Conan (Book 1) By Robert E. Howard

Brad

Aaaaah...Conan!

I struggled with my star rating for
Conan because, despite any mitigating factors, I really love the character of Conan, particularly in the hands of his progenitor,
Robert E. Howard.

Howard had a fiercely creative mind and a burning work ethic that enabled him to crank out some of the most amazing pulp heroes and anti-heroes, including Kull, El Borak, Solomon Kane, the humorous Breckinridge Ellis, and, of course, Conan before taking his own life at thirty years old.

It is an impressive run, and his characters continue to live and breathe for us almost seventy-five years after his suicide.

Rereading the first
Conan book, an attempt by
L. Sprague de Camp (Howard's flame holder) to bring together Conan's short tales in something resembling chronological order, was a real treat: a return to my teenage years of sword and sorcery roll playing, pulp comic book madness, and pubescent wish fulfillment that everything could be answered with a strong fist, righteous violence and that women would swoon for the man who could deliver those things.

The fondness I have for
Conan is hard to shake.

But there are things that mitigate the quality of the Conan books today, and they are unavoidable. L. Sprague de Camp and
Lin Carter, the partners who filled in the gaps in the Conan saga, wrote their own chapters and finished Howard's tales from notes and partially written drafts, are nowhere near as talented as Howard, and their work, which appears in every Conan book of the original cycle, gets in the way.

It is also tough to swallow the sexism and racism underlying much of Howard's work. The former is blatant and Howard made no attempt to hide Conan's patriarchal proclivities; the latter is not as obvious but Howard himself may have been totally unaware of its presence. Howard was fairly forward thinking for his day, but he was writing pulp in 1930s Texas and we can't expect him to share our supposedly "enlightened" opinions or views of the world. Even so, some of Conan's behavior is tough to take.

But there is so much that is entertaining and excitingly creative about Howard's writing that I find myself swinging the other way on the pendulum almost as soon as something bothers me. It's so easy to get swept up in Zamoran intrigue or Nemedian murder mystery or Stygian black magic that all other concerns disappear.

Howard's finest achievement, and one that I have never seen discussed, was the way his Conan narrative unfolded with Conan's role constantly shifting. I'm not speaking about Conan's move from thief to adventurer to mercenary and back again. What I find fascinating is that Howard tells the story of Conan using countless short stories, but Conan isn't always the main character. Sometimes he's nothing more than a peripheral supporting character, yet each occasion of his presence tells us something more about Conan and furthers the chronicle of his life. "The God in the Bowl" and "Rogues in the House" are perfect examples of Conan's shifting narrative role, and these are stories unmuddied by the hands of Howard's followers. The technique of allowing a major character to have his story told through drips and drops is, I think, underused in literature today -- and Howard mastered it with
Conan.

This time through I marveled at Howard's creative and narrative genius, cringed at his antiquated social outlook, and moved through my discomfort to simply enjoy what is -- no matter its flaws -- a classic of Fantasy literature. I love
Conan, and I probably always will, but tainted as it is, and as a potential recommendation for others, I can't give it more than three stars -- even if its a five in my heart.

Eloy Cryptkeeper

"Conan el cimmerio, de cabellos negros y mirada hosca, con la espada en la mano —ladrón, vagabundo, asesino implacable, con una melancolía abismal y una exultante alegría— para pisotear los enjoyados tronos de la Tierra con sus toscas sandalias...
Por las venas de Conan corría sangre de los antiguos atlantes tragados por el mar ocho mil años antes.
No se sabe cuándo el joven cimmerio vio por primera vez la civilización, pero ya tenía fama de guerrero hacia la época de los fuegos del consejo, aunque aún no había visto quince nevadas"

",Capaz de enfrentarse a cualquier hombre o bestia salvaje, Conan no sentía miedo ante el dolor, la muerte ni ante ningún enemigo mortal. Pero era un bárbaro de las montañas del norte, de las primitivas tierras de Cimmeria. Al igual que todos los bárbaros, sentía pavor frente a los horrores sobrenaturales de las tumbas y de las tinieblas, ante los demonios y los monstruos rastreros de la Antigua Noche y del Caos, con los que la gente primitiva puebla las tinieblas que están más allá del círculo de sus hogueras. "

Estos relatos correlativos y cronológicos, son los que marcan el comienzo de las aventuras de Conan. En su etapa adolescente ,durante la denominada "Era Hiboria. En un mundo que amalgama guerreros, , magia, brujería, espectros, alimañas gigantes, quimeras aberrantes(típicos del Pulp). y en sus viajes y aventuras, Conan ira cosechando amigos, socios e infinidad de enemigos.
A su vez, a la par de toda la mitología muy imaginativa y creativa, Y del mundo que creo Howard. Parece ir en paralelo con nuestra propia historia de antaño, explorando algunos mitos, supersticiones, miedos y leyendas de la misma.

Conan a pesar de ser un bárbaro, y de ser temerario, tiene su astucia y su inteligencia. su propio código moral ,un peculiar sentido del honor y una particular relación con su dios "Crom".
Este genero de fantasía heroica,Posterior a la muerte de Howard se convertiría en un subgénero denominado "espada y brujería" o "espada y hechicería". Y ha sido de gran influencia hasta el día de hoy, y se ve reflejado en sagas como la de Geralt de Rivia.

