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The Dark Storm Conan Chronology #18
Shadows In Zamboula
Robert Ervin Howard (1906-1936) was an American pulp writer of fantasy, horror, historical adventure, boxing, western, and detective fiction. He is well known for having created the character Conan the Cimmerian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond. Voracious reading, along with a natural talent for prose writing and the encouragement of teachers, conspired to create in Howard an interest in becoming a professional writer. One by one he discovered the authors that would influence his later Jack London and Rudyard Kipling. It's clear from Howard's earliest writings and the recollections of his friends that he suffered from severe depression from an early age. Friends recall him defending the act of suicide as a valid alternative as early as eighteen years old, while many of his stories and poems have a suicidal gloom and intensity that seem prescient in hindsight, describing such an end not as a tragedy but as a release from hell on earth.
48 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1935
About the author
Robert E. Howard
3,054 books2,696 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 55 reviews
November 18, 2022
A very strong start as Conan spends the night at a cheap and atmospheric tavern, and someone sneaks in while he’s trying to sleep. After that though, there is quite a bit of racism. This is a sign of the times this story was written in, but it does hurt the story since there’s so much of it. It’s a solid story, with plenty of the usual sword and sorcery elements done right. But it’s also a pretty average Conan story, so there isn’t really anything special to go out of your way for.
November 30, 2020
Fairly average offering with some cringeworthy racial stereotyping. There are much better Conan stories than this one.
February 9, 2023
Damn, this is a really good story. One of the best so far, love the ending!
February 2, 2026
A short, dark, fantasy adventure, "Shadows in Zamboula" (1935) is the eleventh tale in the "Conan: Reaver, Mercenary, Conqueror, King, Cimmerian: The Collected Adventures of the World's Greatest Barbarian" collection published by Castenea.
Conan is warned not to spend the night in Aram's tavern in Zamboula. The city is a hive of danger to outsiders, but Conan is out of money and has already paid for his night's lodging. He coolly deals with the first night's spoiler-removed troubles before finding himself assisting a young woman in peril who wants Conan to save her man.
Verdict: A smart and terrifying adventure with a number of fun twists and turns.
Jeff's Rating: 4 / 5 (Very Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13
Conan is warned not to spend the night in Aram's tavern in Zamboula. The city is a hive of danger to outsiders, but Conan is out of money and has already paid for his night's lodging. He coolly deals with the first night's spoiler-removed troubles before finding himself assisting a young woman in peril who wants Conan to save her man.
Verdict: A smart and terrifying adventure with a number of fun twists and turns.
Jeff's Rating: 4 / 5 (Very Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13
January 15, 2016
A story moment stuck with me for life: not only are the locks meant to keep Conan in, but they are also expected to
May 16, 2016
Good stuff!
So, although I'm mid-thirties, this was the first Conan story I've ever read. Not my fault, really, as I just didn't grow up with this stuff, and was never really interested in fantasy, as a genre. That being said, somehow I became interested in REH a while back, and now, I can't believe I missed this stuff for so long. It's great! If you're looking for adventure, solid storyline, and vengeance, which makes all things right- look no further- this is it! Highly recommended!
So, although I'm mid-thirties, this was the first Conan story I've ever read. Not my fault, really, as I just didn't grow up with this stuff, and was never really interested in fantasy, as a genre. That being said, somehow I became interested in REH a while back, and now, I can't believe I missed this stuff for so long. It's great! If you're looking for adventure, solid storyline, and vengeance, which makes all things right- look no further- this is it! Highly recommended!
February 4, 2024
2.5 / 5.0
After Tower of the Elephant and Queen of the Black Coast, it seemed like it would be difficult to go through a Conan story without the stalwart aid of a red marker. But lo and behold (Howard would probably have no qualms appending a hearty "avast" as a third imperative), things took a good leap forward with Shadows in Zamboula—at least in terms of writing!
This time, there was little to no such self-sabotage as I derailed Howard earlier; that is, forcing in words that steal the show and ruin the flow, causing violent shocks and confusion in the readership. The style in Shadows was much more sinister and contemplative. At the beginning of the story, the surroundings and the data of the Conan universe were provided quite tactfully, either as pleading exhortations mixed with gossip in the case of the latter, or as the natural instinct of Conan's reconnoitering in the case of the former. Nothing out of place in warning strangers about shady inns, or paying attention to different passages and locks by way of estimating potential escape routes or spots vulnerable to ambuscade.
Of course, not all of Howard's descriptions were that engrossing, and in this story in particular, his astrophilia is evidently on display: the stars were ubiquitous, and often in a climactic, paragraph-ending position.
