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The Shadow Kingdom
This early work by Robert E. Howard was originally published in 1929 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Shadow Kingdom' is a story in the Kull series in which Kull is tricked by the Serpent Men and barely escapes with his life. Robert Ervin Howard was born in Peaster, Texas in 1906. During his youth, his family moved between a variety of Texan boomtowns, and Howard - a bookish and somewhat introverted child - was steeped in the violent myths and legends of the Old South. At fifteen Howard began to read the pulp magazines of the day, and to write more seriously. The December 1922 issue of his high school newspaper featured two of his stories, 'Golden Hope Christmas' and 'West is West'. In 1924 he sold his first piece - a short caveman tale titled 'Spear and Fang' - for $16 to the not-yet-famous Weird Tales magazine. Howard's most famous character, Conan the Cimmerian, was a barbarian-turned-King during the Hyborian Age, a mythical period of some 12,000 years ago. Conan featured in seventeen Weird Tales stories between 1933 and 1936 which is why Howard is now regarded as having spawned the 'sword and sorcery' genre. The Conan stories have since been adapted many times, most famously in the series of films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
56 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1929
About the author
Robert E. Howard
3,143 books2,722 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 - 30 of 34 reviews
July 24, 2019
Is this story the reason to why we now believe that our rulers are secretly lizards in disguise?
October 27, 2019
I have read this story, not counting comic book adaptations, at least three times. It’s not my favorite Kull story, that is “The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune”, but I enjoy this.
There is debate of if this should be considered the first printed sword & sorcery story, or if that honor belongs to “Red Shadows”, a Solomon Kane story, printed one year previous.
Both stories have merit for the honor. I don’t think it matters. REH had no intentions of creating a new genre. The term S&S would not come in vogue until long after his death. If a more traditional, mostly “fantasy” spin is taken, then tSK is the choice.
But, I believe REH tapped into a vein of story telling that was born as early as Gilgamesh, if not sooner. It’s primal and earthy. Both tales are that.
There is debate of if this should be considered the first printed sword & sorcery story, or if that honor belongs to “Red Shadows”, a Solomon Kane story, printed one year previous.
Both stories have merit for the honor. I don’t think it matters. REH had no intentions of creating a new genre. The term S&S would not come in vogue until long after his death. If a more traditional, mostly “fantasy” spin is taken, then tSK is the choice.
But, I believe REH tapped into a vein of story telling that was born as early as Gilgamesh, if not sooner. It’s primal and earthy. Both tales are that.
September 25, 2014
A very interesting and different kind of short story that many consider the origin of the modern Reptoid alien hype. It was very interesting.
January 27, 2021
Synopsis: Kull, a barbarian from Atlantis has recently conquered the land of Valusia and been crowned king. Though he now sits on the throne, his battle is not over. An ambassador from a distant land warns Kull that the land is still being controlled by reptilian, shapeshifting humanoids who rule from the dark shadows of society. The men Kull overthrew to win the throne weren't the true threat, the serpent men who lurk in the dark still rule and are planning to quickly replace the new king of Valusia with one of their own.
Review: Pretty decent. The stories of Kull of Atlantis are essentially a rough draft of what would later become the famous Conan the Barbarian series. It flows almost exactly like a Conan story would, but with less focus, less world building, less adventure and less descriptive action and monsters which is the meat and bones of the Conan saga. Still fun in its own right and the dark sword and sorcery vibes are still interesting.
Also, I can't help but find it funny how relevant this old fantasy story is to many modern conspiracy theories. The idea that society is secretly ruled by a shadow government full of reptilian humanoids while the government and politicians we know are just puppets of the true masters.
***
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Review: Pretty decent. The stories of Kull of Atlantis are essentially a rough draft of what would later become the famous Conan the Barbarian series. It flows almost exactly like a Conan story would, but with less focus, less world building, less adventure and less descriptive action and monsters which is the meat and bones of the Conan saga. Still fun in its own right and the dark sword and sorcery vibes are still interesting.
Also, I can't help but find it funny how relevant this old fantasy story is to many modern conspiracy theories. The idea that society is secretly ruled by a shadow government full of reptilian humanoids while the government and politicians we know are just puppets of the true masters.
***
My Social Media
My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs...
My Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/michael_sor...
My Wattpad Account: https://www.wattpad.com/user/Michael-...
June 27, 2024
Set in 20.000-18.5000BC
Great, solid story, that sees Kull as a King of Valusia, being warned about an enemy he can't see or believe even if he was told the truth.. and he finds out, the hard way.
Won't spoil the story and can't say much but here is where we find out what's up with the world of Kull and his enemies, especially his first kind of enemies that would stick and be talked about for years to come. And along with learning a lot about the history of their descendants and the men and creatures that came before Kull of Atlantis, but in Valusia.
