Conan the Freebooter

Conan the Barbarian

by Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp

Contents:

9 · Introduction · L. Sprague de Camp · in
15 · Hawks Over Shem [revised by de Camp from “Hawks Over Egypt” by R.E.H. Howard’s original version was eventually published in The Road to Azrael, Bantam 1980] · nv Fantastic Universe Oct ’55
54 · Black Colossus · Robert E. Howard · nv Weird Tales Jun ’33
99 · Shadows in the Moonlight · Robert E. Howard · nv Weird Tales Apr ’34
138 · The Road of the Eagles [“Conan, Man of Destiny”] · nv Fantastic Universe Dec ’55
172 · A Witch Shall Be Born · Robert E. Howard · na Weird Tales Dec ’34

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Sword and Sorcery, Pulp, Adventure, Short Stories, Science Fiction Fantasy

223 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

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

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third volume of Lancer's editions of the Conan saga. L. Sprague de Camp, with the help of Lin Carter, expanded Howard's original Conan stories and edited them into chronological sequence in a twelve-volume series in the late 1960's, and the controversy has never quite died off completely. Many people believe that only Howard's original versions of the complete stories are acceptable, and many believe that the Lancer series with the original Frazetta covers (though this one does have a Frazetta, but one by John Duillo) are canon, and then there are those who accept or reject the Bantam titles, the Robert Jordan series (and/or/or not the other Tor titles), the comics versions, and on and on and on... They're all right and all wrong.... This Lancer series is the one I read while growing up, so I'm all for it. I can accept comics hero stories by different writers, and pulp heroes frequently had different writers under a house name, so... This one again features a young Conan, and has three of Howard's originals: Black Colossus, Shadows in the Moonlight, and A Witch Shall Be Born. It also has two Howard stories that were re-written into Conan stories by de Camp, Hawks Over Shem and The Road of the Eagles. All five previously appeared in the Gnome Press Conan series from the 1950's, after the three Howards first appeared in Weird Tales in the 1930's and the two posthumous de Camp collaborations appeared in Fantastic Universe in the 1950's. Howard was the consummate pulp adventure writer, and I think de Camp (and Carter, though his work does appear in this one) enhanced his legacy without tarnishing it. They helped Conan become one of the most universally recognized literary characters of all time.

[Rodrigo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ahh como me lo he pasado con estos relatos de Conan, que acierto seguir esta serie. Preveo tardes de difrute...
RELATOS:
-Halcones sobre Shem 6,5/10
-El coloso negro 7/10
-Sombras a la luz de la Luna 7/10
-El camino de las Águilas 7/10
-El nacimiento de una bruja 6/10
Valoración: 6.7/10
Sinopsis: Durante el tiempo que vive como compañero de Belit, Conan se gana el apelativo de "Amra el León", nombre por el que será conocido siempre en la Costa Negra y el reino semicivilizado de Kush. de regreso al norte, Conan sirve durante breves períodos como guerrero en diversas guarniciones y ejércitos. Pero el bárbaro no tiene madera de servidor y siempre encuentra motivos para buscar fortuna en otra parte. Sus correría, y la suerte del mercenario, lo llevan a formar su propia banda de forajidos. Hasta que, eventualmente, sus actividades llegan a enfrentarle a su antiguo señor: el rey Yildiz de Turán.

[Ben-Ain · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 estrellas.

Tercer volumen de las aventuras de Conan, donde podemos ver cómo después de su etapa de ladrón encuentra una nueva vida como mercenario y pirata en las tierras alrededor del mar de Vilayet.

El libro es un clásico de Espada / Hechicería, con lo que cualquiera que se adentre en sus páginas sabe lo que se va a encontrar. En este caso, no obstante, el libro consta de cinco relatos mucho más largos que los de anteriores libros y donde la mano de Sprague de Camp se nota enormemente. Me gusta este estilo. Dos de estos relatos fueron escritos originalmente por Howard para ser ambientados en Egipto y en el Imperio Otomano y protagonizados por otro personaje, pero fueron reescritos para adaptarlos a Conan, lo que se hizo magistralmente.

