The Original Adventures of the Greatest Sword and Sorcery Hero of All Time!

I have always wanted to read Robert Howard's version of Conan. However, I was a little disappointed. His story can be a little ponderous and I found myself losing track of who was talking, what was happening, etc. I don't think it was "bad", more probably just not a style of writing that I appreciate.

The stories contained in this volume range from "pretty good" to "someone published this crap?" in quality, though all of it is grade-A Velveeta. However, Howard's writing, even at its worst, is still entertaining. Fans of fantasy fiction should give this a read for it's historic value, if nothing else. I do not recommend reading more than one or two stories in a row, however. These were written for publication in magazines rather than in a collection, and become rather repetitive (every story has at least one reference to Conan's savage strength and his panther-like reflexes, and usually his "sun-burned barbarian skin"), but if a reader chooses to read one every now and again, rather than several in a sitting, they likely will sit better.

The Coming of Conan The Cimmerian - [0745 - 2017-4-07]

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. the answer of course is subjective but if your inclined to these type stories you would do well not to pass up on this collection.

Robert E Howard created the genre that we today call Swords and Sorcery. Without his groundbreaking work in Weird Tales there would have been no Fafhrd and Grey Mouser tales from Fritz Leiber, no Elric stories from Michael Moorcock, no Kane adventures from Karl Edward Wagner, and Lin Carter would never have written his novels about Thongor the Mighty, barbarian hero king of lost Lemuria. Well. Howard can't take all the blame for the Thongor stories since Carter was "influenced" by Burroughs too. Howard's stories are full of passion and wonderfully written, and even if they seem simple on the surface that is not the case. Many authors have after all tried their hand on Conan, and all have failed miserably. So this is one of the few cases where the original is best.

This bound volume of Conan adventures is comprised only of the original author, Robert E Howard's writings. This stuff is absolutely timeless, and any fan of fantasy and adventure should put it on their reading list. Howard's writing will probably surprise most readers.

It is great that Robert E Howard is honored by this publication. It is a neat book, with lavish black and white illustrations that perk up the reader's imagination without dominating it. The presentation is organized and well thought out. Great book! Ballantine/ Del Rey really seems to deliver.

I do enjoy some of the contributions to the world of Conan made by other authors (oh who am I kidding, on the right day I probably enjoy all of it), but Howard's creations absolutely deserve their own space on your shelf. Thanks to this book, now they have! I'd call this volume essential for fans of the character.

There's something kind of amusing in reading the forward to this, where a pretty good case is made that the adventures of our favorite barbarian are more than just a loincloth-clad, muscle bound sword swinger saving scantily clad women from terrible monsters . . . only to flip to the cover and find a sword-swinging barbarian saving a woman who forgot her clothes from a hideous beast. Robert E Howard, what have you wrought? Though in his defense, it seems like it's a problem that he wrestled with as well when writing these stories.

The first question you may have with a collection like this is: "aren't these available already?" and surprisingly the answer isn't "by Crom, yes!" Howard wrote about twenty-one completed Conan stories (not all of them were published during his lifetime) before dying rather tragically by his own hand. After his demise other writers, notably Le Sprague de Camp expanded on those stories and attempted to come up with a chronology of Conan's life, inserting other stories in the gaps that Howard had created. Sometimes this meant editing Howard's stories, or coming up with new ones, or altering non-Conan stories to magically become Conan stories. This may have made for entertaining fantasy but wasn't ideal from a purist's standpoint and it seemed that a lot of the newer stories tended to lean toward the bare-chested barbarian aspect of things, probably because that was the easiest to write. Plus, scantily clad women and monsters are always a crowd pleaser. Without Howard around to say, "Hold on a second there, boys" eventually the original versions of his stories were so intermingled with all the new material that had been created that there was a risk of burying the old work, with people forgetting where it all came from.

So here we have the first of a three volume collection gathering all the Howard Conan stories in one place, in as original a form as they can determine. And what becomes clear is not only that Howard was remarkably talented, but that the most interesting Conan stories are the ones that veer the furthest from one would consider the "standard" Conan tale. These are collected in written order, instead of trying to figure out a chronology and what I find interesting is that Howard wrote Conan as a king first ("Phoenix on the Sword"), as both mighty and melancholy, an older man now running a kingdom and wondering how the heck he got there, relishing the power while missing the old days when he could travel where he wanted and lop off some heads.

The whole first run of stories from "Phoenix" all the way through "Queen of the Black Coast" is remarkable. Howard seems inspired and he has a knack for writing prose that seems to have been conceived and jotted down at a feverish pace, as if part of a dream that must be captured before morning dissipates it too much (belaying the fact that he did write several drafts of most of these before publishing . . . talent takes practice, kids). He has the ability to marry a gift for description with a sense of both atmosphere and philosophy, something I've really only see Raymond Chandler do, where the setting not only conveys a huge amount of detail (helped by his extensive background plotting) but the sense of a barbarian imposing his values on the world around him and altering the world in the process.

Reading that first chunk, it's amazing how little of a sense there is of a "standard" Conan tale. "Phoenix" has a king defending himself from a conspiracy. "Frost-Giant's Daughter" is practically a lyrical mood piece, with roots in mythology. "God in the Bowl" is basically a mystery story, where a bunch of guys trapped in a room have to figure out a murderer and the chief investigator lets Conan assist instead of spending the whole story assuming it was his fault. "Tower of the Elephant" is more mystical creepiness from beyond and "The Scarlet Citadel" is more adventures of King Conan.

"Queen of the Black Coast" is the best attempt to capture an "epic" feel, with both a grander sweep and a sense of both joy and tragedy permeating the tale until it winds to a fateful conclusion. It introduces the first major female character, Belit, and she's unlike any woman you'll meet in these stories, bloodthirsty and confident, devoted to Conan without really needing him. Howard could have spent the rest of his career writing Conan as boyfriend-pirate and probably would have done okay.

You can tell that not long after Howard started writing them for the paycheck and gearing them toward what the audience seemed to want. The quality of the writing doesn't drop but they don't seem as inspired, falling into a format where Conan pairs up with a rather helpless and inappropriately dressed girl in some weird location that inevitably has some kind of strange monster that he has to beat to death. This isn't Howard's fault, in those days it was publish or perist and in order to keep the dollars rolling in he had to publish as many as possible. And since inspiration doesn't keep a schedule, sometimes you just have to go with what works. But barring "Rogues in the House", the stretch that makes up the backend of the book feels very Conan-by-numbers and simultaneously like one big tribute to HP Lovecraft (who Howard corresponded with regularly) with beings from beyond the dawn of space appearing in nearly every story to scare the crap out of Conan (he and I share that at least) before he puts his sword through what he assumes is their faces. "Rogues in the House" breaks that streak, with a nice bit of complex plotting and the setting itself becoming the star, as the plot turns on itself and the threat Conan faces isn't the one he expects. Then it's back to vague pagan lesbianism and monsters, which probably sold lots of pulps back in the day.

The backmatter is interesting for those who are wondering how much effort Howard put into the background and worldview (answer: quite a bit) but as you probably expect, it's the stories who are the star here. Even the most cliched have a kinetic quality and the ones that stand out, and that's often, are matched by little else in pulp literature, conveying a savage world with the writing chops to back it up. Anyone who came to Conan, as I did, through other media may find some familiarity (I've read a bunch of the comics, including the Marvel and Dark Horse series) but it shouldn't be a surprise to note that the only person who could really capture Conan in all his forms was his creator and there's a singleness of purpose that other writers just aren't able to match. Finally, at least we have the source.

I just finished reading this collection of early Robert E. Howard's Conan stories from the 1930's and I am surprised at the sleek prose and level of backstory conveyed in such short tales. This collection was something I grabbed on a whim in the stacks at the library while searching for another book and my expectations were not exceptionally high.

My only exposure to Conan as a character has been from the Arnold Schwarzenegger films and a handful of Marvel comics. Recently reading of his relationship with H.P. Lovecraft piqued my interest. I mean if Lovecraft was a pal, there has to be something there, right?

The first tale in the collection finds Conan as a king, fending off a coup and a monster sent by an evil wizard. Not too far out of the mold for what you might expect for a sword & sorcery tale, except that this is where the mold is being forged! Credit where credit is due, until this point the genre doesn't even exist yet. "Sword & Sorcery" as a label or phrase won't even be coined for another couple of decades!

The invocations of ancient mysticism and religious magical elements are ethereal even now...imagine your are a 14 year-old kid reading this in your room in December of 1932. Boom, this story just rocked your world. It alludes to years of history and story and intrigue, whetting your appetite for so much more.

Granted, Howard had the benefit of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan and Mars books and other contemporary works. Tarzan evokes some of the same savage-fish out of water quirks that we get in Conan. Also the fantastical action seems to whiff of John Carter to be sure, but the combination of magic and might blend so perfectly here that they feel completely new.

Tolkien's epics are still years away and the minds of readers are a blank canvas for Howard, untainted by bland retreads and disappointed expectations of decades of mediocre retellings of wizard vs. barbarian stories. No, here the pieces are set on the board for one of the first times and his moves are hypnotizing. This is it...this is ground zero, and it is oh, so compelling to read.

The stories get better as Howard finds his voice for Conan. He had tried his hand at this type of thing in preceding years with Kull and other characters, but none stuck. In Conan he was able to incorporate just the right mix of brutality, magic, history and fantasy. At the time, fantasy magazines abound with horror, crime and westerns, even fantasy, but here was something special.

