Customer Reviews

Blood and Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With enthusiasm, skill, and expertise Mark Finn has written the new and definitive biography of Robert E. Howard. Finn not only corrects a number of errors previous biographies and biographers made about Howard and his writings, Finn also describes, with sensitivity and nuance, Howard's environment and upbringing and the context in which Howard's work should be placed. Finn neither places Howard on a pedestal nor demeans him, but instead gives Howard the credit he deserves.

Howard could not hope for a better biographer than Mark Finn, nor a better biography than Blood and Thunder.

Mark Finn's biography of "Conan the Cimmerian" creator Robert E. Howard is superb - very fair and measured across the board, especially on such controversial subjects such as REH's suicide and chronically overlooked issues such as his non-Conan literary production. You really get a very full and illuminating examination of the author's upbringing, family and Texas background. One could had hope more about Howard's poetry or about his heritage and influence on the writing of heroic fantasy and on specific writers such as Karl Edward Wagner or David Gemmell but that would be nitpicking. The only criticism is that the book is too short!

I read the old Conan 1-12 Ace published paperbacks religiously as a teenager, and have delved back into them (or the Del Ray Conan re-prints) for a re-read from time to time. I have always counted Howards Conan stories among my favorite books. As far as Howard himself I always found him to be a fascinating but confusing figure. I had heard such wildly varying stories of how he was. On one hand he had been portrayed as a macho, brawling, boxing, roughneck fitness fanatic, that in some ways mirrored Conan and some of the characters in his other work, and on the other hand I had heard he was a mental basketcase mamas boy that died a virgin when he commited suicide at the age of 30. Since reading this book I have come to the conclusion that there is a ring of truth to both of those extremes.

Finn does a great job with this book connecting the dots and proving and disproving much of the mythology that is out there about Robert E. Howard. A big thing Finn does here, in fact it comprises a good bulk of the book, is he talks about Howards Texas environment and how much of an influence it was on his writing. From the day to day violence that he was exposed to in the scoundrel and roughneck infested oil boom towns that he grew up in, to the local Texas folklore, to the front porch story tellers that held court while Howard gave listen. All of these had a big impact on Howard and his writing. REH even stated that Conan himself was to a large degree a mix of various boxers, oil field workers and cowboys that he knew over the years.

This book also goes into greater depth with Howards non Conan work than anything else I have ever read. In some ways this book is as much a literary analysis of Howards writings as much as it is about Howard himself. Other subjects delved into are his relationship with his only girlfriend, his ups and downs as a pulp fiction writer, his physical fitness and boxing obsession, his feelings as an outcast in the small town he lived mainly because he earned a living as a writer instead of in the oil field or as a farmer, his legendary correspondses with HP Lovecraft, and especially his strange relationship with his parents (he never moved out of his parents house) and Howards suicide.

I do think this is a great book. There is so much great information in this and Finn is an engrossing writer, I could hardly put this book down once I started reading it. But I do have a few criticisms. One he goes into apologetics over Howards attitudes on race. Downplaying and even denying that Howard was a racist as well as making the false statements that Eugenics have been scientificly discredited, the Aryan race does not exist and Finn also makes the wacky statement at one point that what was once called race are now referred to as "cultures". Huh? We must be living on another planet. But anyway while I think you could make a solid argument that he wasn't a racist in the stereotypical Nazi way and he certainly wasn't mean or abusive to people because they were not white it can't be denied that Howard was a man who was heavily into and obsessed with his own "dark Irish" heritage and other northern European cultures, in particular the Picts and he certainly had no problem portraying other races in less than complimentary ways. Not to mention the multitudes of stories he wrote with "racial memory" themes. It can't be denied that Howard was a heavily racially concious man and in my mind it makes him that much more admirable.

Another criticism I have is there is only one chapter dedicated to the Conan character and that chapter weighs in at only 10 pages! I think its great that Howards other work was explored in depth here but so many people do not understand the true nature, depth, and greatness of the Conan character only seeing him as the corny comic book muscleman Arnold Schwarzenegger movie cliche. The Conan stories are often as much horror stories as much as they are sword and sorcery adventure tales, or at least a fusion of the two. There is also a philosophical side of Conan that is one part might is right style social darwinism, mixed with an Aryan warriors sense of honor and chivalry along with a Viking berserkers battle ecstacy. These things, especially the philosophical side of Conan should have been delved into much more.

I would have also liked to have heard more (they are covered but just not as much or as in depth as I would have liked) about Howards barbarism vs civilization debate that went on through mail with HP Lovecraft as well as REH being a hardcore Celtophile.

