Robert E. Howard: A Closer Look

by Charles Hoffman, Marc Cerasini

In 1987, Charles Hoffman and Marc Cerasini published a volume on Robert E. Howard for the acclaimed Starmont Reader's Guides series. Even then, the book was a pioneering study of Howard's life and work. In the decades that have followed, a great deal of additional research has been done on the life and times of the inventor of Conan, and the authors have now prepared a radically expanded and updated version of their monograph, taking account of these new discoveries. The book is structured along the lines of the superheroes that Howard created as a means of expressing his admiration for the values of barbarian and pioneer Bran Mak Morn, the Pictish chieftain who battles the Romans in Britain; Solomon Kane, the 17th-century Puritan who spans the globe in quest of adventure and the righting of wrongs; King Kull of Valusia, a valiant warrior at the dawn of history; and, of course, Conan of Cimmeria, who embodied Howard's thirst for untrammeled freedom and the virtues of combat. Hoffman and Cerasini also study Howard's tales of pure horror, including "Pigeons from Hell," his other fantasy tales, his poetry, and other elements of his work. All in all, Robert E. A Closer Look is an invaluable guide to the life and literary output of this powerfully original writer whose work has inspired imitations, film and comic book adaptations, and devoted readers around the world.

Genres: Sword and Sorcery

300 pages, Paperback

Published September 30, 2020

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice overview of Howard's life. Interesting way of looking at his views and life by analyzing the themes of his major character stories. Enjoyable read. Very recommended

[Jason Ray Carney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to Robert E. Howard. It includes a brief biography and a survey of Howard's fiction and a brief note about his poetry. Early chapters tends to focus on a single hero (e.g. Bran Mak Morn, Kull, Conan, etc.). Later chapters compress Howard's work in certain genres: e.g. "other fantasies," "horror stories," "other prose and poetry," etc.. The writing style is lively, unadorned, and straightforwardly concrete; the writers mostly eschew heavy interpretation but they do build a compelling case for Howard's philosophical commitments to individualism (framed as a kind of rustic or proto-existentialism). Really useful for a newcomer to REH who is looking for a beachhead to attack deeper reading. (Sidenote: cover art by Rick McCollum is great).