The character of Conan develops over Howard's nine stories into a complex hero, bearing the weight of his past and the lessons of his many untold adventures. The reader is given a glimpse of the figurative and literal miles he has travelled in his life as the stories bounce around through periods of his life. These glimpses create pieces of a puzzle that entice us to read on and pour over details and allusions to the unspoken decades of exploits.

For all the praise I am heaping upon the stories, I'm afraid they really need the credence of context to fully deserve the attention here. As stand alone stories they are well-written action-adventure tales with some interesting elements, but very few surprises to modern readers. Anyone familiar with the genre will find little new here, but the craftwork is worth witnessing first-hand. We often miss much of the significance when talking about important works because we rely on derivatives to tell us the story.

I knew of Conan through movies and comics and from seeing dozens of copy-cat works, but never actually going to the source material. In reading them, I get a sense of the excitement these stories created in readers. Conan has become a part of popular lexicon, legend larger than himself.

Reading from these original stories allowed me a glimpse of a somewhat naive idea of science-fiction/fantasy in its infancy and that was certainly worth the time to read. Conan is not a favorite character of mine, though I do like sci-fi/fantasy. These stories comprise some of the earliest steps on the path to modern fantasy and sci-fi, and it was enlightening to see the bricks that laid the foundation for so much great work to follow. 

The first of three Del Ray volumes collecting Robert E. Howard's Conan stories, "The Coming Of Conan" presents exactly that, the Cimmerian anti-hero as Howard first conceived and developed him, as robust and elemental as he'd ever be, even when bogged down here and there by formula or lack of focus.

Will those new to Conan-via-Howard want this over the later volumes, especially as the stories presented here hop around chronologically in terms of Conan's life? It is formulaic in places, like some reviewers here say, and there are a couple of misfires to be found. Yet it is also very diverse, presenting Conan in various times of life and in various parts of his mythical world, enjoying with vigor a life that is, as he tells a thief companion, "in noways tame."

People who know and enjoy Howard whether writing of Conan or any of his other creations will appreciate Del Ray's respectful treatment of his writing, very different from what Howard got in back in the 1930s (frequent rejections and slow payments of modest fees) and after his death (in the 1960s, many of these stories were rewritten by L. Sprague de Camp and sapped of much of their vitality). You get not only the stories as Howard wrote them, but an earlier, unpublished draft of the first-ever "The Phoenix On The Sword," where we meet Conan having already "reached the ultimate border of my dreams" with the crown of Aquilonia, the most powerful kingdom of Howard's mythical Hyborian Age.

For the next dozen or so stories, we see various steps of that journey, from the spider-guarded lair of an evil wizard to the blood-drenched deck of the pirate ship "Wastrel" to a mad city resurrected from its ancient doom. Some steps are more memorable than others, but together they make for a wondrously diverse and visceral experience.

I think readers new to Conan will enjoy the variety of this volume enough to overlook some choppiness. After "Phoenix", there's a bit of a dip in the next story ("The Frost-Giant's Daughter", which many others love more than me) and a big dip in the story after that ("God In The Bowl"). Then Howard goes on a tear, beginning with the wonderfully weird yet dynamic and reality-grounded classic "Tower Of The Elephant" and continuing with "Scarlet Citadel" and the deepest, strangest story here, "Queen Of The Black Coast," a tale that makes you believe in the power of true love even as it splashes the pages with gore and guts.

If the stories after "Queen" betray a certain formulaic sameness, a common reliance on scantily-clad damsels in distress and climactic bouts with fearsome monsters, Howard's way of setting up the stories to their own specific locale and situation makes for great reading. Not only can he write a battle scene effectively, but he can craft some lovely word-scapes between them. "Iron Shadows Of The Moon," a favorite of mine here even if it is one of Howard's less-original stories, has a wonderful moment where Conan and his lady are crossing an immense lake in a boat, and the drowsy woman feels lost in the infinity of stars both above her and reflected upon the water below.

The weakest points in the book are still pieces that lovers of Howard and Conan will want to have, like "God In The Bowl" and the somewhat-suppressed "Vale Of Lost Women" with its gossamer-thin storyline and echoes of racism from Howard's own time. "The Hyborian Age" was an essay Howard wrote to detail Conan's world for his own reference and is a great cure for insomnia as it takes forever explaining next to nothing about the world as Conan found or left it.

"Coming Of Conan" only features Howard's Conan writing up until 1933, when he apparently lost interest in Conan. Yet Howard would go on to write some of his greatest Conan stories, not to mention the greatest fantasy stories I've ever experienced. For newcomers to Conan who enjoy quality action fiction, Del Ray's later Conan volumes may be better starting points, being as they are generally more accomplished and accessible. But the foundations lie here.

This anthology contains the first thirteen Conan stories in chronological order and all in their original form. Out of all the three volumes, this one would be the best for a Conan beginner. It has the most classic tales of them all: Queen of the Black Coast, The Frost Giant's Daughter, Tower of the Elephant and Rogues in the House.

For one reason or another I thought these stories were easier to get into than the ones in later volumes. The descriptions seemed more lush and exotic which may have been because REH simply had huge scope in mind when he first crafted his stories, his imagination more taken with fantasy, which then turned to a more personal and intimate scale towards the end of his career, like in Red Nails and Beyond the Black River.

REH's power of description, in detailing the locales and battles fits just right in with a how a modern story teller might choreograph a fight scene. They're timeless. The dialogue is all very declaratory, very Shakespearean with little left for nuance. I don't know if that's how REH wrote dialogue naturally or if it was an affectation to impress the reader with the sense of a bygone era.

At any rate, I personally wasn't bothered by it. Given the strength of the stories themselves and the ideas they express, dialogue was just a support beam for an overall action driven narrative. That being said, there is a story here that does rely on dialogue more than the rest, The God in the Bowl which just meanders until it's over.

A lot of the stories here are very clear prototypes for what would come later. The Phoenix on the Sword and The Scarlet Citadel both seemed to have been following in the shadows of the only Conan novel, Hour of the Dragon. The God in the Bowl a forerunner to The Black Stranger, a superior dialogue driven story (because the dialogue leads to mass bloodshed) about misdirection with stronger characters in the drama.

Xuthal of the Dusk is a more fantastical version of Red Nails, which is strange to say given that Red Nails has a dragon, but the circumstances surrounding the decadence and depravity of the civilization in the latter tale are more plausible and mirror civilization decay in our world far more realistically than in Xuthal of the Dusk, which is more metaphorical, with its long sleeping lotus people in an immaculate palace of whimsy, contrasted against the feverish, insane bloodletting of Red Nails.

I bought the book version of this anthology, not the Kindle or Nook which I understand are bereft of the illustrations. The illustrations in this book are the BEST out of all three volumes, as they use a different artist for each one. The shadows in Mark Schultz's illustrations all give tremendous depth and weight to happenings going on and follows the Frazetta style of composition of showing something cool about to happen or that has happened not long after.

The impressionistic style of the third volume later grew on me and the sketchy, engraved style of the second volume I endured but this one I loved. The artist captures the voluptuous suppleness of the women perfectly and renders the violence with great complexity and scope. Throughout this volume and all volumes there are full page paintings turned black and white for publication that are always a treat, as they're related to the story at hand and depict a particular story beat in the greatest detail and expression possible. They're few, but always appreciated.

Whether you're just coming into the sword and sorcery genre or a long time fan looking to bolster his collection, this volume has something for both. Even if you've read the stories before, it's worth giving them another go just to see how the artist interprets certain scenes. Conan is a tremendous contribution to American literature, and there is much to treasure beneath that brutish, bloody surface.

Is it good for you? No, but it tastes wonderful! Conan stories are fun romps through strange and hostile environments filled with endless ultra violence and beautiful women with little to no clothing. The underlying theme is the wild barbarian versus the civilized peoples of the world and the weirdly unnatural forces of the cosmos they sometimes attempt to harness. The wild inevitably prooves to be more virtuous than the civilized. Conan sometimes even takes on the gods themselves.

Conan, while uncomplicated, prooves to be a compelling hero. In many ways, his personality is more like favorite old horses than any human I've known. His simplicity is what makes him lovable, since he's quickly understandable. He's a powerfully built man, with straightforward manner, who lives by his wits and by the sword. He likes wine and women. He has few material possessions save his weapon, be it a sword or sometimes a battle axe and armor. You know immediately who he is and what he's all about.

Each chapter is an individual story, easily read in a sitting or two. They're largely independant of one another, only occasionally alluding in passing to each other. Each adventure brings him through ups and downs. In one story he might be a king, in another he's a pirate, in another, a thief or a hunted member of a defeated army. Throughout them all, Conan is indomitable. His army smashed or not, Conan remains alive.

Equally fun is the lack of consistancy in environments. In his travels, Conan encounters steamy jungles, unexplored oceans, lost temples, tropical islands, ancient cities, deserts and snow covered peaks. It creates a sense of a vast world filled with the ruins of civilizations which predate humanity, lost knowledge, and unknowable mysteries. It stokes one's imagination.

All in all, I can't be happier with the book. Unfortunately, snobbish readers will immediately turn their noses up at Conan. Feminists will hate him. English professors will despise him. He'll never win a Nobel prize for literature. That's okay, though. They miss the point. Conan stories are a joy to read. Howard accomplishes what he set out to do. Isn't that the essense of good writing?

Alright, after reading H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith I knew I had to read Robert E. Howard as well and where better to start than with the legendary Conan? I wasn't sure what I expected even with everything I've heard (and watched) about Conan but I was actually pretty happy with it, surprisingly. I wish more than 3 women would be anything other than helpless slaves or terrified runaways and I really got tired of Conan's "Kiss me, girl," quotes (maybe Howard's Sword Woman will make up for that when I read it) but the action scenes and the execution of the stories I thought were well done. I have bought a few other non-Conan books by Howard, so I look forward to seeing what else he can do with other characters.

