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The Conquering Sword of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 3)

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The Conquering Sword of Conan is the third and final volume in the Wandering Star/Del Rey collection of Howard's complete "Conan of Cimmeria". For fans of Robert E. Howard, this is a major achievement, because its the first time all of the Howard Conan stories have been published in the order that they were written, completely uncensored and pastiche free. Now, we are able to get a much more accurate look at the both the evolution of the character, as well as Howard's skill as a writer. In the Lancer/Ace editions, the stories were placed in chronological order and peppered with dreadful pastiches. The problem with this is that it was never Howard's intention for his stories to be read that way. The Conan saga is not a unified Joseph Campbell style hero's journey such as "Star Wars" or "Lord of the Rings". Rather, it's more akin to James Bond. Each story can be read and enjoyed on its own, without any prior knowledge of the events or characters in previous stories. In fact, in no Conan story are the plot details of any other Conan story ever even mentioned, except in the most general of terms (Conan gives a brief overview of his career in "Red Nails"). This was by nature, a matter of necessity, as these "pulp fiction" stories were geared towards the casual magazine reader who might be picking up a copy of "Weird Tales" for the first time.

Of the five stories in this volume, three of them are considered by fans and literary scholars to be among the best work that Howard ever produced. They are "Beyond the Black River", "The Black Stranger, and "Red Nails".

Beyond the Black River: this is generally considered Howard's finest work, transcending the level of pulp fiction and worthy of serious critical analyses. Even if viewed as a simple adventure story, it's unbelievably exciting and entertaining. In order for this story to fit into the genre that he invented, which would later be known as "Sword and Sorcery", Howard populates it with the traditional elements, such as an evil sorceror and supernatural monsters. However, these elements are downplayed. This is the most realistic and true to life Conan story that Howard wrote. Its basically an American frontier saga transported to the Hyborian age. The Picts in "Beyond the Black River" bear little of no resemblance to the Picts of Bran Mak Morn or King Kull's time. Here, they serve as thinly vealed stand-ins for native Americans. The story also contains Howard's most famous quote: "Barbarism is the natural state of mankind. Civilization is unnatural. It is a whim of circumstance. And barbarism must always ultimately triumph".

To those who have never read Howard, who think of Conan as a sort of monosyllabic Tarzan on steroids, I urge you to read the aforementioned story. You'll never see Conan the same way again.

The Black Stranger: what's really amazing about this story is that this is the first time most of us have ever read it in its original form. In the Lancer/Ace editions, this story was heavily edited and rewritten by the self serving L. Sprague de Camp so that it could be used to set the stage for his mind numbingly dreadful pastiche, "Conan the Liberator". He also changed the name to "The Treasure of Tranicos". His justification for doing this was equally ludicrous. He claimed he was concerned that the readers would become "confused" with so many Conan stories with "black" in the title (Black Colossus/Pool of the Black One), as if we're a bunch of four year olds.

It continues many of the themes started in "Beyond the Black River", and is once again a thinly vealed American frontier story transported to the Hyborian Age.

Red Nails: This is the most hardcore Conan story of all. Dr. Freud would have field day with this. Graphic violence, deviant sex, sadomasochism; all are here in full display. The editor of these editions, Patrice Louinet, suggests that this story is a subconsious projection of Howard's relationship with Novalyne Price and resulting conflict between this and his VERY unhealthy relationship with his own mother.

One thing that strikes me about this story is Howard's much more realistic portrayal of the female pirate Valeria, when you compare her to Howard's earlier character Belit, from "Queen of the Black Coast". In "Queen", Belit basically throws herself at Conan at their first meeting, and they immediately have sex right there on the deck of the Tigris with the entire crew looking on. While its a very memorable and well written scene, it does come off as an adolescent fantasy of someone who hasn't had much experience with women. In "Red Nails", Valeria is portrayed much more realistically, like a real woman would behave around a man she's attracted to. She sits on Conan's lap and lets him play with her hair. In one scene, she gives him a "you're not getting any tonight" look and slams the door in his face. She doesn't relent until the end of the story, after Conan proves his worthiness by rescuing her. I have no doubt that this new found maturity on the part of Howard's writing is due, at least in part, to his relationship with Ms. Price.