But those criticisms aside I really thought this was a great book. I can't help but think while gazing at a photograph of REH at the end of this book where he has a huge almost viking like beer glass raised to his lips in an almost salutatory manner that Howard is one of the great divínely inspired Odinic writers who were given a drink of Odins mead of inspiration. I hope to have a drink in Valhalla with you some day Bob.

It's always surprising to me how little reliable biographical information is avaiable about REH, and how difficult it is to find editions of his works that are as he wrote them, rather than prissily "edited". Here's a biography whose author has gone to some trouble to place REH into his environment, the fringes of the oil fields of rural Texas in the first three decades of the 20th Century. In those days before radio, with movies a rare treat, when people got together they often entertained one another by telling stories, and one can easily picture the young REH lapping it all up, and when he came of story-telling age, eagerly joining in.

Finn does a pretty good job with some tickish topics, such as Howard's near-obsession with suicide, the very complex relationship he had with his mother and father, and the almost altogether sinister role played by washed-up sci-fi author L. Sprague de Camp in co-opting and copyrighting Howard's work for his own exclusive financial benefit.

This small-press book is relatively free of misprints. However, the text could also have used a sympathetic editor to iron the kinks out of some of Finn's stranger sentences.

As other reviewers have noted, the chapter about Conan seems a bit short, but the coverage of Conan's more interesting forerunner Kull is even shorter. Brevity is no sin with Howard's impressive pulp output to be surveyed and commented upon.

Recommended.

Mark Finn's biography of Robert E. Howard is an interesting read & well worth the time for any fan of REH's work. Mr. Finn's examination of Howard by referencing his Texas roots has been mentioned by other reviewers & I'll not echo that here. Let me just say that I believe this treatment allows for a very unique & convincing testament that a writer's environment can & does influence his work.
What I enjoyed the most about this book, though, is Mr. Finn's documenting that REH was first & foremost a story teller. I firmly believe that this was the reason the man wrote in so many different genres. He wanted to tell a great story & sought an eager audience for his work. Yes, a great deal of his prose can certainly stand alone on its literary merit. I don't think, however, that this was as important to REH as the tale itself. As far as I'm concerned, on this he had no equal. I challenge anyone seeking a great tale of action/adventure to spend some time with Mr. Howard's work. You'll be glad that you did.
The last point I'd like to make concerns Mr. Finn's portrayal of REH as a relatively normal, though somewhat fragile, human being given his circumstances & environment. It's funny to think of such a giant of a physical speciman who enjoyed engaging in fistfights as fragile, but I believe Mr. Finn proves this assertion. Why is it that so many creative geniuses seem to be tormented by demons who eventually consume them? I can quickly name Howard, Van Gough, & Cobain in different disciplines. A lengthy list could easily be compiled in a short time. I appreciate that he doesn't seek to sensationalize REH's story as other's have done. Mr. Finn draws upon all of the material he had presented on his subject to explain the suicide. He doesn't attempt to make an apology or rationalize the act. He makes the case that, to REH, suicide was the final confirmation that he alone held control over his existence. Mr. Finn asserts & I agree that REH saw it as an act of bravery rather than of cowardice. No, this isn't Society's view, but it was Howard's.
All of these things & an examination of the Howard mythology makes for a fascinating book. A great & worthy read & congratulations to the author!

This is a must have outstanding book! From Book "About the author: Mark Finn is the recipient of the 2005 Cimmerian Award for Outstanding Achievement in Robert E. Howard studies, and a critically-acclaimed scholar, author, essayist and playwright. Finn is an expert in 20th century pop culture and genre studies, and is not to be trifled with. Robert E. Howard the creator of Conan the Cimmerian, Solomon Kane, King Kull, and many other characters that helped define the genre of heroic fantasy, lived all of his thirty years in the small town of Cross Plains, Texas. While his books remain continually in print, Howard himself has fallen into obscurity. The details of his personal life have become mired in speculation, half-truth and lies. This engaging biography traces the roots of his writings, correcting many long-standing misconceptions, and takes us on a tour of Howard's world as he saw it best: through his own incomparable imagination." There are some nice pictures included, too! Dedication - 'This book is dedicated to anyone who ever drove to Cross Plains, Texas, stood in the doorway of Robert E. Howards's room and felt a perceptible chill at the thought of being so close to where he created his blood and thunder. The lamp expires, but the fire remains." Check out the REH Foundation & Forum.

I was thrilled to finally read this book. I live in Brownwood, Tx and Cross Plains is only 30 miles away. Before I read this book, I was given a tour of Robert E. Howard's home and I found it fascinating. R.E.H. is someone I had always been interested in so when I came across Blood and Thunder, I was more than eager to read it.

Mark Finn done a great job writing this. Everything from the history of Cross Plains and Brownwood (so you get the overall mood of a growing Texas town) to the facts of Robert's youth into adulthood. I just fell into that time period and soaked everything in. The letters to H.P. Lovecraft that were mixed in seemed to me as an added bonus. All in all, it has inspired me to seek out more information and other books. I have since bought the Del Rey Book, The Horror Stories of R.E.H. and have dived into that.

I would strongly recommend anyone interested in Robert E. Howard in reading this. And honestly any writers (Texan or otherwise) that think they'll never be recognized or succeed with their work. This book really showed that if you're wiling enough to work at it and never give up doing what you love, then you can overcome everything and accomplish what you want.

Early into this superb biography on the Late, Great Robert E. Howard, Mark Finn discusses the difficulty of getting to the facts in Mr. Howards' life. Many of his own accounts of himself are exaggerated when told to friends through mail correspondence. His parents were both prone to trumping up their ancestors' feats and accomplishments as well, thus feeding Howards tendency of spinning autobiographical yarns. By extension, it is only natural that such a gifted embellisher would end up with a flair for pulp writing.

Mark Finn has found a way to make this an asset for understanding Howard's life and times, and how his environment shaped his fiction. Picture this: A booming center of humanity. Imperialistic men wanting to consolidate power, with corrupt officials only too eager to help. The rich land attracting all types of freebooters, and all the vice dealers who tail behind them to take their wages. Does this sound like it could be Boomtown Texas? Does it also sound equally like a Stygian outpost of Conan's Hyborian Age? Finn's connections are startling and illuminating.

If you are thinking after I say this that perhaps Finn has failed to capture the facts on Howard's life, rest assured. Finn is well researched, and has an obvious fondness for Howard and desire to see the record set straight about this man's prolific but tragically short life. He also desires, like many readers and authors who come after him, to acknowledge Howard as a gifted and influential writer, not just in pulp, but in popular literature. PERIOD. The real joy, however, is seeing how Finn weaves this all together with gifted storytelling in his own right to make an incredibly entertaining and simultaneously informative page turner. It is seriously one of the most accomplished works of non-fiction I have come across in terms of creativity.

Ultimately, even without the clever and entertaining structure, this would still remain the best Bio on Howard to date. No new info is likely to surface at this point that Finn hasn't covered, and there will not be many people left who remember Robert first-hand much longer, making this the Definitive Biography.

A must for R.E. Howard fans, and a definite reccomendation to anyone who appreciates the art of the Biography.

This book explores the life and times of one of the most famous writers ever to come out of the state of Texas. During his brief writing career in the 1920s and 1930s, Robert E. Howard did a lot more for imaginative literature than simply create the character of Conan the Cimmerian.

In the early 1900s, Texas was experiencing an oil boom. Practically overnight, a town would spring up around oil wells, bringing all sorts of people, from roughnecks to work the wells, to barkeepers to prostitutes. They would stay until the oil ran out, then move on to the next boom town. Howard grew up in one boom town after another; Isaac, his father, was a frontier doctor, so they also followed the oil. Howard got to see, up close and personal, the dark underside of civilization, and it disgusted him. Finally settling in Cross Plains, he was a voracious reader who hated the regimentation of school. He lived on pulp magazines, like Weird Tales, available at the local general store. Howard was the shy, quiet kid in town with no interest in joining the oil boom.

A major influence on Howard's development as a writer was the Texas tradition of telling tall tales. Isaac was an expert spinner of tales, and in her own way, Hester, his mother and an Irish immigrant, was pretty good at it, too. Hester had tuberculosis for most of Robert's life, which forced him to stay home and help take care of her, because Isaac was frequently gone for days on his "rounds." After he became a published author, Howard was one of the mainstays at Weird Tales. He sent them all sorts of stories, usually set in the distant past, showing civilizations that had already degraded into barbarism (like Texas of the early 20th Century). In those days, pulp magazines usually paid half a cent to one cent per word, payment was usually on publication, which could be several months after acceptance, and even then, payment was sporadic. Howard spent hours a day at his typewriter, writing boxing stories (a huge interest of his), poetry and westerns, along with tales of Conan, his most famous creation.

Anyone who has ever picked up a pulp magazine, or who knows REH as more than just the creator of Conan, will love this book, as I did. While Howard's books are still in print, Howard's life has fallen into obscurity. This book does a really good job of remedying that situation.

Read this book in a single sitting, it does have a few noticable editing snafus but the overall quality of the editing and writing were excellent. Giving the background of oil boom and depression era texas and delving into his personal relationships was more entertaining and informative than I'd imagined. The only true complaint I have about it is the brevity of the conan and kull discussions but also enjoyed the wider view of his body of work in chronological order the legal battles and rewrites of conan in the last chapter was a little dry but very interesting as well.
Overall a very good read I recommend it wholeheartedly!