Signs of haste or carelessness were not entirely absent in the prose. This was attested by certain clumsy sentence successions like
Among the silent streets they moved like phantoms of antiquity. They went in silence.
or by anticlimactic progression of atmospheric intensity, such as in
[...] from beyond that curtain came the (??) devilish strains of such music as Conan had never heard, not even in nightmares. It made the short hairs bristle on the back of his neck.
But this time, I'm not going to linger on such passages, because they were relatively few in number. As a counterweight, I'll quote this rather good excerpt:
And like the stroke of twin cobras, the great hands closed on Conan's throat. The Cimmerian made no attempt to dodge or fend them away, but his own hands darted to the Kosalan's bull-beck. Baal-pteor's black eyes widened as he felt the thick cords of muscles that protected the barbarian's throat. With a snarl he exerted his inhuman strength, and knots and lumps and ropes of thews rose along his massive arms. And then a choking gasp burst from him as Conan's fingers locked on his throat. For an instant they stood there like statues, their faces masks of effort, veins beginning to stand out purply on their temples. Conan's thin lips drew back from his teeth in a grinning snarl. Baal-pteor's eyes were distended and in them grew an awful surprise and the glimmer of fear. Both men stood motionless as images, except for the expanding of their muscles on rigid arms and braced legs, but strength beyond common conception was warring there — strength that might have uprooted trees and crushed the skulls of bullocks.
One could still quibble about certain elements in this passage, but it's not really relevant right now. I'm quite happy to see that Howard could write something of such controlled intensity and urgency: he really makes the reader wince under the strain of strangling fingers! And the final sentence that ends the paragraph is refreshingly powerful without a hint of ridiculous verbiage. The struggle also continues for a few more paragraphs, and the quality does not really decrease from there.
The pace of the narrative was comparatively leisurely, and even during the fight scenes it would not reach overdrive. And Howard could also pull off tasteful bits showcasing Conan's speed of a wild tiger:
Behind [Totrasmek] the curtain shook as if struck by a gust of wind, and Totrasmek screamed. His eyes dilated and his hands caught convulsively at the length of bright steel which jutted suddenly from his breast.
Now, as the writing and the atmospheres were more of an aid than a hindrance, I could focus more on the story and the characters. And that's where the problems cropped up.
Firstly, it was during this particular story that I realised that Howard's idea of a barbarian is quite different from mine. At first I thought that Conan was one of those gruff warriors who care very little for the ways of civilisation and simply want to conquer and copulate, live life to the full. But Howard's ideas are a bit more complex than that.
Take the case of Aram Baksh. Conan is furious towards him. But why? Because he robs the lives of innocents? Based on what I've read so far, Conan is not overly scrupulous about killing. Because he had been sleeved? Well, I'm sure it miffed him, but based on the fury the Cimmerian exhibited after finding out the truth, he would have had to be a rather naive fledgling not to foresee the possibility of someone trying to fox him. Rather, I would say he was upset because Aram Baksh betrayed the trust of his guests, with whom he had entered into a business relationship. And not only for any purpose, but to sell them to what Howard called "the blacks".
Such an attitude wouldn't necessarily be one I'd attribute to a barbarian. The relationship between the host and the guest already presupposes civilisation, so it seems that when Conan derides the latter, it is a quite naive idea of what it entails. It is stuff like "emasculation", "sloth" or "distrust in one's senses" that are attributed to the civilisation, not stuff like assemblies, organisations and political power. It even seems that slavery is a perfectly "uncivilised" things for our Cimmerian, given that he spends more time in reviling the uncouth slaves than wondering about the rights and wrongs of their lot.
Conan also seems to hold respect towards social status, as the end of the story reveals. Once again, not something I would have expected of a barbarian who trusts his instincts and wants but to live, love and kill.
And what about Conan's blunt statement: "Dog's son knave! Don't you see I'm white, and alone? Come down, before I smash your door." Either it's an acknowledgement of the social hierarchy in Zamboula or it is an expression of white pride. The former seems a bit unlikely, since the narrator lamented the number of hybrids in the city, so the latter seems to be more likely. This, again, is not something I personally would have attributed to a barbarian, especially one who seems to be free of the taint of civilisation's worse sins: for someone like Conan, one would think that his powers of perception would have been a bit more acute in these matters.
But we all know Howard's stories are problematic in terms of racism. Or not even problematic: they're just boringly racist, and this can be blinked at in favour of the thrills of adventure, but it most certainly never adds anything to the stories. What bothers me especially here is that Conan's "barbarism" seems to be a really shallow slap-on instead of a well-thought-out perspective. As it stands, at its best it is simply a plot-device to justify Conan's greatness, and at its worst, it's a concept through which the reader can see the glaring chinks in Howard's own armour.
Secondly, the narrative technique used in this story is brutally flawed. I am used to Howard using the third-person narrator who mostly explains things from Conan's perspective, and at times encroaches upon the territory of the omniscient narrator of the universe. Here, even this flimsy construction crumbles, when a second narrative perspective is introduced in the fourth chapter: that of Zabibi's.
