SHADOWS IN THE DARK

What's this? Returning characters in a Conan story? For once, we get to see the characters from a previous story come back for a second round! At least for a little while. And there's a lot of fun to be had in this daring rescue of a king from the dungeons of a foreign city.

Following the events of "Black Colossus," Conan is still living a relatively cushy life in Khoraja and has ascended to the post of general of the army. He appears to have been here some months, if not a year, because his continuing romance with princess Yasmela has had time to run its course and begin to sour.  Honestly, his relationship with Yasmela in this pair of stories seems much more tender and human than his whirlwind romance with Bêlit back in "Queen of the Black Coast." We also see the return of a minor character, Taurus, though not the thief named Taurus from "The Tower of the Elephant."

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There's not really much art from "Shadows in the Dark," so I thought I would share this AWESOME piece by u/zamonianbolton over on Reddit

Conan and the advisors to Yasmela are hoping to avoid a power struggle in the absence of King Khossus, so Conan makes a play to rescue him from the city of Ianthe in central Ophir. Accompanying Conan are the lockpicking master thief Fronto and the fortune-telling Rhazes, who is more skilled in magic than he originally lets on. They feel much like a classic D&D party: your fighter, your rogue, and your sorcerer, each with their own skills and hang-ups.

I always love when Conan is forced to work with people he can't entirely trust, and this little band fits the bill well. Fronto is a muttering weirdo with grievances and debts aplenty, while Rhazes seems to be almost too skilled at getting what he wants. Conan can't really relax around either of them, but their time together is fun in that Rhazes is really annoying to Conan. 

King Khossus's rescue from the dungeons of Ianthe are a fun episode, and I was confused when it was complete with still about three pages to go in the story. It has one of my favorite endings to a Conan tale so far: fed up with Yasmela and the oblivious, privileged assholery of Khossus, Conan decideds to abandon the King. They have secured a ship home and a large sum of money, which Khossus has told Conan to carry as it doesn't befit a king to carry so many gold coins. Conan sticks his hand into the bag and grabs a handful of coins, shoves them in Khossus's hands, and says, "Here. You'll need these to get home," as he jumps back to the dock from the ship, which is rapidly pulling away. He considers the rest to be his payment and bids Khossus to tell Yasmela good bye for him. It's a hilarious ending that perfectly befits Conan. 

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I really enjoyed this story. The adventure is exciting and there are a few twists and turns along the way. The characterization is spot on and keeps the mood up throughout, something that I wish more stories would lean into. I really appreciate when Conan stories are funny, as I spoke of about "Rogues in the House," and there's quite a bit of good humor here.

Conan takes a pretty circuitous route in this story, going from Khoraja around Khorshemish (for reasons I don't want to spoil) to the city of Ianthe. We leave him in Messantia, the port city of Argos that we've been to before. 

★★★★☆