Conan and the Amazon [Mass Market Paperback]

John Maddox Roberts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1995

Roaming the hills of Brythunia Conan comes face to face with a legend--Achilea, once Queen of a tribe of savage women, is a consummate warrior, as fierce as she is beautiful. Together they set out to uncover the riches of the long-lost Janagar, a mighty city that stood tall for five thousand years. It was abandoned by its people, who fled on one strange night, never to return. Treasure hunters beware! Deadly horrors are waiting for Conan and Achilea deep in the bowels of Janagar.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Tor Fantasy (April 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812524934
• ISBN-13: 978-0812524932
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,035,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A lesser Conan book from one of the better writers, March 4, 2004

By A Customer

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

John Maddox Roberts is one of the better authors to take on Robert E. Howard's legendary creation Conan the Cimmerian; he writes well and seems to have a good grip on the personality of Conan. However, this last (so far) of his Conan novels ranks as one of his lesser efforts. Perhaps he had grown tired of the character after ten years and eight novels.

The plot has Conan joining forces with the exiled queen of the Amazons, Achilea, on a mysterious quest to find a lost city deep in the deserts. It isn't a terribly original idea, although the city of Jangar has some surprises in it more in line with Michael Moorcock's Elric books than Robert E. Howard's Conan. Roberts writes with skill, but the story moves too slowly, with very little action in the first two-hundred pages, most of which is a weary trudge through uninhabited lands interrupted with long speeches about the history of Jangar from various characters. Considering the promise of the title, the sexual sparks that should fly between Conan and Achilea never develop to much, and they spend most of the novel at arm's length. The ending arrives far too abruptly as well, although the coda is actually quite touching and the closest that Roberts gets in the book to approaching the true feeling of Robert E. Howard's Conan.

There are a few exciting sequences, such as a fight with a giant crocodile in a flooded arena beneath the lost city. (I can be a real sucker for the simple pleasures of big monsters.) Conan trying to escape from inside of a giant idol while being chased is also a tense read. But otherwise, "Conan and the Amazon" is a lot of walk and talk. Read some of Roberts's earlier Conan work, like "Conan the Valorous." Or better yet, just stick with Robert E. Howard's original stories in the now available "The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Low calorie pulp fiction, September 14, 2007

By 

Jeffrey Morris (Bethesda, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

Fans of Stormlands series author John Maddox Roberts will enjoy his contributions to Tor's Conan franchise, even this rather pedestrian installment. The plot is a like the well worn grip of a serviceable broadsword. It is familiar and predictable, but capable of sustained action.

Much of the novel is dedicated to showcasing Conan's superhuman endurance and stealth skills and the supporting cast is kept small in order to bring attention to the Amazon queen that joins Conan in caravan duty. It won't ruin it for you to tell you in advance that the lost city is found, the love interest is saved, and Conan once again finishes an adventure with less gold than when he started. What makes the book entertaining is the detail he gives Conan's world and his knack at effectively capturing Conan's life philosophy and those of the characters around him.

A good book to read and doze off with at the beach.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A whale of a tale, April 13, 2006

By 

Chess Buddhist (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews

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

Another fun read from John Maddox Roberts. What I like about his Conan books is the way he captures the on-the-road feel that Conan should always have. JMR also writes with a smartness that adds a little welcome weight (not too much) to a subject matter that is essentially whimsical. I would recommend this to any fan of fantasy fiction.