The Conan Chronicles, Volume 2: The Hour of the Dragon

I rate Robert E. Howard as the most imaginative author that I've ever read. His creative powers are perhaps the most notable in the world of Conan. Howard's detailed map of the fictitious Hyborean Age and its history, including that leading up to the time of Conan's birth, are exceptional.

I've read some of the stories featured in this collection twice before, first in my pre- and early teens, secondly in my early twenties. Other stories here are brand new to me. I read a lot of fantasy and sword & sorcery as a child and as a teen, yet in adulthood my tastes have mostly changed, except I still love Howard's Conan stories and most of his other works.

Of the two volumes of the Conan Chronicles, this second one appeals to me less, though show more that's not say they fail to impress. While Volume 2 features an older Conan vying for power and getting involved in more political battles, the first volume shows the barbarian at the beginning of his fame - and that fame had nothing to do with being crowned king or being political - and for my tastes I much prefer the Conan featured in Volume 1, as he is always in search of adventure, which often includes him stealing treasures from a dangerous situation, encountering a scantily-clad - or naked - woman along the way. All good fun!

Howard is, in my opinion, the best writer of battle scenes. Conan's sword fighting is superbly depicted.

His plotting is always well done without being over-complicated.

His characters are vivid, as are his descriptions.

A supreme author and a superb read. show less

Conan and the Hyborean Age of his world is the template that the fantasy genre developed from and fantasy writing hasn't strayed too far from the original formula. This is a testament to Howard's writing more than anything else - he knew at the time fantasy needed to be short and action packed to attract readers to a type of story which had only found a home in the pages of the pulp magazines. There are no wasted words and no trudging through backgrounds, settings or trilogies of trilogies to get to the story - something which plagues too much contemporary fantasy. Conan is one literature's greatest creations and deserves a place in every reader's library.

This continues the collection begun in volume 1. As before, it contains the complete, unmodified texts of all the surviving Conan stories without the numerous cuts, additions, and outright inventions in other versions.This book contains the stories from the latter half of Conan's career, when after several adventures he becomes King of Aquilonia and repulses several attempts to overthrow him, culminating in "Hour of the Dragon," the only full-length Conan novel by Howard. This book begins with "Notes on Various Peoples of the Hyborian Age" chiefly the various peoples in Aquilonia, and ends with an afterward by Stephen Jones, describing Howard's suicide and the reactions to it by fellow writers and friends.

I've reviewed this omnibus volume for the benefit of Romanian readers here:
http://tesatorul.blogspot.com/2009/07/robert-e-howard-conan-chronicles-volume.ht...