First volume of a series presenting all Robert E. Howard's Conan stories in the order in which they were originally written and without any extraneous editorial change. The book contains the first 13 Conan stories as well as a fair bit of background material. It is also well illustrated.
The stories are quite entertaining, although it took a few stories before Howard really hit his stride with the character and world. I was little surprised how bloody the stories are considering they were published in the early 1930s. I was also surprised that in many stories, although Conan is always the main character, the stories are often told through the Point of View of other characters.

Overall - I really enjoyed this first volume of the collected short stories of Robert E. Howard and his magnificent creation; Conan the Barbarian. There was not a story in the collection that I was bored with or disliked and I would heartily encourage those who enjoy the fantasy genre to delve into these stories and explore the roots of what started the genre that we enjoy today. The only faults that I have with Howard's writing are the prevalent sexist and less prevalent racist attitudes that appear throughout these tales. I did find that I was able to overlook these flaws as a product of the attitudes of the general populace at the time of the stories origin and therefore could enjoy the works for their literary merit and the quality of the entertainment that I received from them even though I personally would have found these same ideas fairly offensive at times if present in modern day literature.

Cimmeria - This is a one page poem that sets the tone for the book very nicely. It is very descriptive in giving color and setting for the stories to come.

The Phoenix on the Sword - Excellent story to start the book. Set later in Conan's life after he is King of Aquilonia, this story is about a plot to assassinate the great King Conan. The setup and pacing are very nicely done and there is an excellent battle scene as well.

The Frost-Giant's Daughter - Another fine tale, if the rest of the book keeps up at this pace, I'm in for a treat indeed. After a fierce battle in the arctic North, Conan meets a woman who he is driven to follow seemingly to his death. Howard's prose and descriptive narrative are fantastic as the Frost Giant's Daughter leads our hero through the frozen wastes.

The God in the Bowl - Not quite as good as the previous two. Conan is caught while attempting a robbery and falsely accused of murdering a man who lies dead in the building. Most of the story revolves around the investigation of the murder. The end is decent though , and I still liked it overall.

The Tower of the Elephant - The most action packed story in the book so far. Conan enters the mysterious and perilous Tower of the Elephant to steal a powerful gem from a sorcerer. There are many unexpected traps surrounding the tower and the action is pretty much non-stop.

The Scarlet Citadel - King Conan leads his army into battle to assist a fellow Lord. Conan however is duped and taken prisoner after a massive battle. This one started out a bit slower than most of the others, but maintained my interest level none-the-less. There are some good dungeon crawling scenes and a fantastic final battle that makes this story really rock!!

Queen of the Black Coast - Conan joins some sea-farers while being chased by local authorities in order to escape. I liked the change of pace in this one as it is a sea-faring adventure as opposed to the land-based battles of the previous ones. The crew finds a mysterious river and decides to travel up it to find the treasures that legend says are hidden somewhere up its poisoned waters.

Black Colossus - This entry in the collection puts Conan at the head of an army. The story starts out a bit dry, but things pick up as it goes along and the battle scenes are quite entertaining.

Iron Shadows in the Moon - Conan and a freed slave girl journey to a supposedly uninhabited island where they find a mysterious temple and a band of pirates awaiting them. Along with these perils is a beast that might be more than a match for Conan.

Xuthal of the Dusk - Conan and his female companion wander through the desert to find a strange city. They meet a beautiful woman who rules the city and desires Conan. Foul deeds cause the disappearance of Conan's woman and he must search the dark recesses of the city to find her. Howard creates a couple of very eerie and spooky scenes in this one that have a very good horror novel feel to them. It is a good example of the range that he has in his creative process.

The Pool of the Black One - This is a rollicking action-packed adventure-filled good time. Another that begins on the sea, Conan is taken aboard as a cast-away and the ship travels to a mysterious island that the crew ventures to in order to explore. Mysterious things are found there and the battle scene and finale are among the best in the book.

Rogues in the House - This is a slower paced story in which Conan is hired by a noble-man to assassinate a priest. Conan is sprung from prison by the young noble and in return must break into the fortress-like home of the priest and kill him. An interesting side note for those that enjoy the Conan films is that in this story we see the character and a few of the aspects of the scene with the mirror monster in Conan the Destroyer.

The Vale of Lost Women - In another change of pace, Conan is the war chief of a band of black jungle-type warriors. This one started off a bit slow, but the pace picked up and I enjoyed it quite a bit. My only problems with this one are the racist attitudes displayed in a couple of points in the story by Howard. Of course, in its day, I doubt anyone would have taken much offense at all.

The Devil in Iron - A mysterious being has risen from the grave and resurrected a ruined city on a deserted island. Conan must find the woman who is the current object of his desires and escape from this cursed place with both of their lives intact. This was a good story from start to finish and a fitting way to end the collection.

When I was young, I devoured certain works in the "sword and sorcery" genre. But Howard was not on the list, and I really did not have any awareness of Conan apart from the noteworthy Schwartzenegger film and the occasional, incomprehensible comic book. I kind of discovered Conan when, recently, I read extensively into H. P. Lovecraft and became aware of his and Howard's interesting correspondence. So, I gave "Conan" a whirl. And I am so glad I did!

It is true that many of Howard's "Conan" tales are the stuff of the juvenile, riddled with literary cliches. But when one considers that Howard wrote the bulk of these stories for magazines, it becomes very easy to see the need for narrative speed and easy-to-grasp cliffhanger moments. And what stories! Howard clearly drew inspiration from penny-dreadfuls, westerns, and the pulps, stories that people wanted to read - fun, unapologetic escapism. But under his pen, they become something more. His archetype anti-hero/hero, depending on context, is a developed character, not a mindless shank of muscle blundering his way through every situation. His Conan is a ruler, a warrior, a scholar-prince. And Howard's mythical Hypoborian world is well-developed, clearly reflective of the anxieties (political and racial) that were beginning to beset the United States of his time. So Conan is something more than cartoon. Howard's work is also a glimpse into his own era where he brings what he thought to be the "virtuous" in his day and juxtaposes it against the perceived "evil" of his day. The sometimes unabashed but uncomfortable racism implicit in some of his work is especially telling.

Still, those obvious limitations aside, it is possible to see Howard unfolding a whole world before him and being able to present the mystical and mythical as almost plausible. It is the rare writer who possesses such gifts. Also, I found many of his depictions of women, especially in "The Queen of the Sword Coast," as remarkably progressive. True, Conan is a conqueror of women as much as he is slayer of men, but, for example, in "Queen," when she kneels before him, she informs him that SHE has chosen HIM as "mate." The women Howard describes are not wilting violets or damsels in distress, but empowered. I found this a refreshing surprise and something I was not expecting. Clearly, even in isolated West Texas, Howard was not insulated from a sense that his world was in a state of flux.

The editors have also very wisely presented Howard's stories as they appeared in print. In simply refusing to be banal in imposing a false chronology, this book and its companions allow the reader to have the "magazine" experience Howard's original readers were able to enjoy. The generous reprints of some of his key letters and notes also provide amazing glimpses into the workings of the master fantasist's mind and creative process. Such a pleasure.

I note, thought, that the paperback editions of these works suffer from bad glue spine binding. So care should be taken when buying to ask about the spine condition, and for heaven's sake don't leave one in a hot car. The books do not "tent" well at all. So be careful.

I cannot recommend these tales highly enough. True, some aspects are dated, the repetitious cliches can get tiresome, and some of Howard's less advanced social attitudes can make one wince. But such failiures can be forgiven in context, and the reader will be able to enjoy a complete generation of stories that make it easy to see - and more deeply appreciate - how later and even contemporaneous writers, game developers, and artists like Barker, King, Gygax, Lovecraft, Del Rey, and Frazetta owe him such vast and freely acknowledged debts.

Recommended without reservation save for the notes on binding problems.

Know, oh prince, that beneath the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the sons of Aryas, 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.

- The Nemedian Chronicles.

_The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian_ Volume I in the Conan of Cimmeria series consists of the earliest writings featuring Conan the Cimmerian by Robert E. Howard . Howard, a native of Texas, was an early contributor to the pulp magazine _Weird Tales_ and a friend and correspondent of H. P. Lovecraft. Howard was heavily influenced by ancient European mythology, particularly as it concerned the Celts, and used it to mold his unique fantastic swashbuckling heroes. Other influences on Howard include the writers Jack London and Sax Rohmer (most famous for his Fu Manchu character). Howard's tales are full of adventure and romance, but also show the grim realities of his heroic swordsmen. The character of Conan was based on ancient European mythology. Conan is a barbarian from the north (Cimmeria), and though in some of the tales he was to become a king, he did not fit in well with civilized men. Conan's philosophy is bleak, showing his love of battle and strength, but also his motivations are chivalrous. The stories show the conflict between the various races of prehistory, since the sinking of the continents of Atlantis and Lemuria into the oceans and the rise of the Picts. Most of the stories also feature a nubile female character, who Conan must rescue from evil men or monsters. The stories also reveal the conflict between the old gods, on the one hand there is Set (the ancient serpent and his cult that used to rule the world in prehistory) and then there is Mitra (the god of the civilized people) and Conan's dark god Crom (who is entirely indifferent to men). The stories also feature the black lotus (a plant which serves to drug men into stupor and madness) as well as ape-men, the evolutionary stage in development prior to men. Most of the stories take place in far away lands, as Conan ventures to seek his fortune and along the way encounters numerous scantily clad women who become his interest. Conan represents the finest of the old traditions of the Aryan warrior, as he battles evil men and monsters in far-away lands. Conan appears at once as thief, mercenary, pirate, and ultimately king. Many of Conan's traits are to be found in Howard's earlier character Kull (who was an Atlantean king).

