Conan The Valorous [Mass Market Paperback]

John Maddox Roberts (Author), John Maddox Roberts (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 241 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (September 15, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812542525
• ISBN-13: 978-0812542523
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,118,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Maddox Roberts has written numerous works of science fiction and fantasy, in addition to his successful historical SPQR mystery series. He lives in New Mexico with his wife.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the better Conan novels..., June 24, 2000

By 

Nathan (Wilmington, DE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conan The Valorous (Mass Market Paperback)

Conan the Valorous is a refreshing read after some of the other Conan materiel that they've put out. It's got plenty of action, with humans, demons, gods, mages, you name it. It really gets into what life is like up in Cimmeria and the northern nations, and how those civilizations are organized. We get plenty of real Conan -- not terribly intelligent, but good in a fight and quick with his wits; not the 'detective' Conan which some authors have tried to pass off as the real thing. This is pure escapist reading, and it's better than most. It's definitely worth the few hours it will take you to read it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the better Conan novels, April 15, 2002

By 

"jmbyrne25" (West Chester, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conan The Valorous (Paperback)

This is the third Conan novel I have read by this author and one of the strongest. Like the other two tales, this one involves a far reaching quest that takes Conan thru several different countries. Most of this story takes place in the Border Kingdoms and Cimmeria.

The author does a good job of depicting just how savage the Hyborean age is, and how cheap life was in that era. At the beginning of the book the author goes into detail on some very everyday things, such as Conan trying to buy a sword, which help the reader get a clearer idea of the world he lives in. Another nice touch is the reactions of the Cimmerians when he returns home. Conan is not viewed as a returning hero, but more as a man who was too soft to handle the Northern ways and had to go South. In many of the Conan stories people are just in awe of the bronze barbarian. This was a nice change of pace.

There's really two separtate stories here, the first where he fights in the Border Kingdoms and the second fulfilling his quest in Cimmeria. The Border Kingdom story is fast paced and action packed. Things slowed down a little in the Cimmeria story, but it was still very enjoyable. If the Mr. Roberts could have kept that level of quality up throughout the book I would have given it 5 stars. The last line of the book was vintage Conan!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Solid 3+ saga, one of Tor's better offerings, August 8, 2004

By 

Michael S. Armstrong (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Conan The Valorous (Paperback)

Conan the Valorous is a solid 3.5 adventure. Compared to some of Tor's Conan disasters, it rates even higher. "Valorous" really contains two stories which are not exactly very related to one another. This hurts the overall feel of the book.

The over-arching story has to do with Conan's return to Cimmeria to fulfill a rash vow made to a Stygian sorceress who is bent on world domination. The under-arching story has to do with Conan's being distracted with an inter-tribal dispute in the Border Kingdoms on his way back to his native Cimmeria. While passing through the Border Kingdoms, Conan is intercepted by a chieftainess/Amazon hottie, Aelfrith, who is interested in employing him as a mercenary leader against her tribe's enemies. This portion of the book is fairly quick paced and enjoyable.

After dealing with this distraction to fulfilling his vow, Conan returns to Cimmeria. The author effectively fills in a lot of detail of Cimmerian life which I found to be congruent with Robert E. Howard's vision of Cimmeria. It is in this portion that the author fills in Conan's supporting cast. He befriends a young Cimmerian kinsman, Chulainn, who is in search of his kidnapped girlfriend. Another character brought to life at this point is a Khitan wizard who accompanies Conan and Chulainn on their missions. The wizard provides comic relief, but talks like a stereotypical Chinaman throughout the book. The author is also able to create some brooding and eerie landscapes along the way, as well as some strange Lovecraftian creatures that add to the book's appeal.

On the down side, certain phrases are repeated a little too often (e.g. "speaking a tongue which no human was ever intended to speak"). Conan is sometimes described as doing gymnastics (e.g. a triple midair somersault) that seem out of character to this reader. He also gets a little too chatty at times and tends to lose a little of his gruffness along the way. Certain elements of the story are not believable, such as Aelfrith's total trust in Conan, a stranger and a froreigner, at a time of war, as well as her utter confidence in his military prowess despite not having seen him in action. There is an overly graphic scene related to disembowelment that I could have lived without (sorry for being a weanie.)

But the final battle scenes are of an epic nature, and the reader will be satisfied with the ending in my opinion. I would have enjoyed the book more had the two stories within the book been more connected. Conan's relationship with Aelfrith was bittersweet, and could have been developed a little more in the overall plot of the book. Given the substance of recent Conan novels, this one is worth your time.