Staff Pick
Robert E. Howard's The Coming of Conan was recommended to me by a friend who knows my love for H. P. Lovecraft. And though Lovecraft is in a class by himself, Howard's writing, which is both escapist and literary, is comparable. I especially love that the female characters — a pirate captain, a ruler of a kingdom, and the Frost King's daughter — are strong and alluring. The writing is a treat if you're accustomed to contemporary literature, and the hardcover edition includes beautiful color plates! Recommended By Adrienne C., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities...there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars....Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand...to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet.
Conan is one of the greatest fictional heroes ever created a swordsman who cuts a swath across the lands of the Hyborian Age, facing powerful sorcerers, deadly creatures, and ruthless armies of thieves and reavers.
In a meteoric career that spanned a mere twelve years before his tragic suicide, Robert E. Howard single-handedly invented the genre that came to be called sword and sorcery. Collected in this volume, profusely illustrated by artist Mark Schultz, are Howard's first thirteen Conan stories, appearing in their original versions in some cases for the first time in more than seventy years and in the order Howard wrote them. Along with classics of dark fantasy like "The Tower of the Elephant" and swashbuckling adventure like "Queen of the Black Coast," The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian contains a wealth of material never before published in the United States, including the first submitted draft of Conan's debut, "Phoenix on the Sword," Howard's synopses for "The Scarlet Citadel" and "Black Colossus," and a map of Conan's world drawn by the author himself.
Here are timeless tales featuring Conan the raw and dangerous youth, Conan the daring thief, Conan the swashbuckling pirate, and Conan the commander of armies. Here, too, is an unparalleled glimpse into the mind of a genius whose bold storytelling style has been imitated by many, yet equaled by none.
Review
"I've read most of the Conan stories...and, approached as guilty pleasures, they can be wonderfully entertaining. For that matter, apart from Fritz Leiber's tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, sword and sorcery adventures don't come any better." The Washington Post
Review
"I adore these books. Howard had a gritty, vibrant style broadsword writing that cut its way to the heart, with heroes who are truly larger than life. I heartily recommend them to anyone who loves fantasy." David Gemmell, author of Legend and White Wolf
Synopsis
Conan is one of the greatest fictional heroes ever created- a swordsman who cuts a swath across the lands of the Hyborian Age, facing powerful sorcerers, deadly creatures, and ruthless armies of thieves and reavers.
"Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities . . . there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars. . . . Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand . . . to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet." In a meteoric career that spanned a mere twelve years before his tragic suicide, Robert E. Howard single-handedly invented the genre that came to be called sword and sorcery. Collected in this volume, profusely illustrated by artist Mark Schultz, are Howard's first thirteen Conan stories, appearing in their original versions-in some cases for the first time in more than seventy years-and in the order Howard wrote them. Along with classics of dark fantasy like "The Tower of the Elephant" and swashbuckling adventure like "Queen of the Black Coast," The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian contains a wealth of material never before published in the United States, including the first submitted draft of Conan's debut, "Phoenix on the Sword," Howard's synopses for "The Scarlet Citadel" and "Black Colossus," and a map of Conan's world drawn by the author himself.
Here are timeless tales featuring Conan the raw and dangerous youth, Conan the daring thief, Conan the swashbuckling pirate, and Conan the commander of armies. Here, too, is an unparalleled glimpse into the mind of a genius whose bold storytelling style has been imitated by many, yet equaled by none.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Introduction
Cimmeria 1
The Phoenix on the Sword 5
The Frost/Giant's Daughter 29
The God in the Bowl 39
The Tower of the Elephant 59
The Scarlet Citadel 83
Queen of the Black Coast 119
Black Colossus 151
Iron Shadows in the Moon 185
Xuthal of the Dusk 217
The Pool of the Black One 249
Rogues in the House 277
The Vale of Lost Women 301
The Devil in Iron 319
The Phoenix on the Sword (first submitted draft) 351
Notes on Various Peoples of the Hyborian Age 375
The Hyborian Age 379
Untitled Synopsis 399
Untitled Synopsis (The Scarlet Citadel) 401
Untitled Synopsis (Black Colossus) 403
Untitled Fragment 405
Untitled Synopsis 407
Untitled Draft 409
Hyborian Names and Countries 417
Hyborian Age Maps 421
App Hyborian Genesis 429
App Notes on the Conan Typescripts and the Chronology 453
App Notes on the Original Howard Texts 459