Benjamin Hare’s Reviews > The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian > Status Update

The Pheonix on the Sword. The Frost-Giant's Daughter. The God in the Bowl. The Tower of the Elephant. All of these stories just seem to get better and better the more I read them. It's remarkable how stories that I've read so many times, over more than three decades, can still engage my interest. Honestly, I'm a bit embarrassed by just how often I keep returning to Howard's Conan corpus.

Finished with the main stories, and the Hyborian Age essay (excellent), and now working my way through the 'Miscellanea' at the back of the book. Galvanized by the insight into Howard's process afforded through reading the included synopses. These drafts reveal the omissions and additions made to the final product. Howard's headlong rush of intrigue and action are perhaps more apparent in these drafts.

'The Vale of Lost Women', and 'The Devil in Iron' are sadly rote Conan productions. However, there are snatches of good dialog in places. Conan shaking Octavia and bellowing "Next time I tell you to stay somewhere, you stay!" Conan giving Livia a lesson in barbaric economics: "Women are cheap as plantains in this land, and their willingness or unwillingness matter as little." Excellent.

Taking my sweet time with this book, which is just fine.

Making my way slowly, oh so slowly, through "People of the Black Circle." This story starts strong, has good (glorious at times) prose, and an iconic setting, but suffers from a rushed, nonsensical ending.

Reading slowly. I see no reason to rush my way through "Xuthal of the Dusk." Yes, it's a mid-tier Conan story but there are moments of genre delight in the character of Thalis, and the weird people of Xuthal. "I can see this is no place for ordinary mortals. We'll be gone before your morons awake, or Thog comes to devour us. I think the desert would be kinder." Such gems of dialog abound in this tale.

Black Colossus, Iron Shadows in the Moon, and just starting Xuthal of the Dusk.

Learning more about "The Queen of the Black Coast." Forcing myself to read slowly, take lots of notes, and do some analysis in the form of essays. This story, while not my favorite, is indeed one of the greatest Howard ever wrote.