The Best of Robert E. Howard, Volume 1: Crimson Shadows (2009)

A selection of stories from many and varied genres. As the editor says "He is most famous, of course, for Conan of Cimmeria, who has taken on a life of his own as “Conan the Barbarian,” far removed from Howard’s brilliantly original conception; herein you will find other great characters, like Kull of Atlantis, king of fabled Valusia; Solomon Kane, the swashbuckling Puritanadventurer; Bran Mak Morn, last king of an ancient race; Sailor Steve Costigan, the champion of the forecastle; Breckinridge Elkins, the man-mountain who can’t seem to avoid walking into trouble; Steve Harrison, the detective who’s as likely to solve the mystery with his fists as with his wits; and many others. They run the gamut from dark fantasy to broad humor, from brooding horror to gentle love story."
Burke further states that he used a fan poll of the top 25 Howard stories to help in choosing the stories, taking a goodly percentage of them. With a caveat that only two Conan stories per book, maximum.

The only one I don't think is any good is the Curse of the Golden Skull.

There are also many poems included here, and Burke points out that Howard wrote over 300 stories and 800 poems in 12 years, approximately.

Crimson Shadows : The Shadow Kingdom - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : The Curse of the Golden Skull - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : Red Shadows - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : The Dark Man - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : Kings of the Night - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : The Black Stone - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : The Fightin'est Pair - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : The Grey God Passes - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : Worms of the Earth - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : Lord of the Dead - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : For the Love of Barbara Allen - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : The Tide - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : The Valley of the Worm - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : The People of the Black Circle - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : Beyond the Black River - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : Hawk of the Hills - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : Sharp's Gun Serenade - Robert E. Howard

There is evil treachery afoot in the time of Atlantis, the serpent priests are stirring, and a cunning old king brings them to the attention of a somewhat restless Kull. More pity them. With a stalwart Pictish spear-slayer at his side, he wreaks bloody havoc among them, and vows to take the war to them. No-one else would ever have copied this plot later on, would they?

4 out of 5

Kull is a little peeved that Brule and Ka-Nu are riding out, leaving him behind to govern, and even moreso when he discovers a law that does not permit him to allow one of his young nobles to marry the slave girl he likes.

A cadre of sympathisers to the former king is plotting to do Kull in with Brule and many Red Slayers away, having suborned his guard.

Their problem was that Kull was restless when they attacked, heard them coming and had time to done some armor. And this :

"And in that instant Kull leaped to the wall and tore therefrom an ancient battle-axe which had hung there for possibly a hundred years.

Back to the wall, he faced them for a moment; then leaped among them. No defensive fighter was Kull! He always carried the fight to the enemy."

The enemy could only get at him 4 or so to 1 in the room, but there were 20 of them. If not for the timely intervention of the young noble he talked to earlier, Kull would be Corpse Kull.

Grateful, he has a Judge Dredd moment, bigtime :

"Here stand the two who have saved my life. Hence forward they are free to marry, to do as they
like..."

"But the law!" screamed Tu.

"I am the law!" roared Kull, swinging up his axe; "By this axe I rule! This is my sceptre! I have struggled and sweated to be the puppet king you
wished me to be-to rule your way. Now I use mine own way. If you will not fight, you shall obey. Laws that are just shall stand, laws that have outlived their times I shall shatter as I shattered that one. I am king!"

This story shows Kull, warrior and statesmen at his finest, consoling a girl earlier, the grim warrior the next.

4.5 out of 5

Kane comes across Le Loup twice in his life, once after he comes across a dying girl, one of his kills, and once at the temple of the Black God. He leaves him mortality challenged, and watches as his underling, Gulka the gorilla slayer finds a ape who is more than a match for him.

3.5 out of 5

Turlogh Dubh O'Brien gets some inspiration from Bran Mak Morn in beach side battle.

3.5 out of 5

Bran Mak Morn has leadership problems. Wulfhere's Northerners will not follow him, or Cormac, prince of Erin, they demand a King. Consulting with Gonar, who talks to his ancestor in Kull's time, and summons Kull, King of Valusia! Kull likes Bran, as he reminds him of Brule, and agrees to lead the Northerners. Wulfhere challenges him to combat. Big mistake for Wulfhere.

With Kull's help, Bran manages to hold the Romans for now, at some significant cost.

4 out of 5

A Cthulhoid type venture. Not somewhere you want to be. Fairly proficiently done.

3.5 out of 5

Costigan is plenty mad when someone kidnaps Mike for dirty dog fights.

4.5 out of 5

Vikings vs Gaels, weird women and war, as Turlogh Dubh and Conn bear witness to the passing of Brian Boru.

4.5 out of 5

One of Bran Mak Morn's subjects is being crucified while he is visiting some Roman commanders. This does not sit well with him or his aide, as he feels the punishment does not fit the crime, and the Romans are making a joke of doing what they will with the barbarians.

