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Chronologically Speaking is a series focused solely on placing the Conan of Cimmeria stories in timeline order. It's an analysis of only the text of Robert E. Howard's original Conan tales. I'm examining the stories one at a time, in publication order, to show explicit chronological notes to order the stories.  When Robert E. Howard sat down to write "The Devil in Iron," the tenth Conan story to reach publication, it was after a period of nine months during which he didn't write anything for his sword-and-sorcery series character. He had been experiencing bouts of burnout, taking a few months between Conan stories and trying out different genres. He did the same thing right before "Queen of the Black Coast." Perhaps this long gap is why this story is so devoid of other connections to the Hyborian world. "The Devil in Iron" was published in the August 1934 issue of Weird Tales and followed a very similar plot to the previous story Howard had written, "Iron Shadows in the Moon." Both feature islands in the Vilayet Sea, pirates, iron golem enemies, and fairly forgettable one-off companions. "Devil in Iron" was voted the best story of the issue despite how it re-tread earlier subjects and earned Howard $115.  There is very little mooring this to one single place in Conan's life.
Here's the really tricky question about placing this story: Are the Free Companions / kozaks essentially the same group as the pirates of the Red Brotherhood? Consider this line about the kozaks. Ceaselessly they raided the Turanian frontier, retiring in the steppes when defeated; with the pirates of Vilayet, men of much the same breed, they harried the coast, preying off the merchant ships which plied between the Hyrkanian ports. If the barriers between the kozaks and the pirates are permeable, which this line seems to imply they are, then when we see Conan "carving" out leadership in the group, perhaps this is the same event we see at the end of "Iron Shadows in the Moon," when Conan meets the Red Brotherhood and immediately starts rising in the ranks. In the previous stories in which Conan is a mercenary, he's apparently just of the rank-and-file members, not in leadership, so those stories would go before this. Some fellow Conan chronology nerds like Dale Rippke have hypothesized that Conan is younger in "Iron Shadows" because of how he approaches the Red Brotherhood (they would argue he does so naively), but that's not an impression I agree with. Other timelines place this story chronologically right before "The People of the Black Circle," in which Conan is the hetman of the Afghuli hillpeople. That's possible, but I'm inclined right now to place it right after "Iron Shadows in the Moon." That way, he isn't traipsing back all over the world and spends some time on the Vilayet before going anywhere else. I'm not opposed to changing its placement if that makes more sense in the future, but right now, I think it works best immediately after its twin "iron" story. Our full chronology is now:
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Chronologically Speaking is a series focused solely on chronologizing the Conan of Cimmeria stories. It's an analysis of only the text of Robert E. Howard's original Conan tales. I'm examining the stories one at a time, in publication order, to show explicit chronological notes to order the stories.  Appearing in Weird Tales in May 1934, "Queen of the Black Coast" is the ninth Conan of Cimmeria story published and appeared just one month after "Iron Shadows in the Moon." In the last four stories published, three of them are pirate stories, and this is the third time in nine that Howard's made use of the black lotus powder as a plot device. However, these are more quirks of publishing rather than a throughline in Howard's writing. "Queen of the Black Coast" had been written and set to Farnsworth Wright at Weird Tales by August 1932, but wouldn't be published for almost another two years. Howard was paid $115 for it. There are lots of interesting chronological markers in this story!
So what do we know for sure?
Here's the thing: I don't think we should give that much weight to his clothing. Argos is a city that is usually portrayed as a hub of commerce. The mercenary bands which Conan has been with are universally described as extremely diverse, motley crews. I find it far more likely that he's simply bought these clothes or picked items off dead bodies on the battlefield. In later stories, he's frequently clad in just a loincloth, which means that he's probably rapidly gaining and losing articles of clothing anyway. Therefore, we should focus on Conan's characterization and other clues. He's after his thieving days, during his mercenary days, but probably before "Xuthal of the Dusk." Additionally, if we look back to "Iron Shadows in the Moon," Conan smiles enigmatically about pirates and makes a crack at the end by calling Olivia "the Queen of the Blue Sea," which might be a reference to his time with Bêlit. So this story is probably set before "Iron Shadows" as well. All of the above would place "Queen of the Black Coast" early, but not first. Here is the updated timeline:
Chronologically Speaking is a series focused solely on chronologizing the Conan of Cimmeria stories. It's an analysis of only the text of Robert E. Howard's original Conan tales. I'm examining the stories one at a time, in publication order, to show explicit chronological notes to order the stories.  "Iron Shadows in the Moon" was published as "Shadows in the Moonlight" in Weird Tales' April 1934 issue. Published three months after "Rogues in the House" and just one month prior to "Queen of the Black Coast," I'm realizing the Robert E. Howard was in a bit of a pirate phase. "Pool of the Black One," "Iron Shadows," and "Black Coast" are all samplings of Conan's different pirate periods (Barachan, Red Brotherhood, and Black Coast, presented ironically in reverse-chronological order), and I've never realized they were all published pretty close to one another. This is far from my favorite Conan story, but it's pretty brief and has some interesting chronological clues in it which are more fun to deal with than the times he straight-up says he's been somewhere or done something. It's actually really fun to try to place! 
Revisiting this story has helped me appreciate it a little more in terms of how it calls forward (though, chronologically, back) to "Queen of the Black Coast" in a few interesting ways. Since he starts the story as the seeming last surviving Free Companion and ends the story with the pirates, this is functionally a bridge between his kozaki period and his Red Brotherhood pirate period. Here's one thing that I think is key to this story's chronological placement: Conan seems to be describing similar events in both a passage from "Xuthal of the Dusk" and "Iron Shadows:"  If Conan is describing the same rebel prince of Koth and same mercenary bands, which I think he probably is, the Free Companions went south through Shem to outlands of Stygia, then through Kush. From there, they became independent of Almuric's command and apparently went back up through Koth, Zamora, and then to Turan where "Iron Shadows in the Moon" picks up. You'll have to tell me in the comments if you think this makes sense. The thing is, if I do actually look at other chronologies, pretty much everyone else has "Iron Shadows" come before "Xuthal," sometimes waaay before it, so I feel like I may be missing something. I'm kind of starting to doubt myself with this story... did I miss any other connections? Without this connection to "Xuthal of the Dusk," "Iron Shadows" could land pretty much anywhere between "Rogues in the House" and "The Pool of the Black One." This brings our chronology to its current state:
Chronologically Speaking is a series focused solely on chronologizing the Conan of Cimmeria stories. It's an analysis of only the text of Robert E. Howard's original Conan tales. I'm examining the stories one at a time, in publication order, to show explicit chronological notes to order the stories. "Rogues in the House" was first published in the January 1934 issue of Weird Tales, about three months after readers had been treated to their previous Conan story, "The Pool of the Black One." The story appeared seventh in the mag and didn't make the cover, suggesting perhaps a lack of confidence in this entry in the Conan saga. If that's what they felt, it was certainly misguided, as "Rogues" is a through-and-through banger.  
All of the above leads me to conclude that within our chronology so far, "Rogues" should be only the second in the timeline. I think the elements that put it after "The Tower of the Elephant" are a little weak, though. It's mostly my interpretation of how Conan's thieving and combat skills are described. There's nothing that's a smoking gun, so it could go first. Here is the updated chronology.
Chronologically Speaking is a series focused solely on chronologizing the Conan of Cimmeria stories. It's an analysis of only the text of Robert E. Howard's original Conan tales. I'm examining the stories one at a time, in publication order, to show explicit chronological notes to order the stories. September and October 1933 in Weird Tales were a one-two punch of short Conan stories, with "The Pool of the Black One" coming just one month after "Xuthal of the Dusk." Both of them are a bit of a downturn from the highs of "The Tower of the Elephant" and "Black Colossus," but things would bounce back soon enough with "Rogues in the House" in January of '34. Unlike the last two stories explored in this series, "Pool" didn't make the cover and it wasn't the lead story in the October issue; instead, it appeared third. "Pool" was the first pirate Conan story to be published, but it wouldn't be the last. It features one of the coolest entrances Conan ever makes, swimming up and onto a boat out of seeming nowhere.  
Honestly, I think the thing that is most illustrative about the placement of this story along the timeline is Conan's characterization himself. He is so eminently controlled, so smooth and unbothered. He keeps his mouth shut and is content to just smile and leave comments unremarked upon. We see some of his fabled "gigantic mirth" when he's gambling with the rest of the sailors. It's a Conan much more similar to the King Conan of "The Phoenix on the Sword" and "The Scarlet Citadel" to the brutish outlander of "The Tower of the Elephant" or "Xuthal of the Dusk." He seems to be even more smooth than in his considerable growth shown in "Black Colossus." For now, I'm placing this before the King Conan stories. The updated chronology is here:
 I will stop short of saying that Robert E. Howard was obsessed with the idea of ancestral memory, but I will at least say that he was preoccupied by it. The concept of reincarnation, and the reincarnated being able to in some way perceive their past lives through the veil of time, should be familiar-enough to Conan fans. The very first Conan work, the poem "Cimmeria" begins with the words, "I remember," implying a truth in it passed down through the blood of generations. Even earlier than that, ancestral memory was the key plot point in Howard's "People of the Dark," published in the June 1932 issue of Strange Tales. Even just on the Contents page, it advertises a tale ripped "out of the past." As would-be murderer John O'Brien of the present takes a blow to the head, he accesses a past life from hundreds of years ago. Now, this story's "Conan of the Reavers" is not considered by modern consensus to be entirely the same character as Conan of Cimmeria (despite Conan also being characterize as a "reaver" in the Nemedian Chronicles), but they bear great similarities. In addition to the above-mentioned poem and story, Howard would use the concept as the key plot conceit in his James Allison stories, which featured a somewhat fictionalized version of himself remembering his past lives. Of these past lives as a stint as Hunwulf, the Aesir raider living in Conan's Hyborian Age.  A comic book representation of James Allison Within the James Allison stories, Allison speaks of himself as one and the same as these former incarnations while he narrates their adventures: "I recognize his kinship with the entity now called James Allison. Kinship? Say rather oneness. I am he; he is I." The first James Allison story Howard penned was "The Valley of the Worm," published in the February 1934 issue of Weird Tales, and it was very well-received. The rest weren't so lucky. The only other one that would see publication during Howard's life was "The Garden of Fear," but it wouldn't be in the pages of WT. Instead, editor Farnsworth Wright passed on it, so Howard handed it to the magazine Marvel Tales for free. "The Garden of Fear" is a pretty good, brief Hyborian Age-set story. In it, Hunwulf of the Aesir sees his ladyfriend Gudrun kidnapped by a black, winged creature and taken to an ancient tower surrounded by carniverous flowers. It's romantic in a way, but only in the way that Weird Tales stories frequently position hulky dudes to save damsels. There's some cool world-building, and the page count flies by. If you haven't read it, but are thinking about reading this book, you probably should (it won't take you long) but the whole thing is also recapped by Hunwulf to Conan within Cult of the Obsidian Moon's pages.  There are a handful of James Allison stories, but only those scant two were completed or published during Howard's lifetime. James Allison appears in the Conan comic event "Battle of the Black Stone" from last year, and is the framing device in the novel Conan: Cult of the Obsidian Moon, released about the same time. The framing device presents this Conan story as one of James Allison's remembered tales which is being submitted to the fictional magazine Anomalous Adventures, a fun little send-up to Weird Tales. Both the comic event and the novel follow in the tradition of smashing Howard elements together, combining the characters into classic team-up. "Battle of the Black Stone" puts all of Howard's best-known characters into a type of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen across time: Solomon Kane, El Borak, Conrad and Kirowan, Dark Agnes de Chastillon, etc. Obsidian Moon, which is subtitled "A Black Stone Novel," has Conan encounter Hunwulf and Gudrun of "The Garden of Fear." It also postulates that the winged creature who stole Gudrun in her original story was also related to the creature that killed Belit in "Queen of the Black Coast." Conan and the Aesir couple become fast friends and Conan is goaded into training their son in combat. Of course, it's not long before things go sideways and send the adults after a cadre of kidnapped village children, all taken mysteriously by winged men.  