Michael Sorbello

I read all of Robert E. Howard's original Conan tales about two years ago and was surprised by how grim, badass and engaging they were. I was expecting them to be super corny, yet they were shockingly deep, amoral and exciting given the time they were written. After being impressed with Conan's original run, I thought it would be interesting to read some stories penned by other authors. While this collection does include some of Howard's stories that I've already read, there were quite a few fragments of stories that were rewritten and finished by Lin Carter and L. Sprague de Camp after Howard's untimely death.

They did a great job of capturing the grim prose and gritty atmosphere, but didn't do such a great job of capturing the spirit of the characters. That being said, it was a lot of fun to experience some new content from the barbarian legend and I felt more immersed in the primordial nightmarescape of his bizarre world.

This collections includes one of Howard's best early stories called Tower of the Elephant, which I think is the best short story that new fans could possibly start with. It's a dark fantasy fetch quest that lets you get a feel for how amoral Conan is as a person, he's not a noble hero by any means. He'll put an axe in your head for the most unpredictable reasons at times. On top of letting you get to know what type of person he is and being able to see him fight against some formidable adversaries, this story also goes deep into the lore and world-building of the series so it makes you feel more familiar with the often vague and subtle storytelling that the series usually has.

While I do like the new stories in this collection, I would recommend just sticking to Howard's originals for newcomers.

***

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Greg

This book is a copy I bought secondhand many years ago and only decided to start it (finally!) when I participated in a group Conan read in the
Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy" forum at Goodreads.

The book opens with L. Sprague de Camp’s introduction and a letter written in 1936 by Robert E. Howard to
P. S. Miller, which explains his conception of Conan. This is followed by Howard’s ‘The Hyborian Age – part I’, an essay outlining the origins and broad historical sweep of Conan’s world, which I found to be rather dry reading – other readers could easily skip this if they just wanted to delve into the adventures of Conan straight away.

The first proper story is ‘The thing in the crypt’, by Lin Carter and de Camp, which was OK, but I felt that you could guess each step in the story before it happened. A fire is lit (that will be important later on), a sword is seen (Conan will use it), etc. There were no surprises and no twist; it seemed rather humdrum, although a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old, relatively inexperienced in reading heroic fantasy, might love it! I initially thought that this must’ve been a story written early in Howard’s career before I checked the author credits (authorship is not indicated on the title page of each story).

Then I read Howard’s ‘The tower of the elephant’, which is rich in description, has a mysterious setting (the eponymous tower and its garden), involves a cosmological aspect reminiscent of a Lovecraft tale, and has a much less predictable plotline. Although I would quibble over a couple of phrases – the top of a circular tower’s walls should be referred to as the parapet as opposed to the ‘rim’ and the use of the term ‘Arctic Circle’ seemed out of place in a supposedly ancient (pre-modern) setting – this was by far a better story than the preceding.

The next story – ‘The hall of the dead’ – is based on an outline by Howard but was written by de Camp. A tale of treasure-hunting in an ancient ruined city, it was almost as good as ‘The tower of the elephant’. However, I thought Also, . Overall, the plot and action were good, the setting and its denizens mysterious.

In Howard’s ‘The god in the bowl’, Conan creeps into a house in the hopes of stealing something but is discovered by night watchmen, who accuse him of murder because the body of a slain priest – the house’s owner – had been found shortly beforehand. An investigation is conducted and it soon becomes apparent that not everything is as it seems, but will Conan be able to prove his innocence of murder and escape any penalties for trespass? This was a nice take on a murder mystery!

In Howard’s story, ‘Rogues in the house’, Conan is commissioned to assassinate a formidable priest of Anu but finds the latter’s house holds a few dangers, not least of which is the priest’s guardian. While I was a little amused at the use of the word ‘ejaculated’ for non-sexual excitement on two occasions (pp. 123, 126), it was a fun, Mission Impossible-style of yarn.

‘The Hand of Nergal’ was written by Lin Carter but was based on a three-page fragment among Howard’s papers. The story is about a powerful and evil magical artefact – the eponymous hand carved of ivory and clutching an orb – which had corrupted a city governor. He had become a tyrant and used the artefact to summon wraith-like figures to control and defend his city. Conan, who had found another powerful artefact (the Heart of Tammuz), was tasked with using it to defeat the governor and destroy the Hand of Nergal . The Shadows of Nergal (the wraith-like figures [p. 148]) reminded me of the Nazgūl in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Indeed, the name ‘Nergal’, itself, is very similar to that of ‘Nazgûl’, while another reminder was the phrase ‘Thus ended the career of Bakra of Akif’ (p. 139), which was like Gandalf saying ‘So passes Denethor, son of Ecthelion’ at the death of the Steward of Gondor (in
The Return of the King, p. 115). . There’s a hint of Lovecraft too, not only in the sense of the evil artefact but also in terms of there being a Book of Skelos, which is said to have been written by a ‘blind seer’ (p. 152), a bit like the Kitab al-Azif (or the
Necronomicon, as it is better known), that was compiled by ‘the Mad Arab’ Abdul Alhazred! Nevertheless, despite the obvious sources of inspiration, ‘The Hand of Nergal’ was an enjoyable read in its own right.

