Forum > Media and Inspiration
Conan Literature
oggsmash:
--- Quote from: jeff37923 on June 05, 2021, 08:52:14 PM ---So, I'm going back to my roots a little bit and have been picking up Conan books. In my youth, I saw the movies and read a handful of stories, but not all of them. Looking at the books now, there are a bunch of authors where I was only familiar with Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp, and Lin Carter.
My question for the readers is, who do you think are the quintessential Conan story authors whose works I should read? Which authors really understood who Conan was as a character and could write about him?
--- End quote ---
I have the three collected works by REH, and have a few books a buddy gave me a few years ago by the "pastiche" authors. There is a very noticeable drop off in ability and general tone IMO when I read one of the other books. The books also seem to make Conan a different character at times than as presented by REH, and much of the story telling seems to be people trying to be REH instead of just telling a story about the same guy their way.
I think the REH stories are very, very hard to beat. Dark horse comics does have a few issues where they pick up from an REH story and "fill gaps" as to what the Cimmerian was up to in the mean time. I also favor the Savage Sword of Conan collections (the old black and white comics) offered in compendiums as well. But the REH stories reign completely supreme, and reading a book by another author (that is not a graphic novel or comic, which these seem to translate Conan's "feel" better than other authors can do with just the written word.
Premier:
--- Quote from: HappyDaze on June 06, 2021, 01:08:57 AM ---IIRC, Conan ejaculates three or four times in that one, right?
--- End quote ---
Actually, most of the ejaculation is done by other characters.
"Zogar Sag’s dead?" ejaculated Conan.
- Beyond the Black River
"Kozak!" ejaculated Shah Amurath, recoiling. "I did not know a dog of you escaped! I thought you all lay stiff on the steppe, by Ilbars River."
- Iron Shadows in the Moon
"Conan, the Cimmerian!" ejaculated the woman. "What are you doing on my trail?"
- Red Nails
"Nabonidus! The Red Priest!" ejaculated Murilo, his brain a dizzy vortex of whirling
amazement. "Then who—what – ?"
Glancing into these tubes, Murilo saw a bewildering array of smaller mirrors.
He turned his attention to the larger mirror in the wall, and ejaculated in amazement. Peering over his shoulder, Conan grunted.
- Rogues in the House
His breath hissed inward and his ruddy face paled. "Avaunt!" he ejaculated. "Why have you come back from the gray lands of death to terrify me? I was always your true liegeman in your lifetime—"
"Conan!" he ejaculated. "It is the king, or his ghost! What devil’s work is this?"
"What are you saying?" ejaculated the other.
"For Mitra’s sake, be silent!"” ejaculated Public, sweat starting out on his brow. His fingers jerked at the gilt-worked edge of his robe
"Who are you?" ejaculated Thutothmes in a voice as pregnant with danger as the hiss of a cobra. "Are you mad, to invade the holy shrine of Set?"
-The Hour of the Dragon
"By Mitra!" ejaculated the commander. "It is Ascalante, once count of Thune! What devil’s work brought him up from his desert haunts?"
-The Phoenix on the Sword
"By Crom!" ejaculated Conan. "It’s Shamar! The dogs besiege it!"
-The Scarlet Citadel
"Thog!" he ejaculated. "You are real! Whence come you? Who are you? What do you in Xuthal?"
"Crom!" he ejaculated aghast. "You mean to tell me these people lie down calmly and sleep, with this demon crawling among them?"
-Xuthal of the Dusk
ThatChrisGuy:
--- Quote from: jeff37923 on June 05, 2021, 08:52:14 PM ---My question for the readers is, who do you think are the quintessential Conan story authors whose works I should read? Which authors really understood who Conan was as a character and could write about him?
--- End quote ---
Just Howard himself. The stories by others aren't bad, necessarily, but the Howard stories are in a class by themselves.
tenbones:
Lin and De Camp's Conan stories were definitely not very Howard.
I'd stick with Howard. The rest is "above average" fan-fiction (take that as you will). L. Sprague de Camp is a decent writer... but the tone of Conan is not the same as Howards as I recall. It's been years but I distinctly remember it feeling like something was off.
I'd stick with REH.
Omega:
--- Quote from: tenbones on June 07, 2021, 09:57:08 AM ---Lin and De Camp's Conan stories were definitely not very Howard.
I'd stick with Howard. The rest is "above average" fan-fiction (take that as you will). L. Sprague de Camp is a decent writer... but the tone of Conan is not the same as Howards as I recall. It's been years but I distinctly remember it feeling like something was off.
I'd stick with REH.
--- End quote ---
Very agree here. Camps stuff is ok but forgettable. Carters stuff I've disliked across the board. Everything they touch. REH, Lovecraft, and more.
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