In the novel, Conan is recognized as a pirate, lately of the Black Coast, and is even named Amra by a character early on. Elsewhere Conan refers to the plots of "The Tower of the Elephant," "The Frost-Giant's Daughter," and "Rogues of the House," by mentioning an elephant god and a giant spider, a snowy woman who disappeared from under his hands, and an ape-man dressed as a priest. There are several places that this novel could go, chronologically. Many stories seem to be set some time in Conan's early-to-mid career as a mercenary, mostly in Shem. It fits in nicely alongside John C. Hocking's Conan work, so it probably belongs right before "Hawks Over Shem" and "Black Colossus." There's quite a bit to enjoy in Cult of the Obsidian Moon. The couple of Hunwulf and Gudrun are really likeable, but would definitely qualify as a Gary Stu and a Mary Sue, respectively. The novel puts Conan in proximity to children, which is kind of unique for a Conan story, so we see how he interacts with Hunwulf and Gudrun's son, Bjorn. And I'm always down for a cult of zealots and a lost city. There's a fair bit that I think will turn off longtime Conan readers, too. The Conan of Cult of the Obsidian Moon makes me think of the cover of Savage Sword #36's cover by Earl Norem: square-jawed and mostly clean-cut, this is Conan at his absolute most friendly and superheroic. He's perhaps a bit too good with kids, instantly winning young friends effortlessly as he goes. It's also much more of a fantasy novel than a sword-and-sorcery story. There's magic abound and it's noticeably less dark than some Conan fare.  I found it a little odd that the titular Obsidian Moon cult isn't even mentioned until 189 pages into a 286 page novel. It's not a deal-breaker, I was just sitting there wondering why it was called that for at least half of the book. Additionally, I'm not trying to nitpick too much, but if James Allison's genetic memories are supposedly of the life of Hunwulf, why is Conan the point of view character? It makes less sense the more I think about it. The novel isn't strongly connected to the comic event at all; you could read both without ever knowing the other title exists and you'd lose nothing (which I think is a plus- complicated reading orders are a scam), but the connections basically make for little Easter eggs if you've read both. I'm not trying to dissuade you from checking out Obsidian Moon. It was pretty decent. I'm left wondering if I found it at the right time- I spent a bunch of a weekend at a campground near Buford, Wyoming reading it while people drank ale and engaged in mock combat since my wife is a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Out of Titan Books' recent Conan novels (I'm starting to think of them as the "silhouette cover set"), it's easily the middle of the pack. It doesn't reach the excellent heights of John Hocking's City of the Dead work, but it easily clears the more recent Songs of the Slain. I wouldn't mind seeing more crossovers between Howard properties, which we may see soon enough with what's happening in the pages of Savage Sword these days! ★★★☆☆  Chronologically Speaking is a series focused solely on chronologizing the Conan of Cimmeria stories. It's an analysis of only the text of Robert E. Howard's original Conan tales. I'm examining the stories one at a time, in publication order, to show explicit chronological notes to order the stories. It's Cimmerian September, so it's appropriate that the next story in publication order first appeared in the September 1933 issue of Weird Tales. Appearing a few months after "Black Colossus," "Xuthal of the Dusk" was published under the title "The Slithering Shadow." Most people that I know prefer to use Howard's original and (in my opinion, at least) more unique title. Like "Black Colossus," it was the cover story, with the Margaret Brundage illustration on the front showing the characters Natala and Thalis.   So far, our entries in this series have been pretty simple to order: Conan is very mature or very young, or right in between the two. "Xuthal" is going to require a lot more interpretation than the King Conan stories or some of his first. Here are the contextual timeline clues we have.
This is my first sort of big shakeup to my original chronology. I originally had "Xuthal" much later, based on what I would now consider a misreading of the original story. A year or so ago, I called Conan an officer in Shem's military, but I was making assumptions there that aren't really that supported by the text. It never explicitly says he's an officer. I'll be placing this one earlier in Conan's mercenary days and prior to "Black Colossus." A lot of stories put this one much further on in Conan's life, usually just before his pirate period with the Barachans as seen in "Red Nails." I wonder if there's something I'm missing. Shoot me a comment if you think there is! Here is our current chronology:
Chronologically Speaking is a series focused solely on chronologizing the Conan of Cimmeria stories. It's an analysis of only the text of Robert E. Howard's original Conan tales. I'm examining the stories one at a time, in publication order, to show explicit chronological notes to order the stories. "Black Colossus" is the fourth Conan story to reach publication, hitting magazine racks in the July 1933 issue of Weird Tales. Howard earned $130 from Farnsworth Wright and came three months after the previous publication, "The Tower of the Elephant." As a first for Howard, the story graced the cover and was the first story in the issue's contents.   "Black Colossus" features one of the best openings in any Robert E. Howard story but Conan isn't even seen until well into chapter 2, at which point, his physical description is made clear immediately.
"Black Colossus" is not just very easy to place in our timeline so far, but it may be the most geographically-focused of all Howard's stories. Perhaps the "Hyborian Age" essay was helping him keep things straight, because the geography of the central Hyborian Age kingdoms is extremely well-crafted. Also, Conan's birth on a battlefield is mentioned for the first time, an oft-cited characteristic of his youth. Here is our updated chronology.
Chronologically Speaking is a series focused solely on chronologizing the Conan of Cimmeria stories. It's an analysis of only the text of Robert E. Howard's original Conan tales. I'm examining the stories one at a time, in publication order, to show explicit chronological notes to order the stories. "The Tower of the Elephant" was the third Conan story published, appearing in the March 1933 issue of Weird Tales, which followed two months after "The Scarlet Citadel's" publication in January. According to biographers like Willard Oliver, it was not the third story written. By the time Howard banged out "The Tower of the Elephant," sitting at his computer late at night and reading his words aloud as he typed them, he had already written "The Phoenix on the Sword," "The Frost-Giant's Daughter," "The God in the Bowl," and his "The Hyborian Age" essay. Unfortunately, two of those would be rejected by Farnsworth Wright at Weird Tales and the essay wasn't intended for publication. Though Howard sent WT "The Tower of the Elephant" before "The Scarlet Citadel," it would ultimately be published third, netting Howard $95 and the votes from the readership as the best story of the issue. If you put a gun to my head and told me to pick a favorite Conan story, it would probably be this one.   Whereas the first two published stories are at the end of Conan's life during his kingship, "Tower" zooms way back to the start, when Conan is a penniless thief who's new to civilization. Most of the chronological clues happen at the very beginning of the story.
The updated chronology is as follows:
Chronologically Speaking is a series I'm starting here focused solely on the chronology of Conan of Cimmeria stories. It's an analysis of only the text of Robert E. Howard's original Conan tales. I'll be examining the stories one at a time, in publication order, but because it's impossible to order a sequence of one, I'll be starting with the first two Conan tales published: "The Phoenix on the Sword" and "The Scarlet Citadel."  The temporal relationship between "The Phoenix on the Sword" and "The Scarlet Citadel" is not as clear as some would like you to think it is. Appearing in the December 1932 issue of Weird Tales, "The Phoenix on the Sword" was the first Conan story published. It's well-documented that this story didn't spring to Howard in fully original form, but that he had a few warm-ups to creating Conan. His "Cimmeria" poem written earlier that year (though not published until 1956) introduced Conan's homeland. "People of the Dark," published in June 1932 in Strange Tales had introduced a barbarian character named Conan (the Reaver, not the Cimmerian). And "Phoenix on the Sword was cribbed from the unsold King Kull story "By This Axe I Rule!"  Though it's dead simple to know where this story takes place in Conan's life, the narrative gives us tons of interesting chronological notes. Conan is obviously older, having lived his barbarian life and is now king of Aquilonia.
 Clearly, obviously, this story is easy to place. I'm bored just sitting here writing it. So let's compare it to "The Scarlet Citadel." Despite being the second Conan story published, "The Scarlet Citadel" was not the second written, but probably the fourth. In Robert E. Howard: The Life and Times of a Texas Author, Willard Oliver postulates that "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" and "The God in the Bowl" were written between the two King Conan stories, but neither of those tales would be published until much later. "The Scarlet Citadel," though, would be published in the January 1933 issue of Weird Tales, just a month behind its predecessor. 
I was surprised in my revisiting of these two texts that their temporal placement was not as strong as I remembered. The commonly-accepted chronology is that "Citadel" takes place about a year after "Phoenix," but there's nothing quite so clear in the narratives. I find that it's most likely that "Phoenix" takes place first because there has to have been time for a "whole cycle of hero-tales" to have been written and to become famous, but the one-year difference is not really there. Gary Romeo examines a Conan chronology by P. Schuyler Miller which postulates that "Citadel" takes place right after "Phoenix," perhaps within the same year. "An Informal Biography of Conan the Cimmerian" (found in The Blade of Conan these days) also thinks "Citadel" takes place right afterword. If you're only looking at the texts, I don't think it's that clear. Our final chronology for this post is as follows. 1. The Phoenix on the Sword
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| 21. The Vale of Lost Women More like "The Birth of a Hyborian Nation," amirite? This story's hideous racism is impossible to ignore, and it's not like it has a story at its core that would be that good if you could somehow strip the plot to its studs. The racism is essentially the entire point here. It's not compelling, and it deserves to be lost somewhere in the catacombs beneath a Stygian pyramid. |  |
| 20. Shadows in Zamboula (AKA "The Man-Eaters of Zamboula") This is the other of Howard's unforgivably racist Conan tales. This one edges out "The Vale of Lost Women" simply by having some moments of intrigue before Howard's prejudice sets in, and it has a slightly better villain in Baal-Pteor than a few other Conan stories. I also think it's the more interesting of the two, giving me a lot more to write about when I read it. Still, it's not enough to save the thing. In these worst stories, Howard's plotting and characterization seriously suffer from his poisonous beliefs. |  |
| 19. Shadows in the Moonlight (AKA "Iron Shadows in the Moon") It's not like there's anything wrong with "Iron Shadows in the Moon" (which I've taken to referring to this story as... it's a much better title than the one it was given at publishing), it's just that this story ultimately feels much more generic than most Hyborian narratives. The lost city Conan encounters, his one-off companion in Olivia, the monsters he fights, they all just feel a little uninspired. I noted in my entry about this story that Howard probably wrote this one for a paycheck and was playing to the market rather than trying to come up with something really solid, so I wonder if he would also consider it to not be his best work. |  |
| 18. Drums of Tombalku "Drums of Tombalku" is one of the fragments that Howard left behind and was ultimately finished by L. Sprague de Camp 30 years later. I honestly don't think that de Camp's revisions and additions do that much to improve this one. It really feels like a fragment, with some half-finished ideas that would later be fleshed out by stories like "The Slithering Shadow." It's so similar to that story that I really don't think this one should be considered canon to Conan's life, as it is almost entirely a retread of the ideas in "Slithering Shadow." It's not the worst. I really like the moment in which we see the horrifying god in Gazal, and it's interesting to spend an extended amount of time with characters other than Conan, but it's ultimately a much lesser story. |  |
| 17. The Slithering Shadow (AKA "Xuthal of the Dusk") "The Slithering Shadow" is marginally better than "Drums of Tombalku" and feels like the canon, more complete version of "Drums." This story's major contribution to Conan's journey is really the introduction of the Black Lotus flower and its hypnotic powder, which is a recurring element throughout the rest of Conan's stories. It's also perhaps the most completely beat-to-shit that we ever see Conan get, physically speaking, as he fights the titular slithering god-monster. I don't think it ultimately comes together that well, though. I'm probably in the minority here as I've read quite a few reviews that put this story up there with better ones, but it just didn't do a lot for me. |  |
16. A Witch Shall Be Born
For how iconic this story is, it's one of the most disjointed stories in the whole canon. There are certainly excellent aspects to it. I think the opening scene in which Salome and Taramis fight is pretty compelling. Olgerd Vladislav is a great foil for Conan. He acts like a slightly less charming, slightly less fair version of the Cimmerian and we see that it doesn't work out well for him most of the time. It's like a cautionary tale, showing us what Conan could have been if he was a little less heroic. Of course, the Tree of Death scene is an all-timer, maybe in the top 3 best individual scenes that Howard ever wrote, and even made it into the movie. However, I just don't think the rest of the story compares. The epistle in the middle feels random, like Howard couldn't figure out a way to bring the reader up to speed in a more elegant way. The ending recovers a little bit, but I've seen even just fans present ideas that feel more fleshed-out and tighter than what Howard wrote. "A Witch Shall Be Born" might be the Conan story that lives up to its potential the least.