‘The City of Skulls’, by Lin Carter and L. Sprague de Camp, tells of how Conan and his friend, Juma, were among a detail of Turanian soldiers providing an escort for a princess on her way to bewed a prince when they are attacked and overcome by Azweri warriors. Taken prisoners, Conan, Juma and the princess are brought back to the Azweri capital. There, our heroes find that they are to be enslaved while the Azweri king lusts over the princess. Conan and Juma are then forced to spend some time as oarsmen aboard a galley sailing out of the Azweri port. Will they be able to free themselves, return to the Azweri capital and rescue the princess before some unpleasant fate befalls her?

This was a good adventure with a dash of fantastical horror, but I thought the authors overdid the references to the Azweris as being ‘a horde of squat, brown warriors’ (p. 160), who were ‘slant-eyed yellowish’ (p. 161), ‘swarthy’ (p. 161) and ‘sallow little men’ (p. 162) in the first few pages. For the most part, the Azweris spoke in broken Hyrkanian (English to us) (p. 164). It was as if their racial characteristics were the most significant thing about them, yet the authors do also portray them as good archers, wearing intricate armor of lacquered leather (p. 161) and defeating the Turanian soldiers. But I also wondered why it had to be emphasised that Juma was black. That he had once been enslaved by ‘Shemites’ (surrogates for Arabs and Jews in this alternate Earth) also seemed a cliché – he was black so, of course, he had been enslaved by whites (pp. 170-1). While I understand that it might not have been the intention of the authors, there is a racial emphasis in this story that makes me feel a little uncomfortable.

Another issue I had with the story is that while Conan is supposed to be a polyglot (which is plausible as he was widely travelled) he is also stated to be able to read and write ‘a little’ in some languages, which seems very unlikely (p. 174). When does an adventuring barbarian youth, who never settles long in one place, get the chance to learn these skills? Also, we are told that Conan (while battling the Azweris) preferred using ‘the straight broadswords of the West, to which he was more accustomed’ (p. 162), yet he had used a curved tulwar in ‘The Hand of Nergal’ (p. 139) and had already served for two years in the Turanian army, which evidently preferred this latter weapon. That said, Carter and de Camp describe well the horror of slave-life aboard a galley in Conan’s world (pp. 175-6).

Not unusually for a work of heroic fantasy we find that, on two occasions, female characters are nude, one vulnerable and in chains, the other unbound and admittedly heroic in her actions – ‘the naked, white, slender body of a young girl’ (p. 182) in ‘The City of Skulls’ and ‘the slim white form of a nude girl with dark flashing eyes and a black torrent of foaming curls’ (p. 156) in ‘The Hand of Nergal’. It’s curious that in both cases their ‘whiteness’ is also emphasised – but why? The sexism, however, is somewhat mitigated by the fact that the oarsmen on the slave galley in ‘The City of Skulls’ (p. 175) – including Conan and Juma – are all nude (...and there is whipping[!] but I’ll say no more about that)!

Overall, this is an interesting collection of stories which blends elements of fantasy and horror quite well. Apemen feature in two stories (‘Rogues in the House’ and ‘The Hand of Nergal’) as the undead do in two others (in ‘The thing in the crypt’ and ‘The hall of the dead’) – creatures which I’m guessing will feature in other Conan tales. While Conan, for the most part, solves tricky situations through quick-witted brawn and swordplay, it is the existence of sorcery as well as magical items and creatures which I enjoyed the most in the tales collected here. I also liked the frequent use of archaic or uncommon words (like poniard [pp. 117-18], tulwar, habiliments (p. 116), grubstake [p. 137], tabouret [p. 148], foetor [p. 157] and torchères [p. 182], among others), making this book feel more literary than might be suggested by the subject matter.

Review dated 15 May 2015. Three typos corrected on 23 September 2015. Another two corrected 3 September 2016!

Josh

This collection of short stories is the perfect place to start for readers new to Conan. Not only does the book provide bite sized morals of the violent sword and sorcery the long running fantastical protagonist is renowned for, but it also introduces all the key elements outside of the core themes prominent in the larger forms of fiction; monsters, magicians, thievery, the undead, friendship, deceit, and battles a-plenty.

I must admit that I've not read many Conan stories so my praise for this short story collection can be taken with a grain of salt. That said, this book just worked for me; be it Conan taking on a job as a thief and winding up battling a serpent or taking down a giant slug which had destroyed a castle and its surroundings, to rescuing a damsel in distress near naked and bloodied on a battlefield, each story was rich in Hyborian lore and cleverly intertwined into the broader continuity.

Another thing that appealed to me in these stories was the references to other adventures/places/characters, notably the Sword of Skelos which coincidentally, is the only Conan novel I've read.

I couldn't draw myself away from these stories until I'd finished the book, enjoying each of them equally. It's rare that I rate a collection so highly but CONAN was surprisingly consistent throughout. Highly recommend.

