The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian - Robert E. Howard cover artist Mark Schultz
Trade paperback - Ballantine Books-Del Rey - ISBN 978-0-345-46151-3 - first edition published 2003
comments by CR:
The Coming of Conan The Cimmerian - [0745 - 2017-03-27]
My first introduction to "Conan" were the Lancer paperbacks I starting buying in 1966. All of the Lancer editions were edited by or co-written with other authors mostly L. Sprague deCamp. How this "editing and co-authorship" took place 30 years after Howard's death was never adequately explained. Nonetheless I found in the Conan tales a creditable character that excited my teen-age imagination.
Howard was a prolific writer and his Conan stories were one of many characters and general themes he wrote about.
Fortunately readers appreciation for Howard's Conan stories took root and starting approximately 2002 a handsome series of trade paperbacks were published by Ballantine Books. Robert E. Howard (1906-36) is know today primarily as the author who introduced Conan to the reading public which in turn created the genre of sword and sorcery fiction. What is not as well known is that Howard in his short life had published a couple hundred stories. The majority were supernatural themed fictions with gallant protagonists but were not all "Conan" stories.
Ten of the thirteen stories in this Ballantine edition, "The Coming of Conan The Cimmerian" were first published in Wierd Tales magazine during 1932-34. The remaining three were resurrected and published in various publication after his death.
The Stories in the order they appear with first publication in ():
The Phoenix on the Sword (1932)
Conan the barbarian is King(!) and is the subject of a palace coup d'état. An ancient wizard impresses the sign of the phoenix on his sword giving him the measured advantage in a duel with a supernatural foe.
The Frost-Giants Daughter (1976)
After a bloody battle in the frozen north Conan, the sole survivor, is mesmerized by the erotic vision of an ice maiden. Driven by his lust he follows her relentlessly until the Frost-Giant cools his ardor.
The God in the Bowl (1975)
Conan is hired by a foppish courtesan to pilfer a jewel from a museum of mystical artifacts. The museums overseer is found strangled and Conan is suspected but a minion of Set, the evil snake god, is the true perpetrator of the strangulation.
The Tower of the Elephant (1933)
A 150 foot tower houses an evil wizard and his mysterious jewel with magical powers. The tower is enchanted with spells and ghostly guards to deter foolish individuals intend on stealing the Elephant Eyes. Conan is undeterred and seek his fortune at the wizards expense.
The Scarlet Citadel (1933)
Palace intrigue finds Conan usurped from his throne and captive of a very malevolent sorcerer. Armies are on the move - pontoon bridges are employed - fortified cities are under siege - Conan find an unlikely ally in a fellow prisoner who employees mystical means to restore the cosmic balance.
Queen of the Black Coast (1934)
Conan falls in with a vivacious Pirate Queen with a unquenchable lust for plunder - especially jewels. An abandoned city in ruins surrounded by jungle along a turgid river leads to the Queen's undoing. Conan barely survives after battling a gigantic flying ape!
Black Colossus (1933)
A oracle tells a Queen regent to employ the first man she meets to save the kingdom from an the impend peril of invasion let by the devil himself. Conan, a man with no common sense, instead of jumping out the nearest window says "yes, I'll save the kingdom".
Iron Shadows of the Moon (1934)
Mysterious ruins with menacing statues that come to life in moonlight gives Conan ample opportunity to hack and bash his way to freedom.
Xuthal of the Dark (1933)
Escaping into a barren desert region with a clinging wench is almost Conan undoing until an oasis is spotted. Said oasis is a horror house of drugged pleasure seekers and the demon that feeds off them. Conan is fortunate to break out of the prison-like town with his life.
Pool of the Black One (1933)
Fished out of the ocean after escaping a misunderstanding ashore Conan falls in with a band of freebooters. A uncharted island, a scheming damsel and an evil entity keep Conan busy in this entertaining tale.
