Customer Reviews
Sword and sorcery rules and Howard is the King! 
2008-07-18
First, I must say that I am a woman. Many have found it unusual that I would love Robert E. Howard's work, but I do. I have all of his stories, and am grateful there are new editions to replace my poor crumbling paperbacks.
As a writer of fantasy Robert E. Howard is a must read for any interested in the genre. We take for granted the acceptance of fantasy in literature today, but in the 1930's-it was not respected or looked on with any serious note. I am not saying Robert E. Howard was without flaws, but he could create such heat on paper in a few sentences that takes many a writer pages to achieve. His raw barbarian hero Conan goes from age 15 to aged king and his journey is never dull. It is the scope of imagination in Howard's writing that is wonderful. The freedom to be wild. We should never forget that as writers. As a reader, I relish Howard's tales of savage myth.
If it's your genre, you'll like this collection 
2008-07-07
Howard's Conan is a warrior and not much more. The common thread of all the stories is that somewhere along the way way Conan kills someone or something. It's pretty much that simple. Some of the stories are no more than a few pages, while others cover what essentially are multiple chapters. Most of the stories have a smoking hot woman who usually starts scantily clad and ends up completely unclad at some point - though sex does not feature (keeping in mind they were written in the 1930s). Conan isn't even the main character in some cases.
Outside of the tales themselves, I found the introductory discussion of Howard and the development of the Conan character interesting. What was most intriguing to me, though, was the well developed history of Conan's world, written by Howard, which is included toward the end of the volume.
Overall, if you take the stories individually, try not to link them much (despite the ever-present Conan), and you like the genre, you'll probably quite enjoy this collection. It's well written and loaded with exciting action. If you want the type of character development you get from novels, and even from the Conan movies, you'll be disappointed.
The Master At His Best 2008-06-28
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.
ROBERT E. HOWARD = THE BEST OF THE BEST! 2008-04-20
The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian is one of my favorites. This book is fully illustrated throughout by Mark Schultz who does an excellent job! The Phoenix on the Sword is REH's first story of Conan. Some of REH's best stories are here: The God in The Bowl, The Tower in the Elephant, The Frost Giants Daughter, Queen of the Black Coast, Rogues in the House, and more.
Robert E. Howard (1906-1936) was an extra-ordindary creative writer who in my opinion was the best! His vision, talent, creative writing, and action packed stories can and will never be replicated! To learn more about this unique man read The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard by Mark Finn. Also, read the Best of REH 1 & 2, Beyond The Black River, The Black Stranger and Other American Tales has the scariest story EVER Pigeons From Hell! Be sure to read it at night with plenty of light.
Must Reads: REH The Last of the Trunk, Solomon Kane, Kull, Bran Mak Morn, The Bloody Crown of Conan, All of the Weird Works REH, All of Weird Tales, and Selected Letters of REH, and my favorite about Cats the Abyss, Cormac Mac Art, Dark Horse comics Conan and Pigeons from Hell, One Who Walked Alone by REH's girlfriend Novalyn Ellis, Two-Gun Bob, A Centennial Study of REH-This anthology of essays by 16 professionals offers a centenary tribute to REH and his literary achievement; In Two-Gun Bob I found out that REH had only been to the seashore only once in his life!
A special thanks to Glenn Lord, Patrice Louinet, Rusty Burke, Stuart Williams, Mark Finn, Paul Herman, Dark Horse comics, Del Rey, and everyone else who has kept REH's legacy alive and well.
fantastic action packed well written story telling. 2008-03-27
This compilation of robert e howards prolific amoral barbarian is a must for every conan fan. These stories are so well written that you feel you are actualy in the ancient mythical world of hyboria. The illustrations within the book are a beautifull compliment to each story. I just wish the stories were longer since i am used to reading the full length novels but, most people like short stories so if you like action packed stories in faraway exotic places you will love this collection.
I love Conan 2008-03-15
“Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities . . . 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.”
Conan is one of the greatest fictional heroes ever created–a swordsman who cuts a swath across the lands of the Hyborian Age, facing powerful sorcerers, deadly creatures, and ruthless armies of thieves and reavers.
