What makes Howard great was his ability to tell a interesting story, with themes and complex characters and do it with a page count that should serve as a hint to modern "fantasy" authors and their obsession with causing deforestation through droning prose.
My current upward trend as a channel is literally only due to the Conan content, so I'm 100% grateful for Robert E. Howard's work. I always use every part of the Hyborian age NOT just Conan as a self improvement story. Not just in the case of Conan but also Thoth Amon. Both characters started with nothing and overcame great challenges to gain their eventual status as King of Aquilonia and High Priest of Stygia respectively. I'm keeping up with the last 2 issues of King Conan now which is marvel's last mini-series of the character before the IP leaves them.
Whoa I had no idea that Robert E. Howard died so early in life. I had assumed a lot prior to this series and I have really enjoyed being proved very wrong. Just goes to show these classic stories have a lot more life to them then meets the eye. Great video!
I love the way REH starts off many of his Conan stories. For example, in "The Pool of the Black Ones" begins on a Zingaran ship, with the Captain's woman lounging around on an upper deck . . . and then, out of nowhere, Conan climbs aboard the ship, having swum to it after abandoning his leaking rowboat after his Barachan ship had been damaged beyond repair, having seen this Zingaran privateer ship perhaps from a mile or so away. The captain, Zaporavo, makes the mistake of not having Conan killed right then-and-there (or, at least, attempting it, as Conan could probably have wreaked a shit-ton of havoc defending himself from those crewmembers, had they tried to gang-up on him), and it's only a relatively short time later that Conan takes his chance and fights the man for leadership of the vessel & crew. The fact that Conan is introduced in the story that way -- climbing aboard a ship many miles away from land, in shark-infested waters -- is just wicked smart, I think. Also, when the crew he's allowed to join attempts to 'haze' him, he kills a man with a single punch to the head -- and, hey, we're all friends now, aren't we?! LOL Also, in "Iron Shadows in the Moon" [a.k.a. "Shadows in the Moonlight"] there's a woman attempting to flee the brutal bastard who had been deriving satisfaction while abusing her -- and REH leaves it to our imagination just exactly HOW he'd been abusing her -- and he catches up to her on the reedy shore of the Sea of Vilayet, she having attempted her escape while he'd been busy exterminating the 'kozaki' people . . . and, before he can commit yet another outrage on the poor girl, a monster bursts out from the thick reeds, a raving hatred of the man suffusing his countenance. The monster, of course, is Conan, perhaps the sole survivor of the band of 'kozaki' this evil bastard's forces had been slaughtering without quarter. Conan exacts a brutal vengeance against him, hacking him to pieces as the horrified girl watches. Then, as the bloodlust fades, his vengeance having been sated, Conan prepares to leave the vicinity in his hidden canoe, as if he'd never even seen the girl there on the scene. She, otherwise all alone, and more frightened of being captured by her tormentor's forces, should they discover her near the chopped up remains of his corpse, than she is of this barbarian monster who had burst upon the scene, begs Conan to take her with him. Man, that's a hell of a way to introduce Conan and the damsel-in-distress of the story! I vividly recall seeing the Marvel adaptation of that story, reprinted in color in one of those giant Treasury Editions published back in the late '70s or so, and I've always just loved that dramatic yet brutal opening scene. REH was, indeed, the greatest pulp fictioneer of all time!
At last. Though I was introduced to Conan in the comics, it was 1977 when I discovered Howard himself. Obsessed? Indeed, from the first story read (A Witch Shall Be Born) to the last. Thank you. Your channel is appreciated by this Howard Purist.
FYI - the Del Rey series is essentially the mass trade versions of the Wandering Star limited editions. Wandering Star did all the work to get the definitive texts and commissioned the artwork. Sadly, they went under before all the volumes ( of the full Howard set) could be published. It was a bit later that Del Rey got the rights to use their work to publish the trade set.
Nice intro. I came to the Conan character in a book from the late 70s that didn't contain any Howard stories, Conan the Swordsman. Then I got all the white cover Lancer/Ace books and found the superior, if edited, writing of REH. While not disagreeing with you that REH's original Conan is the best, I have a great fondness for the pastiche works, including good chunks of the comics, and even Robert Jordan's novels.
