 Following "Red Nails," I'm sad we don't get to see more of Valeria. She was great! "Jewels of Gwahlur," originally titled "The Servants of Bit-Yakin" and also sometimes called "Teeth of Gwahlur" was written by Robert E. Howard and published in the March 1935 issue of Weird Tales. According to Conan scholar Howard Andrew Jones, "Jewels of Gwahlur" was probably written pretty quickly in order to replenish Weird Tales's stock of Conan stories to publish, and I think it kind of shows. It's far from bad, but it has some of that distinct filler feel. While none of the titles for this story are incredibly attention-grabbing, Howard's original "Servants of Bit-Yakin" (which I always want to write as "Bit-Yankin" for some reason) is probably the best of them, just like how "Xuthal of the Dusk" and "Iron Shadows in the Moon" were the better titles of their multi-named stories. I think this is the only one that has three different titles, weirdly. Quick question before moving on: how do you pronounce the first vowel in "Yakin?" Short like the word "yak" or long like the A in "ache?" I can never settle on a pronunciation. According to the essay "Hyborian Genesis," Howard was particularly inspired by a recent trip to Carlsbad Caverns: “God, what a story you could write after such an exploration! . . . Anything seemed possible in that monstrous twilight underworld, seven hundred and fifty feet below the earth. If some animate monster had risen horrifically from among the dimness of the columns and spread his taloned anthropomorphic hands above the throng, I do not believe that anyone would have been particularly surprized.”  Conan is in the nation of Keshan, trying to make a bit of money. He's on the hunt for the fabled Teeth of Gwahlur and his cover is that he's trying to make it as a commander in their army. Conan goes to the abandoned holy city of Alkmeenon in this one and spends most of the story there. The city of Alkmeenon is apparently inspired by the location, although I didn't really feel like the two felt very similar. Patrice Louinet goes on to note that this was the first time a piece of the US made it into Conan tales, which doesn't mean nothing, I just wish the story was better. "Conan the Cimmerian, late of the Baracha Isles, of the Black Coast, and of many other climes where life ran wild, had come to the kingdom of Keshan following the lure of a fabled treasure that outshone the hoard of the Turanian kings."
12. Red Nails (WT, July 36): The end of Conan's buccaneer days, and the story of his trek to the south with Valeria, to Xuchotl and its dragons, and other parts unknown.  Weirdly enough "Jewels of Gwahlur" is somehow less than the sum of its parts, leading me to want to like it more than I do. The opening of the story is stellar. Conan is climbing perilous cliffs to find a small outcropping in which a mummy sits upright, with treasure secrets held in his hand. I'd say that the story never surpasses that thrilling moment. The city of Alkmeenon is pretty decently crafted. And I love the gimmick of Muriela trying to trick the priests of Keshan by impersonating goddesses. Conan companions are usually better when they have a "thing," and Muriela's goddess trick is pretty funny. Some of the descriptions of her as posing as a goddess are pretty fun, too! Each time I think about all of those things individually, I think Yeah, that was a pretty good bit. But It never really comes together as anything other than a mid-level Conan story at best, though. Thutmekri, the alleged villain of the piece, is hardly in the story at all. The political intrigue of him trying to begin a war between Keshan and Zembabwei never really lands. "The Ivory Goddess" is up next, and it's a direct sequel to this one. ★★★☆☆ 
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AuthorHey, 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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