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Marku
Member Posts: 452
As a newbie to the conan world, which books should i start off with?
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Marku
Member Posts: 452
As a newbie to the conan world, which books should i start off with?
Comments
If you get a chance read the original stories, Del Rey books just put together a collection of much of Howards stories into two books. The stories are fast paced and intense, really good reads.
Read anything by Robert E Howard, he is the creator of Conan. Also very popular are the Marvel Comics versions of Conan (Conan the Barbarian, Savage Sword of Conan, Conan Saga, King Conan).
Another auther Robert Jordan also wrote Conan stories.
Darkhorse comics has a new Conan comic going and it is outstanding.
You should start off with "Conan the Barbarian" - this is beginning of his adventures. There is over 70 books about Connan. I have almost 60 in home
Never read a Conan novel before. However after getting into the game so much recently. I think I am going to start looking for the books myself. Well After I finish reading The Sword Dancer Series (Novels of Tiger and Del) by Jennifer Robinson which are just great so far.
The Del Ray published books are the best in my opinion. The first one is The Coming of Conan The Cimmerian. If you are a lore junkie the Del Ray books site all kinds of sources where the stories came from and what was omitted etc etc.
Edit: Spelling
Gawd just noticed. HUGE necro'd thread. Doh
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Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate.
Ive gone back myself and purchased Conan novels and books. I do believe funcom brought the feel of Howards work to the MMO (except for the caster classes).
(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Conan and the Raving Rabbid engage Thoth Amon......Conan is impressed with the Raving Rabbids plunger skill)
All my opinions are just that..opinions. If you like my opinions..coolness.If you dont like my opinion....I really dont care.
Playing: ESO, WOT, Smite, and Marvel Heroes
HOUR OF THE DRAGON by Robert E. Howard
You can read it online FREE at WIKISOURCE or you can buy it at any bookstore from Cosmos Press (#4 in 5 book series) in PocketBook size. It is also included in the Del Rey collection mentioned above, Bloody Crown of Conan, I believe...
Many Pastiche (non-Howard) Conan books have been published. Many are difficult to find now.
"The Hyborian Age" by Robert E. Howard
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Hyborian_Age
The Hour of the Dragon by Robert E. Howard
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Hour_of_the_Dragon
The Del Rey Collection of Howard's uneditted stories with notes and poetry:
The Best of Robert E. Howard Volume 1
Written by Robert E. Howard
Trade Paperback, 528 pages | Del Rey | August 2007 |
The Best of Robert E. Howard Volume 2
Written by Robert E. Howard
Trade Paperback, 544 pages | Del Rey | November 2007 |
The Bloody Crown of Conan
Written by Robert E. Howard
Trade Paperback, 384 pages | Del Rey | November 2004 |
Bran Mak Morn: The Last King
Written by Robert E. Howard
Trade Paperback, 400 pages | Del Rey | May 2005 |
The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian
Written by Robert E. Howard
Trade Paperback, 496 pages | Del Rey | December 2003 |
The Conquering Sword of Conan
Written by Robert E. Howard
Trade Paperback, 416 pages | Del Rey | November 2005 |
El Borak and Other Desert Adventures
Written by Robert E. Howard
Trade Paperback, 592 pages | Del Rey | February 2010 |
The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard
Written by Robert E. Howard
Trade Paperback, 560 pages | Del Rey | October 2008 |
Kull
Written by Robert E. Howard
Trade Paperback, 352 pages | Del Rey | October 2006 |
The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane
Written by Robert E. Howard
Trade Paperback, 432 pages | Del Rey | June 2004 |
Quote from Conan Wikia on Robert Jordan's Conan novels:
http://conan.wikia.com/wiki/Robert_Jordan
Jordan is one of several writers who has written Conan pastiches:
Conan the Defender (novel) Tor 1982
Conan the Invincible (novel) Tor 1982
Conan the Triumphant (novel) Tor 1983
Conan the Unconquered (novel) Tor 1983
Conan the Magnificent (novel) Tor 1984
Conan the Destroyer (novel) Tor 1984
Conan the Victorious (novel) Tor 1984
Although some bibliographies list it, Conan: King of Thieves does not exist. It was the original title of the second Conan movie. Robert Jordan had already been hired to do the novelization and Tor had already applied for an ISBN when the title was changed to Conan the Destroyer. [2]
They were packed into two separate volumes:
The Conan Chronicles (omnibus) Tor 1995
http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Conan-Vol-1/dp/0312859295
The Conan Chronicles II (omnibus) Legend 1997
http://www.amazon.com/Further-Chronicles-Conan-Robert-Jordan/dp/0765303019
The Official Robert E. Howard Website has a Comprehensive Conan Bibliography, as listed in the link below. At present, it seems like the TOR PRESS editeions are the easiest to find, though collectors have pushed the price up on many of the older prints from previous pubishers. Scan your local used book stores and you may get lucky.
