The Adventures of Breckinridge Elkins, Vol. 1

by Robert E. Howard

The REH Foundation Press is proud to present The Adventures of Breckinridge Elkins, Vol. 1. This volume collects all of the short story appearances of our favorite Bear Creek resident, all restored to the original text, where available.

This volume checks in at 369 pages, and will be printed in hardback with dust jacket, in a limited quantity of 200 copies, each individually numbered. Cover art by Richard Bernal; introduction by Mark Finn; and edited by Paul Herman and Rob Roehm.

Contents
Tickled Ribs and Slapped Knees, introduction by Mark Finn
Mountain Man
Guns of the Mountain
A Gent from Bear Creek
A Stranger in Grizzly Claw
The Road to Bear Creek
A Elkins Never Surrenders
War on Bear Creek
The Haunted Mountain
The Feud Buster
Cupid from Bear Creek
The Riot at Cougar Paw
The Apache Mountain War
Pilgrims to the Pecos
Pistol Politics
Evil Deeds at Red Cougar
Gents on the Rampage
Gents in Buckskin
Politics at Lonesome Lizard
Sharp’s Gun Serenade
*Miscellanea*
Six-Gun Interview
A Gent from Bear Creek, draft
Untitled synopsis (The Road to Bear Creek)
Untitled synopsis (Evil Deeds at Red Cougar)
Untitled synopsis (Gents on the Rampage)

Genres: Westerns

369 pages, Hardcover

Published August 1, 2016

About the author

Robert 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.

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

You like to have a good laugh with your action? Well once again Robert E. Howard delivers just what you need. Even though these were written over 75 years ago they are still an excellent read that can make you laugh. If all you know of his writing is Conan then you need to experience the mayhem and humor of Breckinridge Elkins the toughest hillbilly in literature. As always my favorite writer gives you an amazing and entertaining read. Very recommended

[Austin Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first volume collecting Howard's comedic western stories involving the titular "Hero" that gets "hisself" into all sorts of misadventures. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from these, but I must say I quite enjoyed them overall.

Now, don't get me wrong. This stories are very silly and quite ridiculous. You can't really take them seriously and I don't think they're meant to be. Thus, I found myself unable to rate of them too highly, especially comparing them to stuff like Conan and Kull.
But for what they are, they're pretty entertaining. I never cease to be amazed at the diversity in which REH wrote and not only that, but in how effective he was at nearly all of it.

Anyhow, below are my ratings for each of the individual stories. Again, ratings might seem low but I did enjoy most of these.

Mountain Man - 2.75⭐

Guns of the Mountains - 2.75⭐

A Gent From Bear Creek - 3.25⭐

A Stranger in Grizzly Claw - 3.25⭐

The Road to Bear Creek - 2.5⭐

A Elkins Never Surrenders - 2.25⭐

War on Bear Creek - 2.25⭐

The Haunted Mountain - 3⭐

The Feud Buster - 3.25⭐

Cupid From Bear Creek - 2.5⭐

The Riot at Cougar Paw - 3⭐

The Apache Mountain War - 2.5⭐

Pilgrims to the Pecos - 3.25⭐

Pistol Politics - 2.5⭐

Evil Deeds at Red Cougar - 2.75⭐

Gents on the Rampage - 2.5⭐

Gents in Buckskin - 2.25⭐

Politics at Lonesome Lizard - 3.25⭐

Sharp's Gun Serenade - 3⭐

[Vincent Darlage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Howard's sense of humor. Great tall tale atmosphere. Lots of slapstick humor and country bumpkin jokes.

[Rubén Lorenzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert E Howard es conocido por sus intensas historias llenas de poesía y violencia, de las que el máximo exponente son sus relatos de Conan, pero desarrolló otras muchas facetas en su obra. Una de ellas se puede disfrutar en este volumen, y es el western cómico.

El protagonista es un bruto de un pequeño pueblo americano, de buen corazón pero con quien no querrías tener un malentendido. Siempre dispuesto a ayudar y metiéndose en líos a cada página, Breckinridge solo sabe salir de ellos a tortazos. Desde luego, no es muy listo y siempre acaba con sus proyectos frustrados y perdiendo el oro o la chica.

Lo que hace a estos relatos geniales es la forma de hablar del personaje. Esta vez los he leído en inglés y los he disfrutado mucho más. Y es que Howard era tejano y sabía escribir como un analfabeto que cuenta su historia con una exageración y simpleza absorbentes.

Os lo recomiendo como lectura ligera, ya sea en inglés o en castellano. Si alguien tiene dudas, le demostrará lo gran escritor que era el creador de Conan.