@@chazkhaira4690 They're pretty good. Jordan's Conan feels like a cousin of Howard's, more of a medieval adventurer/hero than REH's barbarian striding through the Hyborian Age. The books are a bit formulaic; after reading a couple, you see the similarities in setting up the evil in the story, Conan's interaction with other characters, and a straight line to the confrontation with (usually magical) someone at the end. They are early Jordan, and so benefit from his compelling storytelling before he started using 6 paragraphs to convey 2 sentences of information. REH is the gold standard, but Jordan's talent make these pastiche works solid, if lesser offerings. I enjoyed them.
I find it so incredible that Howard managed to accomplish what he did by his 30th year. I would love to somehow see his response were he to learn that his work was still being appreciated nearly a century after he wrote it. Same for Lovecraft actually. Howard was an absolutely magnificent weaver of adventure tales.
I got introduced to Conan back in the late 70's from the editions with the Frazetta covers. Conan does a lot of different things over the stories, many of which are things that Howard may have written as other types of stories originally. There are a few pirate stories, at least one western (Drums Along the Border? I think) thief stories, horror stories, stories that take place in recognizable places from our world, especially the far east, Africa, SW Asia, the Middle East, etc., all of which were normal fodder for the pulp adventure stories. Of course most also involve monsters, magic, sultry damsels and treasure, to be sure. Howard knew his audience. I really wish he'd lived longer, and been able to mature his craft.
Michael, I wanted to mention to you and your followers that the Poetry Crone has joined the June on the Range and found some Louis L'amour poetry and has also brought out some other cowboy poetry. Go support her. I never knew L'Amour wrote poetry.
I agree. I always carefully read the copyright pages to see who wrote what, year written, where published, etc. The proof, however, is in the writing. Whenever I stumble upon a story not written by Howard, I can tell immediately by the writing style/feel (hence my suspicion of Almuric -- which is still excellent, whoever wrote it) if a story is not by Howard. Still, I am not sure though if I would recognize an El Borak story, for example, changed into a Conan story. The El Borak stories were great, by the way, without the need for Conanization. Thanks for the education. I think I have all of the Lancers, all but two or three of the Zebras, 3 of the Del Reys, and a nice Metro Book with about 10 real Conan stories. I had the original Ace Conqueror, but sold it when I was a dealer. Thanks for your excellent presentation.
Yaaay! 🎉 The Robert E Howard Show! Of course I’ve read the first Del Rey volume of Conan, it’s the book that got me so into Mr. Howard’s work! I learned Conan wasn’t just a stupid cartoon character, he had a whole life in stories! It was thrilling to see!
Conan and Robert E Howard rule ! I discovered Howard through this crazy channel and I agree, he is the greatest pulp writer ever. There's just one small problem, he's the only pulp writer I've ever read with any seriousness 🤣 Small sample size. 😉
Michael, you have quickly become my favorite book-tuber. Looking at the shelves behind you in stately Vaughan Manor is like looking at my own. I am not sure how I was first introduced to Conan (whether it was the movie or simply illustrations by Boris Vallejo), but the first Conan story I read was "Red Nails"--ironically the last of the Conan stories published (in Weird Tales, August-November 1936, just after Howard's death). It was reprinted in 13 Short Fantasy Novels, edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, and Charles Waugh (published in 1984), alongside such other classics as Fritz Leiber's "Ill Met in Lankhmar" and Jack Vance's "Guyal of Sfere." It was a fantastic anthology, one of many that was published during the late '70's and early '80's.
Thanks for this. i just bought the Complete Chronicles hardback ediiton and was a little confused to find Conan as king on page one. Makes more sense now and plunging in.
I understand why deCamp and the publisher chose to tell Conan’s stories in “career order” because it shows his trajectory and personal development. The pastiche stories simply “fill in the gaps”. But I too prefer the original versions-both of the Conan stories and the non-Conan stories that were adapted (e.g. non-Conan “Hawks over Egypt” became “Hawks over Shem”, etc.)
Nice stuff! I started my Conan journey with the big Complete Chronicles of Conan collection which was a gift from my mother (yes, she is awesome), but I have skin diseases on my hands and fingers so those big books are a bit hard for me to hold and read at times. So later on I got these versions instead just because they seemed easier to hold, but also the bonus material here is great :) Oh, an lots more illustrations here which I love!