Soheil Khansanami

خب... خب
پدر ساب ژانر شمشیر و جادو چی برای گفتن داشت! به عنوان کسی که برای اولین بار یکی از کتابای هاوارد رو می‌خونم باید بگم این نویسنده به طرز عجیبی قدرت داستان پردازی داشته، چطور؟ خب یک قهرمان خلق می‌کنی زمانی که این جور چیزها خنده دار بودن و به اون بالا و پر می‌دی و به قدری تو این زمینه پیش می‌ری که یک دنیای خیالی براش خلق می‌کنی. داستان‌های کنان کوتاه هستند و هر کدوم بیشتر از پنجاه صفحه نمی‌شن، البته چند تا داستان بلند هم نوشته که اوناهم تو همین مجموعه گنجونده شدن. هاوارد با اینکه تو قسمت شخصیت پردازی کار زیادی انجام نداده ولی تا دلتون بخواد فضاسازی و توصیفات بی‌بدیل داشته که هر کدوم از داستان‌ها که تموم می‌شه تو ذهنتون ثبت می‌شه و با فکر کردن بهش همه‌ی جزییات می‌آد جلوی چشمتون، توصیفات نبردها و موجودات جدیدی که در دنیای هایپریون هستن خیلی خاص و منحصر به فردن. به عنوان اولین قهرمان که شاید میشه گفت منبع تمام ابرقهرمانان حالای ما، کنان حرف‌های زیادی برای گفتن داره. و خیلی خوبه که سفری با این قهرمان رستم وار یا هرکول وار، نمی‌دونم دقیقا چه اسمی روش بذارم داشته باشید. متاسفانه هاوارد تو سن جوانی در حالی که کنار لاوکرفت به شهرت جهانی می‌رسید خودکشی کرده و بقیه نویسنده ها از جمله رابرت جردن نویسنده چرخ زمان تو دنیایی که خلق کرده داستان نوشتن.
خب یه کم از داستان بگم براتون پسری از نژاد بربر که به طرز عجیبی قوی و زورمنده زمانی که شهرشون مورد تجاوز قرار می‌گیره و کل خانواده‌اش کشته می‌شن به بردگی گرفته می‌شه و زمانی که به قدرت واقعیش می‌رسه فرار کرده و برای رسیدن به ثروت و شهرت دست به دزدی می‌زنه و تو این مسیر معلوم نیست به کجاها می‌رسه و با چه موجودات عجیبی می‌جنگه...
و اما این مجموعه‌ای که من شروع کردم دوازده جلد داره که هر کدوم کمتر از صد صفحه هستن و دو نویسنده دیگه از اونجایی که هاوارد زنده نمونده که کارهاش رو کامل کنه همراهیش می‌کنن تا درک بهتری و کامل‌تری از کنان داشته باشیم. ولی کارهای خود هاوارد که به کنان مربوط می‌شه تو سه جلد نفیس چاپ شده ولی خب از اونجایی که دوست داشتم بیشتر در موردش بدونم این مجموعه رو شروع کردم. و مبهوت داستان پردازی شدم.
شخصیت‌های بزرگ دیگه‌ای توسط هاوارد خلق شدن مثل سولومون کین و کول تبعید شده از آتلانتیس که وقتی که خوندم اونارو هم معرفی می‌کنم. امیدوارم داستان‌های پدر سبک شمشیر جادو تو ایران چاپ بشن که جای خالیشون به شدت احساس می‌شه. خیلی جالبه که داستان‌های ابرقهرمانان جدید چاپ می‌شن ولی این شخصیت کتاباش چاپ نمی‌شن در حالی که با یک بار حضورکنان در کمیک‌های مارول پرفروش‌ترین کمیک‌های قرن رو به وجود آورده... بگذریم... امیدوارم بخونید و لذت ببرید

Craig

This is the first volume of Lancer's editions of the Conan saga. L. Sprague de Camp, with the help of Lin Carter, expanded Howard's original Conan stories and edited them into chronological sequence in a twelve-volume series in the late 1960's, and the controversy has never quite died off completely. Many people believe that only Howard's original versions of the complete stories are acceptable, and many believe that the Lancer series with the original Frazetta covers are canon, and then there are those who accept or reject the Bantam titles, the Jordan series (and/or/or not the other Tor titles), the comics versions, and on and on and on... They're all right and all wrong.... This Lancer series is the one I read while growing up, so I'm all for it. I can accept comics hero stories by different writers, and pulp heroes frequently had different writers under a house name, so... This one was my introduction to the young Conan, and has three of Howard's originals (The Tower of the Elephant, The God in the Bowl, and Rogues in the House, all classics), along with two nice original pastiches by Carter & De Camp, The City of Skulls and The Thing in the Crypt, and one story each by de Camp and Carter that are stories expanded from Howard fragments. Howard was the consummate pulp adventure writer, and I think de Camp and Carter enhanced his legacy without tarnishing it.

Olethros

-Cronológicamente hablando, el origen de una leyenda en su género, efectivamente.-

Género. Narrativa fantástica.

Lo que nos cuenta. Recopilación de diferentes relatos sobre el protagonista, unos publicados en vida de Howard, otros no, incluso algunos escritos con algún otro autor o por otro autor, pero que cronológicamente se sitúan al comienzo de las andanzas de Conan en la Era Hybórea. Parte de una larga serie de relatos y novelas que pueden leerse de forma independiente.

¿Quiere saber más del libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

Rodrigo

Mi primer libro de Conan, y me ha resultado muy entretenido, las aventuras de este salvaje Cimneriano, seguiré con la serie.
Muy recomendable.
Es el inicio de los libros de brujería y espada en la literatura.

Tac Anderson

An interesting read. Howard had a type of description that you can tell came from his friend and mentor, Lovecraft. A series of short stories, so you don't get the same narrative arc that you get in a novel, but this makes it easy to pick up and read for short periods.

Jakob J.

I was a teenage barbarian. I grew up in a world of might and magic, sword and sorcery. I learned at an early age what violence could accomplish, and that nothing gets you out of danger as effectively as brute force. I lost my parents at a very young age and wandered the land, living off of whatever I could salvage and slaying those who stood in my way, be they man or beast. It was a time of uncertainty. It was a time of evil. It was a time of adventure.

 
suarezart

Michael

Based on a recommendation from my dad, I first read this series when I was eleven. I was pretty much sold as soon as I saw the cover paintings by Frank Frazetta. So, I decided I would re-read all 12 books to see if my general impressions had changed at all since then. Here’s some observations about the 7 stories that appear in book 1.

The Thing in the Crypt

As a kid, I only had a vague notion about why three different authors were credited on the cover. Over the years, I think I tried to block out the fact that L. Sprague De Camp and Lin Carter had partially written some of the stories based on unfinished manuscripts, and in some cases, crafted entire stories on their own. So, it was definitely a surprise to me to realize that what I always thought was the definitive Conan story was not even written by Howard! It’s the very first story in the series! A young Conan is being pursued by wolves; he seeks refuge in a cavernous tomb, and awakens an undead warrior after stealing his sword. It hooked me right away when I first read it, and it holds up very well today.

The Tower of the Elephant

Entirely written by Howard, it begins as a heist story and wraps up with an unexpected cosmic origin story. I didn’t recall there being any Sci-Fi elements in these stories at all, although Conan seems unfazed to learn there are worlds other than his own that sustain life. Being the barbarian that he is, he only shows interest in drinking wine, eating meat, and hacking his enemies to death.

The Hall of the Dead

This one features a giant slug. I’m sure if I were seconds away from being killed by a giant slug, I would cry real tears, but reading about it just wasn’t doing it for me. There’s also the hall full of dead people that come back to life, which seems redundant so soon after The Thing in the Crypt. Written by Howard and De Camp.

The God in the Bowl

Howard is credited as the sole author. This one starts out as a murder mystery, and features the first reference to Thoth-Amon, the Stygian sorcerer who became Conan’s arch nemesis in later stories written by other authors, as well as the Marvel comic series. In one standout sequence, Conan disables a group of attackers by removing a head, ear, eye, and a mouthful of teeth.

Rogues in the House

This is another Howard story, and is interesting because Conan starts out as a supporting character. It features Thak, the man-ape from the cover, and also the 2nd appearance of the deadly gas made from black lotus blossoms first used in The Tower of the Elephant.

The Hand of Nergal

Written by Howard and Carter, it features one of my favorite descriptions of Conan so far:

“Naked, splattered from head to heel with reeking gore, he held a mighty longsword in one great, scarred fist. His voice was like the deep growl of thunder.”

The Hand of Nergal is a Lovecraftian artifact from the stars that has been the source of all sorts of mayhem for thousands of years. The story climaxes with a battle between good and evil in the form of an awe-inspiring light show. It’s the kind of finale I hate, but I’ll cut them slack since it’s an early example of what is now so common place in contemporary genre book and movies.

The City of Skulls

This was my least favorite story, and it was written completely by De Camp and Carter. A brief stint on a slave ship was okay, but I was less impressed by the living statue made of gemstones, and Conan’s closing joke about impregnating a rescued princess. You can picture the freeze frame of Conan and his warrior buddy laughing it up, or even high fiving each other. Thumbs down.

