Dark Valley Destiny: The Life of Robert E. Howard [Hardcover]

L. Sprague De Camp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1983

This is the definitive biography of Robert E. Howard, a giant of the pulp era, who created the archetypal brooding fantasy figure. To the general public, he is virtually unknown, but millions are familiar with the name and exploits of his most famous creation: Conan, the barbarian.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Bluejay Books (January 1983)
• ISBN-10: 0312940750
• ISBN-13: 978-0312940751
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,773,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars NOT the definitive biography merely opinion, February 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Dark Valley Destiny: The Life of Robert E. Howard (Hardcover)

To say it politely, approximately 90% of Dark Valley Destiny is pure, subjective opinion. In fact, this book is not a biography at all (regardless of the author's claims), but is a pseudo-Freudian interpretation of Robert E. Howard's psychological state or mental "life" based on assorted, incomplete, and (in some cases) erroneous facts. De Camp's credentials as a psychologist, or even an amateur psychologist, are not only in question, but non-existent. Dr. Jane Whittington Griffin, whose name is presented as co-author and whose association seems to lend the book an air of respectability and authority, in fact had little to do with the writing of this book due to her untimely death while the book was in the process of being researched and written. Further, Dr. Griffin's credentials as a legitimately licensed psychologist have recently come into question as well.

In his own autobiography, de Camp refers to this book as a "psycho biography," and elsewhere de Camp admits that he had tried to sell the idea of writing a biography on Robert E. Howard to the publisher who considered the subject too dry and suggested that instead de Camp should spice it up a bit by writing a psychological examination and evaluation of Howard's work and life. This de Camp did, and the result is the eminently sensationalistic and yellow-journalistic commentary known as Dark Valley Destiny.

To top it all off, we find that de Camp is not remotely sympathetic toward his subject matter, and he takes pains to use his own moral and intellectual values and positions to criticize and condemn Howard at every step, while at the same time offering appeasing praise. The reader ought to be warned that de Camp's writing style is quite skilled and is meant to be persuasive. Meaning, de Camp will pull the wool over your eyes with statements of "opinion as fact" and unsupported leaps of logic unless you carefully read the book with a detached, critical eye. As a book that presents itself as a factual and authoritative biography, it is a farce and all but worthless. If you read this book, read it with a HUGE grain of salt, and be skeptical.

Although Dark Valley Destiny is not a definitive biography (or even a good one), it is unfortunately the only book yet published which claims to be a biography of Robert E. Howard. The memoir ONE WHO WALKED ALONE, by one of Howard's girlfriends, Novalyne Price-Ellis, is far more reliable and informative, but even this must be read with the understanding that the writer is drawing conclusions based on her own views and biases, which were sometimes made without complete information. Mrs. Ellis, however, had the good fortune of actually knowing Robert E. Howard and the information in her book is first hand knowledge, unlike that in Dark Valley Destiny. It therefore carries much more weight.

The suggestion below that all is opinion and the truth shall never be known is, in part, true. As de Camp mentioned, but quickly ignored, posthumous biography is a somewhat foolish endeavor. There are many points about Howard's life which will simply never be known. Yet, to state that all is opinion and therefore equal is specious and misleading. There are conclusions and opinions which hold up to and are supported by the known facts, and then there are conclusions and opinions which are not. There are conclusions which adhere to standards of validity, and there are conclusions that do not. The task of scholars, and a definitive biography, is to achieve the highest level of factual reliability possible - not to present one's own views or opinions. Where a conclusion is uncertain, its uncertainty must be noted and alternatives offered and explored. In all this, Dark Valley Destiny fails miserably.

If you're interested in reading one author's distorted and biased OPINION of another author, then this book is for you. If, on the other hand, you want to read about the life of Robert E. Howard, look elsewhere. To start, I'd recommend the "Short Biography" of Howard on the REHupa web site, ... and then I'd recommend reading Howard's "Selected Letters" (which are unfortunately out of print but can be found in used book stores). For additional biographical sources on Howard, try The Barbarian Keep web page. ...

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Worst work on Howard Ever Done, January 18, 2010

By 

L. Cabos (planet earth) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dark Valley Destiny: The Life of Robert E. Howard (Paperback)

Sprague de Camp -- and I knew this guy for many years -- was the ultimate opportunist. Oscar Friend -- the original agent for REH's works after his death -- made the mistake of letting him in on Conan and over the decades -- from the 1950's through the 1980's -- made a pretty good living off Howard's cold dead body. This "bio" makes his one on Lovecraft seem fair and accurate. Nope, not at all. De Camp had the really annoying habit of trying to psychioanalyize other -- always dead -- writers. With this one he brought in his wife and some child psychatrist. The result is a really bad look at Howard from a guy --who despite the fortune he made off of him -- who deep down didn't like Howard or perhaps resented the fact that dead, Howard was still more popular than he could ever be. There are better works out there. Try them first.

11 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Revisiting Dark Valley Destiny, May 10, 2001

By 

Gary Romeo (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Valley Destiny: The Life of Robert E. Howard (Hardcover)

It has been almost two decades since L. Sprague de Camp (hearafter referred to as LSdC) collaborated with his wife Catherine, and Jane Whittington Griffin to write the Robert E. Howard biography Dark Valley Destiny. De Camp has been vilified, ideologically pilloried, and even had his gravesite threatened in the last decade of Howard fandom. This biographical look at REH has been one main target of reaction. After a period of almost twenty years it is time for it to be reexamined.

The de Camps make plain their intentions for this book at the end of the first chapter. "To investigate the relationship between Robert Howard's life and his art is the purpose of this book." (p. 17) The authors way of examining that relationship relies on a lot of (mostly amateur) psychoanalyzing that is controversial, to say the least.

LSdC's opinions are his to make. One can agree or disagree. By cataloging REH's attitude towards his teachers, fellow townspeople, boomtown oilmen, and especially his employers LSdC does make a case for a person of emotional immaturity, unrealistic attitudes, and strong anti-social feelings.

In several ways "Dark Valley Destiny" is choppy and inconsistent. Several times LSdC will put forth an idea, i.e. first saying that Howard had the essence of a poet, but then later contradicting himself saying that REH was a storyteller first and foremost. This is only a minor (and in this instance, mostly explainable) example. Other times the contradictions are more severe, i.e. indicating in one chapter that Howard was a loner and in the next chapter telling us of REH's numerous Cross Plains friends. A possible reason for this is that different parts of the book were written over a stretch of time. The copyright dates for the book indicate this to be the case. LSdC should have edited this work more closely. It appears that he didn't always revise his earlier comments to jibe with newer facts that he learned. Nevertheless a discerning reader can get a decent picture and overview of REH's life.

"The Transcendent Barbarian" chapter deals with Conan. This is an interesting chapter. LSdC is a Conan fan but he feels motivated to downplay the unsold Conan stories and suggests that his posthumous collaborations improved them. For a story like "The God in the Bowl" that is arguably true but when de Camp calls "The Frost Giant's Daughter" a plotless little sketch he is asking for derision. The chapter ends with what may well be REH's finest praise though. "[...] all these criticisms fade like morning mist before Howard's headlong rush of action, his rainbow-tinted prose, the intensity with which he wrote his own feelings into his stories, and, above all, his Hyborian world - that splendid creation - which ranks with Burrough's Barsoom and Tolkein's Middle Earth as a major fictional achievement." (p. 295)

The latest reprint collection of Conan stories (published in Great Britain) is dedicated to L. Sprague de Camp. While plenty of REH fans writhe and moan about this it is good to see that others recognize the reality of history and give LSdC his due. For whatever reasons, he promoted Conan AND Bob Howard. It is hoped that the publishers at Wandering Star will also dedicate one of their Conan collections to Mr. de Camp. It would do a lot to apologize for fan behavior that was often despicable.