This book provides an excellent collection of the early Conan stories. It includes illustrations by Mark Schultz. The book includes the following stories and items:

"Cimmeria" (a poem written in 1932)

"The Phoenix on the Sword" (1932; a re-telling of the original Kull story "By This Axe I Rule!")

"The Frost-Giant's Daughter" (1976)

"The God in the Bowl" (1975)

"The Tower of the Elephant" (1933)

"The Scarlet Citadel" (1933)

"Queen of the Black Coast" (1934)

"Black Colossus" (1933)

"Iron Shadows in the Moon" (1934)

"Xuthal of the Dusk" (1933)

"The Pool of the Black One" (1933)

"Rogues in the House" (1934)

"The Vale of Lost Women" (1967)

"The Devil in Iron" (1934)

The book also includes several drafts of stories as well as "Notes on Various Peoples of the Hyborian Age" and "The Hyborian Age", both historical essays showing the rise of the Hyborian age and the Hyperborean people after the sinking of Atlantis. The book also includes several maps as well as essays detailing the life of Robert E. Howard and his creation of Conan.

These stories are excellent and highly entertaining. They are particularly recommended for those who admire the early history of Europe and the fable of Atlantis. This edition of them provides a unique opportunity for the fan of Howard to read them all in one place.

After comparing some of my old conan novel titles with the titles found int he 3 books of this series - there are some titles that I couldn't find in this 3 series of books. It is true that Sprague de. camp might have written some of these titles (one of the books doesn't make the author of the writing quite clear int he case of "drums of tumbalku", and possibly others). But I'm not sure since one reviewer stated that there were unfinished short stories. So they could be here. anyway, here is a listing of stories that I couldn't find in these books under the same or different titles (my conan collection is not complete btw, although I do own a lot of conan books):

drums of tumbalku
the hall of the dead
rogues in the house
the hand of nergal
the bloodstained god
the snout in the dark
hawks over shem
the road of eagles
wolves beyond the border
black tears
the flame knife

As I said, my collection is not comprehensive, so there may be other books that have stories written by Robert Howard (the master), that may not be listed in these books. But then again, since I don't have these 3 books and can only go by what people write in these reviews, then I can't say for sure. Nor am I sure abou the "short stories" and what title, if any, were given to them.
I haven't read conan in years. But from my memory, I think I liked most authors. No author was able to capture the magic of Robert Howard's writings. The closest that came close was maybe Robert Jordan (he even made the same type of spelling mistakes that robert howard made). But no author was able to capture the subconscious imagery which people could identify with, which may have made these writings so famous and endearing int he first place. For example, the giant collossus banging at the door (reminiscent of the angry dad trying to knock down the door), or the demonic woman - sucking the life force out of men and turning them into stone (possibly an analogy of the emotional vampirism of some women).
The only author who I think that did not write anything that resembled Conan was "Steve Perry". The style of writing is so different from that of other Conan books, that I simply did not recognize it as Conan (women were respected, people were too friendly, Conan was a talkative person, you had tons of weird creatures all over the place like it was a smurf village, etc etc).
And yes, people may complain about Sprague de Camp, and even Lin Carter. But it has to be remembered that these were devoted fans and researchers. Without them, the Conan revival might have never happened.

Somewhat of a disappointment, having read the series of Conan books re-worked by L. Sprague De Camp and Lin Carter in the 70's, I had hoped that the original stories as written by Howard himself would be even beter. Unfortunately, I did not like this book nearly as much; the action lacked the emotional impact and violence, the stories were very short and `patchy', the flow was at times difficult and unnatural, the scenes were not as vibrantly depicted and lacked the color and feel that De Camp and Carter gave to them, and worse was the characters themselves, they lacked depth, intensity, likeability, and charm..
Instead of this book I would recommend, and much preferred either the De Camp/ Carter series, or "The Conan Chronicles, Volume 1" and "The Further Chronicles of Conan", by Robert Jordan.
OVERALL SCORE: (C)
PLOT: (C), CHARATERS: (C-), DIALOGUE: (C-), SETTING: (C), ACTION/COMBAT: (C), ANTAGONISTS: (B-), ROMANCE: (B+), SEX: (Light), AGE LEVEL: (PG)

It is amazing to finally have this volume released in an affordable format. "The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian" was originally published as a limited edition hardcover by Wandering Star press, a publishing house exclusively devoted to the works of Robert E. Howard, producing premium editions much like "special edition" DVDs. For the first time ever, the original Howard Conan stories complete and uncut with a host of original illustrations and special features. The only problem being that one hardback book sold for over a hundred dollars. And now, to have all of the same material, including the original illustrations, in an inexpensive paperback format! A dream come true!

Robert E. Howard was a decent pulp writer, Brusque and manly, he waxed yarns of hot-blooded heroes quick to the gun or sword, depending on their era. When writing Conan, however, he was inspired. These tales of high adventure are as primal as their hero, tapping into some deep, recessed part of the soul where a creature runs about in animal skins and takes what he wants, but not without honor. Woman and treasure and danger and violence, but presented without exploitation and with a quality of writing that renders such things viable. Writing cut from that Hemmingway fiber, if he had written about sword-swinging barbarians instead of gun-toting revolutionaries.

"The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian" presents, in chronological order, some raw slices of Howard's vision. "The Phoenix on the Sword," originally intended as a Kull of Atlantis story before recasting it with his new creation, remains one of the finest stories in the genre. The short story"The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is mythic and wonderful, pitting human strength against the Gods. "The Tower of the Elephant" blends Howard's rawness with the cosmic insight of his friend HP Lovecraft. Really, they are all gems.

The "special features" are an interesting insight into Howard's mind, showing story development and process, as well as providing some background on the world of Conan. in "Hyborian Genesis" there is the story of the creation of Conan, and his influences. The only "special feature" I would have liked to have seen, but is missing, is a presentation of the original pulp covers featuring Conan stories. The modern illustrations and beautiful, but I would have liked to have seen the original interpretations as well.

I look forward to collecting the remaining two volumes in this Conan series.

I saw Renee Zelweger and Vincent Dinofrio in The Whole Wide World and was fascinated by the story of Robert Howard. My only contact with the Conan stories have been through contact with the late 20th century caricatures rather than the author's original works. Having felt that Conan has become such a cultural stereotype, I wanted to see the source material.

Howard portrays Conan as a man outside of the civilization of his time. Cimmeria is portrayed geographically as being where Scotland is today, only at some remote time in Prehistory before the forming of the North Sea. His normal costume is a silk loincloth and a sword. When it is cold he will take up a red cloak and in battle, he often adds chain mail.

In Black Colossus, Howard describes him as tigerish, elemental, and untamed. His profession in these stories is predominantly a mercenary. When he can't find work fighting, he tends to resort to thievery. Occasionally his leadership skills propel him into the role of King, Pirate Captain or War Chief, but his direct approach doesn't find a happy home in situations where diplomacy and discretion are important traits.

He appeals to women for his elemental nature and his protective strength. Women of his acquaintance normally wear fairly revealing and diaphenous clothing that they tend to lose a lot. Nudity seems to be a fairly common situation for women of his time since this lack of attire seldom causes much of a stir.

Then there is the swashbuckling. Do not read these stories if you are not a big fan of it. Conan tends to fight his way out of most situations, and the combination of his large broadsword and his amazing strength causes a lot of bloodshed and dismemberment. I had to take these stories in small doses for this reason.

The end of the book has some really wonderful items for those who want something more. The editors have included an early draft of the first Conan story, The Phoenix on the Sword, an untitled draft, and a couple of synopses written by Howard. There are also some writings by Howard on the Hyborian Age, the mythic time he created for these tales. These added touches make this a wonderful book for the more serious reader. However, all fans of this genre will find these stories essential reading. The black and white illustrations by Mark Schultz are wonderful additions to these stories which bring the Hyborian Age to life.

I always thought of Conan and Tarzan as being characters cut from the same cloth. Both are warriors who've attained an extreme level of physical perfection approaching superhuman, both rely on their primal nature but between the two I considered Tarzan to be the more unique so I endeavored to read through the entire Burroughs series. To my surprise I found the writing mediocre, sometimes laughably bad and gave up after the fourth book. So now I realize that one big difference between Conan and Tarzan is that Conan's stories are actually tremendously good. I'm sorry to say that I didn't even recognize the name of Robert E. Howard prior to reading this book which is a shame because he's arguably the father of the swords and sorcery genre. Much of fantasy fiction and roll playing may have never existed were it not for Howard and Conan.

Rather than compare Robert E. Howard to Burroughs he would more aptly be compared to his literary contemporary and friend H.P. Lovecraft. Both created a rich imaginative genre, both specialized in short stories for science fiction magazines and both were incredibly talented writers underappreciated during their times. Howard and Lovecraft wrote with a poetry that approached legendary writers like Rudyard Kipling. Tons of his ideas were cribbed from Lovecraft including some very Lovecraftian beasts and similar names of locations and characters. If someone had told me that Conan stories contained creatures from other dimensions I would have groaned but Howard makes it all work. There is so much Lovecraftian influence that one could imagine Conan living in Lovecrafts world several millennium earlier. One creature that Howard seems to be obsessed with is enormous snakes as reflected in the Schwarzenegger film, it seems like about half the stories feature a humongous snake.