For how iconic this story is, it's one of the most disjointed stories in the whole canon. There are certainly excellent aspects to it. I think the opening scene in which Salome and Taramis fight is pretty compelling. Olgerd Vladislav is a great foil for Conan. He acts like a slightly less charming, slightly less fair version of the Cimmerian and we see that it doesn't work out well for him most of the time. It's like a cautionary tale, showing us what Conan could have been if he was a little less heroic. Of course, the Tree of Death scene is an all-timer, maybe in the top 3 best individual scenes that Howard ever wrote, and even made it into the movie. However, I just don't think the rest of the story compares. The epistle in the middle feels random, like Howard couldn't figure out a way to bring the reader up to speed in a more elegant way. The ending recovers a little bit, but I've seen even just fans present ideas that feel more fleshed-out and tighter than what Howard wrote. "A Witch Shall Be Born" might be the Conan story that lives up to its potential the least.
| 15. Jewels of Gwahlur (AKA "The Servants of Bit-Yakin", "Teeth of Gwahlur") While I'm certainly not placing this story high in my rankings, I might be alone in placing it this high. I have rarely seen this story elicit more than a shrug of the shoulders from Conan fans, but I think it's a little better than that. Its opening scene features Conan climbing cliffs in the middle of a forest in order to get a map to a treasure that's being held onto by the bones of an ancient skeleton, propped in the wall so high that nobody can reach him. That fucks. I think a lot of this story just kind of scratches the Indiana Jones-style, pulpy adventure itch. There's a decent balance of tomb-raiding, fighting, traps, and angry gods, so I think it's a decently good time. |  |
| 14. The Pool of the Black One To me at least, "The Pool of the Black One" reads like a better version of "Iron Shadows in the Moon." There are more lost cities and weird, ancient races of people, but the magic of the titular pool is fun, and Conan's pirate companions are pretty entertaining as well. I feel Howard's writing to be more engaging here than the other stories to which it begs comparison. In a way, it feels like a classic fantasy story and like the Platonic ideal of a pulp adventure. |  |
13. The Devil in Iron
This story does what many others do, but it does them slightly better. There's a one-off woman companion for Conan named Octavia, and she's a much more enjoyable character than Olivia or Muriela. There's a thousand-year-old lost city, but it's got more going on than those in "The Pool of the Black One" or "Iron Shadows in the Moon." There are creepy wizard bad guys, but the setup is a little more unique and the stakes are more clear. It's also got a really banging introduction with a Yuetshi fisherman exploring the city of Xapur right before getting his shit rocked mysteriously. Howard's descriptions of the city of Dagon really do this story a service, too, as they're far more immersive than some of his other passages about lost cities. Conan sneaking around the city when he first arrives was full of intrigue and suspense.
This story does what many others do, but it does them slightly better. There's a one-off woman companion for Conan named Octavia, and she's a much more enjoyable character than Olivia or Muriela. There's a thousand-year-old lost city, but it's got more going on than those in "The Pool of the Black One" or "Iron Shadows in the Moon." There are creepy wizard bad guys, but the setup is a little more unique and the stakes are more clear. It's also got a really banging introduction with a Yuetshi fisherman exploring the city of Xapur right before getting his shit rocked mysteriously. Howard's descriptions of the city of Dagon really do this story a service, too, as they're far more immersive than some of his other passages about lost cities. Conan sneaking around the city when he first arrives was full of intrigue and suspense.
12. The God in the Bowl
Man, if not a lot happens in "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" as I argue below, even less actually happens in "The God in the Bowl." But I actually think that's pretty cool. Conan is cornered in a temple (that is also a museum?) by guards after the slaying of a prominent citizen and is essentially forced to talk his way out of his situation, which he's not very good at during this early point in his career. This story is unique, though. It's all paranoia and tension as we try to figure out the real way that Kallian Publico died. I wouldn't say that Robert E. Howard is ultimately a gifted detective story author, as it's pretty clear from the very beginning that Conan isn't the assailant and he leaves too-obvious clues as to who or what the murderer really is, but the story's good. It's really supported by its horrifying ending and is reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe (I'm not even talking "Murders in the Rue Morgue" this time, I'm thinking more like "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Fall of the House of Usher" here) in how it finishes with a real bang. It's a fun time.
Man, if not a lot happens in "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" as I argue below, even less actually happens in "The God in the Bowl." But I actually think that's pretty cool. Conan is cornered in a temple (that is also a museum?) by guards after the slaying of a prominent citizen and is essentially forced to talk his way out of his situation, which he's not very good at during this early point in his career. This story is unique, though. It's all paranoia and tension as we try to figure out the real way that Kallian Publico died. I wouldn't say that Robert E. Howard is ultimately a gifted detective story author, as it's pretty clear from the very beginning that Conan isn't the assailant and he leaves too-obvious clues as to who or what the murderer really is, but the story's good. It's really supported by its horrifying ending and is reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe (I'm not even talking "Murders in the Rue Morgue" this time, I'm thinking more like "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Fall of the House of Usher" here) in how it finishes with a real bang. It's a fun time.
11. The Frost-Giant's Daughter
I think I'm alone in putting this story so low. It's a good story! I like it! I just don't like it as much as some of the other ones to follow. Its opening on a bloody battlefield in which Conan and one other combatant are the only men standing is a pretty stellar way to start us off. The snowy wastes of Nordheim set this story apart from many of the others that more commonly are set in jungles, deserts, or at sea. Atali, the daughter in the title, is an interesting villain, too. It's not affecting my ranking, but there's lots of good art of this story. I'd say this is one of the simplest Conan stories in existence, at least in regards to plot construction. Not a ton actually happens, though it's an enjoyable, creative ride through Conan getting bewitched by a frost giant.
I think I'm alone in putting this story so low. It's a good story! I like it! I just don't like it as much as some of the other ones to follow. Its opening on a bloody battlefield in which Conan and one other combatant are the only men standing is a pretty stellar way to start us off. The snowy wastes of Nordheim set this story apart from many of the others that more commonly are set in jungles, deserts, or at sea. Atali, the daughter in the title, is an interesting villain, too. It's not affecting my ranking, but there's lots of good art of this story. I'd say this is one of the simplest Conan stories in existence, at least in regards to plot construction. Not a ton actually happens, though it's an enjoyable, creative ride through Conan getting bewitched by a frost giant.
10. The Hour of the Dragon (AKA "Conan the Conqueror")
This is without a doubt the most epic story in Conan's life. It takes us all over the map and has Conan fit himself back into the roles he's taken over the course of his career. He's once again a thief, a pirate, a commander, a king. It has a lot going for it like its really compelling villain and a great romp through an ancient Stygian pyramid's guts, but the story is a little hamstrung by being too long. It's four or five times longer than most Conan stories and it makes you realize that one thing Howard is very adept at usually is trimming the fat from his narratives. They're usually spartan to a fault. The pacing is a little off in this story as some characters disappear for chapters at a time, not to be mentioned for large lengths of the novel, only to be casually mentioned again many pages later. It's also a little held back by the fact that in the epic moment of the evil wizard's defeat, Conan isn't even there. The whole climax of the story takes place with one-off characters and Conan's like a mile away, unaware of any of it happening.
Similar to how "Drums of Tombalku" and "The Slithering Shadow" feel largely like retreads of one another, The Hour of the Dragon has certain times it mirrors "The Scarlet Citadel." Whereas "Scarlet Citadel" focuses more on Conan's capture and escape with an abbreviated battle at the end, Hour of the Dragon speeds through a capture and escape to focus on the military campaign afterward. It's a good story, but its faults keep it from being one of the best.
This is without a doubt the most epic story in Conan's life. It takes us all over the map and has Conan fit himself back into the roles he's taken over the course of his career. He's once again a thief, a pirate, a commander, a king. It has a lot going for it like its really compelling villain and a great romp through an ancient Stygian pyramid's guts, but the story is a little hamstrung by being too long. It's four or five times longer than most Conan stories and it makes you realize that one thing Howard is very adept at usually is trimming the fat from his narratives. They're usually spartan to a fault. The pacing is a little off in this story as some characters disappear for chapters at a time, not to be mentioned for large lengths of the novel, only to be casually mentioned again many pages later. It's also a little held back by the fact that in the epic moment of the evil wizard's defeat, Conan isn't even there. The whole climax of the story takes place with one-off characters and Conan's like a mile away, unaware of any of it happening.
Similar to how "Drums of Tombalku" and "The Slithering Shadow" feel largely like retreads of one another, The Hour of the Dragon has certain times it mirrors "The Scarlet Citadel." Whereas "Scarlet Citadel" focuses more on Conan's capture and escape with an abbreviated battle at the end, Hour of the Dragon speeds through a capture and escape to focus on the military campaign afterward. It's a good story, but its faults keep it from being one of the best.
| 9. The Phoenix on the Sword In the very first Conan story ever published, Howard got it right. "The Phoenix on the Sword" is an excellent story full of action and magic, even as it's mostly confined to one location. King Conan has lost none of his adventuresome spirit. Seeing him defend himself in his chambers against would-be assassins while only half armored was a great scene. I think the high point of this story is his vision of Epemitreus the Sage, which we later learn transported Conan to an ancient tomb underneath Mount Golamira in Gunderland. It seems as though the gods really do favor Conan. Thoth-Amon, Conan's archenemy, makes a great villain in this story and the narrative even has some interesting themes about the nature of power and servitude that make this one interesting to discuss as well as to read. |  |
| 8. The Scarlet Citadel "The Scarlet Citadel" features some of Howard's best writing ever. His descriptions in the mad scientist hallways below the citadel of the title are an absolute blast to read through. While a lot of Conan stories are pretty predictable and even tropey (at least for today's reader), I never knew what horrors would be around the next corner in this tale. For me, this story does most things better than its similarly-plotted big brother The Hour of the Dragon. It gets the fantasy and horror right, keeping things brief, and ultimately making for a killer story of capture and escape. It's got so much going for it: a great villain, an unpredictable wizard, political intrigue, horror, action, fantasy! |  |
7. The People of the Black Circle
From this placement on, every single one of these stories is a solid five-star ripper. I might even have to change a few of the placements depending on how I'm feeling day-to-day, but they're all ultimately just about everything you could ask for from a fantasy story.
"The People of the Black Circle" is phenomenal. Like The Hour of the Dragon, its scope is appropriately epic. It takes us from the cities of Vendhya (which we've never had the privilege of spending time in yet) into the Himelian Mountains. Conan is fun and heroic throughout this adventure which takes us from one action scene to another with little wait time- the pacing is excellent. What really pushes it into top-tier territory is its climactic battle between Conan and the wizards of the Black Circle on Mount Yimsha. There are so many great moments in this extended battle that are so much fun to read, like when the wizards send evil bubbles after Conan's crew, or when they're escaping and have to be careful of where they breathe because of incantations that eliminate air in certain spots. As an adventure story, it's breathless, and you'll feel like you've been away from your world for about a month once you put it down. Excellent escapism.
From this placement on, every single one of these stories is a solid five-star ripper. I might even have to change a few of the placements depending on how I'm feeling day-to-day, but they're all ultimately just about everything you could ask for from a fantasy story.
"The People of the Black Circle" is phenomenal. Like The Hour of the Dragon, its scope is appropriately epic. It takes us from the cities of Vendhya (which we've never had the privilege of spending time in yet) into the Himelian Mountains. Conan is fun and heroic throughout this adventure which takes us from one action scene to another with little wait time- the pacing is excellent. What really pushes it into top-tier territory is its climactic battle between Conan and the wizards of the Black Circle on Mount Yimsha. There are so many great moments in this extended battle that are so much fun to read, like when the wizards send evil bubbles after Conan's crew, or when they're escaping and have to be careful of where they breathe because of incantations that eliminate air in certain spots. As an adventure story, it's breathless, and you'll feel like you've been away from your world for about a month once you put it down. Excellent escapism.
| 6. Rogues in the House I might be one of the few people to put "Rogues in the House" this high. I think it's earned, though. "Rogues" is perhaps the funniest story in the Conan canon, with some of the best characters we ever get to spend time with. Conan's stuck with the Red Priest Nabonidus and the young aristocrat Murilo and their time together does make for a fun adventure that's delivered in a fresh, tight package. It's so seldom that Howard lets colorful characters really bounce off one another, but he does it here well. There are imaginative traps and gadgets all through this story that make for a very entertaining time. Conan's climactic battle with the subhuman servant Thak led to so much iconic art for a reason. While all of the thief stories are pretty good, this is almost the best of the bunch. |  |
5. Queen of the Black Coast
"Queen of the Black Coast" has a lot of firsts in it. It's the first story in which we see Conan at sea, the first in which he has a love interest on equal footing, it's the first time we go really far south on the Hyborian map. As I noted in my post on the story, I still think Everett F. Blieler was on to something when he said "Queen of the Black Coast" was "probably the best of the Conan stories, perhaps because it is the only one based on another emotion than lust, greed, or hatred." Bêlit is such an awesome foil for Conan. Several other Robert E. Howard characters have gotten spinoffs in the following decades, and Bêlit is one of the only ones that I think I would like to continue her adventures with.
This story is supported by the smaller moments: a conversation between Bêlit and Conan is its heart. We so seldom get to see Conan open up to someone of his own free will that it's really charming. Howard does some of his best writing in this story, and it makes it an undisputed classic.
"Queen of the Black Coast" has a lot of firsts in it. It's the first story in which we see Conan at sea, the first in which he has a love interest on equal footing, it's the first time we go really far south on the Hyborian map. As I noted in my post on the story, I still think Everett F. Blieler was on to something when he said "Queen of the Black Coast" was "probably the best of the Conan stories, perhaps because it is the only one based on another emotion than lust, greed, or hatred." Bêlit is such an awesome foil for Conan. Several other Robert E. Howard characters have gotten spinoffs in the following decades, and Bêlit is one of the only ones that I think I would like to continue her adventures with.
This story is supported by the smaller moments: a conversation between Bêlit and Conan is its heart. We so seldom get to see Conan open up to someone of his own free will that it's really charming. Howard does some of his best writing in this story, and it makes it an undisputed classic.
4. Red Nails
"Red Nails" feels like a tour de force in speculative fiction for Howard. The central pillar of his whole personal philosophy is the battle between civilization and barbarism, and Hoard takes a reliance on civilization to its natural endpoint here. He always says that barbarism beats civilization every time, and he makes a great case for that idea here. We see a decaying culture that has hobbled along for too long, unnatural in most ways, threatening to destroy itself at any minute. The cities and people he creates in this story are indelible not only for their entertainment but for the philosophical conversations they inspire. It has a fun one-off mate for Conan with Valeria, whose entrance kicks the story off right. There's little padding in this one as Conan and Valeria are introduced constantly to confounding and crazy characters, locations, and situations.
In a letter to Clark Ashton Smith, Howard got it exactly right: "Sent a three-part serial to Wright yesterday: 'Red Nails,' which I devoutly hope he'll like. After Conan yarn, and the grimmest, bloodiest, and most merciless story of the series so far. Too much raw meat, maybe, but I merely portrayed what I honestly believe would be the reactions of certain types of people in the situations on which the plot of the story hung..." It's a great story. As the last Conan story to hit the page before Howard's suicide, it was an excellent final hurrah.
"Red Nails" feels like a tour de force in speculative fiction for Howard. The central pillar of his whole personal philosophy is the battle between civilization and barbarism, and Hoard takes a reliance on civilization to its natural endpoint here. He always says that barbarism beats civilization every time, and he makes a great case for that idea here. We see a decaying culture that has hobbled along for too long, unnatural in most ways, threatening to destroy itself at any minute. The cities and people he creates in this story are indelible not only for their entertainment but for the philosophical conversations they inspire. It has a fun one-off mate for Conan with Valeria, whose entrance kicks the story off right. There's little padding in this one as Conan and Valeria are introduced constantly to confounding and crazy characters, locations, and situations.
In a letter to Clark Ashton Smith, Howard got it exactly right: "Sent a three-part serial to Wright yesterday: 'Red Nails,' which I devoutly hope he'll like. After Conan yarn, and the grimmest, bloodiest, and most merciless story of the series so far. Too much raw meat, maybe, but I merely portrayed what I honestly believe would be the reactions of certain types of people in the situations on which the plot of the story hung..." It's a great story. As the last Conan story to hit the page before Howard's suicide, it was an excellent final hurrah.
3. Beyond the Black River
I wrote in my post about this story that it's probably the most philosophically-rich of all Howard's Conan stories, so I'll try to not just repeat myself here. "Beyond the Black River" is a "weird western" that makes it super unique for Conan. Transporting the American frontier to the Hyborian Age allows Howard to play with all kinds of tropes in new ways. It comprises a perfect pair when teamed up with "Red Nails."
The story is action-packed, sure, but I think the thing that makes it so excellent is Conan's new friends Balthus and Slasher. I happen to really like when Conan gets paired up with someone for a story. Sometimes he's in a tenuous pact with a would-be enemy. Sometimes he's rescuing a damsel in distress. But here, Conan is paired up with a prairie kid who seems much like a young version of Conan himself, as well as the loyal dog Slasher. There's a certain wide-eyed purity to Balthus and Slasher that gives the story a fun lightness, and the plotting is some of Howard's best ever.
On certain days, I think of "Beyond the Black River" as my personal favorite Conan story, but I think it's probably more appropriately ranked here.
I wrote in my post about this story that it's probably the most philosophically-rich of all Howard's Conan stories, so I'll try to not just repeat myself here. "Beyond the Black River" is a "weird western" that makes it super unique for Conan. Transporting the American frontier to the Hyborian Age allows Howard to play with all kinds of tropes in new ways. It comprises a perfect pair when teamed up with "Red Nails."
The story is action-packed, sure, but I think the thing that makes it so excellent is Conan's new friends Balthus and Slasher. I happen to really like when Conan gets paired up with someone for a story. Sometimes he's in a tenuous pact with a would-be enemy. Sometimes he's rescuing a damsel in distress. But here, Conan is paired up with a prairie kid who seems much like a young version of Conan himself, as well as the loyal dog Slasher. There's a certain wide-eyed purity to Balthus and Slasher that gives the story a fun lightness, and the plotting is some of Howard's best ever.
On certain days, I think of "Beyond the Black River" as my personal favorite Conan story, but I think it's probably more appropriately ranked here.
2. Black Colossus
Eat your heart out, The Hour of the Dragon. This is what a Conan epic can truly be. This one stands up there with other all-timers of fantasy fiction like The Lord of the Rings and shows why Robert E. Howard is the greatest sword-and-sorcery author of all time. "Black Colossus" opens with one of the best openings in any of Conan's stories and never lets up once it introduces everyone's favorite barbarian. It's a huge turning point in Conan's life as he begins to step away from isolated adventures and commands hordes of soldiers for the first time, defending a country against an evil sorcerer. But this story's greatest strength isn't it's plotting. Every word of Howard's prose here pulses with life. His descriptions shimmer on the page so much that it becomes the most engrossing writing he would ever do.
There's really a little bit of everything in this story. Tomb-raiding, military campaigns, politicking, evil wizards, creepy monsters... what more could you ever want? The battles are cinematic to a point that I'm dying to see this get adapted to the big screen, and I don't usually desire filmed adaptions of books or comics very much. If you haven't read this story and you have even the slightest interest in Conan, close this website and go read it now.
Eat your heart out, The Hour of the Dragon. This is what a Conan epic can truly be. This one stands up there with other all-timers of fantasy fiction like The Lord of the Rings and shows why Robert E. Howard is the greatest sword-and-sorcery author of all time. "Black Colossus" opens with one of the best openings in any of Conan's stories and never lets up once it introduces everyone's favorite barbarian. It's a huge turning point in Conan's life as he begins to step away from isolated adventures and commands hordes of soldiers for the first time, defending a country against an evil sorcerer. But this story's greatest strength isn't it's plotting. Every word of Howard's prose here pulses with life. His descriptions shimmer on the page so much that it becomes the most engrossing writing he would ever do.
There's really a little bit of everything in this story. Tomb-raiding, military campaigns, politicking, evil wizards, creepy monsters... what more could you ever want? The battles are cinematic to a point that I'm dying to see this get adapted to the big screen, and I don't usually desire filmed adaptions of books or comics very much. If you haven't read this story and you have even the slightest interest in Conan, close this website and go read it now.
1. The Tower of the Elephant
I'm not usually your escapism guy. I really like talking about themes of stories and how they're constructed and trying to figure out what they mean on a human level. But every now and then, there's escapist fiction that is just so fucking good that you don't even have time to stop and read between the lines because the lines themselves are so engrossing. These are the kinds of stories that make you want to live in another time, on another world, and completely detach yourself from reality. This is the kind of story that "The Tower of the Elephant" is.
At one of the earliest points in Conan's life, he's not the large, invincible superhero we'll see him become later, so it's easier to cast yourself as Conan as you go on a brief but engrossing adventure with him. The Zamorian City of Thieves is an excellent setting- there's danger, but also the promise of gold around every corner. The tower of the elephant itself is such a great location too, completely inundated with monsters and guards and animals, all the while having this mysteriously smooth exterior that promises so much on the inside. It never disappoints.
