Published by Gollancz, the this volume did not come cheap, but is a complete and faithful reproduction of the original Conan stories by Robert E Howard as they appeared in the Weird magazine (and others) back in what, the 1930's.
And gosh what a breath of fresh air they are. I think it would be correct to say that Howard effectively invented the genre of Sword and Sorcery in these tales, which see the brooding and primal Conan carving his way through the murderous landscape he occupies with never a thought for political correctness or equality of any kind, gender or otherwise. I'm about four or five tales in - about half to an hours reading in each - and I'm loving it. The history of the lands we travel through is given in the first, prologue chapter if you like, in which the various races and nations we will encounter are given and a description of the complex movements of the peoples therein related.
And boy is it a bloody one! Having set the scene we plunge in and before you know it are swept away in Howard's rich descriptions and detailed accounting of the events therein. Never before or since have palaces been so gilded, jewels piled so high and golden caskets been so overflowing, never before have maidens been so comely, nor so willing to submit to the animal magmatism of strong hands gripping fragile waists. Never before have sorcerers been so perfidious, evil so manifest of sheer brute force so expressed. Conan is a force of nature, unflinching in his judgement, always accepting of the shadow of death that lurks constantly over his shoulder waiting it's chance to snatch him up, and as comfortable with its presence as you and I are with an old pair of slippers.
Not for everyone perhaps in these days of higher sensibilities, but for those for whom it is a mountain they can climb, the Chronicles of Conan represent the peak of the genre, a transportation however brief, into the feral being that deep within us, we would all secretly wished to have been.
The Complete Chronicles of Conan
Moderator: I'm Murrin
-
peter
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 11850
- Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:08 am
- Location: Another time. Another place.
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 9 times
The Complete Chronicles of Conan
Song of the year. Judy Raindrop. Everyone is a cunt except me.
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
-
peter
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 11850
- Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:08 am
- Location: Another time. Another place.
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 9 times
Probably around 50 dollars US Sarge (thirty pounds sterling). I got it with a Christmas voucher so got lucky!
The thing I like is that the stories are reproduced as they were first printed, not edited by Sprague de Camp or Carter as I believe many of the books were (but still great thereby, nevertheless). They have just the slightest of Lovecraftian leaning to them that I don't remember from the books, but which lends them a sort of purity (in the reading feel if you get me) and is great. It's a big spring if you don't have a voucher as I did - but definitely worth it to have it on your shelves. Alternatively a half decent lending library will be bound to have access to it I'd have thought.
(I'm minded to give Elric of Melnibone another go as well - it must be forty years since I read them as well!)
The thing I like is that the stories are reproduced as they were first printed, not edited by Sprague de Camp or Carter as I believe many of the books were (but still great thereby, nevertheless). They have just the slightest of Lovecraftian leaning to them that I don't remember from the books, but which lends them a sort of purity (in the reading feel if you get me) and is great. It's a big spring if you don't have a voucher as I did - but definitely worth it to have it on your shelves. Alternatively a half decent lending library will be bound to have access to it I'd have thought.
(I'm minded to give Elric of Melnibone another go as well - it must be forty years since I read them as well!)
Song of the year. Judy Raindrop. Everyone is a cunt except me.
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
-
peter
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 11850
- Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:08 am
- Location: Another time. Another place.
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 9 times
I think Gath of Ball was out in front the best barbarian swordsman of the lot: entirely unfazed by talking on multiple enemies simultaneously (he was used to "working crowds") or feral beasts of mythic proportion, he simply oozed destructive force. The James Silke books are hard to get - but boy do they deliver the goods!
Song of the year. Judy Raindrop. Everyone is a cunt except me.
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
-
peter
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 11850
- Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:08 am
- Location: Another time. Another place.
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 9 times
Yes - I'd forgotten about these books Sarge. I've not read them but they have always been hovering around in the background. I must take a look on eBay and see if they can be picked up at a doable price.
I've just picked up the first in a series by J V Jones, A Cavern of Black Ice which, though not of the same vintage as the above, came highly recommended on a sword and sorcery list that featured the rest as well.
A punt in the dark, but one always hopes to unearth a hidden gem in such ventures!
I've just picked up the first in a series by J V Jones, A Cavern of Black Ice which, though not of the same vintage as the above, came highly recommended on a sword and sorcery list that featured the rest as well.
A punt in the dark, but one always hopes to unearth a hidden gem in such ventures!
Song of the year. Judy Raindrop. Everyone is a cunt except me.
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
-
sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47603
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:53 am
- Location: Brazoria, Texas
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 8 times
Peter - https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Fafhr ... 380&sr=8-5
Not sure how to convert US freedom dollars to quid.
Not sure how to convert US freedom dollars to quid.
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
-
peter
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 11850
- Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:08 am
- Location: Another time. Another place.
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 9 times
I've just checked out a few titles on eBay Sarge and they come in at a not dissimilar price (perhaps a little less) than the linked Amazon one. But amazingly my library still have one or two on their list (albeit held in the back-store) so this will be a good place to start.
Leiber's characters are a bit more 'human' than Howard's or Silke's apparently, so this will give them an added dimension of interest. Good call!
Leiber's characters are a bit more 'human' than Howard's or Silke's apparently, so this will give them an added dimension of interest. Good call!
Song of the year. Judy Raindrop. Everyone is a cunt except me.
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard