Book Review: The Complete Conan Chronicles by Robert E. Howard
Perfection from start to finish. I adore this book. There isn’t a single bad story. Conan is one of the best fantasy protagonists of all time. Whether he is battling evil sorcerers, winning the hearts of pirate queens, exploring mysterious towers, or leading bands of mercenaries — Conan always does it with an endearing savage simplicity and manly style. The writing is excellent — better stories than you’ll find in any other Conan media. Two things people often don’t appreciate about Conan if they have never actually read his stories: 1. His moral complexity 2. The influence of Lovecraft. On the second point, I was surprised by how much cosmic horror you find in Conan’s stories. There is some really crazy sci-fi weirdness in many of Howard’s tales.
Regarding Conan’s characterization — it is important to remember that Conan isn’t really a hero in the classic sense. He’s a pirate, a thief, a bandit, a cutthroat, a mercenary captain, and eventually a king. Sure, he kills evil wizards. He’s also an unscrupulous sellsword. Sure he slays infernal demons. He’s also down for pillaging trade ships and stealing buxom courtesans (none of whom seem to mind). Conan isn’t a typical good guy. He’s an unassuming, plain-spoken barbarian who uses his natural gifts and cunning to take opportunities as they come. He’s also a pretty damn good leader in his later years.
Conan isn’t necessarily to be emulated but there is much men can admire in his fearless approach to life. His stories are also a pleasure to read thanks to Howard’s rich use of language and imagery. More than any other weird fiction writer I come back to Howard’s work the most. Though not as florid as Lovecraft his writing is still powerful and efficient. His characters have far more personality and his plots more clever intrigue than Edgar Rice Burroughs. It’s a shame Howard died at 30. Would that we could have had more of these great stories. At least we got one amazing film out of it and a decent game too. The book is still by far the best realization of Conan.
Grade: A+