I can see the appeal of arranging Conan or Sherlock stories chronologically, they make sense either way, but it'd be cool marking various changes in their lives, like Conan's stint as a pirate or Watson's marriage and seeing it stick around. I'd be a small thing, but might help them feel like real people you're on a journey with. I guess the only reason to read them as written would be to get a chronological sense of Howard's/Doyle's relationship with the IP, which isn't as important to everyone - presumably Dr. Watson at least wrote about the stories as they happened. De Camp did take things way too far though - rewriting a dead author, and so thoroughly no one can tell who's who - so I get Howard fans being really bitter about it. I did find and buy some of the Conan pastiches the other day (by him, John Maddox Roberts, and Andrew Outfit) and want to give him a fair shot as he's part of the history now, and ultimately helped bring back public awareness. I also want those Del Ray copies for the pure Conan experience.
Did you read (preform) the Conan audio books A Witch shall be born, and shadows in the moonlight?, I found them at a truck stop and was surprised to say the least.
I have the centenary leather bound edition are you familiar with that? I think it also includes everything. Would be great for your 100 best books project! By Mitra!
My deal with the Late L. Sprague DeCamp's Conan is that DeCamp tended to believe that he owned Conan for some reason, so I don't dislike DeCamp because of his writing, I do rather enjoy some of them, it's his sheer arrogance.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 I just had this thought, have you ever considered writing a Conan story yourself? Oh, by the way, not to nit-pick it's "ko-nun" not "ko-nan", just sayin'.
Is there any ebook edition of these stories that you would recommend? I'm blind, so anything in actual print is unavailable for me for obviously reason.
What makes Howard great was his ability to tell a interesting story, with themes and complex characters and do it with a page count that should serve as a hint to modern "fantasy" authors and their obsession with causing deforestation through droning prose.
Conan is one of the best Robert E Howard character all time.💪🗡🪓💀⚡️🔥🐉🐍
My current upward trend as a channel is literally only due to the Conan content, so I'm 100% grateful for Robert E. Howard's work. I always use every part of the Hyborian age NOT just Conan as a self improvement story. Not just in the case of Conan but also Thoth Amon. Both characters started with nothing and overcame great challenges to gain their eventual status as King of Aquilonia and High Priest of Stygia respectively. I'm keeping up with the last 2 issues of King Conan now which is marvel's last mini-series of the character before the IP leaves them.
Whoa I had no idea that Robert E. Howard died so early in life. I had assumed a lot prior to this series and I have really enjoyed being proved very wrong. Just goes to show these classic stories have a lot more life to them then meets the eye.
Great video!
I love the way REH starts off many of his Conan stories. For example, in "The Pool of the Black Ones" begins on a Zingaran ship, with the Captain's woman lounging around on an upper deck . . . and then, out of nowhere, Conan climbs aboard the ship, having swum to it after abandoning his leaking rowboat after his Barachan ship had been damaged beyond repair, having seen this Zingaran privateer ship perhaps from a mile or so away. The captain, Zaporavo, makes the mistake of not having Conan killed right then-and-there (or, at least, attempting it, as Conan could probably have wreaked a shit-ton of havoc defending himself from those crewmembers, had they tried to gang-up on him), and it's only a relatively short time later that Conan takes his chance and fights the man for leadership of the vessel & crew. The fact that Conan is introduced in the story that way -- climbing aboard a ship many miles away from land, in shark-infested waters -- is just wicked smart, I think. Also, when the crew he's allowed to join attempts to 'haze' him, he kills a man with a single punch to the head -- and, hey, we're all friends now, aren't we?! LOL
Also, in "Iron Shadows in the Moon" [a.k.a. "Shadows in the Moonlight"] there's a woman attempting to flee the brutal bastard who had been deriving satisfaction while abusing her -- and REH leaves it to our imagination just exactly HOW he'd been abusing her -- and he catches up to her on the reedy shore of the Sea of Vilayet, she having attempted her escape while he'd been busy exterminating the 'kozaki' people . . . and, before he can commit yet another outrage on the poor girl, a monster bursts out from the thick reeds, a raving hatred of the man suffusing his countenance. The monster, of course, is Conan, perhaps the sole survivor of the band of 'kozaki' this evil bastard's forces had been slaughtering without quarter. Conan exacts a brutal vengeance against him, hacking him to pieces as the horrified girl watches. Then, as the bloodlust fades, his vengeance having been sated, Conan prepares to leave the vicinity in his hidden canoe, as if he'd never even seen the girl there on the scene. She, otherwise all alone, and more frightened of being captured by her tormentor's forces, should they discover her near the chopped up remains of his corpse, than she is of this barbarian monster who had burst upon the scene, begs Conan to take her with him. Man, that's a hell of a way to introduce Conan and the damsel-in-distress of the story! I vividly recall seeing the Marvel adaptation of that story, reprinted in color in one of those giant Treasury Editions published back in the late '70s or so, and I've always just loved that dramatic yet brutal opening scene.