A nice attempt at world-building by Howard and a great sword and sorcery story to read and pass the time.
"My army is like a sword and must not be allowed to rust.” - Kull
Great, solid story, that sees Kull as a King of Valusia, being warned about an enemy he can't see or believe even if he was told the truth.. and he finds out, the hard way.
Won't spoil the story and can't say much but here is where we find out what's up with the world of Kull and his enemies, especially his first kind of enemies that would stick and be talked about for years to come. And along with learning a lot about the history of their descendants and the men and creatures that came before Kull of Atlantis, but in Valusia.
A nice attempt at world-building by Howard and a great sword and sorcery story to read and pass the time.
"My army is like a sword and must not be allowed to rust.” - Kull
October 6, 2022
Possibly the very first example of sword and sorcery fiction, and the first appearance of the serpent men and the origin of the conspiracy theory featuring them. An enjoyable yarn: moody, paranoid and with the trademark REH action already on full display. I may like Kull as a character more than I do Conan. He’s a bit more conflicted and introspective.
I read the version published in the “The Cthulhu Stories of Robert E. Howard” anthology.
I read the version published in the “The Cthulhu Stories of Robert E. Howard” anthology.
December 1, 2013
This short story features King Kull who, with a little help from an unexpected quarter, seeks out a race of serpent men with the ability to disguise themselves as any human - including Kull.
November 14, 2020
A great read. If you enjoy Knights, Science Fiction, Magic, Mystery it's all in here. The story can also be, somewhat, related to real life in some parts. Very good.
January 12, 2021
It’s the doctor who episode where the aliens unzip their suits from the forehead and slither out and run around the capital building.
October 30, 2022
Quick review (10/29/22).
4 stars.
Felt like a snapshot of a much larger world and narrative. Short and concise story that was surprisingly engaging for the length.
4 stars.
Felt like a snapshot of a much larger world and narrative. Short and concise story that was surprisingly engaging for the length.
October 20, 2024
Absolutely magical and somewhat antisemitic?
May 16, 2024
“Stay you here while I dispose of this carrion.”
May 1, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuRB4...
Krug knjiga
Zagreb, 2016.
Prevela Sanja Petriška
Jezik samog prijevoda je jako kvalitetan. Super su onomatopejski leksemi poput "grgolji". Bačeni u takvom obliku podaju draž arhaičnosti koji je zasigurno vjeran tekstu izvornika te je i savršeno uklopljen u samu radnju.
Jezik ovog kratkog romana je jednostavan, no posjeduje izrazitu atmosferičnost. Živopisnost scena je na zadovoljavajućoj razini, pa i natprosječna. Dakako, uvezi ovih pohvala treba uzeti u obzir da se radi o isključivo žanrovskom djelu.
Žanr "Weird fictiona" se ogledava u dinamičnim scenama borbe, prostornom okruženju same radnje (civilizacije iz rane prošlosti ljudske vrste, prastare palače, sukobljena kraljevstva), fantasičnim elementima, fokusiranju radnje na glavnog junaka. Clark Ashton Smith i Howard Phillips Lovecraft su najpoznatiji pisci ovog žanra. Weird fiction spada u taj neoromantičarski trzaj rane moderne. Ukratko, moglo bi se ugrubo reći da je "weird fiction" isprepletaj pustolovnog žanra, fantasy žanra te horror žanra. Žalosno je da naša filologija ostaje slijepa pred divotama "weird fictiona". Svaka čast Sonji Petriški (a.k.a. Viktoriji Faust) na prijevodima iz polja navedena žanra.
Radnja ovog kratkog romana je izuzetno zanimljiva u pogledu toposa koji se javljaju. Prije svega ezoterični i teozofski toposi izgubljenih kontinenata Lemurije i Atlantide. Guglajte o navedenim pojmovima. Šteta da se ne javlja Hiperboreja. Radnja je smještena u daleku prošlost ljudske kulture. Najzanimljivija stvar su "zmijo-ljudi" odnosno "svećenici Zmije". Slijedi još sočnija stvar; oni mogu mijenjati vlastito obličje, shapeshiftati se u ljude. Zvuči poznato? Robert Ervin Howard je ovo objavio 1929. 1929.! Topos reptila je stariji od Ickea. Isitina, i sam Icke to tvrdi, ali eto, zanimljivo je da ovaj roman iz 1929. prikazuje "zmijo-ljude" kao tajne vladare svijeta.