Yag-Kosha, the ancient elephant alien, is a wonderful twist toward the end of the story and whisks you even further into escapism. It's full of pathos and imagination that you don't even mind when the tower falls and Conan walks away empty-handed. There's nothing else quite this good that Howard put to paper. It's what all adventure stories could aspire to.
I'm not usually your escapism guy. I really like talking about themes of stories and how they're constructed and trying to figure out what they mean on a human level. But every now and then, there's escapist fiction that is just so fucking good that you don't even have time to stop and read between the lines because the lines themselves are so engrossing. These are the kinds of stories that make you want to live in another time, on another world, and completely detach yourself from reality. This is the kind of story that "The Tower of the Elephant" is.
At one of the earliest points in Conan's life, he's not the large, invincible superhero we'll see him become later, so it's easier to cast yourself as Conan as you go on a brief but engrossing adventure with him. The Zamorian City of Thieves is an excellent setting- there's danger, but also the promise of gold around every corner. The tower of the elephant itself is such a great location too, completely inundated with monsters and guards and animals, all the while having this mysteriously smooth exterior that promises so much on the inside. It never disappoints.
Yag-Kosha, the ancient elephant alien, is a wonderful twist toward the end of the story and whisks you even further into escapism. It's full of pathos and imagination that you don't even mind when the tower falls and Conan walks away empty-handed. There's nothing else quite this good that Howard put to paper. It's what all adventure stories could aspire to.
Ranking Howard's original Conan stories PLUS the additions
Below is my ranking of not only REH's original Conan stories, but also those that were edited or finished by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter. The new additions I have added their own short paragraphs to.
30. The Vale of Lost Women
29. Shadows in Zamboula
28. Wolves Beyond the Border
"Wolves Beyond the Border" just wasn't that compelling. I went in hoping that it would be interesting seeing the Hyborian Age from a more mortal perspective, but we actually get that fairly frequently in small bursts, so this story felt very disposable.
27. Iron Shadows in the Moon
26. The Hand of Nergal
"The Hand of Nergal" is just lacking in anything making it great. It was entertaining enough, but feels like a very skippable chapter in Conan's life, even though it's his first chapter as a Turanian mercenary. It began its life in the 1930s as a Conan story, but it was unfinished at the time of Howard's death, so Lin Carter finished it in the 60s. As I noted in my post about this story, some of the prose is a little weird and random, too. Ultimately, it's just okay.
25. Drums of Tombalku
24. Xuthal of the Dusk
23. A Witch Shall Be Born
22. Jewels of Gwahlur
21. Hawks Over Shem
I liked "Hawks Over Shem," but this story frankly felt a little different, and not in a good way, like how "Rogues in the House" or "Beyond the Black River" stand out. Unlike the 3 other stories REH published without Conan that de Camp and Carter would later write Conan into, this one is the one where you really feel that. I know I'm more of a fan of those three others than most, but I feel like it's because the others blended quite a bit better. There are fewer Howard fingerprints on this story in my estimation.
20. The Pool of the Black One
19. The Devil in Iron
18. The Snout in the Dark
"The Snout in the Dark" is a story that I felt was underrated when I finished it, but have gradually forgotten what I liked so much about it. I do think that it's better than most people give it credit for (nobody ever talks about this story), but somehow feels more like a de Camp / Carter creation than a Robert E. Howard original. It was based on an untitled fragment of Howard's, but I'm wondering how much Howard actually wrote and how much was added by the later collaborators.
17. The God in the Bowl
16. The Frost-Giant's Daughter
15. The Hour of the Dragon
14. The Flame Knife
The Flame Knife is really fun. It's got a good sense of adventure to it and takes us to parts of the Hyborian world we hadn't ever been to before. It's definitely helped by bringing back Olgerd Vladislav, who might be second or third in line to the title of Conan's arch-nemesis.
13. The Hall of the Dead
I really dig "The Hall of the Dead." There's so much fun to be had with the giant slug creature, the ancient city of Larsha is really fun, and the hall of the dead itself is phenomenally creepy. Conan's single-serving friend Nestor is a fun addition to the story and I'm glad to see that he makes it out alive since most of Conan's companions meet their ends in the stories in which they're introduced. This one deserves more recognition than it gets.
12. The Blood-Stained God
What a fun tomb-plunderer. I don't get why more people don't like this story. The 1930s Afghanistan setting of the original "Trail of the Blood-Stained God" transfers perfectly to the Hyborian Age. Additionally, the actual temple of the blood-stained god makes for an unpredictable ending, as Conan has to think his way out of a trap instead of just burying his sword in everyone's neck. It's tons of fun!
11. The Road of the Eagles
Do not @ me for putting this one so high. This story is great. Honestly, the castle nestled in the mountains with its sheer walls and the one, treacherous path to it is one of the best story conceits that Howard ever dreamed up. It's not incredibly thematically-rich or anything, but it's a hell of a good time and very imaginative.
10. The Phoenix on the Sword
9. The Scarlet Citadel
8. The Treasure of Tranicos (AKA "The Black Stranger")
"The Treasure of Tranicos" followed kind of a strange path to get where it sits now. It began as "The Black Stranger," a Conan story. When it got rejected for publication, it was re-written to be just a pirate story. When that also got rejected, it was shelved. de Camp re-introduced Conan to it and retitled it to "The Treasure of Tranicos" and we should all be so glad he did. This story rocks. It's got some of the tightest plotting Howard ever did, some truly wonderful characterization scenes, and excellent stakes. The fact that there are so many competing interests working together toward a goal makes it so that you always feel someone is about to betray another. It's definitely the best L. Sprague de Camp or Lin Carter-influenced addition to the canon.
7. The People of the Black Circle
6. Rogues in the House
5. Queen of the Black Coast
4. Red Nails
3. Beyond the Black River
2. Black Colossus
1. The Tower of the Elephant
I always have fun ranking things. Let me know your own rankings in the comments if you've got them! At the very least, what are your own top 5?
29. Shadows in Zamboula
28. Wolves Beyond the Border
"Wolves Beyond the Border" just wasn't that compelling. I went in hoping that it would be interesting seeing the Hyborian Age from a more mortal perspective, but we actually get that fairly frequently in small bursts, so this story felt very disposable.
27. Iron Shadows in the Moon
26. The Hand of Nergal
"The Hand of Nergal" is just lacking in anything making it great. It was entertaining enough, but feels like a very skippable chapter in Conan's life, even though it's his first chapter as a Turanian mercenary. It began its life in the 1930s as a Conan story, but it was unfinished at the time of Howard's death, so Lin Carter finished it in the 60s. As I noted in my post about this story, some of the prose is a little weird and random, too. Ultimately, it's just okay.
25. Drums of Tombalku
24. Xuthal of the Dusk
23. A Witch Shall Be Born
22. Jewels of Gwahlur
21. Hawks Over Shem
I liked "Hawks Over Shem," but this story frankly felt a little different, and not in a good way, like how "Rogues in the House" or "Beyond the Black River" stand out. Unlike the 3 other stories REH published without Conan that de Camp and Carter would later write Conan into, this one is the one where you really feel that. I know I'm more of a fan of those three others than most, but I feel like it's because the others blended quite a bit better. There are fewer Howard fingerprints on this story in my estimation.
20. The Pool of the Black One
19. The Devil in Iron
18. The Snout in the Dark
"The Snout in the Dark" is a story that I felt was underrated when I finished it, but have gradually forgotten what I liked so much about it. I do think that it's better than most people give it credit for (nobody ever talks about this story), but somehow feels more like a de Camp / Carter creation than a Robert E. Howard original. It was based on an untitled fragment of Howard's, but I'm wondering how much Howard actually wrote and how much was added by the later collaborators.
17. The God in the Bowl
16. The Frost-Giant's Daughter
15. The Hour of the Dragon
14. The Flame Knife
The Flame Knife is really fun. It's got a good sense of adventure to it and takes us to parts of the Hyborian world we hadn't ever been to before. It's definitely helped by bringing back Olgerd Vladislav, who might be second or third in line to the title of Conan's arch-nemesis.
13. The Hall of the Dead
I really dig "The Hall of the Dead." There's so much fun to be had with the giant slug creature, the ancient city of Larsha is really fun, and the hall of the dead itself is phenomenally creepy. Conan's single-serving friend Nestor is a fun addition to the story and I'm glad to see that he makes it out alive since most of Conan's companions meet their ends in the stories in which they're introduced. This one deserves more recognition than it gets.
12. The Blood-Stained God
What a fun tomb-plunderer. I don't get why more people don't like this story. The 1930s Afghanistan setting of the original "Trail of the Blood-Stained God" transfers perfectly to the Hyborian Age. Additionally, the actual temple of the blood-stained god makes for an unpredictable ending, as Conan has to think his way out of a trap instead of just burying his sword in everyone's neck. It's tons of fun!
11. The Road of the Eagles
Do not @ me for putting this one so high. This story is great. Honestly, the castle nestled in the mountains with its sheer walls and the one, treacherous path to it is one of the best story conceits that Howard ever dreamed up. It's not incredibly thematically-rich or anything, but it's a hell of a good time and very imaginative.
10. The Phoenix on the Sword
9. The Scarlet Citadel
8. The Treasure of Tranicos (AKA "The Black Stranger")
"The Treasure of Tranicos" followed kind of a strange path to get where it sits now. It began as "The Black Stranger," a Conan story. When it got rejected for publication, it was re-written to be just a pirate story. When that also got rejected, it was shelved. de Camp re-introduced Conan to it and retitled it to "The Treasure of Tranicos" and we should all be so glad he did. This story rocks. It's got some of the tightest plotting Howard ever did, some truly wonderful characterization scenes, and excellent stakes. The fact that there are so many competing interests working together toward a goal makes it so that you always feel someone is about to betray another. It's definitely the best L. Sprague de Camp or Lin Carter-influenced addition to the canon.
7. The People of the Black Circle
6. Rogues in the House
5. Queen of the Black Coast
4. Red Nails
3. Beyond the Black River
2. Black Colossus
1. The Tower of the Elephant
I always have fun ranking things. Let me know your own rankings in the comments if you've got them! At the very least, what are your own top 5?
When I set out to read every Conan story in timeline order, I thought it might vastly change the reader experience. I hope I'm not disappointing you when I say that it hasn't really changed that much. It's certainly enhanced the reading experience in some ways: I have much more context for each story, it makes them easier to remember because I can place them in order, and it's been interesting to see Conan grow from an northern yokel with a propensity for violence into a clever, powerful, no-less-violent ruler. However, other than that, it hasn't changed a ton. I mean, does it make a huge difference if you read "The Castle of Terror" before or after "The Devil in Iron?" Not one bit.
I say all that to say this: reading everything in timeline order absolutely does impact how The Hour of the Dragon reads.
The Hour of the Dragon, when read at the end of Conan's life, feels like a victory lap. It really wasn't meant to be that as Howard was writing it.
In mid-1933, about a year into writing Conan stories, Howard was approached by a publishing agent in England about possibly putting out some of his work in the UK. Howard was always looking for how to earn more with his writing, so he sent off a package of 8 stories to the firm. There were 8 stories included, including two Conan bangers "The Tower of the Elephant" and "The Scarlet Citadel." As Patrice Louinet notes in his essay "Hyborian Genesis," Weird Tales had first publication rights to his Conan serials, so Howard wasn't able to submit most of his Conan stuff for publication anywhere else.
I say all that to say this: reading everything in timeline order absolutely does impact how The Hour of the Dragon reads.
The Hour of the Dragon, when read at the end of Conan's life, feels like a victory lap. It really wasn't meant to be that as Howard was writing it.