Howard's Conan is both simple and complex. He has a brutal, relentlessness and a single minded aggressiveness that makes him nearly unstoppable in one on one combat even with monstrous otherworldly foes. Twice in the book a villain begins to gloat and pontificate only to get a sword in the belly before finishing a single breath. When Conan battles nothing is held back; even biting isn't out of the question. There seems to be no beast so terrifying that Conan will not engage when his back is against the wall. To his credit Howard keeps Conan human and in one story the barbarian knocks himself unconscious when he drunkenly walks face first into a wall as he's being arrested. On the other hand Conan can be a brilliant tactician when leading forces and as anyone who saw the Schwarzenegger movie knows he eventually became a king. In fact the book opens with him already king with subsequent stories jumping around his chronology. Being a wanderer Conan generally makes associates rather than friends which makes sense for someone who never stays in one place. In one story Conan forces his way onto a ship and strikes up a partnership with the crew even fighting alongside them against attackers. However, after the crew of his ship is slaughtered to the last man he switches sides no harm no foul. It's not that Conan isn't loyal it's just that he's pragmatic and why cry over spilt milk or a dead crew. He's most certainly not a classic hero and even engages in thievery up on occasion.

The one glaring issue in the book is some ugly racism particularly in the story `The Vale of Lost Women'. Blacks are described in often very unflattering ways and Howard makes it very clear that Conan is only interested in white women for whom he repeatedly risks his life. Racism was also employed by Burroughs and Lovecraft and really is an unfortunate sign of the times. Sadly, it's not much worse than Disney or Warner Brothers cartoons of the 1940's. The book finishes off with an extremely well done analysis of Robert E. Howard and his most famous creation. One thing that will stick out in my mind was the meager amount of money he made before his tragic suicide at 30 years of age. His stories are more than just monumentally influential they stylish and poetic and deserve to be grouped among the list of great classic fiction. Unreservedly five stars.

Like many Conan fans, I first read the stories of Conan back in the 1970's through the old ACE paperback collections. It wasn't until many years later that i would find that these stories were edited, sometimes quite heavily, and also finished or collaborated on posthumously by people like Lin Carter and L. Sprague DeCamp. While Carter certainly thrived in the genre of Swords and Sorcery, DeCamp could barely contain his disdain for the genre or Robert E. Howard for that matter and it certainly shows when stories are compared side-by-side. For all Howard's critics labelinig him as a pulp hack, DeCamp WISHES he would have had Howard's skill for prose and action.

This book presents 13 of Howard's Conan stories in the order they were written, although NOT chronologically, so don't get confused. The stories are the pure an unedited versions, many for the first time since they were published in the pages of Weird Tales over seventy years ago.

Among the stories in the Collection are:

The Queen of the Black Coast - One of the longer tales that Howard wrote as Conan meets with his first true love Belit in a jungle adventure.

The Frost Giants Daughter - where Conan encounters A Beautiful snow Queen and the Frost Giants in the frigid northern Lands.

The Tower of the Elephant - Classic howard with a young Conan as a thief with a nod to Lovecraft's dark Cthulhu gods.

The book is illustrated by Mark Schultz who does a fine job but certainly no Frazetta or even Boris for that matter. For any Conan fan this is a definitive book to get the stories as they were originally written and intended and unsoiled by the less skilled writers who would edit them in later decades.

highly recommended

Like most people I have seen the Conan movies and enjoyed the "in-your-face", Nitchze style of the films. Anyone who liked them will most likely enjoy the books as well. In spite of that, those movies were not my impetus for reading the Conan book.

In my personal endeavors in learning to be a fantasy author myself, I came upon the fact that there are generally considered (very generally) two types of fantasy:
1) High Fantasy: These are fantasy worlds more akin to "The Lord of the Rings", or "The Chronicles of Narnia."
2) Sword and Sorcery: These are stories where the protagonist is generally not someone who is a magic user and must pit muscle, bone and steel against the mystic forces of the world.

I had read a lot of things that could be deemed high fantasy and once I discovered its existence, I felt a need to be able to reach through the veil of sword and sorcery to be able to understand it better. This led me to the writings of Ron Howard who is credited by many with the invention of the genre.

After some research, I discovered that the author had in fact killed himself before his writing became better known. I assume this is what led to many other writers either finishing the Howard stories or adopting the world of Conan as their own and sort of making their own little additions to the world.
After some research however, I was able to discover the fact that this book (and only just a few others) is comprised wholly of stories written by Howard himself. In addition, there is a great section about the various human races of the rich world Howard has created. Lastly, there are also some great hand-drawn maps showing the geography.

Be prepared. This world is richer than you could ever imagine. Despite the films starring Arnold, there is nothing stupid or mutton-headed about Conan or the way he was written. This collection of short stories gives glimpses into the life and endeavors of one of the most iconic figures in all of fantasy.

"The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian" may not be high fantasy, but it certainly is high adventure.

This is just a wonderful wonderful book. Robert E. Howard can virtually grab you by the collar and drag you into his stories with his breath-taking prose. His style isn't purple, but is dynamic and powerful. You'll want to return to this book again and again.
Patrice Louinet's "Introduction" and "Hyborian Genesis" are wonderful essays, the kind of thing that should have appeared years ago, but didn't. As editor/essayist he deserves praise for his work on this incredible volume.
Conan was one of Howard's most commercial constructs, and by this time Howard was so developed as a prose stylist that "breath-taking" does quite literally describe his incredible style. This material is simply wonderful.
Looking down the list of stories, I know the reader will find many fine tales here. Things Howard did later became sword & sorcery clichés, but Howard did them first, and when he did them they were new and fresh. He took the adventure story and combined it with the tale of supernatural horror-and he did it incredibly well. The reader will get a thrill from the stories in this volume.
"The Pool of the Black One" is one of my personal favorites from this group. As it is Conan's intellect as well as his physical strength that elevates him to the position of captain of the pirate crew.
"Queen of the Black Coast" is a powerful, emotional story. The passion between Conan and Bêlit is intense, and the tragedy of the story's ending is just incredibly moving.
"The Tower of the Elephant" is a classic in the field. Its intricacies are amazing, considering the straight-forwardness (seemingly) of the plot. For a mostly off-stage character, Yara is incredibly menacing.
"The Phoenix on the Sword" is, of course, the masterpiece that started it all. Plus, the reader gets to see the last two drafts of this story-surely a treat.
"Iron Shadows in the Moon" is another personal favorite. The introduction is especially dramatic, even for Howard. We immediately begin to empathize with the female lead, and the menaces are varied and awe-inspiring: the carnivorous ape, the pirates and finally the living iron statues. This tale packs a triple treat.
The public may not have been breathlessly waiting for this package of unadulterated Howard tales, but it should have been. Buy two copies, because you'll wear the first copy out with repeated readings in no time at all.

The Conan series is classic, bold, and entertaining reading that can be read over and over again. These are the original stories written by the late, great Robert E. Howard. Some stories in this collection make for small novels, others are just fragments of not-completed stories. What a literary genius Howard was and what a tragedy that he died at such a young age, and by his own had at that. These series (this being the first one of three) is a must for any Conan The Barbarian fan. This is the foundation for other authors work. From Robert Jordan to L. Sprague DeCamp, they took the ideas and basis of stories for their Conan books from this collection. I am glad that I hot all three books of Howards immortal tales and will be re-reading them time and again in the future!!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

As has been mentioned in other reviews, this is the first book in Del Rey's three-volume series of the original Conan stories as written by Robert E. Howard himself. This is all Howard, no Conan tales by later authors and no stories edited beyond recognition. Each volume has its own introduction, appendices, illustrations, and unfinished writings - all of which make it worth paying the cost of the book even if there was not a single story present. The overall package makes this the first of three volumes in the greatest and most comprehensive collection of Howardian Conan writings ever published.

All three books present Howard's Conan stories in the order in which they were written, NOT the order in which they were published. Therefore "The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian" contains roughly the first 1/3 of the Conan canon. However there are more stories presented here than in the other two volumes because these earlier stories were shorter. This collection begins with a poem by Howard called "Cimmeria" which is not specifically a Conan tale but gives us some insight into the part of Howard's psyche from which Conan was created. The following is a list of stories presented here.

The Phoenix on the Sword
The Frost-Giant's Daughter
The God in the Bowl
The Tower of the Elephant
The Scarlet Citadel
Queen of the Black Coast
Black Colossus
Iron Shadows in the Moon
Xuthal of the Dark
The Pool of the Black One
Rogues in the House
The Vale of Lost Women
The Devil in Iron

All of the tales from "Phoenix" to "Black Colossus" are classics that are outstanding reads. After that Howard entered a period of financial desperation where he relied on formulas to put out as much written work as he could in the hopes of getting something published. As a result everything from "Iron Shadows" to "Devil In Iron" is of lesser quality than the bulk of Conan material. They are still worth reading. Even when Howard writes badly he manages to do it in an excitingly nonstereotypical way (i.e. Rogues in the House). If you just want to read some of Conan's best tales, read from "Phoenix" through "Queen" and skip the rest. If you are a Conan completist this is the place to start. Either way the book is 5 stars and eminently worthy of purchasing.

But Howard's writing was about to improve dramatically in the stories represented by the next volume: The Bloody Crown of Conan.

If you elect to read the uncut and unedited Conan stories found in the Coming of Conan, appearing in this unbastardized version for first time in over 70 years, you are likely to become hopelessly addicted to the pulp brilliance of the late Robert E. Howard.

