Customer Reviews

Conan and the Amazon

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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."

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.

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.

While I admit this novel is not one of much action, the plot held me completely until the last fourth of the book.

I loved the idea of the safe haven where the characters all originally hook up. The Hyrkanians were a great delight as were Jeyba and the Amazons. I only wish that subsequent books would add more to the Amazon story arcs created by Roberts.

As the characters travelled south through the Hyborian lands and then into the deserts, I was enthralled. Conan was a fantastic guide, showing the people the ropes--often to their dismay. Yet he was erudite and wise.

My major gripe with this book is the ending. It felt contrived and tacked on--leaving little substance. I also did not like that too many of the main characters were slain.

The subterannean world was a nice construction, yet it too was undeveloped and seemed too easily written off.

A. Nathaniel Wallace, Jr.

This is the first Conan adventure I have read where several times I wished Conan would just shut the hell up and fight! Roberts puts him in situations where only he knows the right way to handle, and he endlessly explains why, why, why. I pictured the supporting characters turning to each other and whispering, "does he always talk this much?"

Achilea the Amazon is a great character, but she isn't really fleshed out or used that well. And there is zero sexual tension between them, which is a missed opportunity. Jordan's Karela would have made mince-meat out of her. At least Conan gets three days of serious romping with her in the end.

The tale itself is oft clumsily told. An example is when Conan and Achilea run a scouting mission and get caught in a sandstorm. When they finally arrive back at the camp, we have to hear the entire narrative of what had happened there from the old man. Roberts could have easily juxtaposed each narrative on the other, creating more tension and action rather than telling by flipping back and forth.

This book sort of reminds me of Roberts' Conan the Champion, which was a similar lame, "road movie" plot with not a lot of tension and action. Conan is never in any real danger in this one, not that we ever doubt that he will win the day, but better Conan writers have put him in more interesting jeopardy than Roberts. I'm beginning to think that Conan the Valorous was Roberts' one hit.

I read this book a little while ago and thought that it was overall a pretty good book, but during the middle/beggining of it I thought that it was a bit LONG. But if you like a good story that is interesting, than I recomend this to you, but if your itching for action than I don't recomend this to you.