At first, I was pleasantly surprised at the change, and I must say the way it worked up to her rescue was not an unimpressive crescendo, culminating in Conan's entry and the death of Totrasmek. But then, when we are told that Zabibi isn't really Zabibi at all, one convulsively flicks back some pages to make sure one hasn't misread something. But no. The narrative clearly mentions Zabibi.
So now we have a narrator, that at times is pretty much Conan's third eye, sometimes a spinner of universal lore, sometimes a dupe who can be fooled by its own characters and sometimes simply a withholding git. While inventive use of the narrator's voice should not be frowned upon, this does not scream invention, it screams of shoddy work. Howard clearly changed the narrative whenever it suited his needs, and he would do it simply in order to withhold information from the reader for dramatic purposes. At the same time, he is at pains to explain away certain developments, so he can suddenly spin out something like "Now they could understand the gutturals of the black men." or "He knew he had killed Totrasmek."—yet for the first one, it's a bit far-fetched that one suddenly understands a language, and for the second, it was completely unnecessary to suddenly explain the reader Conan's point of view, since the deed had been obvious to them.
And what about this:
"I wonder what she'd say if she knew I recognized her as Nafetari and him as Jungir Khan the instant I saw them," he mused. "I knew the Star of Khorala, too. [...]"
Such a manner of delivering the twist is on par with a Mickey Mouse story, where the Phantom Blot, in his diabolical cunning, discloses his subtle plans for world domination out loud in the utter solitude of his hideout. Shadows in Zamboula did not even provide enough evidence that Conan could recognise her—possibly thanks to the garbled narrative voice. As for the twist itself, well, one can imagine how highly I value its ingeniousness and coherence.
Ultimately, however, though the painful aspects of Howard's techniques and views came more to the fore with this story, his writing got considerably better. The prose was actually good to read and his atmospheres could be pretty engaging. It was only when one would start reflecting on the scenes, characters and the overall plot, that things were shown in a less bright light.
After Tower of the Elephant and Queen of the Black Coast, it seemed like it would be difficult to go through a Conan story without the stalwart aid of a red marker. But lo and behold (Howard would probably have no qualms appending a hearty "avast" as a third imperative), things took a good leap forward with Shadows in Zamboula—at least in terms of writing!
This time, there was little to no such self-sabotage as I derailed Howard earlier; that is, forcing in words that steal the show and ruin the flow, causing violent shocks and confusion in the readership. The style in Shadows was much more sinister and contemplative. At the beginning of the story, the surroundings and the data of the Conan universe were provided quite tactfully, either as pleading exhortations mixed with gossip in the case of the latter, or as the natural instinct of Conan's reconnoitering in the case of the former. Nothing out of place in warning strangers about shady inns, or paying attention to different passages and locks by way of estimating potential escape routes or spots vulnerable to ambuscade.
Of course, not all of Howard's descriptions were that engrossing, and in this story in particular, his astrophilia is evidently on display: the stars were ubiquitous, and often in a climactic, paragraph-ending position.
Signs of haste or carelessness were not entirely absent in the prose. This was attested by certain clumsy sentence successions like
Among the silent streets they moved like phantoms of antiquity. They went in silence.
or by anticlimactic progression of atmospheric intensity, such as in
[...] from beyond that curtain came the (??) devilish strains of such music as Conan had never heard, not even in nightmares. It made the short hairs bristle on the back of his neck.
But this time, I'm not going to linger on such passages, because they were relatively few in number. As a counterweight, I'll quote this rather good excerpt:
And like the stroke of twin cobras, the great hands closed on Conan's throat. The Cimmerian made no attempt to dodge or fend them away, but his own hands darted to the Kosalan's bull-beck. Baal-pteor's black eyes widened as he felt the thick cords of muscles that protected the barbarian's throat. With a snarl he exerted his inhuman strength, and knots and lumps and ropes of thews rose along his massive arms. And then a choking gasp burst from him as Conan's fingers locked on his throat. For an instant they stood there like statues, their faces masks of effort, veins beginning to stand out purply on their temples. Conan's thin lips drew back from his teeth in a grinning snarl. Baal-pteor's eyes were distended and in them grew an awful surprise and the glimmer of fear. Both men stood motionless as images, except for the expanding of their muscles on rigid arms and braced legs, but strength beyond common conception was warring there — strength that might have uprooted trees and crushed the skulls of bullocks.
One could still quibble about certain elements in this passage, but it's not really relevant right now. I'm quite happy to see that Howard could write something of such controlled intensity and urgency: he really makes the reader wince under the strain of strangling fingers! And the final sentence that ends the paragraph is refreshingly powerful without a hint of ridiculous verbiage. The struggle also continues for a few more paragraphs, and the quality does not really decrease from there.