REH was, indeed, the greatest pulp fictioneer of all time!
I'm always happy to watch a Conan video. :)
I have to credit Roy Thomas for opening up my eyes to the wonderful world of Robert E Howard. Great video.
Just started reading the Conan stories; first one was very good.
At last. Though I was introduced to Conan in the comics, it was 1977 when I discovered Howard himself. Obsessed? Indeed, from the first story read (A Witch Shall Be Born) to the last. Thank you. Your channel is appreciated by this Howard Purist.
One my good friend’s from school always had Conan comics coming in the mail ..you could never get him to trade any of them at all ..
He was a delightfully loud writer. 👌
Well Michael, you've convinced me. Made my Amazon order. Thanks for the descriptive video.
FYI - the Del Rey series is essentially the mass trade versions of the Wandering Star limited editions. Wandering Star did all the work to get the definitive texts and commissioned the artwork. Sadly, they went under before all the volumes ( of the full Howard set) could be published. It was a bit later that Del Rey got the rights to use their work to publish the trade set.
Excellent video, kudos.
Nice intro. I came to the Conan character in a book from the late 70s that didn't contain any Howard stories, Conan the Swordsman. Then I got all the white cover Lancer/Ace books and found the superior, if edited, writing of REH. While not disagreeing with you that REH's original Conan is the best, I have a great fondness for the pastiche works, including good chunks of the comics, and even Robert Jordan's novels.
What are the Robert Jordan books of Conan like?
@@chazkhaira4690 They're pretty good. Jordan's Conan feels like a cousin of Howard's, more of a medieval adventurer/hero than REH's barbarian striding through the Hyborian Age. The books are a bit formulaic; after reading a couple, you see the similarities in setting up the evil in the story, Conan's interaction with other characters, and a straight line to the confrontation with (usually magical) someone at the end. They are early Jordan, and so benefit from his compelling storytelling before he started using 6 paragraphs to convey 2 sentences of information. REH is the gold standard, but Jordan's talent make these pastiche works solid, if lesser offerings. I enjoyed them.
Definitely the best way to present conan is in order of when wrote
I find it so incredible that Howard managed to accomplish what he did by his 30th year. I would love to somehow see his response were he to learn that his work was still being appreciated nearly a century after he wrote it. Same for Lovecraft actually. Howard was an absolutely magnificent weaver of adventure tales.
This is one I've been wanting to read. Thanks for the video!
I got introduced to Conan back in the late 70's from the editions with the Frazetta covers. Conan does a lot of different things over the stories, many of which are things that Howard may have written as other types of stories originally. There are a few pirate stories, at least one western (Drums Along the Border? I think) thief stories, horror stories, stories that take place in recognizable places from our world, especially the far east, Africa, SW Asia, the Middle East, etc., all of which were normal fodder for the pulp adventure stories. Of course most also involve monsters, magic, sultry damsels and treasure, to be sure. Howard knew his audience. I really wish he'd lived longer, and been able to mature his craft.
Michael, I wanted to mention to you and your followers that the Poetry Crone has joined the June on the Range and found some Louis L'amour poetry and has also brought out some other cowboy poetry. Go support her. I never knew L'Amour wrote poetry.
Really makes you wonder what he would have accomplished if he hadn’t died so young. Nice overview. Looking forward to the individual reviews.
I agree. I always carefully read the copyright pages to see who wrote what, year written, where published, etc. The proof, however, is in the writing. Whenever I stumble upon a story not written by Howard, I can tell immediately by the writing style/feel (hence my suspicion of Almuric -- which is still excellent, whoever wrote it) if a story is not by Howard. Still, I am not sure though if I would recognize an El Borak story, for example, changed into a Conan story. The El Borak stories were great, by the way, without the need for Conanization. Thanks for the education. I think I have all of the Lancers, all but two or three of the Zebras, 3 of the Del Reys, and a nice Metro Book with about 10 real Conan stories. I had the original Ace Conqueror, but sold it when I was a dealer. Thanks for your excellent presentation.