Bran has a plan for revenge on the Roman who gave the order, but Gonar cautions him against using mystic means. Bran ignores here, and seeks the Black Stone with the help of a were-woman. What he unleashes is a lot more than he bargained for.

4 out of 5

Erlik Khan has a large fighter with delusions of reincarnation, to Steve Harrison's detriment. Also a collection of Tongsicles.

4 out of 5

Dead woman war waiting.

3.5 out of 5

Dragonslaying, Norse reincarnation style. Not quite to the standard of his other stories, I think.

3 out of 5

Conan is again in a leadership position, and seven of his lieutenants have been captured and are under sentence of death. He goes to see what he can do about it. In a flash, he makes off with their leader, the Devi. She is not all he has to worry about, as spies, plots and the wizardry of the Black Seers will all hinder him, not to mention the odd small army, along with the Devi herself.

4.5 out of 5

Conan is working around a fort on the border of Aquilonia, when many tribes of Picts, united by the wizard Zogar Sag, combine to attack.

Conan takes out a scouting party to see what goes on, but they are ambushed, and most captured and killed, except one man, that he rescues. The wizard summons beasts by virtue of the powers of an old god, whom Conan is familiar with. With the help of an old dog, Slasher, Conan and his companion try and get the settlers to safety, while the fort is overrun.

Zogar Sag makes a mistake when he sends a fleshly avatar to try and destroy Conan. The barbarian kills the avatar, which destroys the wizard, and the Pictish invasion is over.

4.5 out of 5

Khan conflict has El Borak bloody angry.

3 out of 5

Elkins in pursuit of the suicidal, pretty schoolteachers and maniacs.

3 out of 5





4.5 out of 5

http://a1018.g.akamai.net/f/1018/19025/1d/randomhouse1.download.akamai.com/19025...

http://freesf.strandedinoz.com/wordpress/2009/11/the-best-of-robert-e-howard-vol... ( )

Okay, but not as overwhelming as I remembered from my adolescence. ( )

This was probably the best collection of his work that I've ever read & I'm pretty conversant with his work. I have over 40 of his books, half being Conan. I think every type of story he wrote was covered & the very best were picked. There were even a couple of stories that I don't think I had read before, which is surprising. If I have any quarrel with the book, it's the amount of his poetry that is included. It is interspersed among the stories well, but by cutting back on it, perhaps another great story could have been included, such as "The Sowers of Thunder". Still, poetry was something he was apparently good at (I'm no judge, I don't care for it) so I guess it will make the books for some others.There are some good summations of his life & work in the introduction & appendices. They're very much to the point & capture his life as few others have. If you have any interest in pulp fiction, whether Sword & Sorcery, Fantasy, Horror, Detective, Boxing or Western, then this is a good book to read. It has it all. ( )

A selection of stories from many and varied genres. As the editor says 'He is most famous, of course, for Conan of Cimmeria, who has taken on a life of his own as “Conan the Barbarian,” far removed from Howard’s brilliantly original conception; herein you will find other great characters, like Kull of Atlantis, king of fabled Valusia; Solomon Kane, the swashbuckling Puritanadventurer; Bran Mak Morn, last king of an ancient race; Sailor Steve Costigan, the champion of the forecastle; Breckinridge Elkins, the man-mountain who can’t seem to avoid walking into trouble; Steve Harrison, the detective who’s as likely to solve the mystery with his fists as with his wits; and many others. They run the gamut from dark fantasy to broad humor, from brooding horror to gentle love story.'
Burke further states that he used a fan poll of the top 25 Howard stories to help in choosing the stories, taking a goodly percentage of them. With a caveat that only two Conan stories per book, maximum.

The only one I don't think is any good is the Curse of the Golden Skull.

There are also many poems included here, and Burke points out that Howard wrote over 300 stories and 800 poems in 12 years, approximately.

Crimson Shadows : The Shadow Kingdom - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : The Curse of the Golden Skull - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : Red Shadows - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : The Dark Man - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : Kings of the Night - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : The Black Stone - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : The Fightin'est Pair - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : The Grey God Passes - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : Worms of the Earth - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : Lord of the Dead - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : For the Love of Barbara Allen - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : The Tide - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : The Valley of the Worm - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : The People of the Black Circle - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : Beyond the Black River - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : Hawk of the Hills - Robert E. Howard
Crimson Shadows : Sharp's Gun Serenade - Robert E. Howard

There is evil treachery afoot in the time of Atlantis, the serpent priests are stirring, and a cunning old king brings them to the attention of a somewhat restless Kull. More pity them. With a stalwart Pictish spear-slayer at his side, he wreaks bloody havoc among them, and vows to take the war to them. No-one else would ever have copied this plot later on, would they?