Sergi Oset

Aquesta brillant traducció (a càrrec de Jordi Vidal Tubau) i edició en català inclou cinc relats de Cònan. L’Arcà ja va avançar que només publicarien els relats del bàrbar que fossin autoria directa de l’autor de Texas i sembla una decisió encertada.
“La torre de l’elefant”, “El déu de la tina” i “Malparits a casa” (m’encanta l’adaptació que s’ha fet de l’original “Rogues in the house” apareixien al primer número de la col·lecció de novel·les d’Edicions Forum (Conan Origen de una leyenda). “La filla del gegant de gebre”, correspon al número dos de la mateixa col·lecció (Conan el cimmerio) i, “El colós negre”, el podíem trobar al número tres (Conan el pirata), totes elles publicades a un llunyà 1983.
L’Arcà ens ofereix doncs una primera fornada de relats potents i contrastats amb diverses adaptacions rellevants en el món del còmic (imprescindible el mític “La torre de l’elefant” de Barry W. Smith). Clàssics que ens mostren a Cònan més jove o amb més experiència i en les seves facetes de mercenari, lladre, assassí a sou o general d’exèrcits en lluita constant contra bruixots d’eres pretèrites, homes simi i, fins i tot gegant i déus del gel. Sovint, víctima de conspiracions, intrigues i martingales de societats “més civilitzades”, però d’esperit més roí que la del cimeri que es regeix per un codi ètic i moral particular. En aquestes aventures visitarem els cingles nevats de Vanaheimr, la bulliciosa (i traïdorenca) Zamora, el desert de Shem, les muntanyes de Khorai, però també sabrem de la poderosa i malèfica Estígia o les exòtiques Kush i Khithai.
El recull de relats ve precedit per un pròleg inspirat a càrrec Rodolfo Martínez que fa repàs de la vida i obra de Howard, així com de l’origen del cimeri i un bonic mapa clàssic d’Hibòria representant totes les nacions (llàstima que les descripcions de l’apartat de la “llegenda” quedin tan petites i siguin tan dificultoses de desxifrar).
La il·lustració de la coberta va a càrrec d’en Toni Benages que fa molt bon treball i un homenatge efectiu, personal i respectuós amb el cànon a “La torre de l’elefant”.
“Cònan el bàrbar” ha de ser la primera d’una sèrie de traduccions de l’Arcà que ens apropin tots els relats de Cònan escrits per Howard. Aquesta traducció és, a més d’un regal, una oportunitat única i, potser, si l’aposta funciona i el públic lector és receptiu, l’ocasió per llegir en català (per demanar que no quedi) algun treball més de l’autor com Kull, Bran Mark Morn o la saga de Turlogh O’Brien. A la present edició només li puc posar, en el cantó negatiu, algunes errades ortogràfiques que s’haguessin pogut eliminar amb una nova revisió de la maquetació. Estaria molt bé saber quin és el pla de publicació que l’editorial té preparat per Cònan i, ja de pas, la confirmació que el Jordi Vidal i el Toni Benages continuaran a la resta de la sèrie.

El Biblionauta

Una selecció de contes que ens ofereix una magnífica porta d’entrada al món del cimeri Cònan, per primer cop en català.

Podeu valorar el llibre i llegir completa la ressenya de la Inés Macpherson a:
https://elbiblionauta.com/ca/2022/01/...

Udolpho

First time reading any of the Conan books. I liked it.

Maybe because they're short stories, or because they were written so long ago, I kept getting the feeling like I was sitting around a campfire listening to someone tell a story -- instead of being inserted into the story as if I were there. Something kind of auditory/oral about them.

Conan is described as having a thick alien accent. This made me wonder if the decision to not dub over Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice acting was a conscious decision.

Conan seems to have two states of dress:
1. Naked, but for a loincloth and sandals
2. Naked
In the very first story, a naked Conan fights a naked ancient-dead-king-thing. It's very naked. Conan's physique, nakedness and "smoldering eyes" are constantly described. I very much enjoyed moment such as:

He thought his heart would stop when a voice hissed in a barbaric accent: "Murilo! Is it you?"
"Conan!" Limp from the reaction, the young nobleman groped in the darkness, and his hands encountered a pair of great naked shoulders.

But never fear, there are women with very little point or dialogue, who share Conan's clothing philosophy, and tend to nuzzle Conan and/or be carried away with him... to never be heard of again.

Edgar Cotes Argelich

Contes que potser, avui dia, l’argument ja està molt vist i no sorprenen, perquè han tingut una gran influència en multitud d’autors posteriors, però que continuen mantenint l’esperit gamberro i d’entretenir.

Charles

Some relatively pure Howard Conan stories mixed with pastiches. 2 and a half stars.

Pere

Soy consciente que muchos me van a dar de palos por esta nota y por la reseña que se viene ( bueno, tal vez muchos no, pero uno en concreto si ) pero lo siento, es lo que pienso.

Antes de nada debo decir que mi apreciación es sobre esta novela y el personaje que nos presenta, no sobre todas las siguientes, ya que

1: como es evidente no las he leido
2: no lo voy a hacer

También he querido tener en cuenta el marco temporal en la que fue escrita, pero al final lo que cuenta es MI gusto y MI apreciación, que probablemente es meridianamente diferente a cualquier otra.
No me gusta la fantasía clasica, a fantasía de brujería y espadas como se llamaba, ni la de heroes matadragones o similares.

Conan es todo eso y más, apesta a clásico nada mas abrirlo ( y eso que lo lei en kindle )
El personaje me parece inutil y mas tonto que las piedras, sus aventuras son en esencia ir a A para robar B, encontrarse con un enemigo C, vencerlo tras diversas tribulaciones y o bien quedarse sin B o bien salir con B pero por azares del destino perderlo.

Mas lineal que invitar a pocholo

Lo siento, pero no he disfrutado con el libro, y lo siento en el alma, sabia que no me iba a gustar, tiene el aura de ser de los que no me gustan, aun así decidí darle una oportunidad para mayor respeto de un buen amigo virtual.
Lo siento amigo, pero tu héroe ( antihéroe ) no da la talla y ni de coña se carga a Dalinar. Es tan tonto que acabaría dándose de leches con el maniquí donde cuelga uniforme todas las noches. (Ahora entiendo por que en su versión cinematográfica pusieron a Chochonager en el papel)

Venid a mi amantes de estos libros! Os espero con la espada en alto!

Διόνυσος Ελευθέριος

I read Robert Howard’s Conan something on a whim. That probably means that at the time I had something really important to do that I really didn’t want to do. However, let’s pretend that I had been wondering what the book would be like, having seen some of the films when I was younger during the age when Arnold Schwarzenegger was an object of my masculine admiration as I made my way up the foothills to the Land of Men. But still, reading the book as a man, would such a series of stories involving mere barbaric might and swashbuckling heroism appeal to me despite my having long since cloaked myself in the high thoughts of the very different form of philosophic heroism? Indeed, it rather did, and somewhat to my surprise. And in fact, it led me to read several of Howard's Conan books and, time permitting (that is, should I find myself in a position to want to avoid more important work enough again in the future), I will very probably read more of them in time. You see, the thing about Conan that I came to admire so much, something that I have no recollection of its being depicted in the film or two that I had seen, is that his manly ranging has a kind of simplicity that earns extra marks because Howard so often sets it against forces of sinister, magical cunning. If I can rudely intrude with the some basic elements of Nietzsche’s thought, one might consider Conan’s adventures to depict a kind of master morality pitted against the forces of slave morality, something like a noble simplicity grounded in bodily strength assailing the forces of revenge. There’s something admirable about Conan’s chronic reluctance to make use of occult forces—even when they are available to him, even when they would almost certainly assist him—and his constant battles against the use of those forces by others. To be sure, Conan is still a cunning warrior, but his cunning seems to me to be sourced in cleaner headwaters.

Interestingly, …—I’m sorry, let me begin that thought again. Depressingly, as we move forward among Howard’s Conan writings as his literary executors began finishing his unfinished work, Conan begins to take on a very different quality: he begins to become not just more eager to trade in his warrior’s sword for the wizard’s staff, but also to become increasingly dependent on those forces as well.

Jacob

I had several series of fantasy books that I read with friends and loved when I was a young teen. As I re-read some of these authors in my thirties I am sorely disappointed at their quality. Piers Anthony and Terry Brooks come to mind (although I do still like Magic Kingdom for Sale despite its faults). I have been lugging the original 12 Conan books with me back and forth across the country for 20 years now and decided it was time to actually read them again--put them to the test, as it were. And you know what? The pulp fiction writer from East Nowhere, Texas, is actually a halfway decent writer. Sure Conan is this massive stud, running around hacking up the baddies, but he has faults. He evolves as a person and warrior throughout his adventures. He always comes out alive, but not always on top. And the whole concept of a pre-history Pangea of warring nations is perhaps one of the great innovations of fantasy writing. Why three stars you ask? In this particular collection, you get the sense that Mr. Howard was feeling out his character and the land he travels. There isn't a lot of variety in either the plot lines or the setting of these adventures. Conan takes to thieving in lands that roughly correspond to modern Italy, Spain, or Greece, he bands up with a fellow thief, the other thief dies, Conan battles supernatural being, Conan wins or escapes by a whisker--sometimes richer, sometimes poorer. Still, there was enough here to keep me going into book 2 and certainly a well deserved 3 stars, probably more like 3.5 stars.

Daniel Genís Mas

Descobrir el Cònan de Howard després d'haver-lo conegut tota la vida a través de la desmesura dels còmics o el cinema, dona una imatge sorprenentment nova de l'(anti)heroi, que s'allunya en diversos aspectes del que tenia al cap. Sens dubte, Cònan no és cap exemple a seguir, però tampoc és el mascle brutal que de vegades ens hem empassat. La prosa de Howard és eixuta, però alhora impregna el relat d'un misticisme que me l'ha fet irresistible, en la línia de Lovecraft, per posar un exemple. En fi, que m'he divertit moltíssim d'aquest primer volum, i que me'n sento molt orgullós d'haver-hi pogut participar una miqueta. Els que han gaudit amb els relats, entre bàrbars i fantàstics, de Sapkpwsky, Martin, Abrecrombie... plens de canalles entranyables, crec que gaudiran també amb l'avi de tots, aquest Cònan, que ara parla català. Jo ho he fet, almenys. Per Crom, que arribi ja el segon volum!

Yani Daniele

Me encantó leer las aventuras de Conan, un Cimmerio, que vive metiéndose en problemas debido a su "trabajo" que es ser ladrón, a pesar de ellos siempre cumple con su palabra y rescata a la damisela en peligro. Sus aventuras están llenas de magia, terror y suspenso. En un mundo habitado por dioses y muertos que vuelven a la vida, no hay un segundo de respiro ni palabras de relleno, es pura aventura. Tiene muchos momentos divertidos o al menos a mi me causaron gracia. 100% recomendado para aquellos que le gusta la fantasía heroica de pura acción que no tenga romance porque de romance en la historia un 0% (por suerte =P )

Mark Hartzer

Crom! I'm finished already. A great book and series of books for boys from 12 to 18. It's really hard to tell between Howard's stuff and De Camp's & Carter's. My advice: don't bother. This is "CONAN"!, not literature, Dog!

J. Kendrick Allen

Unabashed pulp fiction that doesn't fail to entertain.

David

Still the best. Timeless.

Rachel

Pretty good if you read with an awareness of racism, sexism, and masculine ideals.

