The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian

This collection of stories was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. I originally picked it up for historical reasons--to learn more about the history of genre fiction. However, aesthetically, I expected the content to be pretty weak: a sexist, racist male-power fantasy. And there was quite a bit of that stuff. For example, Conan fights a giant snake in order to get the girl a number of times. I figure either Howard had a hilariously overt Oedipal complex, or a very Freudian sense of humor. Neither would surprise me.

But I was surprised how often Howard moves beyond these sorts of limitations. For example, he's obsessed with describing the 'race' of all the characters, but I couldn't find any reference to one race being show more superior to another. The 'darker' races are more often than not Conan's allies, not enemies. Maybe there is some more pronounced racism in his correspondence or other works, but for the most part he escapes from it in these stories.

It was the same with the sexism. Very often, women are reduced to objects, 'princessess' in need of rescue, sometimes even literally Conan's 'prize' for defeating a villain or monster. But one story in particular stuck in my mind: "The Vale of Lost Women". At first glance, it was one of the worst stories in the anthology, in terms of the 'princess' problem. But then I noticed that, while that is certainly the plot, the story is in fact told from the princess's point of view. (In this particular story, Conan is a minor, inessential background character.) While we all know countless stories involving princesses in need of rescue, this is the first time I ever noticed that the princess (not the rescuing hero) was the voice of the story. What would have been nice to see in some 1970s fantasy novels seems remarkable for a story written in 1932.

Howard's style is as interesting as the content, in the same sense, i.e. when he's transcending his limitations. For the most part, I thought the prose was overwrought, but the plot's were well-paced. Howard tended to repeat certain descriptions, but sometimes he manages passages that are quite evocative. For example, I'm not particularly frightened of snakes, but reading some of Howard's stories, I definitely had the feeling for what that might be like. He handles the exposition problem deftly. By the end, and with seemingly minimal effort, we have a sense of Conan's (and Howard's) world.

It's easy enough to make fun of Conan stories. But when I thought about the circumstances under which they were written (i.e. very quickly, during the Depression, for money), their relative quality is striking. Basically: yes, they're silly, but they're not only silly. If Howard had written at this level under those circumstances, I wonder what might have been had he had lived past 30. show less

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 show more 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. show less

You know, I used to think I hated Conan stories. That was before I realized that what I had read were in fact imperfect pastiches written by other writers in the 60's and 70's who hoped to cash in on the iconic popularity of the character.

This volume presents the stories of Conan the Cimmerian as they were written by his creator, Robert E. Howard, and a better group of dashing, creepy, brooding sword & sorcery tales couldn't be wished for. The stories are presented in the order they were written by Howard, which give us glimpses into various parts of his career: from King to freebooter, from thief to warrior, we see Conan forging his way through the Hyborian Age after Atlantis fell.

There are a load of classics in this volume from "The show more Phoenix on the Sword", a tale of King Conan fighting against rebellion; "The Tower of the Elephant" where Conan, a young thief, meets an otherworldy prisoner when trying to steal a fabled treasure; and "Queen of the Black Coast" a rousing pirate tale in which Conan meets his match (and more besides) in the female captain Bêlit.

It's great stuff. Howard's talent proves to be much greater than many of his pulp contemporaries, and while these stories may not win the pulitzer prize any day soon, they give an excellent dose of adventure and fantasy when you're in the mood. Conan might even surprise you with a few philosophical words of wisdom, by Crom! show less

This was just what was needing after a long week. I read Conan tales so much when I was younger that I could see Conan's battles with Thoth-amon. I could smell the evil of Set but remained confident because Mitra wasn't far behind. Howard is an action master. Imagine you're sitting up late at night and the campfire is glowing embers. At this point a voice chimes in with a tale of Conan. When he finishes somebody else says, wait I remember this one and then another and another and another. By Crom!! this be good for the spirit! Conan is the ultimate warrior archetype for living in the NOW...

The first of three Conan collections from Del Ray contains thirteen stories, some of which are considered among the best Howard has written - namely 'Queen of the Black Coast,' which features what is probably Howard's most mature depiction of a female character, and 'Tower of the Elephant,' one of my all-time favorite Howard stories, and one which shows a decidedly Lovecraftian influence. Even when Howard falls prey to annoying pulp tendencies - 'Xuthal of the Dust' and 'Vale of Lost Women,' I'm looking at you! - he's just too damn talented and convicted a storyteller for it to be a total wash. The package also contains plenty of extras, including some story fragments and outlines, and is generously illustrated, but Howard's muscular show more prose and galloping narratives are the reason to get this. show less

Long years ago, I picked up an old collection of Conan stories. It was from the series that L. Sprague deCamp did, and was number one in the series. I was unimpressed. I figured I had simply waited too long to get around to Conan and outgrown the time period when I might have enjoyed the stories. I was so, so wrong.

This collection blew me away. Robert E. Howard was an amazing writer, especially when it comes to action scenes. These stories move, man. I went from unimpressed to fangirl in 2 stories flat.

I discovered Conan in my pre-teen years and after my first taste I couldn't get enough. Ever since, he has been my all time favorite hero! I was so excited to see all of REH's Conan stories collected! I found that as an adult rereading them after all these years I got so much more out of them than I did as a kid. I recommend these compilations to anybody wanting to revisit the original REH Conan stories through adult eyes.