The Conan Chronicles, Vol. 1: The People of the Black Circle [Import] [Paperback]

Robert E. Howard (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Millennium; New Ed edition (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857989961
• ISBN-13: 978-1857989960
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.4 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,471,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

(1906-1936) Robert Erwin Howard was born and rasied in rural Texas, where he lived all his life. The son of a pioneer physician, he began writing professionally at the age of fifteen. Howard killed himself in June 1936 when he learned that his beloved mother had fallen into a coma.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars absolutely unforgettable, April 29, 2000

By 

Brian Danz (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conan: The People of the Black Circle (Hardcover)

If you can find this book, and you're a fan of high fantasy I highly reccomend you check it out. Along with J.R.R. Tolkien and Jack Vance, Howard revolutionized the sword and sorcery genre. All though this collection of short stories is a little formulaic, it's brought to life with Howard's amazing descriptions of the horrors and wonders of a time past.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I forgot how good these are, May 2, 2002

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Conan Chronicles, Vol. 1: The People of the Black Circle (Paperback)

Wow. It didn't take much for me to slip back into the world of Robert E. Howard. I haven't read any Conan books since I was a kid (I got my first library card solely to check out Conan books!), and I picked this volume up to see if the stories held up to my memory.

They are so much better than I remember them. Robert E. Howard, who I have gained new respect for, is a good writer. This edition, for the first time, is pure Howard. The books I read were the de Camp/Carter edited versions/pastiches, and I don't think that their watered-down versions ever had this much life in them. They were certainly never this addictive.

The writing is these stories is vibrant and rough. Pulp writing dictated a certain style of cheap thrills and excitement, and Conan has all of this. However, the strength of craft, of use of language and story, makes these stories shine. Howard successfully created a bold fantasy world unlike any other, although it has often been copied. His liberal use of his friend H.P. Lovecraft's "outside horror" adds to the atmosphere of Hyborea. Conan is a fully-realised character, and not what you think. Like Edgar Rice Burrogh's Tarzan, he did not fare well upon transportation to other media. Intellegence and strength are his equal weapons. Conan is not the shirtless brute that many think of.

I will definitely use this book as an invitation to check out more by Robert E. Howard.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Robert E. Howard - Master of Heroic Fiction, October 6, 2005

By 

Corey "http://kingcorey.com/" (Hockley, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: People of the Black Circle (Mass Market Paperback)

Other readers may not understand that this was written in a different era. A time when a high school diploma and meant something. Since it was written before the Great Depression for a pulp fan magazine. The language and style is from the past, but the story is powerful and fully fleshed out. I will never sell my copy of this book or of any other Robert E. Howard's works that I own. He is a classic swords and sorcery writer, with the biggest hero ever. Conan

Read it as he wrote it, not as some hacks have tried to write stories of Conan. All other "Edited" or "Enhanced" versions are junk compared to how Howard wrote these stories. Don't waste your time on the other "Conan" authors. Only Robert E. Howard wrote Conan, and only his words as originally written are worth your time.