Conan 26 the Victorious a [Paperback]

Jordan Robert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1989 | Series: Conan

In the fabled, mysterious land of Vendhya, Conan seeks an antidote to the unknown poison that threatens his life. Entangled in the intrigues of Karim Singh, advisor to the King of Vendhya, pursued by the voluptuous noblewoman Vyndra, threatened by the evil mage Naipal, Conan has yet to conquer the most terrifying adversaries of his life--the Sivani, demon-guardians of the ancient tombs of Vendhyan kings. To survive, he must be Conan the Victorious.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Nobody alive writes Conan better than Robert Jordan."--L. Sprague de Camp

"There is no one today writing barbarian fantasy novels that can compare with Jordan."--Science Fiction Chronicle

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Robert Jordan, who added to the Conan saga before breaking fresh ground of his own, provided some of the most satisfying adventures since Howard himself….There aren’t many writers who can produce exceptional work within the imagination of another, but Jordan is one of those rarities.”

r—

Science Fiction Chronicle

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The Conan Chronicles, Volume One

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown Paperbacks (a&C) (November 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0722152132
• ISBN-13: 978-0722152133
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Robert Jordan was born in 1948 in Charleston, South Carolina. He taught himself to read when he was four with the incidental aid of a twelve-years-older brother and was tackling Mark Twain and Jules Verne by five. He is a graduate of The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, with a degree in physics. He served two tours in Vietnam with the U.S. Army; among his decorations are the Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with "V" and bronze oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm. A history buff, he has also written dance and theater criticism and enjoyed the outdoor sports of hunting, fishing, and sailing, and the indoor sports of poker, chess, pool, and pipe collecting.

Robert Jordan began writing in 1977 and went on to write The Wheel of Time(R), one of the most important and best selling series in the history of fantasy publishing with over 14 million copies sold in North America, and countless more sold abroad.

Robert Jordan died on September 16, 2007, after a courageous battle with the rare blood disease amyloidosis.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing last Conan novel from Jordan, January 28, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Conan the Victorious (Mass Market Paperback)

Robert Jordan has written some of the better of the Conans published by Tor, starting with one of my favorites, "Conan the Invincible," which had the feel of a new author bursting with enthusiasm over a favorite character. But "Conan the Victorious," Jordan's seventh Conan novel (counting the novelization of Conan the Destroyer) falls far below his standards. Jordan ceased writing Conan after this novel. Perhaps he had become bored with the series, and if so, the malaise definitely overwhelms him here.

Whatever the reason, Jordan's last date with Robert E. Howard's literary child subtly disappoints. It is overstuffed with political intrigue and double-crosses and not enough adventure, magic, or the exotic. This is especially disappointing since it takes place mostly in Vendhya, Howard's fantasy version of India seen in "The People of the Black Circle"; if any locale should feel exotic, it should be this one. It's true that political maneuvering has an important place in many of Robert E. Howard's Conan works as well as his historical adventure stories for Oriental Stories/Magic Carpet, but Jordan lets an avalanche of scheming slow down the pace of the story. (A good comparison would be with Howard's "Hawks over Egypt"¸which staggers under too much intrigue in too little space, but that was a work Howard didn't sell in his lifetime.) Any short synopsis can't begin to explain the extra characters and subplots that clog up "Conan the Victorious". With so many characters and plots and counterplots, the novel relies heavily on information exchange between characters instead of action and movement. Many of the subplots get a short shrift, and the details fade over the long stretches while the other storylines compete for space. When the pay-offs for some of the subplots come due, they have marginal effect and seem as if the author merely forgot about them until he suddenly needed them for the finale.

These problems would become symptomatic of many of the pastiches to come: too much plot, too little development, and a limp finale. In this case, the ending is particularly weak. The demon and the army of the dead are too rapidly disposed of in the quick rush to the last chapter, and the coda fails to patch up the numerous plot holes and story points that Jordan dashed over earlier. Jordan's Conan career started so promisingly in the fast and imaginative "Conan the Invincible," but by this last novel, his party with the Cimmerian had definitely come to a bleary end.

Fortunately, the next novel, "Conan the Valorous," introduced author John Maddox Roberts, who would pen some of the better pastiche novels.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Conan at his true self, April 21, 2001

By 

Cthulhu (Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conan the Victorious (Mass Market Paperback)

Since I live outside United States, I had to wait some 6 weeks for this book to reach my hands after having ordered it by the internet. It's worth it! Usually, when people think about Conan the image that come to them is that of a big, musculous, and stupid warrior that kills 340 enemyes by minute. Maybe with less competent writters, but Robert Jordan's Conan is far from that; he is a furious fighter, but also an honored and strong willed person, and even smart. The story is elaborated (far beyond the old 'let's kill the sorcerer and get the girl' stereotype) the characthers are developted trought the book, from the evil sorcerer trought the demon creature, with lots of plot twists. Conan the Victorious is a good book for anyone who enjoys medieval fantasy, and great for any Conan fan, by Crom!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just good, lusty, violent fun, March 8, 2000

By 

Van A. Plexico "MageAU" (near St Louis, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Conan the Victorious (Mass Market Paperback)

Jordan's incredible ability to fit a ton of vivid discriptive language into only a sentence or two really shines in this volume. You can see (and even smell!) the settings, be they dark and musty taverns or vast and exotic vistas. I never much cared for Conan before, but gave this one a chance, based on Jordan's reputation from his own series (which I haven't read). I found this book far more entertaining, and far better written, than the average of its type, and by far the most interesting Conan story I've ever read. A great yarn, written by someone with great command of action and descriptive language.