Conan of Aquilonia

Conan is in his late fifties in this tale, which is an interesting concept in itself, though I refuse to accept that he’d grow a long moustache if he lived to be 500. Dragons, women that change into snakes, magic rings, and many other fantasy concepts I’m willing to suspend belief and accept, but giving Conan a lengthy moustache is a step too far.

Anyway, this isn’t one of the best tales from the Conan saga, though that’s not too shocking when considering that the barbarian’s creator – Robert E. Howard – had no input whatsoever. These gap-filler books are welcome enough in general, but this one seemed lacking in various respects.

First off, there’re far too many drawn-out travelling scenes, describing what Conan’s just show more walked past, etc.

Certain info is needlessly repeated, while some of the dialogue feels unnatural, owing to characters relaying info for the reader’s benefit. This sort of thing should be presented in the narration.

Finally, I felt that certain sections were somewhat corny, at times verging on melodramatic, which doesn’t belong in a Conan novel.

Some good scenes here and there have compelled me to rate “Conan of Aquilonia” three stars instead of two. show less

I think this 1977 pastiche by two loyal Howard Fans, is better written than Howard's original pulps. This should be the basis of Arnold's last big movie, and it's probably in the toils of composition as we speak.

Problems with this book include the idea of Thoth-Amon as a nemesis for Conan, and some weak short stories in general.

Even though Howard did not write any of the stories in this particular volume, it's his character and creation, and part of the ongoing series of his works, so I'm including him as the primary author to keep it in the series.

F/SF