In a meteoric career that spanned a mere twelve years before his tragic suicide, Robert E. Howard single-handedly invented the genre that came to be called sword and sorcery. Collected in this volume, profusely illustrated by artist Mark Schultz, are Howard’s first thirteen Conan stories, appearing in their original versions–in some cases for the first time in more than seventy years–and in the order Howard wrote them. Along with classics of dark fantasy like “The Tower of the Elephant” and swashbuckling adventure like “Queen of the Black Coast,”
The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian contains a wealth of material never before published in the United States, including the first submitted draft of Conan’s debut, “Phoenix on the Sword,” Howard’s synopses for “The Scarlet Citadel” and “Black Colossus,” and a map of Conan’s world drawn by the author himself.
Here are timeless tales featuring Conan the raw and dangerous youth, Conan the daring thief, Conan the swashbuckling pirate, and Conan the commander of armies. Here, too, is an unparalleled glimpse into the mind of a genius whose bold storytelling style has been imitated by many, yet equaled by none.
Great Book 2008-02-29
This is a great book. I normally wait until I am finished with a book to read it but since this one is a collection of short stories I am reviewing it now. I am only half way through it and even if the rest of the book stinks I would still give the first half of the book 5 stars. If you like sword and sorcery books than you will love this one as well. I have read most of the books not written by Howard and enjoyed all of them and have read hundreds of the Conan comics. Howard's stories are very well written and enjoyable to read.
Strongly recommended to fans and even to fans that just want to try out a good sword and sorcery book I can not think of a better place to start.
I have the Kindle version and there is a problem. This book I believe had pictures or illustrations in it. At least that is the impression you get from the forward section of the book. My first impressions with Kindle books is you will miss out on this type of things. Even the book cover on this version is really bad. It takes up about 15 to 20% of the screen and is in such poor resolution that it is almost pointless. I do not get this as I have out of copyright books from other sources that have much better pictures than the books you pay for. I really do not understand this practice. But this is still a minor point to me so I am still giving this book 4 stars. Would be 4.5 but there is no way to do that. The text is 5 stars and the Kindle really is a great screen to read off of.
Swords and Sorcery at its Best 2008-02-17
The Conan stories by Robert E. Howard are some of the first and the best in the Heroic Fantasy / Swords and Sorcery genres. The stories are far better than the movies or comics based upon them. I highly recommend them. Just as good - in fact, probably better, or Howard's stories about Kull and those of Solomon Kane.
-- Glenn G. Thater, Author of 'Harbinger of Doom'
Conan is the man! 2008-01-08
This is great stuff, utterly action-packed! Howard has a wonderful sense of words, and--though he makes the occasional error in cognate reuse (e.g., "the courier coursed down the corridor")--he describes people, places, and events in jaw-dropping detail. You can faint from the splendor of the fabulously wealthy cities and places he word-paints ('limns', to use a favorite term of his). I could do without the all-too-frequent brutally detailed battle scenes, indicating precisely which archers and pikemen were positioned where and whose horse slipped in whose blood. Just when you're about to lose interest, rest assured that a ferocious dragon or wacky gorilla-monster lurks around the next corner. Oh, and there's some very good black magical humor, e.g., when one wizard, in the guise of an eagle, makes off with the head of a second wizard, whose headless body runs after him, muttering curses. You've got to admit that that's imaginative. I witthold my sixth star because of the uneven nature of some of the stories: indeed, the earlier tales seem to flow better than the later ones (n.b. that Conan's character chronology is unrelated to Howard's authorship chronology). Also, the dialogue occasionally seems silly or stinted: it's hard to believe that a barbarian--even though we know he's thoughtful and good-hearted--would engage in such lengthy monologues (all but monologues, I should say) while supposedly "conversing" with other characters. His words sound like what one would write, not like what one--a barbarian, moreover--would say. But never mind these nickety-pickety nitpicks: this is great, great stuff. After enjoying these, you may want to look into the other volumes (but of course!) and Howard's other works: Bran Mak Morn, Kull, and Solomon Kane. The last of these has adventures such as battling voodoo demons in darkest Africa, chasing vampire queens into forgotten cities, and engaging in swordplay with the enchanted skeletons of murdered sorcerers. Aah! That's the ticket!
Conan is bigger than life 2007-11-23
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.