Robert E. Howard's life was cut tragically short, but he accomplished much in such a short amount of time. Not only did the gritty and macho Texan help lay the foundation for the sword and sorcery genre, Howard created the most famous character in all of fantasy - Conan the Cimmerian. If you are interested in learning more about the history of the author and the development of his stories and characters, the volume begins with a wonderful introduction and ends with appendices which provide a wealth of information for Howard scholars to absorb and study.

Don't be fooled by the elitist snobbery that exist today concerning pulp tales; the road may be shorter but is just as engaging. Of course that is but one reason many dismiss pulp tales as being worthy literary additions to the genre. In fact, many immediately identify the raw and often lurid imagery common in pulp, which contrasts the 'safer' and seemingly politically correct archetypes found in more traditional literature, as evidence of it being more visceral than sophisticated. Many label Howard's tales and Conan as chauvinistic and needlessly violent and feel unsympathetic to a character who is at odds with their contemporary morals, values, and refined sensibilities. Let it be known, Conan isn't the proverbial 'good guy' or the virtuous knight in shining armor. Moreover, some of today's readers might argue that Howard's stories are formulaic and predictable, but all of his classic tales are filled to the rim with uncompromising, red-blooded entertainment.

Many of you may have read stories containing a warrior named Conan and think you already know the character and have a feel for Robert E. Howard's writing. However, it might be quite to the contrary for, as alluded to earlier, Howard's work underwent heavy editing and significant changes posthumously. The popularity of Howard's work grew dramatically in the mid-60s, reaching its zenith in the 1970s. During this time, publishers, eager to satiate the hunger of the barbarian's fans, often produced stories chronicling Conan's adventures which had no connection whatsoever to Howard or were so heavily edited that the same passion and spirit prevalent in Howard's original character were absent. Sadly, these corrupted and grossly inferior versions are all that many of us know in regards to his most celebrated character. Undiluted illustrations of classical work in literature are rare to get a hold of in this age. This is what makes the Coming of Conan a really special treat and a must-read for all fantasy fans.

Over the years, Robert E. Howard's (REH) Conan stories have been muddied by an uncountable number of pastiches as well as occasional over-aggressive editing (let's just say REH was sometimes not too politically correct). And it has always been difficult to find his works collected in one place, or, at least gathered into several volumes. Hopefully, this is the start of a collection of the complete works of REH on Conan.
What we are given here is largely pure REH, untouched by modern hands and in all his bloody glory. The volume collects about one-third of Howard's Conan output and has the bonus of collecting synopses of several of the stories, drafts, fragments, Howard's notes on the Hyborian Age and its people, maps, and even a Howard poem ("Cimmeria").
Part of what is amazing about REH is the sheer volume of output he produced in a relatively short span of approximately 12 years. When you consider that in addition to his Conan work he was also cranking out westerns, boxing stories, horror stories, and nearly every type of adventure story imaginable, and doing it all on a typewriter where starting a second draft meant starting over at the beginning, it is phenomenal. Imagine what his output would be had he had access to a word processing program.
A minor criticism: some of the illustrations. I generally love Mark Schultz's work, but his Conan is sometimes a little too modern in appearance or maybe even a little too "Prince Valiant" like. A prime example is the frontispiece. This image just doesn't evoke Conan for me. But the majority of the art in the book is great. A better depiction is found on page 297, now that's the Conan I know and love. Guess Mr. Schultz (who I do admire greatly) and I will have to disagree over some of his interpretations of Conan.
Not all Conan stories are necessarily great. Producing at the pace he did meant that the occasional mediocre story found its way into print. I've always thought "The Vale of Lost Women" was one of his lesser efforts, and it appears Mr. Schultz, who also wrote the Forward for the book, agrees with me. But this volume also contains some of the best of Conan: "The Phoenix on the Sword," "The Scarlet Citadel," and "Queen of the Black Coast" among them.
One thing that may be slightly confusing to new Conan readers, REH did not write his Conan tales in any semblance of chronological order and these stories are printed in the order of original publication. So in some stories, Conan is already a king while in others he is still pretty much a vagabond adventuring across the world. Previous efforts at collecting REH's works often insisted on placing them in chronological order. If you are new to Conan, just go with the flow. Understand that REH had no grand plan for Conan, in fact, he often claimed the stories literally seemed to just spring up, as if Conan were telling stories of his life directly to him.
My only other minor criticism: I would have preferred that there be a hardback edition. I've always preferred hardcover to paperback. Still, this oversized paperback is definitely a quality effort. someone is attempting to do it up right. Hopefully, this volume will do well enough that they will be able to complete the reprinting of the remaining Conan tales.
If you are a longtime REH or Conan fan, you have to have this book in your library. If you are new to REH and Conan, strap in, you are in for a wild ride. The world of Conan is a fascinating, thrilling one. Come see the master at work and you'll probably never again be able to read any of that drivel that passes for sword and sorcery these days.

This anthology consists of the first thirteen (in chronological order of when released) Conan tales, which most literary historians agree were the start of the sword and sorcery sub-genre. The tales are well written and enhanced by terrific illustrations by Mark Schultz. Those who grew up with the Schwarzenegger films will find Howard's Conan a much more complete character (actually the Marvel Comic book series captured more of the original essence). The stories are exciting though they were written in the 1930s. The collection also includes much more information on the Conan tales including maps, an untitled draft and several synopses of potential future tales. The Miscellanea and Appendix sections are fun to read during spare moments as fans will gain an understanding of how creative the author truly was, but clearly the exhilarating stories is where the superb reading experience is at as that affirms Mr. Howard's greatness.

Harriet Klausner

I have all three in this series, and after having to sift through so much Robert Jordon, L. Sprague D. Camp, and other fanfiction writers and being dissatisfied with previous compilation editions that tried to edit Howard into chronological order, I am glad to now have an original Robert E. Howard compilation in the order that the stories were written. The caliber of the work contained inside these books is jaw-dropping. Not only was howard incredibly imaginative and skilled impressively in submersing the reader's attention, but he also seems to have had an uncanny knowledge of certain things about man's prehistoric past that we are only discovering now to be true in the realm of archeology and science. The only problem with this series is that Del Rey skimped big-time on the glue.
I was planning to thumb through these books for all eternity, and I know I paid a cheap price for the nice looking, thick books. But one came apart after just two reads- my brother and I both read the first one I got. Conquering sword is also beginning to come apart and I've only read it once and thumbed back through it a time or two.
I mean come on, redo it and let me trade this one back in. I'll even pay shipping.
I mean, you can swat flies with my self-published children's book, use it as a dust-pan and fan yourself at little league baseball games with it and it STILL won't come apart. A big ol' company like Del Rey should be able to do better.
I regret that I'm forced to drop it down a star, but I assure you it's Del Rey's fault and not the author's.

J. Lyon Layden
The Other Side of Yore

A great intro to the classic character, this collection contains some undisputed classics of Conan literature, such as Queen of The Black Coast and The Scarlet Citadel. It also contains a few of the shorter and generally less well regarded stories, but if you're a fan of the character you'll find them enjoyable as well. I would absolutely recommend this as a first step into the thrilling adventures of Conan the Cimmerian.

The sheer amount of detail and context put forth into the text makes it by far one of the most descriptive, vivid, and captivating books I have ever read. Once I start with a section within the book, I cannot put it down. The book is divided into short stories which I absolutely love because it makes reading different sections easy to grasp; a dark dungeon/castle here, next an island with monsters, thieves stealing the most valuable items and running into trouble i.e plot twists. Verdict: Give the book a try, however, if you are an adventure seeker: A Must.

If a teacher assigned a project requiring you to draw up a list of the most influential authors in the fantasy/science fiction genre, Robert E. Howard would sit safely in the top five. Along with H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, Howard was one of the groundbreaking influences in popular fiction of the 1930s. His influence is still felt today as evidenced by the large number of books containing stories based on his most popular creation, Conan the Cimmerian. Sadly, most of these newer tales, spun from unfinished fragments found in Howard's possession after his untimely demise in 1936, barely manage to attain a shadow of the glory found in the original tales. I think of Lin Carter's "Conan the Liberator," a truly awful piece of junk based on one of these fragments, and I shudder at the damage done to Robert Howard's reputation. That's why we should all give a warm round of applause to Del Rey for releasing this comprehensive collection of the earliest Conan stories. It's great to see a collection of the original tales available for sale at a reasonable price. Moreover, the book contains a foreword from the illustrator chosen to draw for this collection, a fascinating piece of criticism examining Howard's influences, and a few other goodies shedding even more light on how Conan came about. The order of the stories, too, mirrors exactly the sequence in which the author wrote them.
"The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian" is, I am embarrassed to say, my first foray into the original Conan tales. I looked around for these things for years, but always found the prices in the secondary market-usually for moth eaten copies of decades old versions-to much weight to place on my wallet. I did get a chance to read a few of Howard's Bran Mak Morn stories, several of his Cthulhu tales, and a couple of other great stories completely unrelated to Conan. Still, it's not the same. To know Howard is to read the Conan sagas. Included here are thirteen original stories, beginning with "The Phoenix on the Sword" and including such epics as "The Tower of the Elephant," "The Scarlet Citadel," "Queen of the Black Coast," and "Black Colossus." Lesser, but by no means uninteresting stories, include "The Frost-Giant's Daughter," "The God in the Bowl," "Iron Shadows in the Moon," "Rogues in the House," and "Xuthal of the Dusk." Included also is Howard's history of his Hyborian Age, a lengthy discussion of the various nations and peoples that form the backdrop of the Conan adventures. The author's love for setting stories in the historical past led him to create an alternate version of world history, one that resembled in many ways our own ancient times but allowed him to make up things as he went along. The history of the Hyborian Age alone is worth the price of the book.
It's impossible to adequately summarize every story, or even most of the stories, contained in the collection. A few worth noting include "The Phoenix on the Sword," where King Conan of Aquilonia thwarts a coup attempt with the help of a long dead sorcerer. Another winner is "The Tower of the Elephant," which finds Conan as a thief attempting to steal the wealth locked up in a malefic temple. "The Scarlet Citadel" and "Black Colossus" work so well because the two stories give Howard the opportunity to write extremely involved descriptions of huge battles against a background of magnificently executed scenes of phantasmagoric weirdness. Even the lesser tales contain enough flashes of brilliance and imagination to keep the reader riveted to the page. Conan battles giant apes, evil alien beings that turn humans into shrunken dolls in a magical pond, a vicious god preying on decadent citizens of an ancient city, and slays frost giants in pursuit of a goddess, all without batting an eye. Swords flash, armies clash, women fawn, sorcerers cast spells, and Conan wins the day in his inimitable taciturn style. All of the stories move at a lightening quick pace.
Sure, a few of the stories here follow a rather formulaic structure, but that doesn't make them any less entertaining. I think there's a tendency by some people to sneer at fantasy books and stories; they argue that the simplistic writing style and predictable plots do not inspire readers to peruse REAL literature, and to some extent that claim may contain grains of truth. But as Patrice Louinet makes clear in her introduction and analysis of Howard's Conan stories, this author was an extremely intelligent, well read individual who infused his stories with elements borrowed from Bulfinch's works on ancient and medieval history. As for simplistic writing style, you won't find much of that here. Howard routinely uses elevated prose in the construction of his stories, and while he's no Clark Ashton Smith or H.P. Lovecraft in terms of OED inspired vocabulary, his language still rises much higher than you would think.
The only problem I had with the book concerned Louinet's assessment of Howard's Conan canon. I haven't read much about the underpinnings of writers like Lovecraft, Howard, and the other fantasy writers in the 1930s, but I always suspected the success of these authors rested heavily on the Great Depression. Howard wrote about a warrior of great physical, mental, and moral strength, perhaps, because a man with such traits was necessary in a time of great social turmoil. American audiences yearned for stories that created worlds where bread lines, bank closings, and starvation didn't exist. Moreover, they longed for characters that could triumph over seemingly insurmountable obstacles with nothing more than their native abilities to fall back upon. Anyway, read these stories. All fans of fantasy/horror/science fiction should pick up a copy of this book immediately. I can't wait for the next volume.

I bought this book because I had searched for any Conan story by Robert Howard for almost a year. It all started when I watched the first Schwartzenegger film and was blown away by the amazing narrative and monolithic storyline; I suspected the narrative had been lifted directly from the books, I happily discovered this to be true. After an extended search I came across this collection, bought it on impulse, and am extremely happy with it. The illustrations are a nice touch but find the work a bit uneven. I am also greatly suprised by Howards association with Wierd Tales and horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. His writing style is amazing, an educated and macho prose style best described as a combination between Lovecraft's own and Ian Flemming. His action sequences are particularly special as they communicate a real visceral experience, you can smell the blood and metal in his writing. Within the context of his contemporaries he can stand toe to toe with anyone, and I mean anyone without exception. It's a mistake to target this work to fantasy fans, with the exception of Tolkien I really don't like the majority of "FANTASY" writing. His work is like Tolkien in the respect that it is penned with a strong respect for history and mythology, incorporating enough of it into his narrative to grant it a sense of familiarity and weight. This is the kind of work that straddles genres and should appeal to far more than a predisposed genre based audience.

This is a lovingly put together collection of Conan writings.

They consist in works by Howard alone, not any of his followers or editors; and they are sorted in the order they were published rather than according to the hero's age.

The price is a good value for the 380 pages of pure narration, Howard-style. The reminder of the book contains a miscellanea of unpublished drafts, maps and accounts by the author and friends.

The only problem I see with this edition is the illustrations by Mark Schultz. Although some of them are good, for those of us already spoiled by the superb work of Frank Frazetta on the Lancer/Ace edition covers, these don't come even close. Besides, they are clumsily placed in relation to the text, often acting as spoilers of paragraphs ahead.

In a society in which self-conscious irony has become standard in virtually every form of entertainment, these stories shine with the blinding light of 100% sincerity. This is pulp fiction elevated to the level of myth. Howard's hero moves through, and dominates, the Hyborian Age in much the same way that Beowulf and Odysseus do in their own, older, more respected, myths.
Conan is a character hewn from the fabric of saga and legend; dark, dangerous, unpredictable, as much an embodiment of the forces of nature as a human being. His world comes alive as a wildly imaginative patchwork of ancient and medieval history, filled with haunting references to our own past yet existing as a independent world as lushly alive as any in fantasy.
These stories have been more influential and imitated than practically any others in genre literature. But they have never been duplicated. Howard's prose is shocking in both its power and diversity, frustrating attempts at either imitation or parody. Sharp, hardboiled sentences drive home the fierce brutality of combat. Vivid, often lyrical, passages describe the sprawling majesty of the Hyborian world. Darkly ominous writing depicts the creeping horror of otherworldly sorcery.
If you know Conan only from film, comics or pastiche novels, you don't know Conan at all. Read Robert E. Howard's fiery words and discover some of the most potent, most primal, fantasy ever written.

The sheer number of reviews should offer solid evidence of just how popular Robert E. Howard's creation Conan the Barbarian is. Though other writers have offered their take on this great character, to fully appreciate Conan one must begin and end with Howard. Nobody but nobody wrote sword and sorcery to equal Howard. I find it interesting all of the in depth analysis of both Howard and his work both pro and con. It's gratifying for any author to see his or her words generate so much discussion. Ultimately, though, I'd urge anyone reading Howard's stories to take the time to enjoy the tale. The ultimate goal of any story teller is to entertain. I believe that Howard understood this better than anyone. You can't miss with the fine collection.

You probably already know, before you even think of picking up a Conan book, whether you're a Conan fan or not. The character has become that iconic. These are the first chunk of stories written by the man who developed the original character. If all you're familiar with are the various later, non-Howard Conan knockoffs, reading this collection will be like whiskey after water.

The best of these stories have an elemental, primal ferocity to them -- not merely in the characters and events, but in the prose style itself -- that remains unmatched despite literal thousands of imitators. The worst of them -- and you can watch Howard's efforts decline, as he slowly realizes that Conan is a cash cow, and starts using pseudo-lesbian whipping scenes to substitute for quality writing -- is bad enough that you can understand why Conan tales are as sometimes-mocked as they are ("The Vale of Lost Women" is possibly the worst title for any story, ever). The few bad apples in here aside, the best of these stories are unmatched, and some of them ("Queen of the Black Coast" springs to mind) have been fairly hard to find for a good while now.

This collection would be immeasureably better if they had cut out some of the fluff materials (the howard draft manuscripts, etc., while interesting, take up far more room than they need to) and included more of the later stories, especially "Red Nails" and "Beyond the Black River," especially as many of the supplemental materials refer to stories that aren't even in this volume. I understand why they're dividing the stories over multiple volumes -- you can sell a lot more books that way -- but one large hardback "Complete Conan" is long overdue.

This review is strictly for the audiobook version. Howard's stories will always rate 10 stars from me.
When the good folks at Tantor decided to create audiobook versions of these stories, they must have actively searched for the one person alive who could not pronounce Cimmerian. Actually, Todd Maclaren mispronounces quite a few words in this collection, but none will so completely jar you out of the story quite like the constant sound of Cimmerian when it's pronounced sim-er-REE-an. I've also heard zam-or-REE-an (for Zamorian), as well as any number of normal, every day words that take several seconds to figure out due to the oddball way he says them. It is, in fact, so glaring that I've put Mr. Maclaren on my short list of narrators to completely avoid.
I've kept my rating at 3 stars because I don't want to drag Robert E. Howard's creation down because of a lousy production. I think that Todd Maclaren has dragged it down enough already.

Wow!! Let me say that again--Wow!!! I am completely tongue-tied and in awe of this book. Stephen King quoted it exactly on the front cover. Howard's writing is electrifying and different than any fantasy I've ever read. Other "fantasy" novels and stories are kids books compared to this. As you read these great stories, you can feel Howard's powerful voice reverberate. And the characters, not only Conan, literaly come to life. This is pure, no b.s., top of the line fantasy and adventure. I saw the Conan movie a couple of weeks ago and laughed at how far off its portrayel of Conan was from REH's books. I don't know of anyone they could really cast and give Conan due justice. He is just too intense for any Hollywood actor. Highly Recommended!! I dont know if I'll ever find a book or an author that can match REH in this particular genre.

If you enjoy swords and sorcery style literature, I suggest you give Robert E. Howard a try. Ignore the stereotypes about his literature personified by the film and comic book. Read these stories for what they are: Tales of a time when a man's willpower drove his achievements. Conan is more than just a swordsman, he is the ultimate individualist, he imposes his will on his enemies and would die for any cause he thought worthy. His stories are simple and yet elegant. While classified as fantasy or adventure, those are misclassifications. These are horror tales with a twist: unlike most horror tales, the monster/creature/etc. doesn't win. Don't miss out on one of the great short story writers of the 20th century.

If you love the fantastic tales of David Gemmell, Michael Moorcock, Poul Anderson, even H.P. Lovecraft; or if you're interested in exploring the roots of fantastic fiction which led to the modern epic masterpieces by Tolkien and Brooks, then The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian by Robert E. Howard is an addition to your library that you can not live without!
Decades before Tolkien and Brooks had created their imaginary worlds of Middle Earth and Shannara, Robert E. Howard was spinning tales of Conan the Cimmerian set in the Hyborian Age - a meticulously developed world set in our Earth's distant past. Philosophizing that barbarism is the natural state of humankind, Howard's Conan tales are violent action-filled stories that will definitely please fans of Gemmell, Moorcock, & company. Given their weird and supernatural elements these tales will also thrill fans of H.P. Lovecraft, the Cthulhu Mythos and weird fiction in general.
As stated in other reviews here on the store - the most exciting thing about this book is that it contains original tales by Robert E. Howard (and Howard alone) exactly as the author intended them. Other volumes of Howard's Conan tales were marred by the additions and "corrections" of editors as well as the inclusion of non-Howard stories written to fill in the blanks in Conan's career. This books is pure Robert E. Howard.
Pure Howard means that between the pages of this book you will find tales of high adventure, bloody action, and magical sorcery. Howard's style is poetic and highly visual. His Hyborian Age vividly comes to life and immerses you in a world that is at once fantastically otherworldly and at the same time strangely familiar. These tales are great fun to read and are a superb example of the best of Fantasy, and more specifically, of Sword and Sorcery. Pure Howard also means that these tales are a product of the era in which they were written - they are NOT "politically correct". This is not meant as a negative critique but rather as a simple warning. Some readers may find passages of Howard's writing to be sexist or racist.
Physically the book itself is very impressive. In spite of the low cover price this is not a cheap paperback by any means. It is sturdy and should withstand years of repeated reading. The artwork by Mark Schultz is, for the most part, excellent; a few drawings here and there are lacking in detail or bravado, while others (especially the full page drawings) are simply fantastic. Both the introduction and the essay by Howard scholar Patrice Louinet are superb and as much essential reading as the stories themselves. The extras - including Howard's background history "The Hyborian Age", rough and unfinished drafts, and Howard's maps of the Hyborian world all significantly enhance the reader's appreciation and enjoyment of Howard and HIS Conan.
I highly recommend this book for those who enjoy sword and sorcery and dark fantasy. However, even general fantasy fans will find much of interest here.

Foget your highbrow accounts of mid-life crises in the Hamptons. Forget your stories of love lost and won against the backdrop of (insert contrived historical setting here). This is what entertaining, escapist fiction is about. A guilty pleasure, something to be covertly enjoyed? No, by Crom! These stories are uncompromisingly true to themselves, and as a result have more integrity than most things I've read in the last 20 years. If only those writing in Fantasy these days could shrug off the weight of tired tropes and imposed expectations of the genre, they could produce something that approaches the fresh, snappy pace and well-described action that Howard pioneered. True, he had the advantage of helping invent the genre, and didn't have to write under this weight, but that's the fun part - like Raymond Chandler, you can read these works, see the genre being invented before your eyes and realise why the style became cliche - it was so good that everyone wanted to copy it.
I find it interesting that Howard, who struggled with depression, wrote stories that crackle with vitality and display what I see as a celebration of living a passionate life. Funny how that works. Anyway, I leave you with a telling quote from "The Tower of the Elephant" that sums up the noble honesty of the character of Conan and why he appeals so much: "Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing."

Michael In Hell Lord of Homicides

I discovered Conan while still in high school in a book called King Conan. Forty years later, the Howard stories still give me a thrill. I bet I've read each one ten times over the years and I never grow tired of the high adventure and the evil magicians, priests, and monsters. I'm glad to see they continue to remain in print. If you've never read Conan, you're in for a thrill.

REH's CONAN stories were a hit, inspiring & opening the doors to a multitude of other fantasy adventurists. But unlike some other past fantasy works, these stories are still full of life. No imitators have succeeded in capturing even a spark of the essence of the passion, inventive imagination, and suspenseful atmosphere of Robert E Howard's CONAN stories.
These stories are a thrill! Lush, rugged, decadent, and awe inspiring by turns, the detailed world-building is smoothly written in context, allowing the reader to be absorbed with the fast-paced action and dynamic characters.
This may be a surprise for current leisurely fat fantasy book readers, but a pleasant one. Like a summer blockbuster movie, Howard gets to the point right of the bat, and his clear powerful prose keeps it moving enthrallingly. Courage and a length of sharp steel takes Conan -- and readers -- to many far exotic places and right into the fascinating thick of it.
A particular favourite in this volume -- the 1st of 3 gorgeous collections -- is "The Devil In Iron". It's a great example of some of REH's popular themes: haunting wondrous lost places, strong women in a harsh world, the error of confusing how civilized someone is with how smart and capable they are. Also, "Black Colossus": an unnatural lust for power that resists even the ravages of death!
All of them are great in there own way. And this edition offers treats for new and old readers alike, with original author versions of the stories never seen before and glorious new illustrations by the great artist Mark (Xenozoic Tales) Schultz!
Plain and simply, a great read!

Robert E. Howard stands alone as the Father of Sword and Sorcery fantasy adventure. There have been many -- far too many -- pastiches over the years of his essential S&S character, Conan the Cimmerian, by inferior authors. This has done REH the disservice of blurring (if not obscuring) his real literary achievement in this genre.
This book is the long-awaited reintroduction and revitalization of "pure Robert E. Howard." It represents the work of several Howardian scholars over years of effort. As an added value, the book's annotations and scholarly discussion by Patrice Louinet -- and the inclusion of some unfinished REH fragments and a variation of "The Phoenix on the Sword" make this a necessary book for any Howard collector or any serious student of his work.
If you have never experienced the power, the poetry, the marvel, the vividness, or the vitality of Howard's work -- then I envy you the initial pleasure and awe of that remembered experience. For those who have read the sundry imitators as well as some true Howard -- this is the book to sharpen your awareness of the differences. Don't accept imitations -- this is the pure stuff! A must have, must read/reread for any REH enthusiast.

This is the first of three projected volumes collecting Robert E. Howard's Conan stories as they were originally written or presented in the pages of WEIRD TALES in the 1930's. For over 50 years, posthumous editors have meddled with the text of the Conan. Rewrites of stories, heavy handed editing, and insertion of counterfeit pastiche stories amidst the Howard Conan stories have diluted and presented a distortion of the original fiction. This gets it all back to the real unadulterated Conan and Robert E. Howard.
Contents include thirteen stories, an essay (The Hyborian Age), "Notes on Various Peoples of the Hyborian Age," four synopses, one fragment, one draft, "Hyborian Names and Countries," and reproductions of two maps drawn by Robert E. Howard. In addition are an excellent introduction and the essay "Hyborian Genesis" by Robert E. Howard scholar, Patrice Louinet. Cover and interior art is provided by Mark Schultz of XENOZOIC TALES fame. The art is appropriately "retro" to the era these stories were written and harkens back to Hal Foster and PRINCE VALIANT not to mention Virgil Finlay, Harold McCauley, and other illustrators for pulp magazines of the 1930's. A break has been made with Frank Frazetta style illustration which though great is too closely associated with the corrupt texts and pastiches of the Lancer and Ace paperbacks of 35 years ago. This is an incredible value for the money. Go out and buy this book before having some time off because you won't want to put it down in order to go to sleep, school, or work.

Very enjoyable set of short stories. The imagery and atmosphere are superb and really draw you in. The stories themselves are centered around characters fulfilling one machismo fantasy after another, which may sound off-putting but in reality is a pleasurable treat. The writer has an odd tendency to use an unusual word and then repeat it again a few times within a few paragraphs. Does anyone else notice this or am I just obsessive?

I do not have the slightest interest in sword and fantasy fiction. I came to Howard via Lovecraft. That being said Lovecraft and Howard are hands down the best horror and fantasy fiction writes in the history of the genres. They are kindred spirits. Both had troubled short lives. Both have written the best horror and fantasy EVER. Nobody comes close to these titans. Howard could write about a dust mote floating in the wind and make it utterly mesmerizing.

I, like many modern fans, first became fond of Howard's barbarian from Cimmerian in John Milius' Conan the Barbarian (you didn't expect me to say Conan the Destroyer, did you?). Here Howard's original stories are given a great presentation and curious new fans and long-time Conan fans should be very happy. While some stories are better than others, all are extremely well written and readable. Compared to the "epic" crap fantasy that people like Jordan and Erikson shovel out yearly, this is a breath of fresh sword.

By Crom, it's fun.

always loved graphic novels,Savage sword,Red Sonja.the new Age of Conan MMO has rejuvenated me,I bought the game but haven't played it yet,first going back & learning about Conan & ofcorse R.E.Howard,when I was young it was more about just the superficial content?. just received my copy of Born on the Battlefield & WOW!,so happy to have re-discovered such amazing work.

I bought the original Lancer paperbacks in the late 60's and they were never intended to last. This trade paperback format is perfect, even if pricier and allows one to re-read and re-read without having the book fall apart. Any fan of Howard or the genre needs this book in their library.

I will proudly say, "The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian" is of the greatest stories written. Robert E. Howard simply has a way with words that is undescribable. No way of detailing this other than take my suggestion and buy the book, but I will try.

Howard gives us one of the most riveting characters of all time, Conan. And he take him across lands that we merely dream of. One story, "Queen of the Black Coast" is an exceptional masterpiece. A twisted romance that in which Howard lets Conan find a love as ruthless as he is. I will not go on to say anymore, except it is one of two stories that has brought a tear to my eye.

Conan isn't allows a hero, or the most loyal friend, neither is he sensible at times; however, what Howard does with him will leave you in believable sense of awe and disbelief.

BUY THIS BOOK> H. Duane Sharpe