"Kull se nadvije na njega, iskešenih zubi u ubojitom cereku, čupave obrve namrštene iznad očiju koje su bile poput sivog leda ledenog mora. Onda ispusti balčak i povuče se, potresen, dok mu se vrtjelo, a ruka smrti počivala mu je na kičmi.
Jer dok je promatrao, Tuovo lice postade nejasno i nestvarno; crte lica mijenjale su se i pretapale na način koji se nije činio mogućim. Potom, poput maske od magle koja se raspršuje, lice iznenada nestade i pod njegovim ustrajnim pogledom zjapne monstruozna zmijska glava!".
Neustrašivi kralj Kull će cijelu noć provesti u borbi s reptilima unutar zavojite i mračne palače. Dugo mi se nije svidjela ovako neko čisto žanrovsko djelo.
Preporučam!
I budite pažljivi i spremni na borbu, tko zna kakve su sve tajne ovoga svijeta; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwdaE...
Hasta luego!
Krug knjiga
Zagreb, 2016.
Prevela Sanja Petriška
Jezik samog prijevoda je jako kvalitetan. Super su onomatopejski leksemi poput "grgolji". Bačeni u takvom obliku podaju draž arhaičnosti koji je zasigurno vjeran tekstu izvornika te je i savršeno uklopljen u samu radnju.
Jezik ovog kratkog romana je jednostavan, no posjeduje izrazitu atmosferičnost. Živopisnost scena je na zadovoljavajućoj razini, pa i natprosječna. Dakako, uvezi ovih pohvala treba uzeti u obzir da se radi o isključivo žanrovskom djelu.
Žanr "Weird fictiona" se ogledava u dinamičnim scenama borbe, prostornom okruženju same radnje (civilizacije iz rane prošlosti ljudske vrste, prastare palače, sukobljena kraljevstva), fantasičnim elementima, fokusiranju radnje na glavnog junaka. Clark Ashton Smith i Howard Phillips Lovecraft su najpoznatiji pisci ovog žanra. Weird fiction spada u taj neoromantičarski trzaj rane moderne. Ukratko, moglo bi se ugrubo reći da je "weird fiction" isprepletaj pustolovnog žanra, fantasy žanra te horror žanra. Žalosno je da naša filologija ostaje slijepa pred divotama "weird fictiona". Svaka čast Sonji Petriški (a.k.a. Viktoriji Faust) na prijevodima iz polja navedena žanra.
Radnja ovog kratkog romana je izuzetno zanimljiva u pogledu toposa koji se javljaju. Prije svega ezoterični i teozofski toposi izgubljenih kontinenata Lemurije i Atlantide. Guglajte o navedenim pojmovima. Šteta da se ne javlja Hiperboreja. Radnja je smještena u daleku prošlost ljudske kulture. Najzanimljivija stvar su "zmijo-ljudi" odnosno "svećenici Zmije". Slijedi još sočnija stvar; oni mogu mijenjati vlastito obličje, shapeshiftati se u ljude. Zvuči poznato? Robert Ervin Howard je ovo objavio 1929. 1929.! Topos reptila je stariji od Ickea. Isitina, i sam Icke to tvrdi, ali eto, zanimljivo je da ovaj roman iz 1929. prikazuje "zmijo-ljude" kao tajne vladare svijeta.
"Kull se nadvije na njega, iskešenih zubi u ubojitom cereku, čupave obrve namrštene iznad očiju koje su bile poput sivog leda ledenog mora. Onda ispusti balčak i povuče se, potresen, dok mu se vrtjelo, a ruka smrti počivala mu je na kičmi.
Jer dok je promatrao, Tuovo lice postade nejasno i nestvarno; crte lica mijenjale su se i pretapale na način koji se nije činio mogućim. Potom, poput maske od magle koja se raspršuje, lice iznenada nestade i pod njegovim ustrajnim pogledom zjapne monstruozna zmijska glava!".
Neustrašivi kralj Kull će cijelu noć provesti u borbi s reptilima unutar zavojite i mračne palače. Dugo mi se nije svidjela ovako neko čisto žanrovsko djelo.
Preporučam!
I budite pažljivi i spremni na borbu, tko zna kakve su sve tajne ovoga svijeta; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwdaE...
Hasta luego!
September 18, 2021
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Sh...
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0603...
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Sh...
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0603...
Michael Barkun, professor of political science at Syracuse University, posits that the idea of a reptilian conspiracy originated in the fiction of Conan the Barbarian creator Robert E. Howard, in his story "The Shadow Kingdom", published in Weird Tales in August 1929. This story drew on theosophical ideas of the "lost worlds" of Atlantis and Lemuria, particularly Helena Blavatsky's The Secret Doctrine written in 1888, with its reference to "'dragon-men' who once had a mighty civilization on a Lemurian continent".