The pace of the narrative was comparatively leisurely, and even during the fight scenes it would not reach overdrive. And Howard could also pull off tasteful bits showcasing Conan's speed of a wild tiger:
Behind [Totrasmek] the curtain shook as if struck by a gust of wind, and Totrasmek screamed. His eyes dilated and his hands caught convulsively at the length of bright steel which jutted suddenly from his breast.
Now, as the writing and the atmospheres were more of an aid than a hindrance, I could focus more on the story and the characters. And that's where the problems cropped up.
Firstly, it was during this particular story that I realised that Howard's idea of a barbarian is quite different from mine. At first I thought that Conan was one of those gruff warriors who care very little for the ways of civilisation and simply want to conquer and copulate, live life to the full. But Howard's ideas are a bit more complex than that.
Take the case of Aram Baksh. Conan is furious towards him. But why? Because he robs the lives of innocents? Based on what I've read so far, Conan is not overly scrupulous about killing. Because he had been sleeved? Well, I'm sure it miffed him, but based on the fury the Cimmerian exhibited after finding out the truth, he would have had to be a rather naive fledgling not to foresee the possibility of someone trying to fox him. Rather, I would say he was upset because Aram Baksh betrayed the trust of his guests, with whom he had entered into a business relationship. And not only for any purpose, but to sell them to what Howard called "the blacks".
Such an attitude wouldn't necessarily be one I'd attribute to a barbarian. The relationship between the host and the guest already presupposes civilisation, so it seems that when Conan derides the latter, it is a quite naive idea of what it entails. It is stuff like "emasculation", "sloth" or "distrust in one's senses" that are attributed to the civilisation, not stuff like assemblies, organisations and political power. It even seems that slavery is a perfectly "uncivilised" things for our Cimmerian, given that he spends more time in reviling the uncouth slaves than wondering about the rights and wrongs of their lot.
Conan also seems to hold respect towards social status, as the end of the story reveals. Once again, not something I would have expected of a barbarian who trusts his instincts and wants but to live, love and kill.
And what about Conan's blunt statement: "Dog's son knave! Don't you see I'm white, and alone? Come down, before I smash your door." Either it's an acknowledgement of the social hierarchy in Zamboula or it is an expression of white pride. The former seems a bit unlikely, since the narrator lamented the number of hybrids in the city, so the latter seems to be more likely. This, again, is not something I personally would have attributed to a barbarian, especially one who seems to be free of the taint of civilisation's worse sins: for someone like Conan, one would think that his powers of perception would have been a bit more acute in these matters.
But we all know Howard's stories are problematic in terms of racism. Or not even problematic: they're just boringly racist, and this can be blinked at in favour of the thrills of adventure, but it most certainly never adds anything to the stories. What bothers me especially here is that Conan's "barbarism" seems to be a really shallow slap-on instead of a well-thought-out perspective. As it stands, at its best it is simply a plot-device to justify Conan's greatness, and at its worst, it's a concept through which the reader can see the glaring chinks in Howard's own armour.
Secondly, the narrative technique used in this story is brutally flawed. I am used to Howard using the third-person narrator who mostly explains things from Conan's perspective, and at times encroaches upon the territory of the omniscient narrator of the universe. Here, even this flimsy construction crumbles, when a second narrative perspective is introduced in the fourth chapter: that of Zabibi's.
At first, I was pleasantly surprised at the change, and I must say the way it worked up to her rescue was not an unimpressive crescendo, culminating in Conan's entry and the death of Totrasmek. But then, when we are told that Zabibi isn't really Zabibi at all, one convulsively flicks back some pages to make sure one hasn't misread something. But no. The narrative clearly mentions Zabibi.
So now we have a narrator, that at times is pretty much Conan's third eye, sometimes a spinner of universal lore, sometimes a dupe who can be fooled by its own characters and sometimes simply a withholding git. While inventive use of the narrator's voice should not be frowned upon, this does not scream invention, it screams of shoddy work. Howard clearly changed the narrative whenever it suited his needs, and he would do it simply in order to withhold information from the reader for dramatic purposes. At the same time, he is at pains to explain away certain developments, so he can suddenly spin out something like "Now they could understand the gutturals of the black men." or "He knew he had killed Totrasmek."—yet for the first one, it's a bit far-fetched that one suddenly understands a language, and for the second, it was completely unnecessary to suddenly explain the reader Conan's point of view, since the deed had been obvious to them.
And what about this:
"I wonder what she'd say if she knew I recognized her as Nafetari and him as Jungir Khan the instant I saw them," he mused. "I knew the Star of Khorala, too. [...]"
