Graveyard Rats and Others [Hardcover]

Robert E. Howard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 2005

Robert E. Howard came into the fiction magazine scene virtually on Dashell Hammett's heels. By that time Howard was a full-fledged professional writer; he was willing to try any marketplace to make a living. Despite an aversion to the detective formula, he wrote the tales in Graveyard Rats during the same years he chronicled the adventures of Conan. This collection features a new introduction by scholar Don Herron, editor of "The Dark Barbarian," the definitive look at the life and work of Robert E. Howard.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 194 pages
• Publisher: Wildside Press (January 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159224159X
• ISBN-13: 978-1592241590
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,707,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

(1906-1936) Robert Erwin Howard was born and rasied in rural Texas, where he lived all his life. The son of a pioneer physician, he began writing professionally at the age of fifteen. Howard killed himself in June 1936 when he learned that his beloved mother had fallen into a coma.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Detectives in the Pines, February 25, 2004

By 

Chris Jarocha-Ernst (Marlboro, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Graveyard Rats and Others (Hardcover)

This is an incomplete collection of Howard's detective and weird menace stories. The contents are

Black Talons / Fangs of Gold / The Tomb's Secret / Names in the Black Book / Graveyard Rats / Black Wind Blowing

About half of these have appeared in other, mass-market books; the others have been hard to come by, so the collection is welcome for that reason.

However, the price is pretty steep for 6 stories, and lesser Howard ones at that. Can the rights to these stories have been that expensive? Baen managed to publish 7 mass-market paperback Howard collections, each of which has about twice as many stories as this, for about $6-7 per book. Wandering Star also publishes expensive Howard collections, but those are of the widely known characters, in deluxe editions with illustrations. No illustrations here, aside from the generic, apparently public-domain cover illo.

There's also an introduction by Howard scholar Don Herron, but it doesn't add much, if any, value.

If you're a Howard fan, you'll want this book. Even lesser Howard is better than some other people. But I can't see the general public wanting to spend this much money for so little.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read, February 26, 2004

By 

S. L. Shrewsbury "sshrews316" (IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Graveyard Rats and Others (Hardcover)

Certainly incomplete, but a great thumping read for fans and folks unfamiliar with Robert E. Howard. Black talons and others are terrific tales of the era. A tad pricey, but a durable volume of tales.

3.0 out of 5 stars Graveyard Rats and others, December 6, 2008

By 

J. Deckard (lincoln ne usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Graveyard Rats and Others (Paperback)

Howard sold these stories to the detective pulps, but there isnt much detectin' going on. With some minor changes the heros could be any of Howard's big beefy characters.All of the stories have some supernatural elements, african ju-ju men,or evil orential Fu Manchu types."The Tombs Secret" is pretty good,as not too many stories revolve around dental work. "Graveyard Rats is fairly creepy, but the biggest mystery is what the title "Fangs of Gold" has to do with that story. The other four stories are pretty standard pulp fare. Howard's detective stories are hard to come by, so if you are a fan its worth it, even if its kind of pricey.If you are just getting interested in R.E.H., start elsewhere.