And I confess to being very pleasantly surprised. This is my first re-read of one in maybe 40 years. I’d say this is definitely one of the better Conan stories.

And the story’s a gripping adventure in a mysterious, war-torn and claustrophobic ancient city, full of sword and sorcery done right. Valeria is a strong warrior like Conan and not just another stereotypical damsel in distress, so that’s very much appreciated. But I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised.

This forces them to work together, so they can both make it out alive of this adventure.Īfter a few Conan adventures that were all starting to blend into one, my expectations for this story weren’t very high to be honest. Then a monster appears and starts feasting on their horses. They both like one another, but they’re too proud and stubborn to admit it. When he catches up to her, they start to bicker like an old married couple. Not because Conan wants to punish her though. The beautiful and powerful Valeria killed a man and is now on the run. Friends recall him defending the act of suicide as a valid alternative as early as eighteen years old, while many of his stories and poems have a suicidal gloom and intensity that seem prescient in hindsight, describing such an end not as a tragedy but as a release from hell on earth. It's clear from Howard's earliest writings and the recollections of his friends that he suffered from severe depression from an early age. One by one he discovered the authors that would influence his later work: Jack London and Rudyard Kipling. Voracious reading, along with a natural talent for prose writing and the encouragement of teachers, conspired to create in Howard an interest in becoming a professional writer. He is well known for having created the character Conan the Cimmerian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond. Robert Ervin Howard (1906-1936) was an American pulp writer of fantasy, horror, historical adventure, boxing, western, and detective fiction.

Red nails by robert e howard