Such a manner of delivering the twist is on par with a Mickey Mouse story, where the Phantom Blot, in his diabolical cunning, discloses his subtle plans for world domination out loud in the utter solitude of his hideout. Shadows in Zamboula did not even provide enough evidence that Conan could recognise her—possibly thanks to the garbled narrative voice. As for the twist itself, well, one can imagine how highly I value its ingeniousness and coherence.
Ultimately, however, though the painful aspects of Howard's techniques and views came more to the fore with this story, his writing got considerably better. The prose was actually good to read and his atmospheres could be pretty engaging. It was only when one would start reflecting on the scenes, characters and the overall plot, that things were shown in a less bright light.
June 20, 2021
This is a tale I read in the 'Savage Sword of Conan' a good 4 decades ago. It was illustrated by Neal Adams (and his Crusty Bunkers) and inked by Tony Dezuniga. I had an opportunity, a couple years after reading the magazine to buy an original page of the illustrated story. I did so for a tiny price, later selling it after a divorce.
Now I've read the actual story by Howard. The comic adaption is very faithful and very well written. This is better written, but a bit muddled in palaces that the comics adaption cleans up. Howard kinda over ran his headlights with this one and I guess that was due to his incredible speed, deadlines and need of cash. Still far better crafted than most written today.
The use of Conan is more as a pawn to handle the MaGuffin involved, though that is not revealed until later. Howard's use of other characters is so very good. I'm filing through this collection of his stories and look forward to his writing of detective and westerns stories.
I have to add a note of other reviewers mentioning "racial stereotypes". What on earth are they writing of? This story is note of this earth or earthlings. Howard conjured all involved. Skin color is only for adjectives, not of some imagined connection to earthly beings. The imagining itself is seeking boogy men where they don't exist, except for want of them to exist.
Again, this is my fascination with Howard. I'm not much for the genre, but am stirred by this fantasy world he has made up. He went nearly no where, relied on books to know more of the ideas of geography and the world. Then used his own backyard as the setting of this other setting for Conan. Quite something!
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 8 out of ten points.
Now I've read the actual story by Howard. The comic adaption is very faithful and very well written. This is better written, but a bit muddled in palaces that the comics adaption cleans up. Howard kinda over ran his headlights with this one and I guess that was due to his incredible speed, deadlines and need of cash. Still far better crafted than most written today.
The use of Conan is more as a pawn to handle the MaGuffin involved, though that is not revealed until later. Howard's use of other characters is so very good. I'm filing through this collection of his stories and look forward to his writing of detective and westerns stories.
I have to add a note of other reviewers mentioning "racial stereotypes". What on earth are they writing of? This story is note of this earth or earthlings. Howard conjured all involved. Skin color is only for adjectives, not of some imagined connection to earthly beings. The imagining itself is seeking boogy men where they don't exist, except for want of them to exist.
Again, this is my fascination with Howard. I'm not much for the genre, but am stirred by this fantasy world he has made up. He went nearly no where, relied on books to know more of the ideas of geography and the world. Then used his own backyard as the setting of this other setting for Conan. Quite something!
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 8 out of ten points.
April 1, 2020
In the racially mixed westernmost point of the mighty Turanian empire, 'the people went their way, flaunting their myriad colors in the streets, bargaining, disputing, gambling, swilling, loving, as the people of Zamboula have done for all the centuries its towers and minarets have lifted over the sands of the Kharamun.'
Even in this exotic setting a bona fide barbarian from Cimmeria such as Conan still stands out in the crowd. When he hears of travelers mysteriously disappearing from an nn, Conan decides to stay for the night to see if the stories are true, discovering an illicit trade in human flesh and a cannibal cult.
The flesh-eating black slaves of Darfar are only the first obstacle to be encountered in this fairly eventful chronicle, which also featured a feared and powerful high priest, a beautiful and resourceful damsel in distress, magic and a hefty serving of musclebound mayhem.
Yes, the inherently racist element in these tales is regrettably at its most pronounced her, Conan's white supremacist worldview is distasteful, albeit entirely in keeping with a cruder age. Then again, segregation wasn't outlawed the the American South until the mid-1960s.
This story is also notable for the figure of Baal-pteor, the strangler of Yota-pong, a genuine physical threat to Conan and clearly not a very nice man: '"When I was a child they gave me infants to throttle; when I was a boy I strangled young girls; as a youth, women, old men, and young boys."' I blame the parents.
His confrontation with Conan is memorable. Overall the story felt a little sketchy.
Even in this exotic setting a bona fide barbarian from Cimmeria such as Conan still stands out in the crowd. When he hears of travelers mysteriously disappearing from an nn, Conan decides to stay for the night to see if the stories are true, discovering an illicit trade in human flesh and a cannibal cult.
The flesh-eating black slaves of Darfar are only the first obstacle to be encountered in this fairly eventful chronicle, which also featured a feared and powerful high priest, a beautiful and resourceful damsel in distress, magic and a hefty serving of musclebound mayhem.
