Customer Reviews

Robert E. Howard's Weird Works Volume 7: Beyond The Black River (Weird Works of Robert E. Howard) (v. 7)

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This is the seventh volume in publisher Wildside Press' "The Weird Works of Robert E. Howard" series, collecting all his fantasy work for the legendary pulp magazine Weird Tales. And of course, with a story like "Beyond the Black River" collected in this volume, which many consider one of the best Conan stories Howard ever wrote, what more do you need to add to put some icing on the cake? Well, a couple of other Howard stories of course!
"Beyond the Black River" is an American Frontier story transplanted into the Hyborian world of Conan the Barbarian: on the Aquilonian frontier, with our hero facing an evil Pictish wizard, who has united the tribes of Picts in driving the settlers out of the Pictish Wilderness or massacring them on the spot. The only one standing in their way? Conan the Barbarian, sword in hand. Besides being a great tale, this story also provided Howard's most-used quote: "Barbarism is the natural state of mankind. Civilization is unnatural. It is the wim of circumstance. And barbarism must ultimately triumph." It's not just a reference to Howard's own beliefs; this grim outlook also powered his unsurpassed story-telling ability that many tried to imitate but all failed to do.
This volume also has the Conan stories "Jewels of Gwahlur" and "Shadows in Zamboula". The average pulp tales-plot of these stories would have long ago moved them into the dustbin of history, but Howard's writing, during the later years of his short life, had achieved such a headlong pace that it was impossible to resist. Even at it's most "pulp-ish". He usually grabbed his readers by the throat from the first sentence, and swept them along from start to finish in a avalanche of luridly painted word-images of exotic settings and blood-soaked, grim-faced heroes, towering over their enemies and crushing skulls left and right while triumphing over uninmagible odds - leaving the reader breathless at the end of the tale and ever clamoring for more stories.
Also collected in this volume - and hard to find anywhere else - is "The Challenge from Beyond", a 'round-robin' story written by C.L. Moore, A. Merritt, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard and Frank Belknap Long and a horror story placed in the Old South: "The Grisly Horror".
My only small complaint: I know, Wildside is a specialty press and I'm glad they're publishing Robert E. Howard. But come on! 35 dollars for a 190-page hardcover? That's a tad much, even if R.E. Howard is worth every cent. It could have been collected in a five-volume series. Or better yet, publish a ten-volume series of ALL his work! Many of which is out-of-print, hardly in print at all or extremely hard to get. Now that would have Howard-fans salivating at the prospect!

Beyond the Black River is one of my favorite stories of REH. Scholars say it was orginally written for Kull in By This Axe I rule and modified with Conan later on. As always REH medaphoric stories tell something about him and in this case scholars agree that a young Balthus is REH and a dog he finds along the way Slasher is Patches REH's only dog he ever had. Excerp from the book, A slight sound ahead of him jumped his heart into his throat and Conan's sword gleamed in the air. He lowered it when a dog, a great, gaunt, scared beast, slunk out of the bushes and stood staring at them. 'That dog belonged to a settler who tried to build his cabin on the bank of the river a few miles south of the fort,' grunted Conan. 'The Picts slipped over and killed him of course and burned his cabin. We found him dead among the embers, and the dog lying senseless among three Picts he'd killed. He was almost cut to pieces. We took him to the fort and dressed his wounds, but after he recovered he took to the woods and turned wild. What now, Slasher, are you hunting the men who killed your master?' The massive head swung side to side and his eyes glowed greenly. He did not growl or bark. Silently as a phantom he slid in behind them. 'Let him come,' muttured Conan. 'He can smell the devils before we can see them.' Balthus smiled and laid his hand caressingly on the dog's head. This story is a classic and I believe a movie should be made. It would make movie history. In fact, there are a lot of REH stories that should be made into movies. Enjoy the book and tell other people about REH. You're in for a real treat! I believe Beyond The Black River needs to be make into a movie! It's a classic! Anyone know award winning actor/directors Mel Gibson & Clint Eastwood who are the best of the best, too?

Also recommended: One Whole Walked Alone by Novalyne Price-REH's girlfrield, Blood & Thunder, The Life & Art of REH by Mark Finn, and The Last of the Trunk by Paul Herman of REHFoundation, The Abyss a story about cats=really good! Two-Gun Bob, The Dark Barbarian and The Barbaric Triumpth by Don Herron, Selected Letters of REH at REH Foundation on net, The Star Rover by Jack London that had a major influence on REH, Life After Life by Dr. Raymond Moody, Solomon Kane, Kull, Crimson Shadows the Best of REH 1 & 2, Bran Mak Morn, Lord of Samarcand, Conan of Dark Horse comics and Conan of 60s & 70s Marvel Black & White magazine by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, Red Nails, and The Black Stranger & Other American Tales that has the scariest story called Pigeons From Hell, Weird Tales - 32 Unearthed Stories from 1922-1954 that has one real scarey story called Winged Death by Hazel Heald about a man pestered by a fly with blue wings and The Stone Man by same author. Check out the REH Foundation and Forum!