Conan The Rebel [Hardcover]

Poul Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2001

A grand adventure of the mighty thewed barbarian, from one of Fantasy’s biggest names

Conan, The name has inspired generations, one that resounds through time immemorial. Yet it all began with a handful of stories from Robert E. Howard. In the decades since, there have been feature films, television and comic book series, and numerous spin-off novels. In 1979, Poul Anderson—winner of a staggering eight Hugo and three Nebula Awards—wrote what is regarded as one of the finest adventures in the canon of Conan:

Conan the Rebel.

Conan the barbarian and Belit, his raven-haired beauty, lead a band of savage pirates striving to free Belit’s people from the iron grip of an evil reptile god and its cruel minions. Striking at the heart of tyranny, Conan must break the chains of oppression before eternal darkness claims them all.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fans of Robert E. Howard's immortal barbarian will rejoice in this handsome reappearance of Anderson's classic 1980 pastiche of favorite Howardian images. Familiar highlights include wizards, especially Tothapis, worshiper of the serpent god Set; an asp ("crushed underfoot"); a cobra ("no trick to wriggle by them"); a viper's "articulated skull hung in a chain" about a wizard's neck; even a mighty battle with a dragonlike flying reptile. And of course, beautiful damsels Conan's beloved Belit, Daris, the witch Nehekba all of whom love Conan (for his part, he's "never reluctant to shine before an attractive woman"). The Cimmerian himself, however, acts like a CEO for the first half of the story, content to embrace and counsel Belit in a laid-back, laconic manner. When Falco, a young nobleman, praises a woman, Conan replies, "Never mind her body. Tell me about her business." He even philosophizes: "Strife was the natural order of things." Fortunately, after discovering the potent Axe of Veranghi, he recovers his normal barbaric poise. He wields the axe with full fettle, dismembering opponents, including armies of the dead riding on weird monsters, but still lovably gullible, he allows the dangerous Nehekba to delude him. Disappointingly, Conan never really rebels against anything in particular, and Anderson's version hardly lives up to Howard's incomparable creation (to be fair, Howard's often didn't, either). Fans will applaud anyway. (Oct. 10)Nebula awards, died on July 31 at age 74.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Mighty barbarians, savage pirates, freedom, and tyranny are at the heart of this grand adventure.”--Realms of Fantasy

“Fans of Robert E. Howard’s immortal barbarian will rejoice in this handsome reappearance of Anderson’s classic.”--Publishers Weekly

“The late Poul Anderson, SFWA Grand Master and winner of a staggering array of literary awards, was a giant in the field of science fiction. His touch for altering reality and re-creating the universe was unequaled, and Conan the Rebel bears the unmistakable Anderson touch. Clever plot twists and building tension will keep readers on edge until the end.”—The Baton Rouge Advocate

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (October 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765300729
• ISBN-13: 978-0765300720
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,843,457 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Anderson meets Howard, October 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Conan the Rebel (Paperback)

As with several other authors (De Camp, Carter, Jordan, Carpenter), Poul Anderson takes a retrospective stab at recreating Robert E Howard's Hyborian world and chief hero - Conan the Barbarian. Anderson spins an entertaining yarn with all the elements you would expect in a Fantasy novel. However, Anderson, as with most 'modern' author, softens the barbarians character to be more suitable to contemporary audiences. While this is certainly laudable to remove sexist overtones (remember, Howard was writing in the 20s & 30s), it fails to capture the flavor of the original.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, but a Missed Opportunity, February 18, 2007

By 

Matthew (Boulder, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conan The Rebel (Paperback)

Anderson's story of Conan's time as captain of a pirate ship alongside his love, Belit, is an interesting one, but I can't help feeling that it was a missed opportunity. Very few Conan pastiches continue directly from one of Howard's original pulp stories from the 1930s. This one does, picking up from Howard's "Queen of the Black Coast".

While the plot for this novel was entertaining, dealing with family ties, sacrifice, prophecy, and different stripes of power-hungry sorcerers, Anderson really missed the chance to deeply explore Belit, one of the most compelling female characters Robert E. Howard ever introduced into Conan's life.

Anderson does a decent job in capturing Conan's personality, but suffers the same difficulty many authors after Howard have in authentically nailing it as well as the creator.

The supporting characters and major villains are very well-formed and Anderson provides decent descriptions of the environment so the reader feels immersed in the setting.

The story contains a lot of action, but it does feel a wee bit patchwork in places with ideas being introduced but not fully explored. That said, the ending of the novel is quite good - a splendid, buliding, non-stop gauntlet of evil menace leading to an appropriate twist and a satisfying climax.

A very good Conan pastiche that left a bit on the table by not exploring Belit more deeply.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good version of this popular hero, September 25, 2001

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Conan The Rebel (Hardcover)

Due to the machinations of the evil sorcerer Tothapis, Set the reptile God cruelly rules Stygia. Set warns Tothapis that a threat to their well being comes from the alliance between Conan and Belit, who met in sword to sword combat, felt an attraction and joined sides. Belit leads pirates trying to free her people from the reptiles rule while Conan lays back providing strategic advice to her.

Everything changes when Conan finds the Axe of Veranghi. Instead of just advising, he begins to take charge. Along side Belit, Conan leads her force in combat as they close in on a final confrontation with the reptile God and his wicked minion including the powerful Tothapis.

The great Poul Anderson takes readers on a journey into the Cimmerian world of Robert E. Howard. The story line of CONAN THE REBEL starts a bit slower than usual for our hero meaning body counts that would make Westmoreland and MacNamara envious. This enables the audience to understand better the support cast, but not why Conan seems more like California mellow than the wild barbarian that is expected of him. Once Conan returns to his normal tendencies, the head count geometrically grows and the action with it. Though a fine tale, purists will feel this is not Mr. Howard or even the Marvel comic.

Harriet Klausner