Yes, the inherently racist element in these tales is regrettably at its most pronounced her, Conan's white supremacist worldview is distasteful, albeit entirely in keeping with a cruder age. Then again, segregation wasn't outlawed the the American South until the mid-1960s.
This story is also notable for the figure of Baal-pteor, the strangler of Yota-pong, a genuine physical threat to Conan and clearly not a very nice man: '"When I was a child they gave me infants to throttle; when I was a boy I strangled young girls; as a youth, women, old men, and young boys."' I blame the parents.
His confrontation with Conan is memorable. Overall the story felt a little sketchy.
March 31, 2016
I'm really enjoying these Conan books. Some people think Conan was harsh at the end of this book. I think justice was served. What do you think?
April 8, 2025
A good, short but punchy Conan short story. It both challenged the character in new and unique ways on top of peak action scenes, while also managing a solid double-twist ending even with a page count under 50.
Even though this has literally everything I love about Conan in it and shaves off all the fat that sometimes drags these stories down.... It also has all the things I DON'T like about R.E. Howard's work, so I have to reduce the final score by a full star due to the OVERLY BLATANT racism and sexism in this one...
Even though this has literally everything I love about Conan in it and shaves off all the fat that sometimes drags these stories down.... It also has all the things I DON'T like about R.E. Howard's work, so I have to reduce the final score by a full star due to the OVERLY BLATANT racism and sexism in this one...
January 28, 2023
This is another Conan story that I've enjoyed with its twists and turns throughout. I've stated before that I personally find dipping in and out of these stories very rewarding. I find it the most rewarding way to enjoy the fantastical and savage world of Conan as written by the greatest pulp fiction writer of all time, Robert E. Howard.
February 10, 2026
Conan a simp?!?!
Would Conan really engage in acts of wanton murder just for a fling with a dancer with a beau, or is there more to this story?
Its a fine story 7.5-8/10.
Would Conan really engage in acts of wanton murder just for a fling with a dancer with a beau, or is there more to this story?
Its a fine story 7.5-8/10.
November 2, 2017
A fun listen from Librovox. Conan is in fine form here. Brash, violent, vengeful, and devious.
Of note about Howard's writing. At the time, his description of the voluptous dancer would have been very provocative and remains very vivid and salacious. The descriptions of blacks in the story is again cringeworthy.
Of note about Howard's writing. At the time, his description of the voluptous dancer would have been very provocative and remains very vivid and salacious. The descriptions of blacks in the story is again cringeworthy.
January 19, 2018
A fantastic Conan story filled with surprises and ulterior motives. Keeps you guessing all the way through, with appealing characters with hints of backstories that'll keep your brain wandering for the rest of the evening after reading it.
Also, pretty gory and horrific.
It's pretty short, too, so it's a good one for the train or a lazy afternoon (whatever those are).
Also, pretty gory and horrific.
It's pretty short, too, so it's a good one for the train or a lazy afternoon (whatever those are).
March 1, 2013
Was tired reading Lincoln and found this on Project Gutenberg. Nice quick read! While some of the language is hard to follow as well as some of the content, there is actually is a bit of a story here. It kept me through and it was the perfect length. Now I can move on with life!
April 5, 2013
Conan at his best.
December 15, 2014
Nice short read with great action. Don't like the prejudice of that era, but a great book nonetheless.
March 14, 2016
Standard fare, but the ending shows a darker side of Conan.
August 12, 2016
It was an interesting story despite being short and a bit too rushed.
October 13, 2016
Good action and chuckles. This is even more racist and sexist than other Conan short stories, but since this was written in the 1930s, I guess that's par for the course.
September 25, 2017
This was a great Conan story. Plenty of muscle a lots of guile. Plus a nice twist at the the end.
August 5, 2022
Another Masterpiece of sword and sorcery! I enjoy Howard's stories so much. I can't recommend them enough. Short and action packed they make a great weekend read.
July 6, 2023
This my first Conan the barbarian story, Robert E. Howard. “Shadows in Zamboula” was sold to me as good, old fashioned pulp fiction. It starts when Conan warned by a desert tribesmen to avoid staying in the accursed Hostel of Aram Baksh. Allegedly men who sleep there disappear, their goods sold at the bazaar.
Howard’s popular barbarian is lured into trouble once again by a beautiful woman, that is after being nearly captured and consumed by cannibals... Then I start to see why code in the barbarian is not so popular in this day and age.
The Cannibals are all black Africans who are all thieves... and compared to apes. Along with their having a giant 'ape god' they sacrifice people to.
ooof.
Then a beautiful woman lures him into trouble. (Pulp fiction.)
No, in this case, he doesn’t get the girl, but he does get the gold, a horse, and a mystical item which he can sell for a bundle. So, that's nifty.
On a writing standpoint? The plot was solid. It was extremely well-paced, slowing only when the tension of an action scene was required. here's really not much to say here, other than I wondered about this rough-and-tumble world where barbarians stride through town shirtless and later meet and have an adventure with a beautiful woman, also shirtless. Makes me wonder why I'm sitting here wearing clothes (not enough gym time likely). The atmospheric writing is great, along with how Howard describes action sequences are fantastic.
The bad bit? the only ugly thing about this story, or any Conan story for that matter, are the villains, and the caricatures.
"The throng scampered from under their horses’ hoofs, for they were the lords of Zamboula. But tall, somber Stygians, standing back in the shadows, glowered darkly, remembering their ancient glories."
I made the mistake(?) of reading up on ancient history for fun before I started this short story. Howard uses the trick of naming his tribes and nations after the myths, on the conceit that these are half-forgotten memories of prehistory. Shemites are proto-Semitic ancestors of Arabs and Jews (Jewish stereotypes); Turan is the Persian name for Turkistan, hence the Turanians are proto-Turks; Stygians are prehistoric Egyptiana (egyptian stereotypes), when the Nile was called the Styx. The Negros of Darfar are ancestors to modern Darfur of Sudan (the cannibals); their neighbors, the Wadai, are still called that, if sometimes spelled Ouaddai.
Conan is a 'man of the West', standing out from the crowd of 'mongrel' Negros and Orientals (writers terms, not mine) with their crooked ways and gloomy ancient superstitions... yeah. I understand a story set in a fantasy world of prehistory has authorial license to portray savage peoples with grisly customs as savage. While I'm not an activist, it is discomforting.
This is why people have orcs.
Howard’s popular barbarian is lured into trouble once again by a beautiful woman, that is after being nearly captured and consumed by cannibals... Then I start to see why code in the barbarian is not so popular in this day and age.
The Cannibals are all black Africans who are all thieves... and compared to apes. Along with their having a giant 'ape god' they sacrifice people to.
ooof.
Then a beautiful woman lures him into trouble. (Pulp fiction.)
No, in this case, he doesn’t get the girl, but he does get the gold, a horse, and a mystical item which he can sell for a bundle. So, that's nifty.
On a writing standpoint? The plot was solid. It was extremely well-paced, slowing only when the tension of an action scene was required. here's really not much to say here, other than I wondered about this rough-and-tumble world where barbarians stride through town shirtless and later meet and have an adventure with a beautiful woman, also shirtless. Makes me wonder why I'm sitting here wearing clothes (not enough gym time likely). The atmospheric writing is great, along with how Howard describes action sequences are fantastic.
The bad bit? the only ugly thing about this story, or any Conan story for that matter, are the villains, and the caricatures.
"The throng scampered from under their horses’ hoofs, for they were the lords of Zamboula. But tall, somber Stygians, standing back in the shadows, glowered darkly, remembering their ancient glories."
I made the mistake(?) of reading up on ancient history for fun before I started this short story. Howard uses the trick of naming his tribes and nations after the myths, on the conceit that these are half-forgotten memories of prehistory. Shemites are proto-Semitic ancestors of Arabs and Jews (Jewish stereotypes); Turan is the Persian name for Turkistan, hence the Turanians are proto-Turks; Stygians are prehistoric Egyptiana (egyptian stereotypes), when the Nile was called the Styx. The Negros of Darfar are ancestors to modern Darfur of Sudan (the cannibals); their neighbors, the Wadai, are still called that, if sometimes spelled Ouaddai.
Conan is a 'man of the West', standing out from the crowd of 'mongrel' Negros and Orientals (writers terms, not mine) with their crooked ways and gloomy ancient superstitions... yeah. I understand a story set in a fantasy world of prehistory has authorial license to portray savage peoples with grisly customs as savage. While I'm not an activist, it is discomforting.
This is why people have orcs.
August 31, 2025
In this fast-paced, very short sword-and-sorcery tale, Conan finds himself in the exotic and dangerous city of Zamboula, in a very cheap "hostel", which had probably a very poor rating on Tripadvisor :-). A chance encounter leads him into a web of intrigue involving mysterious disappearances and sinister forces lurking in the shadows. As he navigates the city's treacherous streets, Conan must rely on his strength and cunning to survive. The story unfolds over a single night, filled with suspense, action, and unexpected twists.
“Shadows in Zamboula” is a thrilling and atmospheric entry in the Conan saga, packed with vivid imagery and relentless action. Robert E. Howard masterfully blends mystery and horror with his signature swordplay, creating a story that keeps readers hooked from start to finish. The setting is richly imagined, evoking a sense of danger and exotic allure that enhances the tension. Conan’s character shines through as a fierce and clever hero, making this a satisfying read for fans of pulp fantasy. Many considers those short novel nowadays as being very racist, but at the time Robert E. Howard wrote it, that was unfortunately the way of thinking.