Rogues in the House (1934)
As a price for being sprung from prison Conan must dispatch a conniving priest and his half-man half-ape. Complications set it and much blood is spilt.
Vale of Lost Woman (first publication 1967)
A high principled princess is captured by a band of lusty natives. Seeing Conan as her only hope for rescue - and the preserving of her virtue - the princess promises him her "desirable quality" if he can liberate her. Conan obliges but said princess eludes Conan's embrace only to fall in with some "Lost Women" which necessitates a second rescue by Conan..
Devil in Iron (1934)
Another swampy island with a ruined temple leads Conan to an encounter with a supernatural daemon. A magical knife, an encounter with a 40 foot snake(!) and a reluctant half naked damsel in distress cannot deter Conan!
There is something gratifying to possess a book that reflects a publishers and editors respect and admiration for the author and the subject matter; " The Coming of Conan The Cimmerian " is such a book. This Del Ray trade paperback is an original edition published in 2002. The 464-page book includes in addition to the stories outlined above, approximately 100 pages of Conan reference material. These includes Howard's drafts for several of the stories, maps, notes etc. This is a definitive reference for the Howard student and for just curious readers. Quality paper and a very readable font make this a worthy book for fans and collectors.
Each story is illustrated with several quarter page drawings and a near full-page illustration by Mark Schultz. Mr. Schultz provided an article about how he approached drawing Conan.
The majority of the stories were first published in Wierd Tales magazine during 1925-37. The executors of his estate published another group of stories well after Howard's death.
Howard's character Conan is deceptively simple: likes to drink, wench and fight. He is dubious of the gods, uneasy when in the presence of supernatural evil and for the most part a loner. He is also very, very lucky. Howard is a master story teller with a outstanding talent for narrative pacing and descriptive prose. For the most part the stories are entertaining and colorfully written.
The question of genuine significance for potential readers or just the curious is: are the stories worth reading - or are they just historical literary curiosities. answer of course is subjective but if your inclined to these type stories you would do well not to pass up on this collection.
The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian - Robert E. Howard cover artist Mark Schultz
Trade paperback - Ballantine Books-Del Rey - ISBN 978-0-345-46151-3 - first edition published 2003
comments by CR:
The Coming of Conan The Cimmerian - [0745 - 2017-03-27]
My first introduction to "Conan" were the Lancer paperbacks I starting buying in 1966. All of the Lancer editions were edited by or co-written with other authors mostly L. Sprague deCamp. How this "editing and co-authorship" took place 30 years after Howard's death was never adequately explained. Nonetheless I found in the Conan tales a creditable character that excited my teen-age imagination.
Howard was a prolific writer and his Conan stories were one of many characters and general themes he wrote about.
Fortunately readers appreciation for Howard's Conan stories took root and starting approximately 2002 a handsome series of trade paperbacks were published by Ballantine Books. Robert E. Howard (1906-36) is know today primarily as the author who introduced Conan to the reading public which in turn created the genre of sword and sorcery fiction. What is not as well known is that Howard in his short life had published a couple hundred stories. The majority were supernatural themed fictions with gallant protagonists but were not all "Conan" stories.
Ten of the thirteen stories in this Ballantine edition, "The Coming of Conan The Cimmerian" were first published in Wierd Tales magazine during 1932-34. The remaining three were resurrected and published in various publication after his death.
The Stories in the order they appear with first publication in ():
The Phoenix on the Sword (1932)
Conan the barbarian is King(!) and is the subject of a palace coup d'état. An ancient wizard impresses the sign of the phoenix on his sword giving him the measured advantage in a duel with a supernatural foe.
The Frost-Giants Daughter (1976)
After a bloody battle in the frozen north Conan, the sole survivor, is mesmerized by the erotic vision of an ice maiden. Driven by his lust he follows her relentlessly until the Frost-Giant cools his ardor.
