Customer Reviews

The Complete Chronicles of Conan (Gollancz)

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If you're at all a fan of fantasy, you owe it to yourself to read the original Conan stories written by Robert E. Howard. He's one of the very few writers of pre-Tolkien fantasy whose characters are still household words a hundred years later. There's a reason. Conan is an elemental, archetypal character, and Howard's writing is masterful -- as Stephen King described it, "Howard's writing seems so highly charged with energy that it nearly gives off sparks." No one else in fantasy has ever managed to write action as ferociously primal as Howard, and Howard's original Conan stories have a madness and a ferocious joy that no other writer has ever completely recaptured. If you've only seen Conan through knockoffs or films, do yourself a favor and read the original: the difference is like whiskey to water.

I like this collection because it's a one-volume collection of all Howards' Conan stories, in order of publication without extraneous materials edited by L. Sprague de Camp or others based on Howard's notes -- for example, it foregoes including "The Treasure of Tranicos" (de Camp's edited version) in favor of Howard's original Conan story, "The Black Stranger" (which was rejected for publication, rewritten by Howard for another character named Black Vulmea, which was again re-written by DeCamp as "Tranicos"). It contains Howard's two essays on the Hyborian Age (detailing history before and after Conan, respectively), the poem "Cimmeria," and all in all contains everything it needs to contain and nothing it shouldn't -- a solid, single-volume collection of the original Conan stories by Howard, in order of publication.

There are two comparatively minor flaws with this volume.

The first is that for some of the stories herein, the editor used the text as initially *published*, rather than as initially *written*. While a great improvement over publishing de Camp's altered versions, this is still a problem because Howard's editor at _Weird Tales_ made some edits to the stories. This isn't a critical issue for most readers, but if you'd prefer to spend the extra for complete textual accuracy, the three-volume Del Rey set (_The Bloody Crown of Conan_, _The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian_, and _The Conquering Sword of Conan_) used, as much as possible, Howard's original, unedited text. So for sticklers, go with those editions.

The second flaw with this volume is the artwork. There's a great deal of magnificent Conan artwork out there, and the illustrations in this volume aren't the best I've seen. Again, not a major issue, but if this had included Frank Franzetta's Conan illustrations, it would have been a heirloom volume.

A complete list of the contents:

The Hyborian Age (essay)
Cimmeria (verse)
The Phoenix on the Sword
The Scarlet Citadel
The Tower of the Elephant
Black Colossus
The Slithering Shadow
The Pool of the Black One
Rogues in the House
Shadows in the Moonlight
Queen of the Black Coast
The Devil in Iron
The People of the Black Circle
A Witch Shall Be Born
Jewels of Gwahlur
Beyond the Black River
Shadows in Zamboula
Red Nails
The Hour of the Dragon (verse)
The Hour of the Dragon
The God in the Bowl
The Black Stranger
The Frost-Giant's Daughter
Drums of Tombalku (draft)
The Vale of Lost Women
Wolves Beyond the Border (draft)
The Snout in the Dark (draft)
The Hall of the Dead (synopsis)
The Hand of Nergal (fragment)
Notes on Various Peoples of the Hyborian Age
Afterword: Robert E. Howard and Conan by Stephen Jones.

Just making a note to people looking at this product. The other reviewer is reviewing the wrong product. He is reviewing the Conan comic book collected edition. This book is all of the original Robert E Howard Conan stories in chronological order in their true form. If they were not completed, then they were left that way. This is pure 100% Robert E Howard.

I really like the book. The fonts are very easy to read compared to the Del Rey trade paperback, three book series.

I wish the book construction was better. The hardcover version has a simulated leather cover that can scuff if one is not careful. Also, the book's spine is too soft so when the book is opened in the middle, the inner spine with the stitching and glue arches and the outer spine with the simulated leather arches the other way. I can push the outer spine in but then it folds inward. This is a good way to ruin such a fine book. The paperback version isn't any better since the book is so thick that the spine will crease unless one is very carefull. Mine is already creased. I'm keeping the hardcover one for my collection and I use the paperback version to read. The paperback version is exactly the same as the hardcover except for the cover materials.

Also, I wish there were more illustrations.

I first started reading Conan when I was a kid. A friend of mine had the Ace paperback collection (some stories were edited by various authors). I bought all of the same books and later sold them to a used bookstore when I was in college. I missed those stories and was glad to find these new books. Even though I have the three book Del Rey series, I wanted this one for my collection too.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read Conan! I used to imagine I was in a different world while reading Conan.

This is so great having all of Robert E. Howard's Conan stories in one book.

I have been a fan of Robert E. Howard's Conan stories since I first got my hands on the Ace paperbacks with the Frank Frazetta covers back in the early 80s. It wasn't until much later that I discovered how adulterated those stories were, and went searching for more "pure" Howard. I now own about three collections of the complete Howard Conan stories, with this single volume collected edition being the third.

"The Complete Chronicles of Conan: Centenary Edition" is a handsome imitation leather-bound hardback by UK-based publisher Gollancz, who also published the 2-Volume "The Conan Chronicles" which was one of the first collection of all-Howard material (without the supplemental De Camp edits). This "Centenary Edition" was published in the UK in 2006 to celebrate the 100th birthday of author Robert E. Howard, and is a companion volume to the Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H. P. Lovecraft collection that is similarly bound.

The stories here are presented exactly as they were originally published. This contrasts with the 3-volume Del Rey editions (The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, The Bloody Crown of Conan, The Conquering Sword of Conan), which worked from Howard's notes to publish the stories as Howard intended rather than how they were ultimately edited and published.

In ordering the stories, Gollancz avoided all "Conan Timeline" controversies by using the original publication dates as a guide. In previous editions, Gollancz put together a timeline of Conan's life, and ordered the stories appropriately. This meant you started with "The Tower of the Elephant" and ended with "The Hour of the Dragon." This collection puts them in the order of original publication, meaning that you start with "The Phoenix on the Sword" and end with the unpublished tale of "The Vale of Lost Women" and some fragments. Also included in the beginning are Howard's poem "Cimmeria" and his fictional/historical background essay "The Hyborian Age" which he used to detail his created worlds.

As an afterward, editor Stephen Jones chronicles Howard's life, and the life of the Conan stories and how they were adapted and received following Howard's death. Little of this was new to me, but it was still an enjoyable read.

The only real complaint I have with this version of "The Complete Chronicles of Conan" is with the illustrations. They are well done, with several black-and-white illustrations done by Les Edwards, but the placements of the illustrations are questionable. At the end of "The Phoenix on the Sword" there is a drawing that is clearly Thank from "Rogues in the House." The drawing for Yag-kosha in "The Tower of the Elephant" comes long before the character appears in the story, which would spoil some of the surprise for new readers.

Which publication of Howard's Conan stories is superior is up for debate, I suppose. In all honesty, the differences in text are not major and the casual fan would probably not notice the difference between the Del Rey and Gollancz versions. Personally, I I personally think the Del Rey books are the most "definitive" of the mass-market collections. The Del Rey books are reprints of the beautiful Wandering Star editions, which are works of art but prohibitively expensive at around a hundred and fifty dollars a book at time of publishing. They include several "bonus features" of Howard's notes and original manuscripts.

If you have the money for it, Easton Press also puts out a high-end single-volume genuine leather-bound version which reprints the text from the Prion Conan the Barbarian collection. That is also a beautiful book but well out of my budget at over a hundred dollars for the volume. That edition also uses the original publication text rather than Del Rey's revisions from Howard's notes.

Realistically, I got this book as a shelf decoration, as part of a matched set with the Lovecraft book. The price is low enough that I don't mind picking it up for that purpose, and I have been reading and enjoying it too. If you are a first-time Conan reader, this collection is a good place to start before diving into the heavier Del Rey editions. Gollancz plans more in this series, and their next offereing in the same format will be "Conan's Bretheren," featuring some of Howard's lesser-known heroes.

Finally. No more trying to replace the complete set of paperbacks, that were lost in "The Catastrophic" burned out waterheater flood. Superbly written, in all it's magnificent details. Tales more amazing than Arabian Nights. With an epic hero, as authentic as Ulysses. Now I can reaquiant. (And introduce him to my grandchildren). (pardon the spelling).

This book collects all of Robert E. Howard's original Conan tales and places them in published order. It also includes some unfinished works by the author and a lengthy & detailed essay on the history and evolution of the world in which the Conan tales are set -- Hyboria.

While there are a bunch of other Conan works out there, they were written after Howard committed suicide, and are subject to the different motivations and interpretations of their various publishers and authors.

This well-bound and attractive book collects all of the original author's work in a single volume and, in my opinion, is THE book to buy if you're looking to get into the Conan tales (as I was) or have all the original work in one place.

It's a pretty good deal -- you get almost a thousand pages of excellent Conan stories in a nice leatherette hardcover for, what, $25?

The stories were published in a pulp magazine over seventy years ago, but the writing is actually pretty great. Conan's character is a hit, even with people who wouldn't normally read action or fantasy work, and Howard really had a knack for setting the atmosphere and keeping tension and excitement high in his stories.

Definitely recommend this volume for anyone who likes fantasy, is interested in reading about Conan, or just as a gift for anyone who enjoys reading.

This is the good stuff, old school original Conan.
If you've read Conan books by anyone else you should read this, and see how it's supposed to go.
Big fat book. Worth the dough.

Others have questioned why the original Howard manuscripts were not used. Answer. Most of them do not exist anymore. To do as good a job of collecting the stories they ( Steve Jones and Jo Fletcher) went back to the original stories as published in WEIRD TALES. I can now admit my small part in this. Originally, they were looking for the Grant published versions and Jo approached about whether I had any they could borrow. I responded no but suggested she contact collector Bob Weinberg whom I knew had all the original WT publications. So you Conan without the heavy-handed editing of Lyon Sprague de Camp and minus the piss-poor pastiches written by de Camp and that other hack, Lin Carter. Neither of these men had a clue. (An observation from contact I had with both men over a period of years.) No one can tell the saga of a character better than the author who created him. The late Don Wandrei once referred to the pastiches as "Conantics". Never mind. What you have here is Howard and only Howard! In Conan Howard single-handedly created an entire sub-genre that we call sword & sorcery -- blazing a trail that would be taken by Fritz Leiber with his classic Fafhrd and Grey Mouser tales, Karl Edward Wagner's dark Kane stories and so many others. Here Conan battles demons, sorcerors and monsters torn from the heart of Hell! As he says in one of the yarns: "I don't go looking for devils but I won't step out of my path to let one go by." So you have dark tales as "Tower of the Elephant", "Rogues in the House", "Shadows in the Moonlight", "Queen of the Black Coast", "Black Colossus", "Hour of the Dragon" and a host of others! I still remember my first encounters with the intripid Cimmerian on a Labor Day weekend at age 15 in 1969.

this is a beautiful book...I cant believe how reasonable it was...but its all
there ...every wonderful story...all the prose...and the horrific adventure I
remember reading in the dark of my bedroom late at night when I was supposed
to be sleeping...LOL..........ENJOY!!!!!!!

"Conan" is one of those iconic names that transcend "fantasy" or "pulp" fiction. This is a collection of all the Conan tales that Robert E Howard wrote - as he had it published, unedited by later writers. There are also a few fragmentary tales, some nice B&W line art, the "Hyborian Age" essay, and a fine concluding note by Stephen Jones.

These stories were written in the 1930's, and generally published in Weird Tales magazine. But they crackle and live with modern energy, and have not dated at all in the passage of eighty years. Conan is an immense protangonist in both physique and character - bold, cunning, lusty, and honourable in his own way. He is thief, reaver, pirate, war chief, mercenary and king - not to mention treasure-hunter, adventurer, scout and warrior. Conan is much more than a simple "barbarian".

The best stories are probably Red Nails, Beyond the Black River, and Tower of the Elephant - but I have a soft spot for Queen of the Black Coast, and A Witch Shall be Born, also. But dont take my word for it: buy the book, read the stories. Conan is an immortal hero for any age.