Conan the Barbarian was the brainchild of Robert E Howard, a pulp
fiction writer of the 1920's and 30's. Howard was primarily interested in telling stories
using characters, not telling stories about characters. There is an important difference.
Howard was a master at the storytelling art and his Conan stories are the best
representative of this, using a writing style that none have duplicated Howard painted a
portrait of a savage barbarian, of gigantic strength and ability, but he was not a
do-gooder, rather someone who followed his own code of honor and tried to stay alive in a
world full of perils. If you are looking for a little
escapist fiction, a brief respite from the trials and tribulations of the day.....and
willing to swing a mighty broadsword to hack down enemies....to snatch a lusty kiss from a
willing wench, whether barmaid or queen....to ride with your wild henchmen in search of
half-forgotten treasure no doubt guarded by minions of devils from the darkest pits....I
would heartily recommend searching for the original 12 books, and after that...who knows,
you might try some of my recommended ones below.
If you have seen any of the movies, forget them. Though entertaining and quite good as barbarian epics go, the movies failed to capture the essence of Robert E Howard's Conan. Howard's worlds were rich in decadent civilizations, forgotten treasure still buried amongst ancient ruins, Wizards who actively practiced their magics and called up monstrosities from beyond, that could only be defeated by cold steel and mighty muscles to power it. His writing style made you ride right along beside Conan when ambushed on the side of the road, you can feel the straining of his arms as Conan fought for his life with some hideous beast. I haven't seen much of the TV series so I can't comment on it. Besides, others have wonderful pages on the TV series, this page focuses on Conan in print, all forms of print.
It was these books (the original 12 which were mostly Howard) that first drew me in to Conan's world. All but one are a collection of unrelated short stories detailing exciting episodes in Conan's life. Later others took up the mantle and added to Conan's life both in novel form and in comic book form. The quality of these vary, yet I am now enamored with the character so I am able to look past the differing writing styles and uneven characterization inherent with multiple writers and just enjoy new stories about a familiar character.
What also attracted me were the awesome cover paintings by the incomparable Frank Frazetta, books of his works abound. Check the internet, I think you'll be amazed!
NEW: Here is a complete chronology of every Conan book and story....by William Galen Gray
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