In mid-1933, about a year into writing Conan stories, Howard was approached by a publishing agent in England about possibly putting out some of his work in the UK. Howard was always looking for how to earn more with his writing, so he sent off a package of 8 stories to the firm. There were 8 stories included, including two Conan bangers "The Tower of the Elephant" and "The Scarlet Citadel." As Patrice Louinet notes in his essay "Hyborian Genesis," Weird Tales had first publication rights to his Conan serials, so Howard wasn't able to submit most of his Conan stuff for publication anywhere else.
I love the details that Louinet includes about Howard's submissions. Whereas you and I would send a link to a Google Doc or a copy of a PDF, Howard actually had to re-type all of "The Scarlet Citadel," which he used as an opportunity to change a few things in the story, and then he actually sent ripped-out Weird Tales pages to provide "The Tower of the Elephant" for them.
A whopping seven months after submitting those eight stories, the publisher sent a letter rejecting all eight stories, but suggested that Howard try writing a novel instead.
A whopping seven months after submitting those eight stories, the publisher sent a letter rejecting all eight stories, but suggested that Howard try writing a novel instead.
"The difficulty that arises about publication in book form, is the prejudice that is very strong over here just now against collections of short stories, and I find myself very reluctantly forced to return the stories to you. With this suggestion, however, that any time you find yourself able to produce a full-length novel of about 70,000-75,000 words along the lines of the stories, my allied company, Pawling and Ness Ltd., who deal with the lending libraries, and are able to sell a first edition of 5,000 copies, will be very willing to publish it."
REH hadn't ever written a novel before, but he had just finished the comparatively long-as-shit "The People of the Black Circle," so he may have been feeling good about his ability to write something even longer.
Howard had a few false starts in getting his novel together. The draft he banged out of "Drums of Tombalku" was probably one abandoned attempt at a novel-length story. And while Howard frequently said (bragged?) that Conan stories just flowed out of him, unaided and in just a single draft or two The Hour of the Dragon was a drafty slog for him, evidently.
There are 620 existing draft pages for this story that runs about 170 pages in my copy of The Complete Chronicles of Conan, with Patrice Louinet estimating that hundreds more could have been lost over the decades. Howard rewrote it at least five times, making huge changes that were quite unlike him.
Howard wrote The Hour of the Dragon over the course of two months: from March to May 1934, frequently writing 5000 words a day, every day of the week. After sending the manuscript to the publisher in the UK, Howard took a few days off.
The novel, though, never saw publication as he intended it. The publisher went out of business and the novel was returned.
There are 620 existing draft pages for this story that runs about 170 pages in my copy of The Complete Chronicles of Conan, with Patrice Louinet estimating that hundreds more could have been lost over the decades. Howard rewrote it at least five times, making huge changes that were quite unlike him.
Howard wrote The Hour of the Dragon over the course of two months: from March to May 1934, frequently writing 5000 words a day, every day of the week. After sending the manuscript to the publisher in the UK, Howard took a few days off.
The novel, though, never saw publication as he intended it. The publisher went out of business and the novel was returned.
With his English venture over, Howard packaged up the pages and sent them to good ol' Farnsworth Wright at Weird Tales, who bought them and scheduled them to published in a serial of five parts. "Mr. Wright says it's my best Conan story so far," Howard penned.
So clearly, The Hour of the Dragon is not a triumphant victory lap that looks back on all the fun times we've had with Conan.
Rather, the novel feels that way because Howard was tempted to cannibalize parts of other Conan stories that hadn't yet been published in England. He built out or re-used ideas, characters, and situations that he'd played with before in order to reach that 70,000-word length the publisher was asking for. In his essay "Robert E. Howard: Professional Writer," printed in the book The Dark Barbarian, Glenn Lord himself borrows Raymond Chandler's term "cannibalizing" to describe this practice: "a writer taking certain characters and elements from separate earlier works of his own and weaving them together in a single narrative." I can see why he would do it- I've done the same thing with musical ideas in bands I've played in.
Lord gives a few critical opinions on Howard cannibalizing other works to create The Hour of the Dragon.
From Fred Blosser:
So clearly, The Hour of the Dragon is not a triumphant victory lap that looks back on all the fun times we've had with Conan.
Rather, the novel feels that way because Howard was tempted to cannibalize parts of other Conan stories that hadn't yet been published in England. He built out or re-used ideas, characters, and situations that he'd played with before in order to reach that 70,000-word length the publisher was asking for. In his essay "Robert E. Howard: Professional Writer," printed in the book The Dark Barbarian, Glenn Lord himself borrows Raymond Chandler's term "cannibalizing" to describe this practice: "a writer taking certain characters and elements from separate earlier works of his own and weaving them together in a single narrative." I can see why he would do it- I've done the same thing with musical ideas in bands I've played in.
Lord gives a few critical opinions on Howard cannibalizing other works to create The Hour of the Dragon.
From Fred Blosser:
"['The Scarlet Citadel' bears such an] extensive resemblance to Conan the Conqueror... that it is possible that Howard first planned the novel as an elaboration on the earlier novelette... Perhaps Howard felt he could write a tigether, more powerful novel by constructing it on the foundation of... tried-and-true concepts. Or perhaps he felt he hadn't done the themes justice in the space limitations of the...earlier shorter works."
And from Karl Edward Wagner:
"The transformation is carried through extremely well. Characters and plot devices borrowed from other Conan tales are here presented more richly, developed with greater care... Considering the speed with which Howard wrote the novel (and he had other projects to complete in those same four months), The Hour of the Dragon is a remarkably polished work."
Honestly, I disagree with Wagner on this: I think "The Scarlet Citadel" is a lot stronger than the novel. The good news is that when you read this story in context of the rest of Conan's career, it doesn't feel like he's re-heating old story ideas in the microwave. Instead, The Hour of the Dragon feels like the most epic Conan story yet, at least in terms of its scope.
There's a good deal of fun to be had on this adventure!
It opens with an excellent scene in which an evil cabal resurrects a 3000 year-old wizard from Acheron, the kingdom that once stretched over Aquilonia, Ophir, Brythunia, and Koth. It's atmospheric as hell.
We also get a fun, hair-raising romp through the undercroft of an ancient Stygian pyramid which was the height of the story for me. I loved that I didn't know what was beyond each corner and the vampire Akivasha was a great character. I'm always down for a vampire.
There's a good variety of questing to be done as Conan goes all over the map here- my next map tracking Conan's adventures is literally just this one story and it covers about as many locations as the 5-10 stories I usually do for each one of those. He goes from castles to deserts to rivers to prairies to pyramids; it helps move that he's never in one place for long.
Unfortunately for us, it does kind of feel that the novel was written quickly in order to make a pile of cash from a foreign publisher, because there's a lot that's holding this novel back from being on the top of the pile. The most obvious of these is its length. My copy of The Hour of the Dragon is about 170 pages, which isn't exactly Infinite Jest here, but I've noticed frequently that Conan works best when his stories are compact. The Flame Knife, while good, was a bit long in the tooth at 100 pages and it was astonishing to feel how much tighter and smoother "The People of the Black Circle" felt right afterword since that story is 30 pages leaner. The Hour of the Dragon is yet a full 70 pages longer than The Flame Knife, and it really suffers for it. The pacing is frequently off as you feel that Howard has never had to write a story of this length and doesn't quite know what to do with his runtime. If we had a little bit more quality time with some of the episodes, I think it could have come together much better.
Conan too-quickly dispatches a number of his foes, making quick work of this man-ape thing in a dungeon. Hilariously, the text makes a big deal about Conan running into a Nemedian Adventure, making him sound like he's part of the Seal Team Six of the Hyborian Age, only for Conan to end his life in the space of a short paragraph with one single stroke. Do you know about "the Worf Effect" from Star Trek: The Next Generation? Commander Worf is huge and tough, so if you want a bad guy to be really threatening, you have him beat up Worf. I can't help but wish something like that had happened here. Don't just tell me this guy's a tough customer! Have him delay Conan's escape a bit and rough him up, only for Conan to win in a dramatic fashion! Instead, Conan slices the dude up mid-sentence, without ever breaking a sweat.
Additionally, major characters disappear for huge sections of text, so much so that one night when I picked the story back up, it was a few chapters before Xaltotun reared his head again and I thought to myself, Oh yeah, he's the villain in this. I'd forgotten.
There's a good deal of fun to be had on this adventure!
It opens with an excellent scene in which an evil cabal resurrects a 3000 year-old wizard from Acheron, the kingdom that once stretched over Aquilonia, Ophir, Brythunia, and Koth. It's atmospheric as hell.
We also get a fun, hair-raising romp through the undercroft of an ancient Stygian pyramid which was the height of the story for me. I loved that I didn't know what was beyond each corner and the vampire Akivasha was a great character. I'm always down for a vampire.
There's a good variety of questing to be done as Conan goes all over the map here- my next map tracking Conan's adventures is literally just this one story and it covers about as many locations as the 5-10 stories I usually do for each one of those. He goes from castles to deserts to rivers to prairies to pyramids; it helps move that he's never in one place for long.
Unfortunately for us, it does kind of feel that the novel was written quickly in order to make a pile of cash from a foreign publisher, because there's a lot that's holding this novel back from being on the top of the pile. The most obvious of these is its length. My copy of The Hour of the Dragon is about 170 pages, which isn't exactly Infinite Jest here, but I've noticed frequently that Conan works best when his stories are compact. The Flame Knife, while good, was a bit long in the tooth at 100 pages and it was astonishing to feel how much tighter and smoother "The People of the Black Circle" felt right afterword since that story is 30 pages leaner. The Hour of the Dragon is yet a full 70 pages longer than The Flame Knife, and it really suffers for it. The pacing is frequently off as you feel that Howard has never had to write a story of this length and doesn't quite know what to do with his runtime. If we had a little bit more quality time with some of the episodes, I think it could have come together much better.
Conan too-quickly dispatches a number of his foes, making quick work of this man-ape thing in a dungeon. Hilariously, the text makes a big deal about Conan running into a Nemedian Adventure, making him sound like he's part of the Seal Team Six of the Hyborian Age, only for Conan to end his life in the space of a short paragraph with one single stroke. Do you know about "the Worf Effect" from Star Trek: The Next Generation? Commander Worf is huge and tough, so if you want a bad guy to be really threatening, you have him beat up Worf. I can't help but wish something like that had happened here. Don't just tell me this guy's a tough customer! Have him delay Conan's escape a bit and rough him up, only for Conan to win in a dramatic fashion! Instead, Conan slices the dude up mid-sentence, without ever breaking a sweat.
Additionally, major characters disappear for huge sections of text, so much so that one night when I picked the story back up, it was a few chapters before Xaltotun reared his head again and I thought to myself, Oh yeah, he's the villain in this. I'd forgotten.
Maybe the worst thing, though, is that Conan isn't even there at the final, climactic battle. Conan crosses almost an entire continent to find the Heart of Ahriman, which is a good McGuffin that fits with Conan's kingship. Xaltotun has hidden the Heart, not so that he can keep it, but so that nobody can use it against him. Xaltotun wants to rule by force, but Conan rules by winning people's trust and respect. Since the Heart of Ahriman is essentially a clump of pure goodness, it's very much thematically connected to Conan's reign. So when the Heart is finally presented to Xaltotun, smiting him with a blue lightning bolt and turning him back into his wretched mummified form... Conan's like a half-mile away, fighting normal guys. It's a little disappointing.
