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The Complete Action Stories
Contains 24 stories, many of which are rarely seen action, western, and boxing tales featuring characters such as Breck Elkin. "Blow the Chinks Down!" and "Dark Shanghai" are being presented here in English for the first time since their original pulp appearances.
348 pages, Paperback
First published January 3, 2003
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About the author
Robert E. Howard
2,986 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 3, 2019
“I weren’t to blame for what happened. Breaking Joel Gordon’s laig was a mistake, and Erath Elkins is a liar when he says I caved in them five ribs of his’n plumb on purpose. And I don’t take no blame for Jim Gordon’s ear which Jack Grimes shot off, neither. I figger everybody was more to blame than I was, and I stand ready to wipe up the earth with anybody which disagrees with me.” -- Brekinridge Elkins
Robert E. Howard is, of course, well known for creating the epic characters of Conan the Barbarian, Bran Mak Morn, Solomon Kane, El Borak, and many more. His fantasy worlds are legendary. But far fewer people are aware of his other creations and perhaps may not appreciate his versatility as a writer.
This volume reprints all 23 of Robert E. Howard’s stories ever printed in “Action Stories” pulp magazine. They are presented in order of publication from the original dates of 1931 to 1937, including the original accompanying artwork. Five stories feature his boxing hero Sailor Steve Costigan while the remaining 18 are about western mountain man, Brekinridge Elkins. These yarns are filled with humorous situations and packed with glorious fights that tend toward tickling the funny bone rather than brutal violence.
Howard should get credit for inventing a whole new type of story, especially with the Brekinridge Elkins stories. They can probably best be described as “Tall Tales”, with characters displaying extremely over-the-top abilities (like Brekinridge getting shot directly in the chest with a shotgun blast but with skin so tough it serves only to make him think the gun-wielder must have been sore at him). Both Brekinridge and Steve Costigan are far from the brightest bulbs but their lack of intellect is more than balanced with skill with their fists. Best of all, these tales are pure fun to read. More than once I laughed out loud and I had to stop and read aloud so my wife could be in on what was so funny.
Robert E. Howard certainly knew how to tell a tale and these are no exception. Fans of his more famous works will want to be sure to give these a go as well.
Robert E. Howard is, of course, well known for creating the epic characters of Conan the Barbarian, Bran Mak Morn, Solomon Kane, El Borak, and many more. His fantasy worlds are legendary. But far fewer people are aware of his other creations and perhaps may not appreciate his versatility as a writer.
This volume reprints all 23 of Robert E. Howard’s stories ever printed in “Action Stories” pulp magazine. They are presented in order of publication from the original dates of 1931 to 1937, including the original accompanying artwork. Five stories feature his boxing hero Sailor Steve Costigan while the remaining 18 are about western mountain man, Brekinridge Elkins. These yarns are filled with humorous situations and packed with glorious fights that tend toward tickling the funny bone rather than brutal violence.
Howard should get credit for inventing a whole new type of story, especially with the Brekinridge Elkins stories. They can probably best be described as “Tall Tales”, with characters displaying extremely over-the-top abilities (like Brekinridge getting shot directly in the chest with a shotgun blast but with skin so tough it serves only to make him think the gun-wielder must have been sore at him). Both Brekinridge and Steve Costigan are far from the brightest bulbs but their lack of intellect is more than balanced with skill with their fists. Best of all, these tales are pure fun to read. More than once I laughed out loud and I had to stop and read aloud so my wife could be in on what was so funny.
Robert E. Howard certainly knew how to tell a tale and these are no exception. Fans of his more famous works will want to be sure to give these a go as well.
March 2, 2018
This is a collection of the Steve Costigan and Breckenridge Elkins stories, along with the artwork at the start of each story as they originally published in Action Stories. The five Steve Costigan stories in this collection provide a delightfully unreliable protagonist and delivers good pulpy action.
Breckenridge Elkins is as much a silly fool as Steve Costigan but tends to be more amusing. These often veer into Tall Tale territory with the dry delivery by Breckenridge of unlikely occurrences and feats. Often he falls in love early, only to have his infatuation fall in love with the person he’s come to assist. There’s lots of folks who Breck accidentally hurts because they got in the way of the log he was swinging.
The first story that thoroughly amused me was “The Road to Bear Creek” which was a comedy of errors. Breckenridge fails his way through life and winds up only slightly worse for wear on the other side and mostly clueless as to what really happened. “The Feud Buster” was also quite charming, particularly with it’s Tall Tale elements. “The Riot at Cougar Paw” also charms with its obfuscated intents and two-fisted resolutions. “The Apache Mountain War” was utterly delightful in its Rube-Goldbergian machinations. “Pistol Politics” could be an even more biting satire of politics, but it’s still great fun. These are fun but not terribly deep.
Breckenridge Elkins is as much a silly fool as Steve Costigan but tends to be more amusing. These often veer into Tall Tale territory with the dry delivery by Breckenridge of unlikely occurrences and feats. Often he falls in love early, only to have his infatuation fall in love with the person he’s come to assist. There’s lots of folks who Breck accidentally hurts because they got in the way of the log he was swinging.
The first story that thoroughly amused me was “The Road to Bear Creek” which was a comedy of errors. Breckenridge fails his way through life and winds up only slightly worse for wear on the other side and mostly clueless as to what really happened. “The Feud Buster” was also quite charming, particularly with it’s Tall Tale elements. “The Riot at Cougar Paw” also charms with its obfuscated intents and two-fisted resolutions. “The Apache Mountain War” was utterly delightful in its Rube-Goldbergian machinations. “Pistol Politics” could be an even more biting satire of politics, but it’s still great fun. These are fun but not terribly deep.
November 29, 2020
The complete collection of all the stories REH had published in "Action Stories". The first few are Sailor Steve Costigan stories, and the remainder are all Breckinridge Elkins stories. Sailor Steve is a two fisted fighting man who gets into trouble wherever he goes but gets out of it with a strong right hand and an iron jaw. Breckinridge Elkins is the pride of the Humboldt Mountains, Nevada, and if Jethro Bodine was bigger and not quite so edjicated he could be Breckinridge Elkins. These are the tall tales of a mountain man that can't be beat, a Paul Bunyan type character that wrestles grizzlies and gets plumb mad if you shoot him.
With the exception of a single Sailor Steve story all of these are humorous action tales. Each man gets into ridiculous situations and uses his inhuman strength to extricate himself. Usually with a great deal of collateral damage. Funny nonsense stories to pass the time. A really fine collection.
With the exception of a single Sailor Steve story all of these are humorous action tales. Each man gets into ridiculous situations and uses his inhuman strength to extricate himself. Usually with a great deal of collateral damage. Funny nonsense stories to pass the time. A really fine collection.
May 22, 2025
Howard is a long time favorite. This collection of his action stories is a fun read, especially the Elkins tales. The racism sprinkled throughout was common at the time of writing and hasn't aged well. Regardless, having these stories collected in one volume is nice.
January 14, 2023
Hilarious tales of the oafish cowboy, Breck Elkins. I read the original, Hermanthis publication. The one with the orange cover.
July 11, 2014
While the main character of this series, Breckinridge Elkins, is not one of my favorites of Howard's creations the stories are still great reads. The humorous westerns are fast and funny reads. Very recommended
March 18, 2012
I like Sailor Steve Costigan and Breckinridge Elkins. This is a particularly nice volume.
July 7, 2013
This book is amazing. It has some of Robert E. Howard's comedy boxing stories and a lot of his comedy westerns. They are all absolutely brilliant!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews