Customer Reviews

Conan the Invincible (Conan)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Aside from the creator of Conan (Robert E. Howard), Jordan is the best Conan author I've read to date. He did his Conan work in the 80's before he began on his epic Wheel of Time, and they are pretty much the antithesis of each other. Jordan's Conan books are clear, concise, and to the point. Plot and background is provided (e.g. where the Necromancer in The Invincible comes from), but only enough to support the action of the novels. Fights are savage and bloody (as Conan novels should be), women are scantily clad and promiscuous, and wizards are almost always the bad guys, opposed to the muscular Cimmerian. Jordan's writing is the closest to the raw energy you can see in Howard's original stories.

Conan The Invincible is my favorite of Jordan's. It's a quick, easy read, but for all that it's really well written in a classic Conan style. Plus this is the novel where we first meet Karela, The Red Hawk, a woman bandit/warrior who appears in several other of Jordan's novels. She serves as a great counterpart for Conan. I've read this book numerous times by this point, and it always satisfies my sword and sorcery hunger.

I am an absolute sucker for pulpy adventure stories, and I dig Robert E. Howard's fiction. There is something absolutely delightful to it, with its colorful world, his obsession with the complexities between civilization/barbarism, and larger than life adventures (my personal favorite of his Conan stories has to be "Queen of the Black Coast", because in addition to a fine savage adventure, the romance with pirate queen Belit makes me all warm and fuzzy). It was only a matter of time before I ventured into the land of Howardian pastiches.

Before his Wheel of Time epic, Robert Jordan penned no less than seven Conan novels. Though the author is no Robert E. Howard, here he offers a fun adventure tale in the Howardian style.

Conan: The Invincible finds a young Conan (nineteen or so) living as a thief in the wicked city of Shadizar. When a stranger hires him to steal some gems (gifts to the local lord from a neighboring king) for a veritable mountain of gold, of course he agrees. Nothing is easy, and soon Conan is on a cross country adventure after the already stolen gems, encountering a mysterious race of serpent folk, no less than two sorcerers, a fell god (called the Eater of Souls), and a band of brigands under the command of the fierce bandit babe Karela (aka The Red Hawk).

The language is colorful, the plot is exciting, and there are plenty of well drawn characters on display. The key word for this one is fun, so let me repeat it a few times. Fun, fun, fun. I grinned like a fool all through the reading. The ending is a little, uhm, sudden but overall, a delightful, pulse pounding read.

I truly enjoyed this book. Aside from Robert Howard, the creator of Conan, Robert Jordan (And L. Sprague De Camp) is the man who brings us closest to the realm Howard created. This work should be considered one of the very best additions to the Conan universe.

The characters of the novel are resplendent and varied. Karela The Red Hawk is a woman whom I'd never want to come across in battle. A beautiful woman skilled with the sword and ruthless in battle. Yet impulsive, jealous and easily offended when a man comes to her rescue. It can lead a woman to her doom and The Hed Hawk was no exception to this rule.

Hordo was also a man I grew to respect, a faithful Hound who knew how to manage the ego of his superior whilst being her (The Red Hawk) loyal second-in-command.

The book details the landscape of the Zamora while showcasing those denizens who live within the Kezankian Mountains. This book could have gone on for another 100 pages and I would not have minded.

The villains in this novel were sundry. I had problems identifying who would get to Conan first--even his "friends" were enemies to him at one point in the novel.

I like strong women and by far Karela The Red Hawk is one of the strongest females Conan has ever met. On a level with the Amazon woman Carpenter Created in Conan And The Amazon.

Buy this book and I promise you will not be disappointed.

A. Nathaniel Wallace, Jr.

Deep in the Kezankian Mountains, between Zamora and Turan, the evil wizard Amanar plots heinous deeds, conducting human sacrifice and broking no failure on the part of his henchmen. He has as his guard the remnant of an ancient race of reptilian/humanoids known as the S'tarra. These creatures are brutal worriers and willing servants of the wizard. Deep within his fortress Amanar hides his shrine to Morath-Aminee, a terrible and dangerous god who eats the souls of men. Amanar seeks five gemstones which have been given by King Yildiz of Turan to King Tiridates of Zamora. Each stone is individually beautiful and perhaps unique, and Amanar seeks to use them in his necromancy. Meanwhile in Shadizar, the capital of Zamora, the young Cimmerian Conan is approached by Ankar, "a merchant dealing in very special merchandise." Ankar tells Conan about the jewels and says he wishes to hire The Cimmerian to "acquire' them. At an age less than twenty the plan to steal from a king seems like an achievement that will bring Conan fame and fortune, but who will get to the jewels first, Conan or Amanar's servants?

Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan, wrote mainly short stories that were full of strange supernatural goings on, amazing feats of physical prowess and daring sword battles to thrill the reader. Robert Jordan has here written a novel which sticks to that basic formula, but which also adds a little something to fill the pages of the longer format. Much of the novel centers on the relationship between Conan and Karela, a seductive female bandit. Karela is a romance interest, but also a challenge to Conan's prowess as a thief, worrier and natural leader. Howard's women characters were almost always minor in the plot and certainly never a real challenge to his hero's prowess. This bitter/sweet relationship between Conan and Karela also provides moments of humor, a plot element also missing in Howard's writing. I do not feel that these variations of style spoil the ethos of the novel, but that is a matter of personal taste and I can only leave it to the individual reader to decide.

The plot does not tarry long on any one point and we are swept along through the story with ease. Jordan is never boring, though the reader should remember that this tale is pure adventure. There are no deep points here. Even the theme of good versus evil is a little clouded as thief is hardly an honorable profession. Jordan manages to describe characters vividly, but once again there is no real development of personality here. Conan remains the stoic worrier of few words and much action, just as Howard portrayed him throughout all his stories. As I say, this is sword and sorcery, not psychologically deep literature.

If you are wondering exactly where this novel fits in the whole Conan cycle I can tell you that it comes some time after the short story <The Tower of the Elephant> (Howard) and before <The Hall of the Dead> (Howard and de Camp). Both those short stories are referred to in Jordan's novel.

Many authors have tried their hand at Conan pastiche but I think that Robert Jordan has made one of the best attempts. Of course much later in his career Jordan went on to write the voluminous and best selling fantasy-epic <Wheel of Time>.

The book Conan the Invincible clearly lies above others of it's genre. The characters are true to form and realistic. I feel that the author accurately conveys the nature of the Conan character and that the supporting characters are equally flushed out. The story was exciting and quick paced. For those into action and steel, this book is a must read

This is not an ambitious novel. Yet it perfectly fulfills the mandates of the sword & sorcery novel: plently of bloodshed, beautiful women, exotic warriors, and soulless necromancy. Jordan wrote it before his sprawling Wheel of Time books, and it offers the quick-pacing, thrill-a-minute style that his current series now lacks (for better or worse). I heartily recommend it; it was one of the original books that hooked me onto reading when I was a kid, and I've read it again a few times since.

This is an awesome book of the conan series and was actually the very first one that I read.I'd also have to say that Robert Jordan does compare very well with Robert E. Howard the original author of the barber conan books.Theres even a video game of Conan coming out soon for the Playstation 2.I think there should be more Conan movies!Don't you too?New Conan movies would be awesome!

I have read the (wot) books and the conan books are what started me on them. This book holds the true meaning of conan and is how they were ment to be written. I think I have read all of his books on conan and this one being longer than the usual short story format still keeps you reading. thanks Robert,,,keep the (wot) books rolling till you wanna finish not cause people rush ya to an ending....lol

I love my Conan books, and this book is very indicative of the series, no matter which of numerous authors write them. The adventure lives on.

Deep in the Kezankian Mountains, between Zamora and Turan, the evil wizard Amanar plots heinous deeds, conducting human sacrifice and broking no failure on the part of his henchmen. He has as his guard the remnant of an ancient race of reptilian/humanoids known as the S'tarra. These creatures are brutal worriers and willing servants of the wizard. Deep within his fortress Amanar hides his shrine to Morath-Aminee, a terrible and dangerous god who eats the souls of men. Amanar seeks five gemstones which have been given by King Yildiz of Turan to King Tiridates of Zamora. Each stone is individually beautiful and perhaps unique, and Amanar seeks to use them in his necromancy. Meanwhile in Shadizar, the capital of Zamora, the young Cimmerian Conan is approached by Ankar, "a merchant dealing in very special merchandise." Ankar tells Conan about the jewels and says he wishes to hire The Cimmerian to "acquire' them. At an age less than twenty the plan to steal from a king seems like an achievement that will bring Conan fame and fortune, but who will get to the jewels first, Conan or Amanar's servants?

Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan, wrote mainly short stories that were full of strange supernatural goings on, amazing feats of physical prowess and daring sword battles to thrill the reader. Robert Jordan has here written a novel which sticks to that basic formula, but which also adds a little something to fill the pages of the longer format. Much of the novel centers on the relationship between Conan and Karela, a seductive female bandit. Karela is a romance interest, but also a challenge to Conan's prowess as a thief, worrier and natural leader. Howard's women characters were almost always minor in the plot and certainly never a real challenge to his hero's prowess. This bitter/sweet relationship between Conan and Karela also provides moments of humor, a plot element also missing in Howard's writing. I do not feel that these variations of style spoil the ethos of the novel, but that is a matter of personal taste and I can only leave it to the individual reader to decide.

The plot does not tarry long on any one point and we are swept along through the story with ease. Jordan is never boring, though the reader should remember that this tale is pure adventure. There are no deep points here. Even the theme of good versus evil is a little clouded as thief is hardly an honorable profession. Jordan manages to describe characters vividly, but once again there is no real development of personality here. Conan remains the stoic worrier of few words and much action, just as Howard portrayed him throughout all his stories. As I say, this is sword and sorcery, not psychologically deep literature.

If you are wondering exactly where this novel fits in the whole Conan cycle I can tell you that it comes some time after the short story <The Tower of the Elephant> (Howard) and before <The Hall of the Dead> (Howard and de Camp). Both those short stories are referred to in Jordan's novel.

Many authors have tried their hand at Conan pastiche but I think that Robert Jordan has made one of the best attempts. Of course much later in his career Jordan went on to write the voluminous and best selling fantasy-epic <Wheel of Time>.