Many of the elements of the novel have simply been done better in other Conan stories, most notably "The Scarlet Citadel." While Howard wasn't writing a grand finale for Conan's kingship, it at least feels like somewhat of a grand finale. There are a few callbacks to Conan's life that hit much harder since I'd just read through his entire life story in the last few months.
Many of the elements of the novel have simply been done better in other Conan stories, most notably "The Scarlet Citadel." While Howard wasn't writing a grand finale for Conan's kingship, it at least feels like somewhat of a grand finale. There are a few callbacks to Conan's life that hit much harder since I'd just read through his entire life story in the last few months.
"Pallantides knew that Conan had walked many strange roads in his wild, eventful life, and had been many things before a twist of Fate set him on the throne of Aquilonia.
'I saw again the battlefield whereon I was born,' said Conan, resting his chin moodily on a massive fist. 'I saw myself in a pantherskin loin-cloth, throwing my spear at the mountain beasts. I was a mercenary swordsman again, a hetman of the kozaki who dwell along the Zaporoska River, a corsair looting the coasts of Kush, a pirate of the Barachan Isles, a chief of the Himelian hillmen. All these things I've been, and of all these things I dreamed; all the shapes that have been I passed like an endless procession, and their feet beat out a dirge in the sounding dust."
That kind of rules.
Additionally, Conan sort of goes back through all the stages of his life in this story. He's a king in Aqilonia. He's a commander of groups of armed men. He disguises himself and stalks through streets like his thief days. He becomes a pirate again in a chapter literally titled "Return of the Corsair." I think Howard was content to play the hits.
Additionally, Conan sort of goes back through all the stages of his life in this story. He's a king in Aqilonia. He's a commander of groups of armed men. He disguises himself and stalks through streets like his thief days. He becomes a pirate again in a chapter literally titled "Return of the Corsair." I think Howard was content to play the hits.
The Hour of the Dragon adds a little bit to our ongoing conversation about civilization vs. barbarism and some of the ways that Conan's kingship is benefitted by his barbarism. As Conan's a man of the hills, it seems that his preference for the simple life and the most straightforward way of viewing things is continuing to help him. He- without really meaning to- increases religious freedom in Aquilonia by refusing to outlaw the worship of Asura.
"But Conan's was the broad tolerance of the barbarian, and he had refused to persecute the followers of Asura or to allow the people to do so on no better evidence than was presented against them, rumors and accusations that could not be proven. 'If they are black magicians,' he had said, 'how will they suffer you to harry them? If they are not, there is no evil in them. Crom's devils! Let men worship what gods they will.'"
Conan's not making speeches quoting Voltaire or anything, but the effect is the same.
I also really liked the part where Conan proudly eschews what "ought" to be done for what he knows he can, spitting back that he is nothing but a commoner, but still king.
I also really liked the part where Conan proudly eschews what "ought" to be done for what he knows he can, spitting back that he is nothing but a commoner, but still king.
"'The battle is lost! It were the part of majesty to yield with the dignity becoming one of royal blood!'
'I have no royal blood,' ground Conan. 'I am a barbarian and the son of a blacksmith.'"
Fuck yes. Even as Conan is king, he still has no respect for royalty. Robert E. Howard has never felt like more of a Texan than right now.
I think Howard was going for the easy A with this story and ultimately earned a solid B. We revisited some of the greatest hits of Conan's life and had his biggest adventure ever. It feels like the end of things.
Instead, we still have a few stories to go. The next time we see Conan, it'll be in Bjorn Nyberg's purposeless and mediocre The Return of Conan. Then, we'll have the largest time-skip between any two Conan stories ever- about 15 years. Conan's about his mid-forties in The Hour of the Dragon, and we'll next see him eligible for AARP / getting his free small coffee at McDonald's / putting a reverse mortgage on his house in "The Witch of the Mists," a de Camp / Carter joint that I know nothing about.
★★★☆☆
Can I give this one three and a half stars? I don't have a half-star icon.
I think Howard was going for the easy A with this story and ultimately earned a solid B. We revisited some of the greatest hits of Conan's life and had his biggest adventure ever. It feels like the end of things.
Instead, we still have a few stories to go. The next time we see Conan, it'll be in Bjorn Nyberg's purposeless and mediocre The Return of Conan. Then, we'll have the largest time-skip between any two Conan stories ever- about 15 years. Conan's about his mid-forties in The Hour of the Dragon, and we'll next see him eligible for AARP / getting his free small coffee at McDonald's / putting a reverse mortgage on his house in "The Witch of the Mists," a de Camp / Carter joint that I know nothing about.
★★★☆☆
Can I give this one three and a half stars? I don't have a half-star icon.
"The Scarlet Citadel" is the second of the chapters featuring Conan as king of Aquilonia. As such, it's impossible to place this story anywhere but late in Conan's life. According to the Lancer book series where L. Sprague de Camp added his own prologues to each story in order to better connect them, this story takes place quickly after "The Phoenix on the Sword." "A Probable Outline of Conan's Career" agrees.
Honestly, it feels like this story should take place a little after that, at least to me. Conan appears to have kind of settled into his role as king, so I could see this happening as much as a year after "Phoenix." It has to still be taking place during this civil conflict that allowed Conan to take the Aquilonian throne, though.
Conan is about 41 years old, so he's a little past his prime, but he could still kill you or me with just his pinky finger.
Interestingly, there's one chronological marker in this story that reaches back, way back, to Conan's pirate days on the Black Coast. Sneaking into Conan's cell in the citadel is a Kushite who recognizes him from long ago as "Amra, the Lion."
Honestly, it feels like this story should take place a little after that, at least to me. Conan appears to have kind of settled into his role as king, so I could see this happening as much as a year after "Phoenix." It has to still be taking place during this civil conflict that allowed Conan to take the Aquilonian throne, though.
Conan is about 41 years old, so he's a little past his prime, but he could still kill you or me with just his pinky finger.
Interestingly, there's one chronological marker in this story that reaches back, way back, to Conan's pirate days on the Black Coast. Sneaking into Conan's cell in the citadel is a Kushite who recognizes him from long ago as "Amra, the Lion."
"Long have I wished to meet you, Amra," the black gave Conan the name—Amra, the Lion—by which the Cimmerian had been known to the Kushites in his piratical days... "I know you from of old, since the days when I was a chief among a free people, before the Stygians took me and sold me into the north. Do you not remember the sack of Abombi, when your sea-wolves swarmed in? Before the palace of King Ajaga you slew a chief and a chief fled from you. It was my brother who died; it was I who fled. I demand of you a blood-price, Amra!"
"The Scarlet Citadel" was only the second Conan story published, hitting the pages of Weird Tales number 21 on the first day of January, 1933, only a month after Conan made his debut in "The Phoenix on the Sword." "Queen of the Black Coast," the story in which Conan would earn his pseudonym Amra, wouldn't be published for nearly two more years.
The story strikes me as a second consecutive meditation on power. The theme is a little bit murky, though. Conan has seized the power of the throne, and refuses to give it up by dishonorable means. In that way, Conan is following his own moral code and somewhat justifies having his own power, while every other ruler is a power-hungry asshole or total dipshit. Is Howard saying that power should inherently be looked upon with suspicion? Is he hinting at that age-old saying that those who desire power are the ones who should have the least of it? Is he saying that the only ones who should have power are those who are not born into it? Is he saying, rather troublingly, that power earned through might and conquering is inherently more legitimate than power gained through treachery, blood or tradition? I'm not sure.
When looking at the first Conan stories published, it makes sense that Howard would start in Conan's kingly days. What better way to present the differences between civilization and barbarism than by imagining a barbarian in the highest position in the land. What an incongruity! I wonder if he felt like he should go to the opposite end of society next, when "The Tower of the Elephant" was published just two months after "Scarlet Citadel." Take your barbarian, put him in the cushiest position a man could occupy. Then, throw him into the dregs of society. See how he likes either one.
In "The Scarlet Citadel," Conan is ripped from his throne by a sorcerer and tossed in the dungeon of the titular scarlet citadel. Making his way out of his prison, we get an absolutely excellent dungeon crawl. Seriously, this is some of Howard's most atmospheric, creative, creepy writing. Conan creeps through the cells, snuffing his torch and then blowing back into the embers to pass unnoticed.
In this dungeon gapes a hideous well which even Conan does not dare to gaze down. He knows something evil is inside it.
Misty figures and dark shadows loom above and around him. Is Conan's barbarian suspicion playing tricks on his senses? I liked to picture beings draped above him, letting him pass for one reason or another.
The horrifying plant which Conan rescues a sorcerer named Pelias from is some of Howard's best work. Emerging from the stone floor, there's a large vine which wraps around a naked man, lowly moaning but otherwise completely absent. The plant, seemingly sentient, is apparently torturing this guy with its creepy petals.
When looking at the first Conan stories published, it makes sense that Howard would start in Conan's kingly days. What better way to present the differences between civilization and barbarism than by imagining a barbarian in the highest position in the land. What an incongruity! I wonder if he felt like he should go to the opposite end of society next, when "The Tower of the Elephant" was published just two months after "Scarlet Citadel." Take your barbarian, put him in the cushiest position a man could occupy. Then, throw him into the dregs of society. See how he likes either one.
In "The Scarlet Citadel," Conan is ripped from his throne by a sorcerer and tossed in the dungeon of the titular scarlet citadel. Making his way out of his prison, we get an absolutely excellent dungeon crawl. Seriously, this is some of Howard's most atmospheric, creative, creepy writing. Conan creeps through the cells, snuffing his torch and then blowing back into the embers to pass unnoticed.
In this dungeon gapes a hideous well which even Conan does not dare to gaze down. He knows something evil is inside it.
Misty figures and dark shadows loom above and around him. Is Conan's barbarian suspicion playing tricks on his senses? I liked to picture beings draped above him, letting him pass for one reason or another.
The horrifying plant which Conan rescues a sorcerer named Pelias from is some of Howard's best work. Emerging from the stone floor, there's a large vine which wraps around a naked man, lowly moaning but otherwise completely absent. The plant, seemingly sentient, is apparently torturing this guy with its creepy petals.
"Now the great crimson blossom dipped and pressed its petals over the writhing lips. The limbs of the wretch twisted in anguish; the tendrils of the plant quivered as if in ecstasy, vibrating their full snaky lengths. Waves of changing hues surged over them; their color grew deeper, more venomous.
Conan did not understand what he saw, but he knew that he looked on Horror of some kind. Man or demon, the suffering of the captive touched Conan's wayward and impulsive heart."
Conan ends up rescuing Pelias, who is a sorcerer "not entirely from the earth" and has a smarmy charm about him. It seems like Conan's really lucky to be on Pelias's good side, because there's definitely an air of danger and deceit about him. I loved spending time with the guy.
Conan's return to Aquilonia is pretty great, leading to an awesome ending, but the last few lines of the story feel pretty stock, so it kind of kneecaps itself in the end.
The next story in the chronology is The Hour of the Dragon, AKA Conan the Conqueror, which I understand has almost the exact same plot as this one. We'll see how it goes seeing as it's Howard's only Conan novel. Whereas this story was the second Hyborian story published, Hour of the Dragon is the second-to-last.
★★★★☆
Conan's return to Aquilonia is pretty great, leading to an awesome ending, but the last few lines of the story feel pretty stock, so it kind of kneecaps itself in the end.
The next story in the chronology is The Hour of the Dragon, AKA Conan the Conqueror, which I understand has almost the exact same plot as this one. We'll see how it goes seeing as it's Howard's only Conan novel. Whereas this story was the second Hyborian story published, Hour of the Dragon is the second-to-last.
