CONAN: THE ROAD OF KINGS

The "Road of Kings" is an east-west highway in the fictional Hyborian Age, and to my knowledge is the only named trade route or thoroughfare in the entire epoch. It begins in the coastal Argossean capital of Messantia and runs north along the Alimane River to the prairies that surround Tarantia, the capital city of Aquilonia. From there, it stretches east through the city-states of the central Hyborian kingdoms through Shadizar the Wicked and across the Kezankian Mountains. From the Kezankians through the Zuagir desert is probably its most treacherous part before it ends in the carpeted capital of the Turanian Empire, Aghrapur, on the coast of the Vilayet Sea.

But the novel Conan: The Road of Kings by Karl Edgar Wagner takes place almost entirely in Kordava, Zingara, which is not anywhere along the Road of Kings. If, like I did, you thought that this book might be an adventure along the physical road, you'd had to be forgiven. Instead, the "road of kings" explored here is an entirely metaphorical one. It examines the psychological road one might go on when becoming a king, contrasting the road that Conan the Cimmerian will eventually take. As much as I hate to invoke a cliché, it seems like a statement on the old adage that absolute power corrupts absolutely. 

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The Conan of Road of Kings is a bit of an angrier Conan, one who is at times less heroic and more barbarous, along the lines of Robert E. Howard's original creation. It seems to me that Karl Edward Wagner really gets Howard's civilization vs. barbarism themes and builds on them with a story preoccupied with economic mobility.

While the novel takes place almost entirely in Kordava, Zingara, the city is a pretty imaginative and interesting place. Through a cataclysmic earthquake some time ago, the original city of Kordava had been destroyed, leaving rubble throughout the area. Instead of clearing away the refuse and re-building, the people of Kordava literally just built on top of the ruins of the old city, leaving a subterranean slum underneath the city proper, known as "The Pit." The Pit is occupied by thieves, criminals, and all other manner of "undesirables" in Kordava, including the thieving guild "The White Rose."

It's not hard to see the symbolism of a city literally propped up on the lowest of society.

In some interesting imagery that I think amounts to a clever version of foreshadowing, the Pit is not completely cut off from the rest of the city. Some of the taller buildings within the Pit have staircases that lead up into the regular city. While social mobility is minimal, there is a way to "ascend," as some characters will try to do. Those characters tend to get caught up in maintaining their newfound power, ultimately to their detriment. 

Conan, of course, with his detachment from society and Cimmerian's code, is immune to the rat race. 

The last line of the book reminds me of classic pulp writing subtlety, basically telling us the theme of the narrative. As Conan denies the crown of Kordava being offered to him, he says he won't take power yet:

"I will not change my mind," Conan repeated. "Not until I know whether it is the man who corrupts the power, or the power that corrupts the man."

This is the copy I own: the 1983 reprint.

Chronologically speaking, I think this story should probably land a little bit later than other people seem to think that it should. Conan is still described as a "youth," but he has a couple of signifiers that I think mean that this story should go later in the timeline.  

The Miller / Clark / de Camp chronology puts this story right after "Hawks Over Shem" and right before "Black Colossus," firmly in Conan's military commander days.

Robert Jordan places it a little earlier, during Conan's days wandering between being a Turanian mercenary and "Queen of the Black Coast."

I'm much more inclined to agree with where William Galen Gray puts this story: further into Conan's days as a military commander, right after "Shadows in the Dark." A couple of things tell me this: Conan speaks Zamorian "pretty well," which means he's been to Zamora in his thieving days. The book even makes specific mention of scaling the elephant tower in Zamora. But he's also very comfortable on the ocean, he's a strong swimmer, and is clearly already a skilled military commander capable of whipping the dreck of Kordavan society into a fighting force, which makes me think it needs to go later. 

Conan: The Road of Kings is a pretty good Conan tale that's imaginative in its settings and has something to say that fits with there rest of the Conan stories, even Howard's. It doesn't feel much like other Conan books, which might be a gripe for some people. 

​Over on Dark Worlds Quarterly, G.W. Thomas quotes Karl Edward Wagner about his philosophy on Conan writing:

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"I have written Howard pastiches myself, so I can speak both as a reader and an author: Every author leaves his personal mark on whatever he writes; the only man who could write a Robert E. Howard story was Robert E. Howard. Read Howard pastiches as you will — but don’t let anyone kid you that you’re reading Robert E. Howard. It is far more than a matter of imitating adjective usage or analyzing comma-splices. It is a matter of spirit."

While Robert E. Howard was extremely economical with his prose, covering a lot of ground in few words, not that interested in developing supporting characters, that's what this book focuses on. After the exposition with Conan being threatened with hanging, we spend quite a bit of time in the Pit, just getting to know the city and the other characters, for which I think your mileage will vary. Might this story deserve more than three stars? If only I had a half-star icon! 

★★★☆☆