“Shadows in Zamboula” is a thrilling and atmospheric entry in the Conan saga, packed with vivid imagery and relentless action. Robert E. Howard masterfully blends mystery and horror with his signature swordplay, creating a story that keeps readers hooked from start to finish. The setting is richly imagined, evoking a sense of danger and exotic allure that enhances the tension. Conan’s character shines through as a fierce and clever hero, making this a satisfying read for fans of pulp fantasy. Many considers those short novel nowadays as being very racist, but at the time Robert E. Howard wrote it, that was unfortunately the way of thinking.
October 17, 2021
This is tied with Tower of the Elephant for my favorite short story featuring Conan. While many on here complain about the racism, they often fail to remember that the black cannibals in the story were only cannibals because of the starvation brought on by a lighter-skinned slave master. They suffer because of a slaver and colonialist while Conan gives them justice by letting them take it. Furthermore, Baal-Pteor is only demonized because he is an evil assassin who gloats about killing women and children, not because of the color of his skin. In these respects, the story is quite fair given the time it came out. When compared to H.P. Lovecraft's work, the Fu Manchu series, or the Bulldog Drummond stories it comes out looking downright progressive. Credit should be given where it's due.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 28, 2024
«Тени Замбулы» Действие рассказа продолжается после событий «Черных слез», Конан оказывается в городе Замбула. Где все не так просто, во-первых, в городе орудуют чернокожие -людоеды, которые нападают исключительно на путников. Им помогает хозяин местного трактира, у которого на ночь останавливаются путники, на утро от них уже ничего не остается. Во-вторых, городом правит жрец культа Ханумана – Тотразмек. С обоими проблемами придется столкнуться Конану и с обоими разобраться мечом, разрубив как дамоклов узел.
Конан мне напомнил такого себе варварского Джеймса Бонда, каждая история о котором — это песнь мужеству. Только там был джентльмен-шпион, а тут джентльмен-варвар если можно так выразится, плюс бесконечные любовные похождения.
Конан мне напомнил такого себе варварского Джеймса Бонда, каждая история о котором — это песнь мужеству. Только там был джентльмен-шпион, а тут джентльмен-варвар если можно так выразится, плюс бесконечные любовные похождения.
February 7, 2023
Another fantasy adventure Conan the Barbarian yarn by Robert E. Howard.
This is a very short story.
When he hears of travelers mysteriously disappearing from an inn, Conan decides to stay for the night to see if the stories are true, discovering an illicit trade in human flesh and a cannibal cult.
The tale all takes place in the course of a single night in the city of Zamboula that includes Howard’s usual mix of sorcery, deception and violence along with cannibals, evil priest-wizards, beautiful but untrustworthy women, and, of course, fighting men all interact with the barbarian.
This is a very short story.
When he hears of travelers mysteriously disappearing from an inn, Conan decides to stay for the night to see if the stories are true, discovering an illicit trade in human flesh and a cannibal cult.
The tale all takes place in the course of a single night in the city of Zamboula that includes Howard’s usual mix of sorcery, deception and violence along with cannibals, evil priest-wizards, beautiful but untrustworthy women, and, of course, fighting men all interact with the barbarian.
December 15, 2024
This is a very derivative story. I don’t feel like Howard did anything particularly interesting with this one that is not done better in the previous stories. The writing is still there, it just falls flat on concepts. The best part is Conan’s fight with the strangler Baal-pteor in the temple of the gorilla god. The tension is great and once more drives home how civilized savages are still no physical match for western brutes due to their pampered city living.
No thews added, so I’m reducing my score from three to two stars. Story sucks. Thew counter remains at 12.
No thews added, so I’m reducing my score from three to two stars. Story sucks. Thew counter remains at 12.
April 11, 2025
This is, I think, one of my favorite of the original Conan stories written by Robert E Howard.
While the plot is relatively simple, I like it. We trade in a lot of our standard Conan tropes like lost cities and monstrous creatures. We don't even really have a swooning woman in the form of Zabibi.
Instead Conan finds himself in the desert down of Zamboula. A real cultural melting point on the tip of the Turan Empire and somewhere were it is extremely unsafe to sleep outdoors after dark. Throw in a decent plot twist or two and I had a blast with this story.
While the plot is relatively simple, I like it. We trade in a lot of our standard Conan tropes like lost cities and monstrous creatures. We don't even really have a swooning woman in the form of Zabibi.
Instead Conan finds himself in the desert down of Zamboula. A real cultural melting point on the tip of the Turan Empire and somewhere were it is extremely unsafe to sleep outdoors after dark. Throw in a decent plot twist or two and I had a blast with this story.
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