The God in the Bowl (1975)
Conan is hired by a foppish courtesan to pilfer a jewel from a museum of mystical artifacts. The museums overseer is found strangled and Conan is suspected but a minion of Set, the evil snake god, is the true perpetrator of the strangulation.
The Tower of the Elephant (1933)
A 150 foot tower houses an evil wizard and his mysterious jewel with magical powers. The tower is enchanted with spells and ghostly guards to deter foolish individuals intend on stealing the Elephant Eyes. Conan is undeterred and seek his fortune at the wizards expense.
The Scarlet Citadel (1933)
Palace intrigue finds Conan usurped from his throne and captive of a very malevolent sorcerer. Armies are on the move - pontoon bridges are employed - fortified cities are under siege - Conan find an unlikely ally in a fellow prisoner who employees mystical means to restore the cosmic balance.
Queen of the Black Coast (1934)
Conan falls in with a vivacious Pirate Queen with a unquenchable lust for plunder - especially jewels. An abandoned city in ruins surrounded by jungle along a turgid river leads to the Queen's undoing. Conan barely survives after battling a gigantic flying ape!
Black Colossus (1933)
A oracle tells a Queen regent to employ the first man she meets to save the kingdom from an the impend peril of invasion let by the devil himself. Conan, a man with no common sense, instead of jumping out the nearest window says "yes, I'll save the kingdom".
Iron Shadows of the Moon (1934)
Mysterious ruins with menacing statues that come to life in moonlight gives Conan ample opportunity to hack and bash his way to freedom.
Xuthal of the Dark (1933)
Escaping into a barren desert region with a clinging wench is almost Conan undoing until an oasis is spotted. Said oasis is a horror house of drugged pleasure seekers and the demon that feeds off them. Conan is fortunate to break out of the prison-like town with his life.
Pool of the Black One (1933)
Fished out of the ocean after escaping a misunderstanding ashore Conan falls in with a band of freebooters. A uncharted island, a scheming damsel and an evil entity keep Conan busy in this entertaining tale.
Rogues in the House (1934)
As a price for being sprung from prison Conan must dispatch a conniving priest and his half-man half-ape. Complications set it and much blood is spilt.
Vale of Lost Woman (first publication 1967)
A high principled princess is captured by a band of lusty natives. Seeing Conan as her only hope for rescue - and the preserving of her virtue - the princess promises him her "desirable quality" if he can liberate her. Conan obliges but said princess eludes Conan's embrace only to fall in with some "Lost Women" which necessitates a second rescue by Conan..
Devil in Iron (1934)
Another swampy island with a ruined temple leads Conan to an encounter with a supernatural daemon. A magical knife, an encounter with a 40 foot snake(!) and a reluctant half naked damsel in distress cannot deter Conan!
There is something gratifying to possess a book that reflects a publishers and editors respect and admiration for the author and the subject matter; " The Coming of Conan The Cimmerian " is such a book. This Del Ray trade paperback is an original edition published in 2002. The 464-page book includes in addition to the stories outlined above, approximately 100 pages of Conan reference material. These includes Howard's drafts for several of the stories, maps, notes etc. This is a definitive reference for the Howard student and for just curious readers. Quality paper and a very readable font make this a worthy book for fans and collectors.
Each story is illustrated with several quarter page drawings and a near full-page illustration by Mark Schultz. Mr. Schultz provided an article about how he approached drawing Conan.
The majority of the stories were first published in Wierd Tales magazine during 1925-37. The executors of his estate published another group of stories well after Howard's death.
Howard's character Conan is deceptively simple: likes to drink, wench and fight. He is dubious of the gods, uneasy when in the presence of supernatural evil and for the most part a loner. He is also very, very lucky. Howard is a master story teller with a outstanding talent for narrative pacing and descriptive prose. For the most part the stories are entertaining and colorfully written.
The question of genuine significance for potential readers or just the curious is: are the stories worth reading - or are they just historical literary curiosities. answer of course is subjective but if your inclined to these type stories you would do well not to pass up on this collection.