4 out of 5

Kull is a little peeved that Brule and Ka-Nu are riding out, leaving him behind to govern, and even moreso when he discovers a law that does not permit him to allow one of his young nobles to marry the slave girl he likes.

A cadre of sympathisers to the former king is plotting to do Kull in with Brule and many Red Slayers away, having suborned his guard.

Their problem was that Kull was restless when they attacked, heard them coming and had time to done some armor. And this :

'And in that instant Kull leaped to the wall and tore therefrom an ancient battle-axe which had hung there for possibly a hundred years.

Back to the wall, he faced them for a moment; then leaped among them. No defensive fighter was Kull! He always carried the fight to the enemy.'

The enemy could only get at him 4 or so to 1 in the room, but there were 20 of them. If not for the timely intervention of the young noble he talked to earlier, Kull would be Corpse Kull.

Grateful, he has a Judge Dredd moment, bigtime :

'Here stand the two who have saved my life. Hence forward they are free to marry, to do as they
like...'

'But the law!' screamed Tu.

'I am the law!' roared Kull, swinging up his axe; 'By this axe I rule! This is my sceptre! I have struggled and sweated to be the puppet king you
wished me to be-to rule your way. Now I use mine own way. If you will not fight, you shall obey. Laws that are just shall stand, laws that have outlived their times I shall shatter as I shattered that one. I am king!'

This story shows Kull, warrior and statesmen at his finest, consoling a girl earlier, the grim warrior the next.

4.5 out of 5

Kane comes across Le Loup twice in his life, once after he comes across a dying girl, one of his kills, and once at the temple of the Black God. He leaves him mortality challenged, and watches as his underling, Gulka the gorilla slayer finds a ape who is more than a match for him.

3.5 out of 5

Turlogh Dubh O'Brien gets some inspiration from Bran Mak Morn in beach side battle.

3.5 out of 5

Bran Mak Morn has leadership problems. Wulfhere's Northerners will not follow him, or Cormac, prince of Erin, they demand a King. Consulting with Gonar, who talks to his ancestor in Kull's time, and summons Kull, King of Valusia! Kull likes Bran, as he reminds him of Brule, and agrees to lead the Northerners. Wulfhere challenges him to combat. Big mistake for Wulfhere.

With Kull's help, Bran manages to hold the Romans for now, at some significant cost.

4 out of 5

A Cthulhoid type venture. Not somewhere you want to be. Fairly proficiently done.

3.5 out of 5

Costigan is plenty mad when someone kidnaps Mike for dirty dog fights.

4.5 out of 5

Vikings vs Gaels, weird women and war, as Turlogh Dubh and Conn bear witness to the passing of Brian Boru.

4.5 out of 5

One of Bran Mak Morn's subjects is being crucified while he is visiting some Roman commanders. This does not sit well with him or his aide, as he feels the punishment does not fit the crime, and the Romans are making a joke of doing what they will with the barbarians.

Bran has a plan for revenge on the Roman who gave the order, but Gonar cautions him against using mystic means. Bran ignores here, and seeks the Black Stone with the help of a were-woman. What he unleashes is a lot more than he bargained for.

4 out of 5

Erlik Khan has a large fighter with delusions of reincarnation, to Steve Harrison's detriment. Also a collection of Tongsicles.

4 out of 5

Dead woman war waiting.

3.5 out of 5

Dragonslaying, Norse reincarnation style. Not quite to the standard of his other stories, I think.

3 out of 5

Conan is again in a leadership position, and seven of his lieutenants have been captured and are under sentence of death. He goes to see what he can do about it. In a flash, he makes off with their leader, the Devi. She is not all he has to worry about, as spies, plots and the wizardry of the Black Seers will all hinder him, not to mention the odd small army, along with the Devi herself.

4.5 out of 5

Conan is working around a fort on the border of Aquilonia, when many tribes of Picts, united by the wizard Zogar Sag, combine to attack.

Conan takes out a scouting party to see what goes on, but they are ambushed, and most captured and killed, except one man, that he rescues. The wizard summons beasts by virtue of the powers of an old god, whom Conan is familiar with. With the help of an old dog, Slasher, Conan and his companion try and get the settlers to safety, while the fort is overrun.

Zogar Sag makes a mistake when he sends a fleshly avatar to try and destroy Conan. The barbarian kills the avatar, which destroys the wizard, and the Pictish invasion is over.

4.5 out of 5

Khan conflict has El Borak bloody angry.

3 out of 5

Elkins in pursuit of the suicidal, pretty schoolteachers and maniacs.

3 out of 5

http://a1018.g.akamai.net/f/1018/19025/1d/randomhouse1.download.akamai.com/19025...

http://freesf.blogspot.com/2009/11/best-of-robert-e-howard-volume-1.html ( )