La lectura es entretenida y rápida, sin intrincadas tramas ni giros de guión. Un buen libro para desconectar un par de tardes porque se lee como un tiro.

[Agus · Rating 4 out of 5]

De momento es el que más me ha gustado de los 3 de esta larga colección de Martínez Roca. Sigue sin ser nunguna maravilla, pero la calidad de la escritura y que sea el padre de la espada y brujería no es casualidad.

[David Sarkies · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Hyborian Adventures
7 April 2018

Is it just me, or do other people get annoyed with random people forever recommending books to them. Sometimes it seems that they recommend every single book that they have read. Honestly, I’m getting a little annoyed opening my app to discover five book recommendations, and generally books that I am never going to read. Maybe they are just farming for likes for their reviews – I really don’t know. Honestly, I generally read the reviews on my feed, or books that I have read, and engage with people that way. Hey, at least I don’t get a heap of messages from would-be authors asking them to read their books anymore (though I bet I wake up tomorrow and find at least one in my messages).

Anyway, enough of my rants because you are probably wanting to hear about Conan and not my annoyances with spam requests. So, we have another collection of Conan short stories, three by Howard and two by Sprague de Camp. Interestingly not many people seem to think that much of de Camp’s attempts at resurrecting Conan, and I tend to agree. Normally, when I come to one of his stories my eyes tend to glaze over. However, you do need to give him credit for bringing Conan back into the mainstream consciousness, particularly since his work ended up spawning three movies (of which the first is by far the best).

The whole concept of Conan is the struggle between barbarism and civilisation, though a couple of the stories are sent in remote locations where Conan is fighting either a beast, or some pirates. The last story does involve an evil witch taking over a city by pretending to be her twin sister and then locking her sister away in a dungeon. These stories seem to be the adventures of Conan as he made his way to ultimately become a king, though it does make me wonder at times about him being a king, since when one becomes a king the life of a hardened adventurer is over. The other thing is that I suspect it makes one soft, something is Conan isn’t.

The great thing about these stories is that are are basically individual adventures, some of them being connected with the greater plot arch, while others simply being standalone. In a way it is fresh to encounter stories that do not have some series spanning adventure slowing being drawn together into an ultimate conclusion. While at first the mystery is intriguing, once things become evident the whole mystery vanishes and the stories end up becoming quite boring.

The world of Conan comes across as being a wild and untamed land punctured by the occasional city and kingdom, though I get the impression that outside of the city walls there is little in the way of law and order. It is interesting that Conan seems to prefer the life of the wanderer as opposed to being stuck in a single place. I’ve noticed that whenever there is an adventure Conan never hangs around, even if prior to the adventure he had a position in the said place (such as the last one where he was captain of the guards). In a way the wilds are always nipping at the edges of civilisation, trying to topple it and letting chaos reign. As with Conan, it seems as if the life of adventure is always pulling at his heart.

Yet civilisation is soft, and its people are soft. Some have suggested that if our peaceful countries were invaded we would be powerless to stop it since our armies are small and we are simply not conditioned to fight. In a way we have moved to a point where people are offended at even the smallest statements, even if no offence was ever meant. This makes me wonder whether we would really be able to deal with a full blown invasion. However, let us also consider crime, which is also an element of barbarism that is attempting to tear apart our peaceful society. In many cases all we simply want to do is lock these criminals away and forget about them, yet many innocent people end up being caught in this dragnet, and end up being branded for life. The other problem is that once somebody is branded a criminal, they are branded one for life, and this only serves to create a long term criminal since all of the sudden honest work is denied to them. Sure, employers need to be careful that they don’t hire people that will steal from them, but the reality is that many thieves in the corporate world come across as very honest people, or are so high up the ladder that they effectively get away with it.

[Carol Storm · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best of the Conan Collections! Tons of swordplay and Romance!

What a lot of people don't know is that Robert E. Howard only wrote a handful of CONANS before dying young. Friends and not-so-much friends soon "hijacked" Conan to write their own tales. But the original is still the greatest!