I also want to point out the books by John Maddox Roberts. In reading through the official Conan and Robert E. Howard forums, many of the die-hard fans of Howard's original stories really appreciate the books by J.M. Roberts. It was Roberts who came up with the favorite descriptions of Cimmeria, which Howard only briefly wrote about. It has persisted into many other books including the most reacent Age of Conan series by Ace Publishers.
http://www.conan.com/bibliography.shtml
The Tor Series
(Note: some of the Tor Conan books first appeared as 'trade' (oversized) paperbacks [5.25" x 8"]; they were later reprinted in standard paperback size [4.25" x 6.75"].)
Those which first appeared as trade paperbacks are here marked (T).
In order of publication:
Conan the Invincible, Jun 1982 Robert Jordan
Conan the Defender, Dec 1982, (T) Robert Jordan
Conan the Unconquered, Apr 1983 Robert Jordan
Conan the Triumphant, Oct 1983, (T) Robert Jordan
Conan the Magnificent, May 1984 Robert Jordan
Conan the Destroyer (movie adaptation), Jul 1984. Robert Jordan
Conan the Victorious, Nov 1984, (T) Reprinted Mar 1991 Robert Jordan
Conan the Valorous, Sep 1985, (T) Reprinted Feb 1998, (T) John Maddox Roberts
Conan the Fearless, Feb 1986, (T) Steve Perry
Conan the Renegade, Apr 1986 Leonard Carpenter
Conan the Raider, Oct 1986, (T) Leonard Carpenter
Conan the Champion, Apr 1987 John Maddox Roberts
Conan the Defiant, Oct 1987, (T) Steve Perry
Conan the Marauder, Jan 1988 John Maddox Roberts
Conan the Warlord, Mar 1988 Leonard Carpenter
Conan the Valiant, Oct 1988, (T) Reprinted Jul 2000 Roland Green
Conan the Hero, Feb 1989 Leonard Carpenter
Conan the Bold, Apr 1989 John Maddox Roberts
Conan the Great, Apr 1989 Leonard Carpenter
Conan the Indomitable, Oct 1989, (T) Steve Perry
Conan the Free Lance, Feb 1990 Steve Perry
Conan the Formidable, Nov 1990, (T) Steve Perry
Conan the Guardian, Jan 1991 Roland Green
Conan the Outcast, Apr 1991 Leonard Carpenter
Conan the Rogue, Nov 1991, (T) John Maddox Roberts
Conan the Relentless, Apr 1992 Roland Green
Conan the Savage, Nov 1992, (T) Leonard Carpenter
Conan of the Red Brotherhood, Feb 1993 Leonard Carpenter
Conan and the Gods of the Mountain, May 1993 Roland Green
Conan and the Treasure of Python, Nov 1993, (T) John Maddox Roberts
Conan the Hunter, Jan 1994 Sean A. Moore
Conan, Scourge of the Bloody Coast, Apr 1994 Leonard Carpenter
Conan and the Manhunters, Oct 1994 John Maddox Roberts
Conan at the Demon's Gate, Nov 1994, (T) Roland Green
Conan the Gladiator, Jan 1995 Leonard Carpenter
Conan and the Amazon, Apr 1995 John Maddox Roberts
Conan and the Mists of Doom, Aug 1995 Roland Green
Conan and the Emerald Lotus, Nov 1995, (T) Reprinted Sep 1999 John C. Hocking
Conan and the Shaman's Curse, Jan 1996 Sean A. Moore
Conan, Lord of the Black River, Apr 1996 Leonard Carpenter
Conan and The Grim Grey God, Nov 1996, (T) Reprinted Nov 1997 Sean A. Moore
Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza, Jan 1997 Roland Green
Conan of Venarium, Jul 2003 (hardcover) Reprinted Jul 2004 Harry Turtledove
Tor also reprinted volumes originally issued by other publishers:
Conan: The Road of Kings Sep 2001 Wagner
Conan and the Spider God Feb 2002, hardcover de Camp
Conan: The Sword of Skelos Feb 2002 (paperback) Offut
Conan the Liberator Jun 2002, Forge imprint, hardcover de Camp, Carter
Conan the Swordsman Dec 2002, hardcover Nyberg, de Camp, Carter
Conan the Rebel Jan 2003 Anderson