The two lesser stories are "The Servants of Bit-Yakin" and "Shadows of Zamboula". "Shadows", while more of a conventional Conan story, benifits from outstanding writing and some really good scenes. The strangulation scene, and the dance of the cobras are particalrly memorable. I won't go into any detail about "Servants", other than to say it is worth reading. While some are obviously better than others, there are no bad Howard Conan stories.

I really like the artwork by Gregory Manchess. Its an entirely new take on the character, especially the depiction of Conan in a Captain Hook outfit on page 141. While I didn't like the artwork at first, preferring Gary Gianni's interpretaions in the previous volume, it has really grown on me over the months. I can't wait for the Wandering Star edition to be released so that I can finally see these in full color. It's way overdue.

After years of execrable garbage foisted on us by L Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter, and others (though some of the pastiches by other authors than these are decent), we finally get Conan as R. E. Howard envisioned him. Lacking the softer, milder imitation work of the aforementioned writers, this final volume in Wandering Star/Del Rey's reverent reissue of Howard's original work is a brilliant tour de force. All of the stories here range from passable (Servants of Bit-Yakin, Man-eaters of Zamboula) to great (Beyond the Black River, The Black Stranger) to outstanding (Red Nails, of course). Red Nails--the last story Howard wrote about Conan--is my favorite of them all. In the story, Conan is lustful of the voluptuous Valeria but adherent enough to a code of honor not to force himself on her. (Yes, she does finally give in to his advances.) More than the brilliant interpersonal relationship between the two leads though is the theme of death and decay surrounding the city of Xuchotl (an obvious stand-in for Howard's own home in the year before his untimely death). Both Conan and Valeria come to vivid life on page and drag the reader into Howard's fictional universe by sheer force of will. Howard's writing is full-throttle all the way to the bloody (and surprising) climax. What a way for the Dark Barbarian to exit the stage! As for the other stories, they all have their merits as much as Red Nails, some more so than others. What shines through each though is Howard's clear writing and dark, visceral vision of his savage world. Coupled with all this are drafts of some of the stories, an outline of the history of the writing of the Hyborian Age tales, and the letter Howard wrote to fans Miller and Clark detailing some previously unknown things about Conan. While Howard probably would never have written about Conan again even had he lived, what we have from him is brilliant and worth reading over and over. Thanks to Howard and his publishers for bringing the iconic Barbarian to life for us.

Let me preface my remarks with this: the stories are fantastic and worth reading and purchase. There is extended content in the physical book; essays about the creation of the stories, artwork, unpublished early drafts that make the volume worthwhile, even though you can find many of these stories in the public domain.

Now, as to the Kindle edition...
When I purchased the Kindle edition, I expected the artwork to be included. The physical book has ink line art that is quite attractive.
The Kindle edition DOES NOT include the artwork from the physical book, not even the cover art. Not certain why, as the Kindle should be able to display the art.

When I bought the Kindle edition it was three dollars cheaper than the physical, but I was still disappointed with the relative 'value' compared to the dead tree edition. Now that the Kindle edition is MORE expensive than the dead tree edition, my scorn for the publisher is without bounds.

Where is the possible justification for this, Del Rey? You charge more for less content, and you Cost of Goods sold is less as well. Bully for your investors, at least until your pricing model cuts your own throat.
For years publishers blamed the price of paper and printing for the increase in the cost of books. Now in the ebook age their song has changed to 'editing and writing are not free'. Utter crap! I get that you charge what the market will bear, but your rhetoric is insulting to anyone using their brain.

Kindle owners: I suggest we boycott the Kindle edition of this book.Get the public domain editions out on Gutenberg, or ManyBooks. Or get the book from your Public Library. Or buy the physical book used. Don't give the publisher another dime.

Based on comments about the other two Conan volumes, they do not include artwork either. I say leave them be.

I have been reading the works of Robert E. Howard for half a century and in all that time never has his prose failed to amaze me in it's richness, its intensity, and it's unfailing ability to take me from the world around me to the worlds that Howard created with such unfailing verve and passion.
In this series of books we at last can read Howard unpolluted by the editorial persversion of those who wished to make a better time frame for the stories, or who thought the readers of heroic fantasy were not capable of ignoring such inanities as a misspelled word, or a small glitch in the temporal continuity of a characters life, or a kingdoms identity.
I won't bore the reader here with a rehashing of Howard's brief but prodigiously creative life. Nor will I rave about the fact the he single handedly created a whole genre. I will simply say, as an author, as an artist, as an image maker, I have yet in my now long life and as an officianado of the so called sword and sorcery genre, ever seen his equal. Not Burroughs, nor Kline nor Leiber, not Bradbury, nor any other author that I have discovered in my unending search for great fantasy reading materials has ever created prose that with such pure and unimpeded energy throws the reader into a fictional environ so alive with the sights, sounds, smells and the beingness of worlds that existed in one mind. Howard's unique ability to put you into his worlds always raises the unanswerable question; if he had lived to a more mature age, would he have grown and expanded his incredible gift to write works of greater depth and meaning? Well, that question will only be answered when all of us who live on this plane, and those worthy of it, meet Howard on the Eylisian fields, amongst the other mighty warriors who did walk this world. I have no doubt that if the gods are just, that somewhere in that realm across the river styx there lives a warrior who once wote those tales, and who now, with all those other warriors who conquered and created empires, fights battles each day, and with the coming dawn, all those who were slain on that field the day before awake to grog and a linsome lass to prepare them to fight that glorious and unending contest once again. There I think you will find him, forever what he was, a warrior, filled with a lust for life and adventure. Look to the front of the lines and there you will find him with sword and buckler hewing and roaring his joy of life.

The Servants of Bit-Yakin- In exemplary Wierd Tales Robert E. style, this one starts with Conan almost inexplicably scaling the side wall of an ancient city in a place we've never heard of. The barbarian has come to this place through information gleaned on adventures that Robert never told us about, as though the author had some Hyborean Silmarillion stashed somewhere that the recyclers have never found.

It's an excellent story that may have equal claim to several genres; horror, fantasy, sword and sorcery, and maybe even prehistoric fiction. Howard had an uncanny knowledge of those days when ice age species still survived in remote places, and had incredible insight into theorizing what it must have been like in the days when civilization vied with barbarism. What's interesting to me is that we're finding out these days that civilization is alot older than we think, but in Howard's day anything older than 3000 BC was considered prehistoric. Conan's era was around 9000 BC, with embellishments from many other eras in different places where civilization was replacing barbarism. Certainly, we now know, there would have been ancient deserted structures at this time, maybe even with remnants of antedeluvian archaic homo sapien living therein. Certainly Jericho had walls before Conan's time, and both cro-magnon and the southeast asian hominid dubbed "the hobbit" lived at least up until 10,000 BC. But how did Howard know it? How did his imagination describe so vividly and personally how life must have been in those brutal and barbaric times?

Beyond The Black River- WOW! This is probably Howard's most memorable Conan tale, told from the perspective of a hardy and valiant but lesser man who's lot in life is to travel and fight with Conan for a spell. Through this frontiersman's eyes, we understand Conan as a character perhaps better than we ever have before. The illustration of the Balthas's last charge, dog at side, flashes in my mind when I think of this tale.
"He was a man," said Conan "I drink to his shade, and to the shade of the dog, who knew no fear."

The Black Stranger is a pirate tale and frontier yarn that is among Howard's most developed plot structures, characterization, and writing skill.

The Man-Eaters of Zamboula melds fantasy and horror like only Robert E. can, a wicked tale of treachery and ancient necromancy.


Red Nails is definitely one of the greatest of the Conan stories. Again Howard shows uncanny preternatural knowledge, with an ancient city very much like some of the stranger ones excavated in the middle east, and a realistic dragon more like Megalania Prisca than Saphira and her influences.



In the appendix, Wolves Beyond the Border is a special rare treat.

Enjoy and enjoy again the genious of Robert E!

J. Lyon Layden
The Other Side of Yore

Although chronologically speaking Conan was followed by Bran Mak Morn amd countless other persona who had dared to challenge and defy destiny as presented to them by shrouded dark characters, he was the ultimate fantastic hero who depicted everything we may desire from the protagonist in a pulp-style fantasy (different from Tolkienisque and Lewisian writings). He was the final expression of brute strength, savage passions, and yet, a strange code of honour. This last book containing Conanical writings of Robert E Howard finishes a saga and keeps us gasping for more of the original. Long live Conan.

I used to think that Conan was pure junk food reading until I got this series. It turns out, the L Sprague DeCamp stuff is what was garbage. Get this series of books, and you'll see that Robert Howard was an amazing writer without other people turning him into pulp fiction. The stories in this volume are the last he wrote and show amazing maturity as a writer compared to the earlier ones.

J.Ja

Having read the old 1-12 series of Conan paperbacks religiously when I was teenager and going back to re-read the stories from time to time I was VERY happy when these were put back into print in nice and inexpensive volumes that were unedited pure Robert E. Howard written versions of the stories. Conan is a much deeper character than the public, even those that have read Conan, seem to understand. As well as Howard does not get the credit he deserves from the mainstream. As I have said before these stories are sometimes as much horror stories in the Lovecraft veign as they are sword and sorcery tales as well as being VERY politically incorrect.

I had an extremely difficult time coaxing my son to watch the film Conan the Barbarian with me, although it took no effort at all for him to play the Conan game for Xbox 360. Revisiting the majesty of John Milius' 1982 film, however, inspired me to read the collected, unrevised tales of Conan from the hero's creator, Robert E. Howard, that have recently been published in three volumes: The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian; The Bloody Crown of Conan; and The Conquering Sword of Conan.

Robert E. Howard's Conan stories are a seminal influence on the subgenre of Sword & Sorcery, a subgenre that should not be mixed up with High Fantasy, of which J.R.R. Tolkien was a seminal influence. While distinguishing between the two subgenres goes beyond the scope of this review, one only need imagine the plot of The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings et al in the hands of Howard and the stories of Conan in the hands of Tolkien to see how totally different the treatment of the characters and situations would be. Matter of fact, these alternate treatments could be developed into works in their own right.

I have waited until I read all of the collected tales of Howard's Conan to comment on them because I deemed, as is often the case, that the whole would be greater than the sum of its parts. This is what makes, for example, the epic Dragonlance saga so remarkable. The final volume of Conan's Howard, however, is the one most worthy of praise, containing two of the most highly-esteemed Conan stories, "Beyond the Black River" and "Red Nails," that must be experienced firsthand to appreciate their treatments of Conan and his world. These two stories alone raise Conan above the level of pulp to a literary world filled with palpable barbarism and tangible, primal beauty.

With the exception of these two tales, having read all of Howard's stories of Conan does not make me want to go on and read more. Many Conan tales were written to cater to what was popular in the pulps, and in our day and age, where we have read and watched and played so many highly imaginative works, Howard's devolved man-apes, giant lizards and snakes, while interesting at their introductions, cannot really continue to hold my interest. There were some weird creatures and beings from other dimensions in some of the early Conan tales that will most likely cause me to read Nameless Cults: The Cthulhu Mythos Fiction of R.E. Howard next, but, overall, the thing that I like about the Conan setting is the primeval world setting, the natural solitude of which I like to envision myself walking through, the simplicity of man's struggle to survive in such a setting, and the mysterious ruins of ancient civilizations that lie in uninhabited regions. Visiting these themes at length would cause me to return to The Hyborian Age, but considering the pulp nature of most Conan fare, I can only shrug my shoulders and care not a whit. At some point, however, you may find me playing the Conan game on Xbox 360 myself, if only so I can see the digital artists' conceptions of Conan and his world.

The Conquering Sword of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 3)
The Conquering Sword of Conan
The Conquering Sword of Conan
The Conquering Sword of Conan [CONQUERING SWORD OF CONAN]

True, Robert E. Howard uses overly bombastic language. Conan is constantly panther-like, the women are always supple, and there are plenty of brains on display after Conan crushes their skull. Everything is so over-the-top it's just awesome, while at the same time still feeling real to the reader. There also seems to be a lost city every 2 miles but now I'm just being nit-picky. One really feels Conan's primal code, and how such a person has to survive in such an environment.

There is only a barbarian ethic here, and is untainted by modern conceptions. Conan is a womanizer, though his relations with Valeria and their banter back and forth is amusingly equal. There is definately a tinge or racism in these books, which I'm not certain is supposed to represent Conan's viewpoint or those of the author.

Compared to modern sword and sorcery they aren't even in the same league as the Conan short stories. There is so much entertainment and excitement packed into these pages any fantasy lover has a reason to delve into the recesses of 1930s pulp fiction.