[HOZ]⇒ Read Free Conan Conan #1 Robert E Howard Lin Carter L Sprague de Camp 9780441116300 Books

Conan Conan #1 Robert E Howard Lin Carter L Sprague de Camp 9780441116300 Books

Download As PDF : Conan Conan #1 Robert E Howard Lin Carter L Sprague de Camp 9780441116300 Books

Conan Conan #1 Robert E Howard Lin Carter L Sprague de Camp 9780441116300 Books

The first story is one I've been looking for. Even though it wasn't written by Howard, it fits into the timeline, and the writing isn't too bad. Just get it and enjoy it - you'll be glad you did.


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Conan Conan #1 Robert E Howard Lin Carter L Sprague de Camp 9780441116300 Books Reviews

Robert E. Howard's famous barbarian hero journeys among the nations of the Hyborian Age in this anthology of stories, seeking his fortune and reveling in bloody adventure. I devoured several of these anthologies back when I was in junior high school and was pleasantly surprised to see how well they hold up now. His prose is muscular and direct, his characters brutal and equally direct, as befits the world in which they live. I was surprised that Conan is actually a secondary character in some of the original stories, such as "The God in the Bowl," a Sherlockian tale with the Cimmerian as one of the suspects. Although all of the tales written by Howard, either whole or in part, are strong, the pastiches produced by Lin Carter and L. Sprague de Camp are weak. The lengthy "City of Skulls" is particularly egregious for its careless dependance on wild coincidence--wandering through the darkness of the sewers, Conan and his companion chance upon a secret passage that leads directly to the chamber of an evil king just as he is about to sacrifice the heroine. How sloppy! Howard's "Rogues in the House" is the highlight of this collection.
This book starts out with an introduction by coauthor de Camp and a letter written by Howard which aren't stories but provide some background on Howard and his style, etcetera.
Then there is "The Hyborian Age," by Howard, which isn't a story but a history of the world that Conan lives in. This doesn't read like a story but is nifty if you're a Conan lover.
Next come the stories.
Opening is "The Thing in the Crypt," (de Camp & Carter), which isn't an especially bad story, just completely pointless -- it spends thirty pages detailing how Conan acquires his sword. (They tried to incorporate this one into the movie)
This is followed by "The Tower of the Elephant," (Howard), which is an excellent story and a great example of Howard's writing in any genre. (They also incorporated this story into the movie)
"The Hall of the Dead," (de Camp and Howard) comes next, written by de Camp based on an outline by Howard. It's an ok story with some cool stuff, but Conan being attacked by a 50-foot acid spitting slug? Come on!
"The God in the Bowl" (Howard) is a whodunnit detective story which is pretty interesting, but has nothing really to contribute to the Conan saga.
"Rogues in the House" (Howard) is probably the best story in this volume, with political intrigue, sorcerors, dank warrens beneath trap-infested houses and everything.
"The Hand of Nergal" is said to be by de Camp and Howard, but it doesn't say how exactly Howard was connected to the story. It's pretty cool, and it helps to define and develop Conan's story.
"The City of Skulls" is the final story in this book, written by Carter & de Camp, and while it has some action, it really sucks.
Overall, this is a worthy book. The stories by Howard are really good, those by the others are at least readable, and it gives a pretty good look at Conan's early life.
The other day, I rediscovered my old paperback copy of Conan #1 and re-read it cover to cover. This book consists of seven loosely connected short stories that all begin in the medias res with Conan pursued by wolves or guardsmen, or in the middle of a plan to steal some treasure. The young Conan of this book is a wandering adventurer, working as a thief in most of these tales, who inevitably finds himself alone in some haunted ruin or sorcerer’s lair, only to be confronted by a monster or some supernatural foe. As a barbarian, he can neither read nor write, so he solves problems with brute force. Let’s just say, there are no puzzle-like plots to be deciphered in his tales. This does not mean, however, that the stories are without mystery or twists. In fact, one of the best stories in the book, “The Tower of the Elephant,” featured an unexpected twist that most certainly was influenced by Howard’s friend, H.P. Lovecraft. Another tale, “The God in the Bowl,” begins as a murder mystery, but don’t expect Conan to play the role of Sherlock Holmes.

Many of the stories seem cliché, but that’s because I’m reading them in 2014 instead of the 1930s. Back then they were “original” adventure tales, and since they predated most forms of entertainment available today, they were probably damn entertaining. Imagine a time nearly fifty years before we met Indiana Jones or Luke Skywalker, or even Josie Wales and James Bond. Stories like Conan’s were among the most rollicking adventure tales around. This is just one reason why they are true classics, and I’m glad I rediscovered them.
It took an entire month to get the book. The book is awesome though👍🏻
Conanesque. If ever the word applied. This is what it applied to.
Excellent stories by Robert E. Howard, Lin Carter, L. Sprague DeCamp.
The first story is one I've been looking for. Even though it wasn't written by Howard, it fits into the timeline, and the writing isn't too bad. Just get it and enjoy it - you'll be glad you did.