Ari Pérez

The thing in the crypt [**]
The tower of the elephant [**]
The hall of the dead [***]
The god in the bowl [***]
Rogues in the house [***]
The hand of Nergal [***]
The city of skulls [**]

Gabriela

Me recordó a la imagen que tengo de los libros de
John Carter of Mars (no los he leído todavía).

Me gustaron las partes en las que Conan señala la diferencia entre ser guerrero y rey, la transformación de la memoria de negativa a positiva del rey depuesto y las referencias a los poetas.

En general, me pareció bastante cinematográfico y ágil. Tengo la impresión de que la historia sería también un buen comic, es más siento que ya la leí en
Nippur

Me parece que la historia es un vistazo lleno de acción pero no me queda muy claro exactamente cómo es el mundo en el que está situada la historia, hay referencias a diversos referentes, algunos de la mitología.

Thoth Amón es Munra, ¿verdad?

Club de lectura Clásico es leerte (setiembre especulativo)

Leothefox

This UK Sphere edition only credits Howard as the author, and it's only on the table of contents page that they admit that half the tales are at least half written by de Camp, some with Lin Carter.

The complete Conan stories, “Tower of the Elephant”, “The God in the Bowl”, and “Rogues in the House” are all classics of their kind. This was actually my first time through “The God in the Bowl”, which is sort of like a Conan box-episode, and it worked pretty well for all that.

“The Hand of Nergal” claims to be a collaboration of Howard and Lin Carter (that is, Carter working from a Howard fragment, outline, or draft), but there doesn't seem to be much Howard in it, apart from a half-assed attempt to ape his dialogue. It's very typically Lin Carter: lofty setup without any actual follow-through.

“The Thing in the Crypt” by de Camp and Carter is kind of sideshow with a young Conan facing a re-animated skeleton in a tomb. The scene in the 1982 Conan: The Barbarian film was probably based on this, although it was more tastefully restrained there.

“The City of Skulls” is a de Camp and Carter adventure set in a jungle kingdom that's nestled, Shangri La style, amongst the undisguised Himalayas. This works a little better than the other pastiche efforts, although many of its awkward indulgences point it out for what it is.

“The Hall of the Dead” still has a lot of Howard in it, which at least proves that de Camp is the better of these two posthumous collaborators. That story also has re-animated corpses, and a gross monster.

Oddly enough, the uneven arrangement here does a lot to point out the impressive balance at work in Robert E. Howard's own Conan stories. He applied everything economically and correctly, rarely wallowing in self-serving action, never padding with filler dialogue, and letting the cool things be cool and carry the story through. Somehow, Howard's sweaty, ballsy exposition never feels like pandering and it's never useless.

There's also a letter from Howard here, about a map. There's the Hyborian Age essay, and a dense introduction by de Camp.

It made sense why these books happened the way they did, since there were only so many actual Conan stories and they needed to draw them out for as many books as possible. It still makes for uneven reading, though.

Stephan

Det är inte sällan jag blir överaskad av en bok. Jag har sällan allt för höga förväntningar och därför blir jag lätt positivt överaskad. Conan är lite av ett undantag. Visst blev jag positivt överaskad. Men att säga att jag hade låga förväntningar om honom är som att påstå att Indiska oceanen är aningen fuktig.
Vad vet jag om karaktären? Han är en korkad barbar från nordländerna som löser alla sina bekymmer med våld. Är det konstigt att jag aldrig lockats att läsa något om honom?
Men så en dag snubblar jag över den första Conanboken på en loppis. Varför inte tänker jag. Och två dagar senare sitter jag och funderar på varför jag aldrig läst honom tidigare...
Conan är ingen smart filur, verkligen inte. Men han är listig, han lär sig många språk, han besöker flera olika kulturer. Han är inte fullt så tvådimensionell som jag fruktat och språket i b3rättelsen är både starkt och vackert!
Jag blir bara glad när jag tänker på den.

Berättelserna är lösrykta äventyr ur Conans hendelserika liv där han färdas mellan olika fiktiva länder som fanns någon gång mellan dess att Atlantis skönk och den moderna människan utvecklades. Rikena och folken är fantastiskt beskrivna, med både ett poetiskt bildspråk och humor. Karaktärerna och platserna är minnesvärda och långtifrån så platta som jag väntat.
Nej, Conan var långt mer spännande och underhållande än jag kunnat tro, och jag ångrar bittert alla de gånger jag ratat berättelserna på grund av mina egna förutfattade meningar.
Ett stort plus är också hur författaren (och Conan) behandlar så gott som alla kataktärer jämlikt. Oavsett ursprung, kön, kultur eller hudfärg så är det karaktärens handlingar som bestämmer hur han bedöms. Inte hur han ser ut. Jag hade verklugen väntat mig mer rasism med tanke på berättelsens ålder.

Title	:	Conan (Book 1)
Author	:	Robert E. Howard
Rating	:
ISBN	:	0441116302
ISBN-10	:	9780441116300
Language	:	English
Format Type	:	Paperback
Number of Pages	:	221
Publication	:	First published January 1, 1967

Conan (Book 1) by Robert E. Howard

Conan (Book 1) Reviews

Conan (Book 1) Reviews

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