This volume has some of the best ORIGINAL Conan stories ever written. What's really amazing is not just the swordplay but the romance. If you read SHADOWS IN THE MOONLIGHT it's all from the slave girl's perspective, and Howard actually does a good job developing a compelling romance between her and Conan. And in A WITCH SHALL BE BORN the battling twin sisters are both very sexy and well drawn!

If you only read one original CONAN collection, read this!

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Más relatos del icono de subgénero de Espada y Brujería.-

Género. Relatos.

Lo que nos cuenta. Más aventuras del mito, que en esta edición continúan tratando de ofrecerlas en orden cronológico dentro de la ficticia biografía del personaje, y que nos llevarán desde las ciudades-estado del sur de Shem a las estepas de Koth pasando por los Montes Colchios y las fronteras de Ofir entre otros lugares. Parte de una serie de relatos y novelas que pueden leerse de forma independiente.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still enjoying the series as Conan transitions from thief to mercenary soldier. His leadership skills are emerging and his actions are taking on a subtlety lacking in his early days. The wanderings about different kingdoms, with different companions, while interesting, leaves something to be desired in the way of continuity. He has no companions that he keeps for more than a few months, in fact they are all really just props in a continuing display of martial prowess for the giant Cimmerian. Perhaps this is a byproduct of the way the stories were edited, rearranged, and marketed. I don't know enough about the history to say. At any rate, these books are still hanging just below great fantasy reading for me. That said, they are all solid 3 or 3.5 stars and worth taking off the shelf for some recreational reading.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

A friend has been recommending I read some of the Conan books. This was my first venture into the world of Conan, and here's what I think.

Conan is like Nancy Drew for heavy metal fans. No character development, no new or unusual characters anywhere, and even the supernatural beasts and demons aren't written about in a way that makes them seem strange or amazing.

You can often sense Howard's passion for writing, but the stories are unexceptional, and would make average plot lines for comic books. I truly enjoyed the first short story in this book, but by the time I was halfway through this 200 page book, I was more than ready to move on and read something with a little more substance.

[David B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This rousing collection of pulp adventures featuring the most famous of all barbarians benefits hugely by having a very high proportion of Robert E. Howard material. L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter deserve thanks for helping reintroduce Conan to modern audiences through this seminal series of paperbacks that came out in the 60s, but their pastiches and posthumous collaborations just don’t hold a candle to the master. It shows how writing really good, memorable adventure fiction that stands the test of time isn’t as easy as it might seem. If I had to pick favorites, I would go for “Black Colossus” and “A Witch Is Born,” but they are all winners.

[Connor Hassan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Started off meh but finished strong with the last three stories, Shadows in the Moonlight was awesome. Cool to see the Tree of Woe kind of make an appearance in this book too.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another of the old DeCamp/Carter-edited Conan paperbacks. This one contains five short stories in all, including three excellent Howard-penned Conan stories. Two of them, "Black Colossus" and "A Witch Shall Be Born," are quite famous, but it's the less well known "Shadows in the Moonlight" that is easily my favorite. The other two are independent Howard works rewritten by DeCamp as Conan stories - both are okay but not great. I'm knocking off one star for DeCamp's editing, and a second for the inclusion of the non-original stories. This book is long out of print, but all three of Howard's originals are readily available. "Black Colossus" and "Shadows in the Moonlight" are currently reprinted in Conan of Cimmeria The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, while "A Witch Shall Be Born" is reprinted in Conan of Cimmeria The Bloody Crown of Conan.

[Redsteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good collection of Conan short stories. For the most part, these are more complicated/involved than the ones in the first two books of this series. Two of them ("Hawks over Shem" and "The Road of Eagles") were originally published by Howard as non-Conan stories, set in 11th Century Egypt and 16th Century Turkey respectively, and were re-written by de Camp to fit the Hyborean universe. The other stories are straight-up Howard, published 1933-1934. For the most part, these stories are set in the Hyborean "Middle East." 3.5 stars.

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favorite of the Conan volumes. Some of the stories are just pure classic material. Easily read them four or five times and it never loses its power.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third volume of Lancer's editions of the Conan saga. L. Sprague de Camp, with the help of Lin Carter, expanded Howard's original Conan stories and edited them into chronological sequence in a twelve-volume series in the late 1960's, and the controversy has never quite died off completely. Many people believe that only Howard's original versions of the complete stories are acceptable, and many believe that the Lancer series with the original Frazetta covers (though this one does have a Frazetta, but one by John Duillo) are canon, and then there are those who accept or reject the Bantam titles, the Robert Jordan series (and/or/or not the other Tor titles), the comics versions, and on and on and on... They're all right and all wrong.... This Lancer series is the one I read while growing up, so I'm all for it. I can accept comics hero stories by different writers, and pulp heroes frequently had different writers under a house name, so... This one again features a young Conan, and has three of Howard's originals: Black Colossus, Shadows in the Moonlight, and A Witch Shall Be Born. It also has two Howard stories that were re-written into Conan stories by de Camp, Hawks Over Shem and The Road of the Eagles. All five previously appeared in the Gnome Press Conan series from the 1950's, after the three Howards first appeared in Weird Tales in the 1930's and the two posthumous de Camp collaborations appeared in Fantastic Universe in the 1950's. Howard was the consummate pulp adventure writer, and I think de Camp (and Carter, though his work does appear in this one) enhanced his legacy without tarnishing it. They helped Conan become one of the most universally recognized literary characters of all time.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm probably going to be criticized and ostracized for this, so here goes...This book was not that great. In fact I feel like I've read better pastiches. Perhaps it was L. Sprague de Camp's liberties with non-Conan stories. In this volume there were two stories like this, and both were very bland. Perhaps the problem resides within me (shrugs). Overall, the only thing I took away from this was Conan's crucifixion. I thought that it was interesting that they used this scene in the movie. Definitely a waste of time that will soon be forgotten.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of the Lancer Conans. Some of you will hate them because they are not only the NOT pure Howard they are also stories made from notes and pastiches by other authors. I enjoyed them, maybe not so much as the pure Howard stories, but they are good.


Sorry got it wrong, this isn't the first book in the series..it's the third....the cover tripped me up and I forgot to read the words (Book 3)sorry.

[Joe Santoro · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I read these all together in a group, I scratch my head and wonder why no one has pulled the trigger yet and done a Game of Thrones like TV series with these stories as the base.. you have Conan quickly going from a towering lone adventurer to a real leader of men that is impacting the world around him... lots of fun political intrigue that could easily be expanded upon, and set ups where you could crank up or tone down the magical/fantastic elements as you wanted.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to beat the original Conan. The character never dies... Conan is forever.

[Harold · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been decades but I enjoyed these books!

[Robert Mckay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because I own it - the only one in the series that I own - I skipped Conan of Cimmeria, and went straight to this one. It contains some stories that I'd utterly forgotten about over the decades since I last read the series (I think I might have found them in the library in the early 80s when I lived in Marlow, OK, but I can't swear to it), but as I said in my review of Conan (the first in the series) I can't tell in the reading whether a given story is by Robert E. Howard, Lin Carter, L. Sprague DeCamp, or some combination of the three. That's how good the Carter/DeCamp additions to the chronicles are, and while it's certainly proper to delineate between what Howard himself wrote, and what the Carter/DeCamp team wrote, in my view their stories, whether entirely their own or built on notes or fragments that Howard left, belong on the canon.

As with all anthologies, it's impossible to describe the plot, since each story has its own. But in every case Conan has left one place and wound up in another, and finds himself involved with sorcerers and swords, blood and wounds, death and mayhem. There are also lots of pretty women, and lots of treasure, though in every story Conan has a new woman, and has to grab a new handful of gold, since at this stage of his career he was about as prudent and monogamous as any child (though by now he's an adult).

I could talk about the morality of these stories, which I abhor, and Howard's obvious belief in evolution (which I consider anti-scientific twaddle). I could wish for a hero with a better sense of proportion, a wiser head, and less greed and lust. But if Howard had written Conan that way, things just wouldn't be the same. I hate to say it, but what makes these stories so good is Conan himself, and if he were any other kind of person, he wouldn't be in these stories in the first place. So I do with the displeasing aspects as I do with bones in a fish - I "eat around them," suspending disbelief in this regard just as I suspect my convinced disbelief in ghosts and ghouls and other such things. And I enjoy the stories - I enjoy them very much.

[Mike Billington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conan the Cimmerian is one of fiction's most enduring heroes for many reasons.
He is all but indestructible, his battlefield prowess is almost unequaled, and he's fearless.
To me, however, the real hero of the Conan stories is Robert E. Howard, his creator. Howard was never considered a potential Pulitzer or Nobel prize winning author. In truth, his stories are full of anachronisms and are more than a little fantastic in that, to fully appreciate them, you have to willingly suspend your belief to accept their basic premises.
But while Howard might not have been on a par with Faulkner or Hemingway, he was a writer who understood his readers and was able to keep them in thrall with some of the most vigorous prose ever set to paper. That is very apparent in this collection of short stories featuring the barbarian. The stories are full of action, the villains are despicable, the women desirable, and the monsters fearsome. The fights are not all one-sided; in fact, Conan gets slashed, stabbed, and generally beaten up when he does battle. Despite that, he emerges victorious and that's one of the reasons readers have enjoyed his stories for more than 80 years.
Count me as one of those readers.

[Heath Lesjak · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first set of Conan stories I've ever read. I know it's not the 'first' in the series, but I also heard (and agree, after reading) that they can easily be read out of order. There doesn't appear to be many recurring characters and they're heavily reintroduced if/when they show. The locations are all exotic/outlandish and also don't really seem to recur.

Conan is the ultimate murderous badass, even if he is a bit afraid (with good reason) of the supernatural. He often ends up getting seriously injured, put into ridiculously dangerous/hopeless situations, fighting monsters/beasts/armies beyond reason, and even sometimes (gasp!) losing, if temporarily. He usually kills swaths of everything along the way. He also (usually) ends up with the beautiful woman in the story, and also ends up inexplicably single before the start of the next story.

It's pure, fun sword-and-sorcery fantasy without a lot of brainpower needed. I'll probably end up reading a few books from the original author (Howard) and then check out others' take on the hero (Jordan, etc.).

EDIT: I should note that this was written in the 1920-30's (the author died in 1936 at 30 years old) and the cultural sensibilities definitely align to that time, with plenty of what we now identify as overt racism and sexism. I'm able to read through it by keeping the context of when it was written in mind, but I can see how it could be hard for others (minorities and women, specifically).

[Stuart Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conan continues on his usual route. Generally, he joins up with some small kingdoms military, quickly rises to captain of the guard, then kills some people when they rise against the crown. Conan actually takes more of a beating than usual in a couple of these stories, even suffering real injuries that require convalescence. He meets with some demons or monsters of some kind but they aren't the focus of the story, and he picks up and discards gorgeous women with regularity.

These stories are slightly different than normal as often Conan is not the main character. Someone else is the protagonist and Conan is just some guy that shows up and saves their bacon. Two of the stories are not Conan stories at all, but stories written by Robert Howard with a different character as hero that de Camp rewrote as Conan stories just by changing a few names. Easily done as so many of Howard's stories use the same plot and sword and sorcery style.

As always, good entertainment with fast paced storylines not burdened with character development or messaging.

[Oscar Espejo Badiola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uno al año, hay que volver a la adolescencia y a su fantasía, por eso todos los años procuro buscar hueco para leer algo de Robert E. Howard.
Conan es uno de mis personajes favoritos desde la adolescencia, me gusta su historia, su fuerza, su libertad y sus peleas, con lo que no soy imparcial y, si bien, puedo reconocer que puede que no sea gran literatura, para mí lo es y lo e s porque no soy imparcial, pero me gusta.
Aquí Conan es un pirata y corre cinco aventuras, con luchas, traiciones, muertos, mujeres espectaculares,magos, brujas y monstruos, de las que, (adelanto el final), sale airoso.
Mi Conan, el que imagino desde los catorce años, no es Schwarzenegger, es otro, es mío, anterior al cine y esto es lo bueno de la lectura, que el personaje te lo creas tú, no uno que te lo dan impuesto, por esto me gusta leer.
Poco más que decir, me gusta porque me gusta Conan y su autor, recomendable para los amantes del género, más de aventuras que de fantasía y para los que quieran intentar descubrir este mundo.

[Laurence Hidalgo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has some great stories, three of which are originals written by Conan's creator, Robert E. Howard. They are action-filled and exciting. One of them, Shadows in the Moonlight, has a scene that shows Conan at his most bloodthirsty. He serendipitously (for him, anyway) comes upon the leader of the Turanian forces that massacred his group of raiders. Before dispatching his hated foe with a blood stained broadsword, Conan cries out in his murderous joy, "Oh, gods of Hell, how I have yearned for this!" Then the butchering commences. Yeah, he's that kind of hero.

Here's my major gripe with this book: The cover painting is erroneously attributed to master fantasy illustrator, Frank Frazetta. It is NOT a Frank Frazetta cover. The artwork (and it is art, just bad art) is a clumsy, unbalanced composition, and the anatomy is all wrong, even for a fantasy depiction. I seriously do not understand how they could have picked this poorly executed illustration as a book cover. Again, this is well, you know, just, like, uh, my opinion, man.

[D.C.P. Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the dictionary, a picture of Robert E. Howard should be next to the definition of Pulp Fiction.

But Howard is actually a good writer, and his storytelling is great. In this book are five stories:

Hawks Over Shem
Black Colossus
Shadows in the Moonlight
The Road of the Eagles
A Witch Shall Be Born

They're all good, but the best by far is "Shadows in the Moonlight." Howard borrows heavily from Lovecraft (or did Lovecraft borrow from Howard) in this one. It is more a horror story than a fantasy story (it could have taken place at any time where pirate ships ruled the seas). A forest with unspeakable evil. A ruin from some ancient civilization with pristine life-like statues . . .

You get the idea.

All of these are Robert E. Howard stories, but "Hawks Over Shem" and "The Road of the Eagles" were originally historical fiction rewritten to take place in the fictional Hyborian age.

Great fun!

[Shannon Schmelzle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This third volume of the Ace/Lancer Conan books was, I think, easily the best so far.

Firstly, this collects some real good Robert E Howard original Conan stories. Black Colossus is one of my favorites. Iron Shadows in the Moon isn't one of my favorites, but one I've always found to be very solid if you want something that contains most, if not all, of the standard Conan tropes. And A Witch Shall be Born is another solid story, and this one contains few of the standard Conan tropes, making it a good addition here.

Then there are the Conan pastiches that L Sprague deCamp and Lin Carter turn in here that, I think, are way stronger then the ones in the earlier volumes. Partially, I think, because most of these are shaped to be follow ups to the original Conan stories, making them feel more connected and authentic Howard, even when they aren't.

So really getting into this paperback series now. Just good fun high adventure stuff.

[Charles Moffat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the first Conan books I bought over a decade ago, which sparked my love of the Sword & Sorcery genre. It is pure escapism. If the craziness of our modern world has got you down, it is a good time to read some Sword & Sorcery. Done properly, like Robert E. Howard does, the genre allows the reader to just relax and read, and consequently enjoy what they are reading without having to worry about the silliness of our modern existence. Books like Conan the Freebooter are pure fun to read.

[Janice Armstrong · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard read to digest and follow. The names of regions and the characters are all so similar it’s hard to remember who is who. The descriptions of characters end up being the same everyone is hawk-nosed and lithe built other than Conan of course. Bombarta is one I was excited to see come into play since he was a huge part of the second movie and he literally was a blip in the book smh. That was a let down. The last story of this book is really the highlight as it has connections to the first movie and Conan sees some drama.