Yaaay! 🎉 The Robert E Howard Show! Of course I’ve read the first Del Rey volume of Conan, it’s the book that got me so into Mr. Howard’s work! I learned Conan wasn’t just a stupid cartoon character, he had a whole life in stories! It was thrilling to see!
Conan and Robert E Howard rule ! I discovered Howard through this crazy channel and I agree, he is the greatest pulp writer ever. There's just one small problem, he's the only pulp writer I've ever read with any seriousness 🤣 Small sample size. 😉
Michael, you have quickly become my favorite book-tuber. Looking at the shelves behind you in stately Vaughan Manor is like looking at my own. I am not sure how I was first introduced to Conan (whether it was the movie or simply illustrations by Boris Vallejo), but the first Conan story I read was "Red Nails"--ironically the last of the Conan stories published (in Weird Tales, August-November 1936, just after Howard's death). It was reprinted in 13 Short Fantasy Novels, edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, and Charles Waugh (published in 1984), alongside such other classics as Fritz Leiber's "Ill Met in Lankhmar" and Jack Vance's "Guyal of Sfere." It was a fantastic anthology, one of many that was published during the late '70's and early '80's.
I find Conan more Dark and Serious than Kull. However I like reading both of them. In fact read all REH's stuff.
Thanks for this. i just bought the Complete Chronicles hardback ediiton and was a little confused to find Conan as king on page one. Makes more sense now and plunging in.
I will definitely be doing a read-along with these...by Mitra!..Great introduction video!!
I understand why deCamp and the publisher chose to tell Conan’s stories in “career order” because it shows his trajectory and personal development. The pastiche stories simply “fill in the gaps”. But I too prefer the original versions-both of the Conan stories and the non-Conan stories that were adapted (e.g. non-Conan “Hawks over Egypt” became “Hawks over Shem”, etc.)
Awesome! Conan at last!
Nice stuff!
I started my Conan journey with the big Complete Chronicles of Conan collection which was a gift from my mother (yes, she is awesome), but I have skin diseases on my hands and fingers so those big books are a bit hard for me to hold and read at times. So later on I got these versions instead just because they seemed easier to hold, but also the bonus material here is great :)
Oh, an lots more illustrations here which I love!
Yeah, I’m very happy with these books. I waited a long time to see a Conan edition done so well.
I can see the appeal of arranging Conan or Sherlock stories chronologically, they make sense either way, but it'd be cool marking various changes in their lives, like Conan's stint as a pirate or Watson's marriage and seeing it stick around. I'd be a small thing, but might help them feel like real people you're on a journey with. I guess the only reason to read them as written would be to get a chronological sense of Howard's/Doyle's relationship with the IP, which isn't as important to everyone - presumably Dr. Watson at least wrote about the stories as they happened.
De Camp did take things way too far though - rewriting a dead author, and so thoroughly no one can tell who's who - so I get Howard fans being really bitter about it. I did find and buy some of the Conan pastiches the other day (by him, John Maddox Roberts, and Andrew Outfit) and want to give him a fair shot as he's part of the history now, and ultimately helped bring back public awareness. I also want those Del Ray copies for the pure Conan experience.
You keep forgetting to mention the Wandering Star editions. Yeah, they’re harder to get and expensive, but they’re worth mentioning to viewers.
Robert E Howard should not have taken his own life. No telling what fantastic tales he could have come up with. I read all the Conan stories.
Did you read (preform) the Conan audio books A Witch shall be born, and shadows in the moonlight?, I found them at a truck stop and was surprised to say the least.
I have the centenary leather bound edition are you familiar with that? I think it also includes everything. Would be great for your 100 best books project! By Mitra!
My deal with the Late L. Sprague DeCamp's Conan is that DeCamp tended to believe that he owned Conan for some reason, so I don't dislike DeCamp because of his writing, I do rather enjoy some of them, it's his sheer arrogance.
Yeah, I agree.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 I just had this thought, have you ever considered writing a Conan story yourself? Oh, by the way, not to nit-pick it's "ko-nun" not "ko-nan", just sayin'.
Is there any ebook edition of these stories that you would recommend? I'm blind, so anything in actual print is unavailable for me for obviously reason.