Howard's "serpent men" were described as humanoids (with human bodies and snake heads) who were able to imitate humans at will, and who lived in underground passages and used their shapechanging and mind-control abilities to infiltrate humanity. Clark Ashton Smith used Howard's "serpent men" in his stories, as well as themes from H. P. Lovecraft, and he, Howard and Lovecraft together laid the basis for the Cthulhu Mythos.
-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reptili...
May 3, 2020
Another fun fantasy adventure, featuring a precursor of Conan, Kull. I enjoyed this one as well. Rivals forced to fight together, strange ancient magic in an attempt to overthrow Kull, a king in this work, not unlike Conan in "The Phoenix on the Sword". Also like that work, there is an assassination plot, but of a different, more sorcerous nature.
January 30, 2017
I really liked Howard's Conan series. This little piece did not do it for me. The stories started well but the recording I had ended before the stories. All of them. I down loaded the item twice but all the sections were incomplete. I can not recommend this version.
June 22, 2019
I love weird fiction. This one made me happy.
August 30, 2024
"'You are young,' said the palaces and the temples and the shrines, 'but we are old. The world was wild with youth when we were reared. You and your tribe shall pass, but we are invincible, indestructible. (...) How many kings have we watched ride down these streets before Kull of Atlantis was even a dream in the mind of Ka, bird of Creation? Ride on, Kull of Atlantis; greater shall follow you; greater came before you. They are dust; they are forgotten; we stand; we know; we are. Ride, ride on, Kull of Atlantis; Kull the king, Kull the fool!"'
Interesting how Kull is much more philosophical and introspective than Conan. His problems and feelings seem more relatable and down to earth, and his unexpected friendship and mutual trust with Brule was a pleasant surprise and a welcome change of the usual "lone wolf" stories.
Interesting how Kull is much more philosophical and introspective than Conan. His problems and feelings seem more relatable and down to earth, and his unexpected friendship and mutual trust with Brule was a pleasant surprise and a welcome change of the usual "lone wolf" stories.
May 28, 2024
"Царство теней" В отличии от предыдущего довольно длинного рассказа о царе Валузии Кулле. Он только недавно стал правителем, а потому многое ему еще в новинку, за царскими манерами проглядывает варвар. Эта история о заговоре против царя змеелюдьми. Кулл от дружественных пиктов узнает, что его окружение полно предателями, таинственными жрецами бога-змеи, колдунами способными принимать человеческий облик. Вместе с новым другом пиктом Брулом он отражает заговор и нападение на себя. В истории присутствуют элементы готической прозы-фэнтэзи с замком полным тайных ходов и приведений, проклятиями и заговорщиками.
October 16, 2024
Before he created the legendary Conan series, Howard experimented with Kull: a barbarian from Atlantis who has conquered and become king of Valusia. This is considered the first-ever “sword and sorcery” tale in existence. It’s rough around the edges but you can see the seeds of Conan taking sprout. Finn J.D. John does a great job narrating this one for Audible. Also if you truly believe in the lizard man Illuminati, this one’s for you!
June 18, 2024
Kull, once from Atlantis, now king of Valusia has to defend his realm against the people of the Serpent, who can take the form of any man.
Considering that I enjoyed the Kull comic from Marvel immensely it's hard to believe there are only 3 stories of original material from Howard.
Considering that I enjoyed the Kull comic from Marvel immensely it's hard to believe there are only 3 stories of original material from Howard.
July 13, 2025
The descriptions of the buildings, streets and haunted halls of the ancient Kingdom of Valusia are beautifully written, and the central conflict presents a truly spooky prospect.
"[A]m I but a shadow, a figment of thought?"
"[A]m I but a shadow, a figment of thought?"
April 8, 2026
"Go you and dream of thrones and power and kingdoms, while I dream of wine, soft women and roses." -Ka-nu
What I expected to be an epic fantasy adventure turned out to be a political thriller.
Robert E Howard was warning us that Obama's a reptilian.
What I expected to be an epic fantasy adventure turned out to be a political thriller.
Robert E Howard was warning us that Obama's a reptilian.
May 23, 2023
hell yeah snake people
August 28, 2023
The origin story for Call of Cthulhu's shapeshifting serpent people!
September 26, 2023
A wonderful early sword and sorcery story.
November 3, 2023
A brilliant start to Roberts sword and sorecy universe of kull and the sead of what birthed conan
June 10, 2024
Considered the first sword and sorcery tale. Introduces King Kull as hero.
April 28, 2025
⭐️⭐️✨2.75
had to read this for school… looks worse than it is but not awful
short 1.5 hr read
had to read this for school… looks worse than it is but not awful
short 1.5 hr read
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews