Customer Reviews

The Hour of the Dragon

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In addition to "The Hour of the Dragon", this edition also contains "Red Nails","Jewels of Gwahlur","Beyond the Black River","The Black Stranger","Wolves Beyond the Border(draft),"The Phoenix on the Sword",and "The Scarlet Citadel".This is the second volume of a 2 part set reprinting all of Howard's Conan stories in chronological order (volume 1 is People of the Black Circle). It's unfortunate that the publisher did not simply title them the Conan Chronicles Volume 1 and 2, instead of creating confusion by calling them People of the Black Circle and Hour of the Dragon. It's obvious that most of the people reviewing the book haven't read this edition but are just writing to say that they enjoyed reading Conan the Conqueror as a kid. Well that's fine and dandy, but you are not helping the people who already own the series published by DeCamp and Carter and want to know if it's worthwhile to buy this too. Well let me reassure everyone that indeed this is worth buying because it is THE ONLY place that collects ALL of the Howard Conan stories EXACTLY AS HE WROTE THEM,arranged in CHRONOLIGICAL ORDER of Conan's career, WITHOUT those awful pastiches by DeCamp and Carter mixed in.

Robert Howard wrote most of his stories for the pulp magazines so popular in Depression era America. As a result, most of his writings were short stories. Howard had many heroes (Bran Mak Morn, Black Vulmea, Red Sonja, Kull, Solomon Kane), but Conan was his best developed character, and the Conan stories were the best of his writings.

Howard got an opportunity to publish a novel in England, and he fell back on his old standby, Conan, to serve as the protagonist. Howard expected that his English audience would never have heard of Conan, so he borrowed a number of motifs from several of his short stories. Those who take the time to read all of Howard's Conan stories will recognize many of the elements in "Hour of the Dragon."

Alas, the book deal fell through, and Howard had to publish "Hour of the Dragon" in a pulp magazine.

Whatever Howard's difficulties in publishing the book, he had no difficulty in writing a wonderful tale of heroic fantasy. Conan is the ultimate sword-and-sorcery hero, and this is Conan's ultimate adventure.

If you really like Conan, you might want to compare "Hour of the Dragon" with "Conan the Conqueror," a paperback republication which was "edited" by L.Sprague DeCamp and Lin Carter. "Conan the Conqueror" is about 90% Howard, but DeCamp and Carter polished Howard's grammar and softened some passages they deemed politically incorrect. Howard's original version is more rough-hewn, but then Conan was a rough-hewn hero.

I can't add much to the reviews already present on this page; clearly this is a book that has left a strong impression on its readers. Read the book yourself and it will be easy to see why. Howard's mastery of pace and plotting puts him in a league with the greatest "thriller" writers: Haggard, Buchan, or Wilkie Collins. Moreover, Howard's ability to bring the sights, smells, and sounds of his invented Hyborian world to vibrant life is nearly unparalled in Fantastic Fiction. He's in a league with Tolkien (who, perhaps surprisingly, liked the Conan books--score one for Tolkien) when it comes to creating a sense of depth, but Howard's world is far grittier and more sensuous.

However, while this is a great book, I'm going to be the only one to give it less than five stars. Not because Howard lacked the talent to write a five star book--he had talent to spare--but because he simply didn't have the time to make "Hour of the Dragon" as good as it should have been. There are passages that clearly could do with editing or rewriting; occasional infelicities of style; and minor inconsistencies in the plot. In spite of this, "Hour of the Dragon" will keep you up reading all night. If you've never read Howard before, you'll wonder why it's so difficult to find his books. So, pass up the pastiches and cinematic stereotypes. Give Bob Howard, of Peaster, TX a read and you won't be disappointed.

I read this book as a teenager in the late 1950s under the title Conan the Conqueror. This is the same book. Certainly, if one thing set my life on the course it did, it was this book and the man who wrote it - Robert E. Howard. For me to recommend this book is both a pleasure and an honor. Howard's writing and this book fired my imagination and my life. I went on to get a BA in English (concentration in professional writing) and had a 15+ year career as a journalist and editor. Over the years, my copy of Conan the Conqueror has gone the way of all things. I'm ordering a copy of Hour of the Dragon today and will cherish it forever. Hopefully, I can pass on this book and my love for it to my grandchildren and keep the cycle going.

In this age of unrelenting political correctness, it is risky confessing to a liking for Conan. The character has few redeeming qualities. He slays and steals without compunction, is indifferent towards the suffering of others, is avaricious and selfish, contemptuous of weakness and authority, and conceited in his physical strength. His code of honour, such as it is, consists mainly of a rough honour towards women. This just means that he doesn't bed them unless they are willing. That Howard's females are invariably ditzy bimbos who throw themselves at the hero's feet makes this code less onerous than it might otherwise seem.

Howard's writing is filled with violence, sexism, racism and misology. It is writing that wallows in gore, oversimplifies conflict and is unabashedly unrepentant about its swaggering macho creed.

But god, what writing it is.

The man writes like an angel, some would say a devil; but irrespective of political stripe, one cannot but concede that he writes well. His world is intense; the colours more vibrant, the sights sharper, the smells stronger than anything we have a right to expect. We are not just invited, but compelled to leave our civilised selves behind and become immersed in a barbaric world of hard men, soft women and nerve wracking adventure.

And it's all a game. The violence, the racism and the sexism are disarmed by the fact that the writing is completely without pretension. Howard does not seek to plumb deep waters or unveil hidden truths. He only wishes to tell a good yarn. Monsters, demons, wizards and nubile wenches all succumb to this simple-minded epitome of raging testosterone so that we can lay aside our own pretensions for a while and indulge the primitive side of our nature. There's no message, no complex themes, no agenda. Faulting Conan for his paper-thin persona is like faulting Mickey Mouse, or Paul Bunyan for the same. They are all cartoon characters, larger than life, but much shallower too, representing one simple and very narrow aspect of existence taken to its extreme.

To appreciate this character properly, one cannot take oneself too seriously. Readers who can't stand anything less than Austin or Joyce should stay away. There is absolutely nothing refined, sensitive or intellectual about Conan the Barbarian.

Incidentally, the Conan franchise practically gave birth to the sword-and-sorcery fantasy epic. It eventually evolved into a host of derivative works, some written by gifted and famous authors. But I have yet to come across a derivation that matches Howard's originals. In breadth of imagination and sheer writing skill, Howard is without equal. I own copies of all his work but most are now out of print. If you run across one in a used bookstore, buy it, and be prepared to spend a sleepless night in demon haunted crypts battling crazed monsters and power mad wizards.

This has to be the definite R.E. Howard edition. Buy this. Here are my reasons:

1. In large format, beautifully bound with a stylish grey-bordeaux dirt-cover, printed on heavy paper with 4 color-illustrations and a lot of calligraphic work, it surely looks impressive (and much more expensive than it actually is). I immediately ordered the others of the GRANT Edition and they now hold a special place on my bookshelve.

2. It's pure. Here we have R.E. Howard. No Camp, Nyberg or other substandard writers trying to make this "their" Conan. So this is far more grim and dark than you would expect.

3. The story is great. One would argue if it's the best, but since it's the only real novel, it cannot be compared to the short stories. I had not read it before and I was very moved to find such a treasure 20 years after my initial readings of the barbarian.

4. I don't know how many of these books are left, but since they were published more than 10 years ago (I still received the 1st ed.) I doubt that they will be available much longer. And if they're gone, you'll have to pay a lot - A LOT - to obtain them.

I first bought this book in paperback from Lancer books in the late 1960s. It is Howard at his best, telling a tale with multiple plot lines and larger than life characters. It was Howard who coined the phrase "Sword and Sorcery" when asked by an editor to describe the genre he wrote and this book shows just how vivid and powerful that genre can be. If you want a story set in a wonderous world of high heroics, dark sorcery, evil creatures, glorious battles, and noble souls striving to win through, this is for you.

He lives on in an infinite amount of spin-offs and new interpretations but Howard's Conan is without a doubt the definitive and best. This second volume in the Fantasy Masterworks Series presents the last of his stories and ends with his only Conan novel.

Hour of the Dragon (itself an expanded rewrite of The Scarlet Citadel) sees King Conan overthrown by a bunch of villains too arrogant for their own good. The furious Cimmerian then goes on a urgent quest across the Hyborian lands to retrieve a peculiar MacGuffin and unite his allies to smite the rascals out of existence.

And they bloody deserve it.

This book actually began life as a serial in "Weird Tales" in the 1930s. Robert E. Howard (REH) never actually wrote any Conan novels, all of Conan's tales were written for the magazine marketplace. But this is his only novel length Conan tale so it is considered by many to be the only REH Conan novel.

That being said, it is easily one of the best Conan stories written. In the tale, Conan is the king of Aquilonia, but he has plenty of people conspiring to dethrone him. These conspirators raise the wizard, Xaltotun, from the dead to use his magic against Conan.

They succeed in dethroning Conan when he is paralyzed by the wizard and unable to ride out into battle. After the battle they believe Conan is dead (big mistake) for a time, only he is actually in hot pursuit of the Heart of Ahriman, the only thing capable of defeating Xaltotun.

Naturally, the Heart is not easily obtained and Conan journeys far and wide in his pursuit of it. The story is incredibly fast paced and for a relatively short novel, its packed with action and story. Of course, Conan succeeds at the end and regains his kingdom (as well as gaining a wife).

Even though the story is at a mid-point in Conan's career, its an excellent starting point for those who are new to REH's work. As other reviewer's have noted, this story also exists in paperback as "Conan the Conqueror," although it has been edited to correct grammer and some of REH's politcally incorrect references. Heck, it was the first Conan story I ever read and it got me hooked.

REH is a moody, atmospheric writer and much of his work, including this one, carries a sense of darkness to it. Even this book, where Conan ultimately is victorious carries that feeling to it. It tends to almost carry an air of that darkness, a feeling that no matter what Conan does, his victories will be short-lived and even he will not be able to defeat death when his time comes.

For sword and sorcery fans, this is as good as it gets. Ignore the hoard of imitators who followed and stick to the master-- Robert E. Howard.

Having read a few dark fantasy novels in my day, I would definately classify this work as belonging in that sub-genre.

If you are into good hard-hitting violence and are up for a rip-roaring ride through Robert E. Howard's Hyborian world, then this book is for you. Having been the only full length novel written featuring the legendary barbarian, Conan, Howard delivers a very solid piece of work with Hour of the Dragon.

Powerful mages resurrect a being of astonishing power and set out to conquer the world. Of course, one of their first acts is to dispose King Conan who is a direct threat to this conquest. With some supernatural help, they succeed in this venture. The rest of this novel features a mad Conan that hacks his way back to the throne of Aquilonia. Recommended.