★★★★☆
Here we are. At long last, I've reached the beginning. After four solid months of reading and writing about Conan the Barbarian stories, I've come to the very first one every published, and it really feels like it's been a journey.
I made a lot of hay about the fact that Robert E. Howard presented Conan as a sort of memory reaching him from a long-forgotten past when I was writing about his poem "Cimmeria" and his essay "The Hyborian Age." It feels very thematically appropriate that he would continue with that theme (to a lesser extent) in "The Phoenix on the Sword." Instead of Conan reaching Howard through time, it's Conan's barbarism and a sage named Epemitreus reaching out to King Conan.
"The Phoenix on the Sword" is the earliest Conan anything to exist- with its first drafts reaching back to 1929 as an unpublished King Kull story "By This Axe I Rule!" My Kull reading is pretty much limited just to Kull comics, but he's nowhere near as cool as Conan. Patrice Louinet notes in the essay "Hyborian Genesis" that Kull was transformed into King Conan with very few edits, mostly just the color of his eyes: "grey for the Atlantean, blue for the Cimmerian."
I made a lot of hay about the fact that Robert E. Howard presented Conan as a sort of memory reaching him from a long-forgotten past when I was writing about his poem "Cimmeria" and his essay "The Hyborian Age." It feels very thematically appropriate that he would continue with that theme (to a lesser extent) in "The Phoenix on the Sword." Instead of Conan reaching Howard through time, it's Conan's barbarism and a sage named Epemitreus reaching out to King Conan.
"The Phoenix on the Sword" is the earliest Conan anything to exist- with its first drafts reaching back to 1929 as an unpublished King Kull story "By This Axe I Rule!" My Kull reading is pretty much limited just to Kull comics, but he's nowhere near as cool as Conan. Patrice Louinet notes in the essay "Hyborian Genesis" that Kull was transformed into King Conan with very few edits, mostly just the color of his eyes: "grey for the Atlantean, blue for the Cimmerian."
I wrote way back in my second column on this blog that Robert E. Howard wrote the first Conan stories in a quick blast: before any had been published, he had written "The Frost-Giant's Daughter," "The Phoenix on the Sword," "The God in the Bowl," and had outlined another, this one about Conan thieving in a Zamorian city. Some version of that story would eventually become "The Tower of the Elephant."
Howard submitted "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" and "The Phoenix on the Sword" to Fransworth Wright at Weird Tales together, and received this response on March 10th, 1932:
Howard submitted "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" and "The Phoenix on the Sword" to Fransworth Wright at Weird Tales together, and received this response on March 10th, 1932:
“Dear Mr. Howard: I am returning ‘The Frost Giant’s Daughter’ in a separate envelope, as I do not much care for it. But ‘The Phoenix of [sic] the Sword’ has points of real excellence. I hope you will see your way clear to touch it up and resubmit it. It is the first two chapters that do not click. The story opens rather uninterestingly, it seems to me, and the reader has difficulty in orienting himself. The first chapter ends well, and the second chapter begins superbly; but after King Conan’s personality is well established, the chapter sags from too much writing. I think the very last page of the whole story might be re-written with advantage; because it seems a little weak after the stupendous events that precede it.”
| "Frost-Giant" was reworked for another mag, "Bowl" was stashed, and "Phoenix" would receive heavy edits. Patrice Louinet says that Howard cut huge chunks of the story out to condense the opening to "The Nemedian Chronicles" bit we always see. Conan very quickly became the man we all know him, though starting at the end of his career and then jumping back toward the beginning in "Tower." I always wonder how that felt to back-fill a character's history like that. Howard wrote to his friend HP Lovecraft the following month: |  |
“I’ve been working on a new character, providing him with a new epoch—the Hyborian Age, which men have forgotten, but which remains in classical names, and distorted myths. Wright rejected most of the series, but I did sell him one—‘The Phoenix on the Sword’ which deals with the adventures of King Conan the Cimmerian, in the kingdom of Aquilonia.”
"The Phoenix on the Sword" picks up about a year after Conan has seized the crown of Aquilonia. At this time, Conan is said to be in this "early to mid forties." As Conan stuff frequently repeats, he wears the crown upon a troubled brow. Though King Numedides was broadly disliked when Conan deposed him, society has a short memory, and people are now upset at Conan and regularly call him a tyrant, though there's nothing in the story to suggest he's anything of the kind.
The narrative alternates back and forth between King Conan in his court with his single loyal advisor Prospero and the shadowed rooms of those who wish to replace him: mostly Ascalante, Dion, and their supposed slave, Thoth-Amon.
This is the second story in a row (not counting the Conanless interlude of "Wolves Beyond the Border" or the half-century-removed Conan the Liberator) to feature Thoth-Amon as its principle antagonist, and I understand that he'll be sticking around for most of the rest of these stories. Ascalante and Thoth both do their best to assassinate Conan, both failing because of Conan's immense strength. Visited in a dream by the sage Epemitreus, Conan is whisked away to the dark crypts below Mount Golamira and given some extra oomph to save his life, as Conan is apparently favored by the gods (something we also saw in "Black Colossus")- though not all gods, as Nebethet in "The Ivory Goddess" seems pretty nonplussed with the Cimmerian.
"The Phoenix on the Sword," though not quite as excellent as some of the immediately-preceding stories, is pretty darn good. Although it was written on the other end of Howard's time writing Conan, it is a nice addendum to "Beyond the Black River" and "The Treasure of Tranicos." I would argue that "The Phoenix on the Sword" is Howard's treatise on the nature of power.
When writing about "Beyond the Black River," I spent a bunch of ink on how it's clear that Robert E. Howard believes that barbarism will always win when pitted against civilization. However, I was left with one lingering question: what exactly is it about barbarism that helps it win all the time? "Phoenix" offers on possible answer: it's men of action who drive that victory.
The narrative alternates back and forth between King Conan in his court with his single loyal advisor Prospero and the shadowed rooms of those who wish to replace him: mostly Ascalante, Dion, and their supposed slave, Thoth-Amon.
This is the second story in a row (not counting the Conanless interlude of "Wolves Beyond the Border" or the half-century-removed Conan the Liberator) to feature Thoth-Amon as its principle antagonist, and I understand that he'll be sticking around for most of the rest of these stories. Ascalante and Thoth both do their best to assassinate Conan, both failing because of Conan's immense strength. Visited in a dream by the sage Epemitreus, Conan is whisked away to the dark crypts below Mount Golamira and given some extra oomph to save his life, as Conan is apparently favored by the gods (something we also saw in "Black Colossus")- though not all gods, as Nebethet in "The Ivory Goddess" seems pretty nonplussed with the Cimmerian.
"The Phoenix on the Sword," though not quite as excellent as some of the immediately-preceding stories, is pretty darn good. Although it was written on the other end of Howard's time writing Conan, it is a nice addendum to "Beyond the Black River" and "The Treasure of Tranicos." I would argue that "The Phoenix on the Sword" is Howard's treatise on the nature of power.
When writing about "Beyond the Black River," I spent a bunch of ink on how it's clear that Robert E. Howard believes that barbarism will always win when pitted against civilization. However, I was left with one lingering question: what exactly is it about barbarism that helps it win all the time? "Phoenix" offers on possible answer: it's men of action who drive that victory.
Conan and Thoth-Amon are really on the same side in this story- the side of barbarism. Both men are surrounded by pencil-pushers, sycophants, ladder-climbers, and navel-gazers who are utterly unnecessary. Howard draws the line between Conan and the other men in Aquilonia toward the end of the story:
"Yes, yes!" cried Publius, who was a man of plans rather than action. "We must bind his wounds. Send for every leech of the court! Oh, my lord, what a black shame on the city! Are you entirely slain?"
Conan and Thoth, however, are men of action, and therefore are the ones who hold the true power throughout the story.
Conan gained power by himself beheading King Numedides. He, at least within the fiction of the narrative, rightfully gained this power by being the strongest and the best. Though the country has quickly forgotten that they chanted his name while he slew Numedides and have confused themselves with who is a martyr and who is a tyrant, Conan earned his crown.
He doesn't need the fluff of society to defend him: he can do that on his own.
Conan gained power by himself beheading King Numedides. He, at least within the fiction of the narrative, rightfully gained this power by being the strongest and the best. Though the country has quickly forgotten that they chanted his name while he slew Numedides and have confused themselves with who is a martyr and who is a tyrant, Conan earned his crown.
He doesn't need the fluff of society to defend him: he can do that on his own.
Then as he stood, a stealthy sound in the corridor outside brought him to life, and without stopping to investigate, he began to don his armor; again he was the barbarian, suspicious and alert as a gray wolf at bay.
While Conan's barbarism is the source of his power and not his kingship, ironically (if anything, his kingship gets in the way), Thoth-Amon's on the other end of the social strata for now.
Thoth is currently acting as a slave to Ascalante. Because of his temporary guise, this asshole Dion can't even tell that Thoth is one of the most powerful sorcerers on the planet. He sees Thoth as nothing more than a slave, incapable of challenging him. Even when Thoth outright tells Dion about his past, Dion is so checked out that he doesn't really hear, and accidentally hands Thoth's source of power right back to him. He dies in the process, needless to say.
Thoth is currently acting as a slave to Ascalante. Because of his temporary guise, this asshole Dion can't even tell that Thoth is one of the most powerful sorcerers on the planet. He sees Thoth as nothing more than a slave, incapable of challenging him. Even when Thoth outright tells Dion about his past, Dion is so checked out that he doesn't really hear, and accidentally hands Thoth's source of power right back to him. He dies in the process, needless to say.
"Ring? Ring?" Thoth had underestimated the man's utter egoism. Dion had not even been listening to the slave's words, so completely engrossed was he in his own thoughts, but the final word stirred a ripple in his self- centeredness.
"Ring?" he repeated. "That makes me remember—my ring of good fortune. I had it from a Shemitish thief who swore he stole it from a wizard far to the south, and that it would bring me luck. I paid him enough, Mitra knows. By the gods, I need all the luck I can have, what with Volmana and Ascalante dragging me into their bloody plots—I'll see to the ring."
The epigraphs that proceed each chapter in "The Phoenix on the Sword" seem to support this theme of power. They've been pulled from "The Nemedian Chronicles" and a poem or ballad called "The Road of Kings," and the one at the beginning of chapter 5 seems to have the most to say.
What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie?
I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky.
The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing;
Rush in and die, dogs—I was a man before I was a king.
--The Road Of Kings
Howard proved to be somewhat of a anti-colonialist in "Beyond the Black River." He had Conan spit that the Aquilonian oligarchy should split up their lands and not take up so much space, that they should squeeze the common man less. Here, he implies that common man is above a king. Subtle tongues, sophist guile, and cultured ways all fall to broadswords. All this fuss and feathers is just distraction from pure ways of living that are in touch with the world.
Our next story is "The Scarlet Citadel," which I'm really excited for. Jim Zub, the current writer of Conan comics at Titan, recently posted a write-up about it on Reddit, which someone in the comments called "the original dungeon crawl." Can't wait!
★★★★☆
Our next story is "The Scarlet Citadel," which I'm really excited for. Jim Zub, the current writer of Conan comics at Titan, recently posted a write-up about it on Reddit, which someone in the comments called "the original dungeon crawl." Can't wait!
★★★★☆
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Hey, I'm Dan. This is my project reading through the career of everyone's favorite sword-and-sorcery character, Conan the Cimmerian, in chronological order.
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