little by way of supporting characters. This is ok though, Conan isn't meant to be a deep and meaningful read - it's meant to be greedily consumed whilst loosing yourself in the fantastical world he resides and conquers.
I've used the term 'popcorn pulp' many times in other reviews and THE WEIRD TALES OF CONAN THE BARBARIAN is just that, albeit a little more meaty given the number of short stories and bonus full length novel readers are treated to.
I was provide a copy of the book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
January 9, 2018
Although I've been a fantasy reader since a young kid, Conan has always been a pretty big blind-spot for me. My only real exposures to the character are the terrible movies from the 80's and some pretty decent comics from Dark Horse over the last couple of years. Needless to say, I went in with very mixed expectations.
First off, Conan is by far different from how the movies portrayed. Yes, he's a brute and violent. But he's also clever in the way a survivalist/thief is. While his sword-arm is his go-to weapon he can outsmart his opponents (and often does) when he needs to. Whether it's Fafhrd or Elric, you can see the imprint Conan has made on some very prominent and
In terms of writing, Howard's prose is certainly a bit dated. Even for novellas these stories often take a bit of time to get going by today's standards. And his dialogue is so formal it's almost corny.
But his physical descriptions are quite wonderful and very visual. Whether he's describing someone's clothes or a complicated action scene his writing manages to convey quite a bit. It's no wonder his stories have been adapted to comics by so many different creators. Although it took a bit of time with each story, I found myself pulled in and really experiencing the world here. It's easy to see why he's held in such regard, at least in a Historical sense.
First off, Conan is by far different from how the movies portrayed. Yes, he's a brute and violent. But he's also clever in the way a survivalist/thief is. While his sword-arm is his go-to weapon he can outsmart his opponents (and often does) when he needs to. Whether it's Fafhrd or Elric, you can see the imprint Conan has made on some very prominent and
In terms of writing, Howard's prose is certainly a bit dated. Even for novellas these stories often take a bit of time to get going by today's standards. And his dialogue is so formal it's almost corny.
But his physical descriptions are quite wonderful and very visual. Whether he's describing someone's clothes or a complicated action scene his writing manages to convey quite a bit. It's no wonder his stories have been adapted to comics by so many different creators. Although it took a bit of time with each story, I found myself pulled in and really experiencing the world here. It's easy to see why he's held in such regard, at least in a Historical sense.
May 18, 2016
The Weird Tales of Conan The Barbarian by Robert E. Howard- These stories first appeared in Weird Tales magazine in the 1930's and haven't aged a bit in their colorful prose and their audacious invention. Yes, they are very grandiose and pulpy, but Howard had a knack for moving the story along with his verbose narration and electrifying his scenes with tense dialogue and intense action. Along with L. Sprague De Camp and Fritz Leiber, Robert E. Howard invented the Sword & Sorcery genre that has blossomed into a major branch of Fantasy today. These five tales are just a sampling of the Conan saga, but they are also some of the best. In this volume you will find: The Devil in Iron, The People of the Black Circle, Beyond the Black River, Red Nails, and the Hour of the Dragon. All full of dark sorcery and flashing blades. In The Hour of the Dragon, a full length novel, a group of lords and sorcerers conjure a long dead once powerful mage back to life so that he can help them with their plans to defeat Conan. In The People of the Black Circle, Conan is caught up in the machinations of a group of wizards who rule their land with fear. I remember reading this stuff when it first became popular in the sixties and for me it is an enjoyable revisit. If you're tired of the trilogy-bound plain brown wrapper fantasy offered today, this might be a welcome diversion
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews