Author: Timothy Truman
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
ISBN: 1630081221
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 162
Book Description
The deposed Conan must fight his way across battle-ravaged countries and bandit-filled seas, through dark tombs, and back to Aquilonia to regain his throne! The calculating barbarian is on the hunt for the magical Heart of Ahriman, which will ensure victory over the evil Xaltotun and his group of traitors. Collects issues #1–#6 of the miniseries King Conan: The Conqueror. * Howard’s only Conan novel—adapted by a critically acclaimed creative team! “Overall, King Conan from Truman, Giorello, and Villarrubia is a smash hit.”—Read Comic Books
King Conan: The Conqueror
Author: Timothy Truman
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
ISBN: 1630081221
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 162
Book Description
The deposed Conan must fight his way across battle-ravaged countries and bandit-filled seas, through dark tombs, and back to Aquilonia to regain his throne! The calculating barbarian is on the hunt for the magical Heart of Ahriman, which will ensure victory over the evil Xaltotun and his group of traitors. Collects issues #1–#6 of the miniseries King Conan: The Conqueror. * Howard’s only Conan novel—adapted by a critically acclaimed creative team! “Overall, King Conan from Truman, Giorello, and Villarrubia is a smash hit.”—Read Comic Books
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
ISBN: 1630081221
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 162
Book Description
The deposed Conan must fight his way across battle-ravaged countries and bandit-filled seas, through dark tombs, and back to Aquilonia to regain his throne! The calculating barbarian is on the hunt for the magical Heart of Ahriman, which will ensure victory over the evil Xaltotun and his group of traitors. Collects issues #1–#6 of the miniseries King Conan: The Conqueror. * Howard’s only Conan novel—adapted by a critically acclaimed creative team! “Overall, King Conan from Truman, Giorello, and Villarrubia is a smash hit.”—Read Comic Books
Conan
Author: Robert E. Howard
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781548078386
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 820
Book Description
Join Conan on his many adventures from mercenary and thief to king as he smites demons, fights wizards, battles against all odds, journeys to exotic lands, loves and lusts, uncovers hidden mysteries, and always refuses to yield! This epic collection contains 18 of Robert E. Howard's stories about Conan the Barbarian. These stories were originally published in Weird Tales magazine between 1933 and 1936. The Conan stories included in the collection are: 1. The Frost Giant's Daughter (Gods of the North) 2. The Tower of the Elephant 3. Rogues in the House 4. Shadows in the Moonlight (Iron Shadows in the Moon) 5. Black Colossus 6. Queen of the Black Coast 7. The Slithering Shadow (Xuthal of the Dusk) 8. A Witch Shall Be Born 9. The Devil in Iron 10. The People of the Black Circle 11. Shadows in Zamboula (Man-Eaters of Zamboula) 12. The Pool of the Black One 13. Beyond the Black River 14. Red Nails 15. Jewels of Gwahlur (The Teeth of Gwahlur) 16. The Phoenix on the Sword 17. The Scarlet Citadel 18. The Hour of the Dragon (Conan the Conqueror) As an added bonus, also included in the set are: Cimmeria-A Poem The Hyborian Age-Conan's World (This is Howard's background essay on the world of Conan) The stories in this collection are ordered roughly in chronological order from Conan's first adventures as a young mercenary adventurer and thief to his final epic clashes as a king and are based on the Rippke chronology. About Conan: Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films (including Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer), television programs (cartoon and live-action), video games, role-playing games and other media. The character was created by writer Robert E. Howard in 1932 via a series of fantasy stories published in Weird Tales magazine. Conan the Character: Conan is a Cimmerian. From Robert E. Howard's writings (The Hyborian Age among others) it is known that the Cimmerians were based on the Celts or Gaels. He was born on a battlefield and is the son of a village blacksmith. Conan matured quickly as a youth and, by age fifteen, he was already a respected warrior who had participated in the destruction of the Aquilonian outpost of Venarium. After its demise, he was struck by wanderlust and began the adventures chronicled by Howard, encountering skulking monsters, evil wizards, tavern wenches, and beautiful princesses. He roamed throughout the Hyborian Age nations as a thief, outlaw, mercenary, and pirate. As he grew older, he began commanding larger units of men and escalating his ambitions. In his forties, he seized the crown of the tyrannical king of Aquilonia, the most powerful kingdom of the Hyborian Age, having strangled the previous ruler on the steps of the throne. Conan's adventures often result in him performing heroic feats, though his motivation for doing so is largely to protect his own survival or for personal gain.
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781548078386
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 820
Book Description
Join Conan on his many adventures from mercenary and thief to king as he smites demons, fights wizards, battles against all odds, journeys to exotic lands, loves and lusts, uncovers hidden mysteries, and always refuses to yield! This epic collection contains 18 of Robert E. Howard's stories about Conan the Barbarian. These stories were originally published in Weird Tales magazine between 1933 and 1936. The Conan stories included in the collection are: 1. The Frost Giant's Daughter (Gods of the North) 2. The Tower of the Elephant 3. Rogues in the House 4. Shadows in the Moonlight (Iron Shadows in the Moon) 5. Black Colossus 6. Queen of the Black Coast 7. The Slithering Shadow (Xuthal of the Dusk) 8. A Witch Shall Be Born 9. The Devil in Iron 10. The People of the Black Circle 11. Shadows in Zamboula (Man-Eaters of Zamboula) 12. The Pool of the Black One 13. Beyond the Black River 14. Red Nails 15. Jewels of Gwahlur (The Teeth of Gwahlur) 16. The Phoenix on the Sword 17. The Scarlet Citadel 18. The Hour of the Dragon (Conan the Conqueror) As an added bonus, also included in the set are: Cimmeria-A Poem The Hyborian Age-Conan's World (This is Howard's background essay on the world of Conan) The stories in this collection are ordered roughly in chronological order from Conan's first adventures as a young mercenary adventurer and thief to his final epic clashes as a king and are based on the Rippke chronology. About Conan: Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films (including Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer), television programs (cartoon and live-action), video games, role-playing games and other media. The character was created by writer Robert E. Howard in 1932 via a series of fantasy stories published in Weird Tales magazine. Conan the Character: Conan is a Cimmerian. From Robert E. Howard's writings (The Hyborian Age among others) it is known that the Cimmerians were based on the Celts or Gaels. He was born on a battlefield and is the son of a village blacksmith. Conan matured quickly as a youth and, by age fifteen, he was already a respected warrior who had participated in the destruction of the Aquilonian outpost of Venarium. After its demise, he was struck by wanderlust and began the adventures chronicled by Howard, encountering skulking monsters, evil wizards, tavern wenches, and beautiful princesses. He roamed throughout the Hyborian Age nations as a thief, outlaw, mercenary, and pirate. As he grew older, he began commanding larger units of men and escalating his ambitions. In his forties, he seized the crown of the tyrannical king of Aquilonia, the most powerful kingdom of the Hyborian Age, having strangled the previous ruler on the steps of the throne. Conan's adventures often result in him performing heroic feats, though his motivation for doing so is largely to protect his own survival or for personal gain.
King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel
Author: Timothy Truman
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
ISBN: 1621151220
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 114
Book Description
Trapped in the dungeons beneath an evil wizard's scarlet stronghold, Conan must confront a slew of new challenges and foes as he fights to free himself and reclaim the throne of Aquilonia! Featuring duplicitous betrayers, sparring sorcerers, and all of the brutal excitement you've come to expect from the rampaging Cimmerian, this trade paperback collects the four-issue King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel adaptation. * From the fan-favorite creative team of Conan the Cimmerian!
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
ISBN: 1621151220
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 114
Book Description
Trapped in the dungeons beneath an evil wizard's scarlet stronghold, Conan must confront a slew of new challenges and foes as he fights to free himself and reclaim the throne of Aquilonia! Featuring duplicitous betrayers, sparring sorcerers, and all of the brutal excitement you've come to expect from the rampaging Cimmerian, this trade paperback collects the four-issue King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel adaptation. * From the fan-favorite creative team of Conan the Cimmerian!
The Conquering Sword of Conan
Author: Robert E. Howard
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN: 0345486056
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 418
Book Description
“For headling, nonstop adventure and for vivid, even florid, scenery, no one even comes close to Howard.”—Harry Turtledove In a meteoric career that covered only a dozen years, Robert E. Howard defined the sword-and-sorcery genre. In doing so, he brought to life the archetypal adventurer known to millions around the world as Conan the barbarian. Witness, then, Howard at his finest, and Conan at his most savage, in the latest volume featuring the collected works of Robert E. Howard, lavishly illustrated by award-winning artist Greg Manchess. Prepared directly from the earliest known versions—often Howard’s own manuscripts—are such sword-and-sorcery classics as “The Servants of Bit-Yakin” (formerly published as “Jewels of Gwahlur”), “Beyond the Black River,” “The Black Stranger,” “Man-Eaters of Zamboula” (formerly published as “Shadows in Zamboula”), and, perhaps his most famous adventure of all, “Red Nails.” The Conquering Sword of Conan includes never-before-published outlines, notes, and story drafts, plus a new introduction, personal correspondence, and the revealing essay “Hyborian Genesis”—which chronicles the history of the creation of the Conan series. Truly, this is heroic fantasy at its finest.
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN: 0345486056
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 418
Book Description
“For headling, nonstop adventure and for vivid, even florid, scenery, no one even comes close to Howard.”—Harry Turtledove In a meteoric career that covered only a dozen years, Robert E. Howard defined the sword-and-sorcery genre. In doing so, he brought to life the archetypal adventurer known to millions around the world as Conan the barbarian. Witness, then, Howard at his finest, and Conan at his most savage, in the latest volume featuring the collected works of Robert E. Howard, lavishly illustrated by award-winning artist Greg Manchess. Prepared directly from the earliest known versions—often Howard’s own manuscripts—are such sword-and-sorcery classics as “The Servants of Bit-Yakin” (formerly published as “Jewels of Gwahlur”), “Beyond the Black River,” “The Black Stranger,” “Man-Eaters of Zamboula” (formerly published as “Shadows in Zamboula”), and, perhaps his most famous adventure of all, “Red Nails.” The Conquering Sword of Conan includes never-before-published outlines, notes, and story drafts, plus a new introduction, personal correspondence, and the revealing essay “Hyborian Genesis”—which chronicles the history of the creation of the Conan series. Truly, this is heroic fantasy at its finest.
The Complete Chronicles Of Conan
Author: Robert E Howard
Publisher: Gateway
ISBN: 1473215331
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 919
Book Description
Conan the Cimmerian: the boy-thief who became a mercenary, who fought and loved his way across fabled lands to become King of Aquilonia. Neither supernatural fiends nore demonic sorcery could oppose the barbarian warrior as he wielded his mighty sword and dispatched his enemies to a bloody doom on the battlefields of the legendary Hyborian age. Collected together in one volume for the very first time, in chronological order, are Robert E. Howard's tales of the legendary hero, as fresh and atmospheric today as when they were first published in the pulp magazines of more than seventy years ago. Compiled by and with a foreward and afterword by award-winning writer and editor Stephen Jones.
Publisher: Gateway
ISBN: 1473215331
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 919
Book Description
Conan the Cimmerian: the boy-thief who became a mercenary, who fought and loved his way across fabled lands to become King of Aquilonia. Neither supernatural fiends nore demonic sorcery could oppose the barbarian warrior as he wielded his mighty sword and dispatched his enemies to a bloody doom on the battlefields of the legendary Hyborian age. Collected together in one volume for the very first time, in chronological order, are Robert E. Howard's tales of the legendary hero, as fresh and atmospheric today as when they were first published in the pulp magazines of more than seventy years ago. Compiled by and with a foreward and afterword by award-winning writer and editor Stephen Jones.
The Silver Bear
Author: Derek Haas
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1643130617
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 135
Book Description
The intense psychological portrait of a hitman—the anti-Jason Bourne—as he stalks his prey from Boston to LA. He wants you to know him, maybe even admire him, but only for his excellence in his craft. Perhaps he was even born for it. "A natural killer," his mentor—a middleman named Vespucci—said he was. He proved it with his first professional hit: a Fifth Circuit Court judge in Boston, executed with a sheet of Saran Wrap in the stairwell of her own courthouse. He's proved his merit often, usually with a Glock semiautomatic, but he's improvised too, with his bare hands, the heel of a shoe, knives, even a sewing machine. He is the consummate assassin, at the top of his form, immune to the psychological strains of his chosen profession. He is what the Russians call a Silver Bear. He calls himself Columbus. It's the name Vespucci gave him, ten years ago, when he discovered a dark, new world of fences, clients, marks, jobs, jack. Not that his real name meant much to him anyway. He never knew his father or his mother, a prostitute who became dangerously involved back in the seventies with an earnest young congressman named Abe Mann, then a rising star in the Democratic Party. The magnetic Abe Mann has since become the Speaker of the House. He is currently running for the Democratic nomination in an exhausting presidential campaign, weaving his way across the country. Columbus is not far behind. But as he pieces together his past and prepares the seamless assassination of his mark, the criminal underworld he has always ruled begins unraveling violently around him.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1643130617
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 135
Book Description
The intense psychological portrait of a hitman—the anti-Jason Bourne—as he stalks his prey from Boston to LA. He wants you to know him, maybe even admire him, but only for his excellence in his craft. Perhaps he was even born for it. "A natural killer," his mentor—a middleman named Vespucci—said he was. He proved it with his first professional hit: a Fifth Circuit Court judge in Boston, executed with a sheet of Saran Wrap in the stairwell of her own courthouse. He's proved his merit often, usually with a Glock semiautomatic, but he's improvised too, with his bare hands, the heel of a shoe, knives, even a sewing machine. He is the consummate assassin, at the top of his form, immune to the psychological strains of his chosen profession. He is what the Russians call a Silver Bear. He calls himself Columbus. It's the name Vespucci gave him, ten years ago, when he discovered a dark, new world of fences, clients, marks, jobs, jack. Not that his real name meant much to him anyway. He never knew his father or his mother, a prostitute who became dangerously involved back in the seventies with an earnest young congressman named Abe Mann, then a rising star in the Democratic Party. The magnetic Abe Mann has since become the Speaker of the House. He is currently running for the Democratic nomination in an exhausting presidential campaign, weaving his way across the country. Columbus is not far behind. But as he pieces together his past and prepares the seamless assassination of his mark, the criminal underworld he has always ruled begins unraveling violently around him.
Conan the Conqueror
Author: Robert E Howard
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1329980034
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 246
Book Description
Conan the Conqueror - The Hour of the Dragon Conan the Cimmerian: he rose from boy-thief and mercenary to become king of Aquilonia. Neither supernatural fiends nor demonic sorcery could oppose the barbarian warrior as he wielded his mighty sword and dispatched his enemies to a bloody doom on the battlefields of the legendary Hyborian Age. Collected together for the first time anywhere in the world, in chronological order, are all Robert E. Howard's definitive stories of Conan, exactly as he wrote them, as fresh, atmospheric and vibrant today as when they were first published in the pulp magazines more than sixty years ago. Conan is besieged by enemies! Xaltotun, an ancient sorcerer attacks the Kingdom of Aquilonia! The only way to defeat him is to retrieve the Heart of Ahriman! This is the only novel by Howard featuring his Conan character.
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1329980034
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 246
Book Description
Conan the Conqueror - The Hour of the Dragon Conan the Cimmerian: he rose from boy-thief and mercenary to become king of Aquilonia. Neither supernatural fiends nor demonic sorcery could oppose the barbarian warrior as he wielded his mighty sword and dispatched his enemies to a bloody doom on the battlefields of the legendary Hyborian Age. Collected together for the first time anywhere in the world, in chronological order, are all Robert E. Howard's definitive stories of Conan, exactly as he wrote them, as fresh, atmospheric and vibrant today as when they were first published in the pulp magazines more than sixty years ago. Conan is besieged by enemies! Xaltotun, an ancient sorcerer attacks the Kingdom of Aquilonia! The only way to defeat him is to retrieve the Heart of Ahriman! This is the only novel by Howard featuring his Conan character.
Kull the Destroyer: the Original Marvel Years Omnibus
Author: Roy Thomas
Publisher: Marvel
ISBN: 9781302929190
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Conan wasn't the only Robert E. Howard sword and sorcery icon to be adapted to Marvel Comics! Following Conan's breakout success, Roy Thomas set his sights on Howard's legendary barbarian king of Valusia: Kull! Marie and John Severin contributed what many consider the creative highlight of their careers, in tales that showed how uneasy hung the crown on the head of Kull -- especially when confronting wicked sorcerer Thulsa Doom! The art of Mike Ploog also features heavily, along with contributions from some of the era's top talents...including Kull's first appearance, drawn by comics legend Bernie Wrightson! COLLECTING: Kull the Conqueror (1971) 1-10, Kull the Destroyer (1973) 11-29, Creatures on the Loose (1970) 10, Monsters on the Prowl (1971) 16; material from Kull and the Barbarians (1975) 1-3, Savage Sword of Conan (1974) 9, Conan the Barbarian (1970) 10, Conan the Barbarian Annual (1973) 3, FOOM (1973) 14
Publisher: Marvel
ISBN: 9781302929190
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Conan wasn't the only Robert E. Howard sword and sorcery icon to be adapted to Marvel Comics! Following Conan's breakout success, Roy Thomas set his sights on Howard's legendary barbarian king of Valusia: Kull! Marie and John Severin contributed what many consider the creative highlight of their careers, in tales that showed how uneasy hung the crown on the head of Kull -- especially when confronting wicked sorcerer Thulsa Doom! The art of Mike Ploog also features heavily, along with contributions from some of the era's top talents...including Kull's first appearance, drawn by comics legend Bernie Wrightson! COLLECTING: Kull the Conqueror (1971) 1-10, Kull the Destroyer (1973) 11-29, Creatures on the Loose (1970) 10, Monsters on the Prowl (1971) 16; material from Kull and the Barbarians (1975) 1-3, Savage Sword of Conan (1974) 9, Conan the Barbarian (1970) 10, Conan the Barbarian Annual (1973) 3, FOOM (1973) 14
Kull the Conqueror: the Original Marvel Years Omnibus
Author: Alan Zelenetz
Publisher: Marvel
ISBN: 9781302929176
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The last of three volumes collecting the complete original Marvel KULL comics kicks off with an early '80s Spider-Man/King Kull team-up against the threat of Ju-Lak and the Serpent Cult! Then, a new solo Kull series begins with a run of double-sized color comics by some of the best artists of the decade! KULL THE CONQUEROR boasted a bruising dose of art from Big John Buscema -- but it also featured takes on the warrior-monarch of Valusia from luminaries John Bolton, Charles Vess, Butch Guice and Bill Sienkiewicz. And the '80s era of Kull concludes with the stunning graphic novel KULL: THE VALE OF SHADOW by Alan Zelenetz and Tony DeZuniga! COLLECTING: Kull the Conqueror (1982) 1-2; Kull the Conqueror (1983) 1-10; Kull: The Vale of Shadow (1989); Marvel Team-Up (1972) 111-112
Publisher: Marvel
ISBN: 9781302929176
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The last of three volumes collecting the complete original Marvel KULL comics kicks off with an early '80s Spider-Man/King Kull team-up against the threat of Ju-Lak and the Serpent Cult! Then, a new solo Kull series begins with a run of double-sized color comics by some of the best artists of the decade! KULL THE CONQUEROR boasted a bruising dose of art from Big John Buscema -- but it also featured takes on the warrior-monarch of Valusia from luminaries John Bolton, Charles Vess, Butch Guice and Bill Sienkiewicz. And the '80s era of Kull concludes with the stunning graphic novel KULL: THE VALE OF SHADOW by Alan Zelenetz and Tony DeZuniga! COLLECTING: Kull the Conqueror (1982) 1-2; Kull the Conqueror (1983) 1-10; Kull: The Vale of Shadow (1989); Marvel Team-Up (1972) 111-112
Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian Barbarian
Author: Robert E. Howard
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781635912715
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 860
Book Description
This 860-page collection contains all of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian stories published during his lifetime, contextualized with biographical details of their author. The hardcover, a Multimedia Bundle Edition, includes the e-book and audiobook editions as downloadable bonus content. Excerpt from Introduction: "When the first Conan of Cimmeria story appeared in the pages of Weird Tales magazine in December 1932, nothing quite like it had ever before appeared in print.Author Robert E. Howard had been writing stories broadly similar to it for half a decade; but it was with Conan, and the Hyborian Age storyworld in which he was placed, that Howard finally fully doped out the sub-genre that would become known as "sword and sorcery," of which Howard is today considered the founding father. "Conan's origins date back to an experiment in 1926 titled "The Shadow Kingdom," featuring the character Kull, exile of Atlantis. The idea -- Howard's great innovation -- was, at its core, historical fiction set in a pre-historical period. That pre-historical period -- being, of course, lost in the mists of time -- could contain anything Howard might like to include: evil races of sentient snake-things, sorcerers, undead creatures, demons walking upon the earth, anything. "In other words, Howard was creating a secular mythology. "And as with any mythology, secular or no, there would be a hero, a Ulysses or a Theseus, an exceptional man of legend striding through that myth-world, sword in hand, righting wrongs and slaying supernatural monsters and, along the way, providing metaphorical insight onto his world and ours. "At the same time, he was finding success with another historical-fiction-fusion innovation: The grim, savage English Puritan Solomon Kane. Kane's world was the skull-strewn chaos of Europe and north Africa during the Thirty Years War, in the early 1600s. Little enough is known about specific events during that dark time that it was possible to take historical liberties with it as a storyworld, so that it could accommodate dark magic, walking skeletons, vampires, magic staffs, and, of course, N'Longa the witch-doctor. "Howard quickly realized he was onto something with Solomon Kane. The first Solomon Kane story, "Red Shadows," appeared in August 1928 in Weird Tales, and readers loved it. Here was a dark, brooding world of menace and witchcraft connected pseudo-genealogically to their own. It was easy for readers to "take the ride" -- to suspend their disbelief and envision Kane's adventures as a part of the real world. "But, perhaps the connection with the real world was too close. The countries of 1630s Europe are well known; the causes of the conflict fully understood. There was only so much Howard could do in Solomon Kane's world. Moreover, Solomon Kane is just a hard character to root for. Unlike Kull, he is, not to put too fine a point on it, really not a sane man. "So it makes perfect sense that after the shadowy, prehistoric world of Kull and the dark, necromantic world of Solomon Kane, Howard would combine these two precursors to develop a world that was far enough into the distant past to be free of actual historical constraints -- like Kull's -- yet close enough to the present to still exist as echoes and legends in the world's mythologies. "And so Howard created The Hyborian Age, circa 10,000 B.C. And to play the role of our avatar as we explore this shadowy, almost-historical world, he gave us Conan the Cimmerian - to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet."
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781635912715
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 860
Book Description
This 860-page collection contains all of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian stories published during his lifetime, contextualized with biographical details of their author. The hardcover, a Multimedia Bundle Edition, includes the e-book and audiobook editions as downloadable bonus content. Excerpt from Introduction: "When the first Conan of Cimmeria story appeared in the pages of Weird Tales magazine in December 1932, nothing quite like it had ever before appeared in print.Author Robert E. Howard had been writing stories broadly similar to it for half a decade; but it was with Conan, and the Hyborian Age storyworld in which he was placed, that Howard finally fully doped out the sub-genre that would become known as "sword and sorcery," of which Howard is today considered the founding father. "Conan's origins date back to an experiment in 1926 titled "The Shadow Kingdom," featuring the character Kull, exile of Atlantis. The idea -- Howard's great innovation -- was, at its core, historical fiction set in a pre-historical period. That pre-historical period -- being, of course, lost in the mists of time -- could contain anything Howard might like to include: evil races of sentient snake-things, sorcerers, undead creatures, demons walking upon the earth, anything. "In other words, Howard was creating a secular mythology. "And as with any mythology, secular or no, there would be a hero, a Ulysses or a Theseus, an exceptional man of legend striding through that myth-world, sword in hand, righting wrongs and slaying supernatural monsters and, along the way, providing metaphorical insight onto his world and ours. "At the same time, he was finding success with another historical-fiction-fusion innovation: The grim, savage English Puritan Solomon Kane. Kane's world was the skull-strewn chaos of Europe and north Africa during the Thirty Years War, in the early 1600s. Little enough is known about specific events during that dark time that it was possible to take historical liberties with it as a storyworld, so that it could accommodate dark magic, walking skeletons, vampires, magic staffs, and, of course, N'Longa the witch-doctor. "Howard quickly realized he was onto something with Solomon Kane. The first Solomon Kane story, "Red Shadows," appeared in August 1928 in Weird Tales, and readers loved it. Here was a dark, brooding world of menace and witchcraft connected pseudo-genealogically to their own. It was easy for readers to "take the ride" -- to suspend their disbelief and envision Kane's adventures as a part of the real world. "But, perhaps the connection with the real world was too close. The countries of 1630s Europe are well known; the causes of the conflict fully understood. There was only so much Howard could do in Solomon Kane's world. Moreover, Solomon Kane is just a hard character to root for. Unlike Kull, he is, not to put too fine a point on it, really not a sane man. "So it makes perfect sense that after the shadowy, prehistoric world of Kull and the dark, necromantic world of Solomon Kane, Howard would combine these two precursors to develop a world that was far enough into the distant past to be free of actual historical constraints -- like Kull's -- yet close enough to the present to still exist as echoes and legends in the world's mythologies. "And so Howard created The Hyborian Age, circa 10,000 B.C. And to play the role of our avatar as we explore this shadowy, almost-historical world, he gave us Conan the Cimmerian - to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet."