Robert E. Howard - Coming of Conan the Cimmerian , The - 8

[StefanY]

Coming of Conan the Cimmerian , The /Conan the Barbarian

Overall - I really enjoyed this first volume of the collected short stories of Robert E. Howard and his magnificent creation; Conan the Barbarian. There was not a story in the collection that I was bored with or disliked and I would heartily encourage those who enjoy the fantasy genre to delve into these stories and explore the roots of what started the genre that we enjoy today. The only faults that I have with Howard’s writing are the prevalent sexist and less prevalent racist attitudes that appear throughout these tales. I did find that I was able to overlook these flaws as a product of the attitudes of the general populace at the time of the stories origin and therefore could enjoy the works for their literary merit and the quality of the entertainment that I received from them even though I personally would have found these same ideas fairly offensive at times if present in modern day literature.

Cimmeria – This is a one page poem that sets the tone for the book very nicely. It is very descriptive in giving color and setting for the stories to come.

The Phoenix on the Sword – Excellent story to start the book. Set later in Conan’s life after he is King of Aquilonia, this story is about a plot to assassinate the great King Conan. The setup and pacing are very nicely done and there is an excellent battle scene as well.

The Frost-Giant’s Daughter – Another fine tale, if the rest of the book keeps up at this pace, I’m in for a treat indeed. After a fierce battle in the arctic North, Conan meets a woman who he is driven to follow seemingly to his death. Howard’s prose and descriptive narrative are fantastic as the Frost Giant’s Daughter leads our hero through the frozen wastes.

The God in the Bowl – Not quite as good as the previous two. Conan is caught while attempting a robbery and falsely accused of murdering a man who lies dead in the building. Most of the story revolves around the investigation of the murder. The end is decent though , and I still liked it overall.

The Tower of the Elephant – The most action packed story in the book so far. Conan enters the mysterious and perilous Tower of the Elephant to steal a powerful gem from a sorcerer. There are many unexpected traps surrounding the tower and the action is pretty much non-stop.

The Scarlet Citadel – King Conan leads his army into battle to assist a fellow Lord. Conan however is duped and taken prisoner after a massive battle. This one started out a bit slower than most of the others, but maintained my interest level none-the-less. There are some good dungeon crawling scenes and a fantastic final battle that makes this story really rock!!

Queen of the Black Coast – Conan joins some sea-farers while being chased by local authorities in order to escape. I liked the change of pace in this one as it is a sea-faring adventure as opposed to the land-based battles of the previous ones. The crew finds a mysterious river and decides to travel up it to find the treasures that legend says are hidden somewhere up its poisoned waters.

Black Colossus - This entry in the collection puts Conan at the head of an army. The story starts out a bit dry, but things pick up as it goes along and the battle scenes are quite entertaining.

Iron Shadows in the Moon – Conan and a freed slave girl journey to a supposedly uninhabited island where they find a mysterious temple and a band of pirates awaiting them. Along with these perils is a beast that might be more than a match for Conan.

Xuthal of the Dusk – Conan and his female companion wander through the desert to find a strange city. They meet a beautiful woman who rules the city and desires Conan. Foul deeds cause the disappearance of Conan’s woman and he must search the dark recesses of the city to find her. Howard creates a couple of very eerie and spooky scenes in this one that have a very good horror novel feel to them. It is a good example of the range that he has in his creative process.

The Pool of the Black One – This is a rollicking action-packed adventure-filled good time. Another that begins on the sea, Conan is taken aboard as a cast-away and the ship travels to a mysterious island that the crew ventures to in order to explore. Mysterious things are found there and the battle scene and finale are among the best in the book.

Rogues in the House – This is a slower paced story in which Conan is hired by a noble-man to assassinate a priest. Conan is sprung from prison by the young noble and in return must break into the fortress-like home of the priest and kill him. An interesting side note for those that enjoy the Conan films is that in this story we see the character and a few of the aspects of the scene with the mirror monster in Conan the Destroyer.

The Vale of Lost Women – In another change of pace, Conan is the war chief of a band of black jungle-type warriors. This one started off a bit slow, but the pace picked up and I enjoyed it quite a bit. My only problems with this one are the racist attitudes displayed in a couple of points in the story by Howard. Of course, in its day, I doubt anyone would have taken much offense at all.

The Devil in Iron – A mysterious being has risen from the grave and resurrected a ruined city on a deserted island. Conan must find the woman who is the current object of his desires and escape from this cursed place with both of their lives intact. This was a good story from start to finish and a fitting way to end the collection.




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