Conan and the Spider God May 2003 de Camp
In July, 1995, Tor reprinted three of the Robert Jordan novels in one hardcover volume, The Conan Chronicles; it includes:
Conan the Invincible
Conan the Defender
Conan the Unconquered
In October, 1999, Tor reprinted three more of the Robert Jordan novels in another hardcover volume, The Further Chronicles of Conan; it includes:
Conan the Magnificent
Conan the Triumphant
Conan the Victorious
In 1999 The Further Chronicles of Conan was also issued as an abridged audio cassette edition by Soundelux Audio Publishing.
In January, 2004, Tor again reprinted three novels by L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter and Bjorn Nyberg in one hardcover volume, Sagas of Conan; it includes:
Conan the Swordsman
Conan the Liberator
Conan and the Spider God
Two other Tor books worth noting:
Echoes of Valor, ed. by Karl Edward Wagner, Feb 1987
Contains Howard's original version of "The Black Stranger", which was rewritten by de Camp as "The Treasure of Tranicos".
Echoes of Valor II, ed. by Karl Edward Wagner, Aug 1989
Contains two different versions of "The Frost Giant's Daughter", both by Howard. The first, featuring Conan, appears under its original title "The Frost King's Daughter". The second version was printed in an amateur magazine, where the main character had been renamed "Amra of Akbitana".
As mentioned before, the novel Hour of the Dragon by Howard is the main work that leads up to the Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures MMORPG taking place two years before the period of the game. In anticipation of the game, the lore builders at Conan Properties commissioned four well-known authors to build four trilogies that build up to the Age of Conan release in May 2008. These four trilogies take place within the two years since the Hour of the Dragon and put a finger on the pulse of what goes on in the background and lore of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. These books are as follows:
http://www.conan.com/bibliography.shtml
Age Of Conan - Ace Series
In 2005/2006, Ace published a new series of books: Age of Conan. Four trilogies by four renowned fantasy/science fiction authors. The stories take place in Hyboria at the time Conan was king of Aquilonia.
Legends of Kern (Loren L. Coleman)
Blood of Wolves
Cimmerian Rage
Songs of Victory
Anok, Heretic of Stygia (J. Stephen York)
Scion of the Serpent
Heretic of Set
Venom of Luxor
The Marauders (Jeff Mariotte)
Ghost of the Wall
Winds of the Wild Sea
Dawn of the Ice Bear
A Knight's Quest (Richard A. Knaak)
The God in the Moon
The Eye of Charon
The Silent Enemy
I finally finished reading all twelve novels in this series, and I was greatly impressed. The Marauders series is aimed at a Young Adult audience. The other three trilogies are definitely a bit darker and have stronger adult content. Nothing is extreme, and I feel the books are very well-written. The Legend of Kern trilogy really adds a lot to the background of the continuing conflict in Cimmeria. The Heretic of Stycia series builds the intrigue and mystery and danger behind the Land of Stygia. The Knight's Quest reveals that not everything is what it seems in the seemingly civilzed Realm of Aquilonia as the saga stretches from border to border and reaches into many of the neighboring kingdoms. The Marauders actually stretches across all three realms tying together the other stories and weaving a thorough understanding of what drives the Pictish nation.