The Conquering Sword of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 3) Review

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The Conquering Sword of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 3) ReviewThe Conquering Sword of Conan is the third and final volume in the Wandering Star/Del Rey collection of Howard's complete "Conan of Cimmeria". For fans of Robert E. Howard, this is a major achievement, because its the first time all of the Howard Conan stories have been published in the order that they were written, completely uncensored and pastiche free. Now, we are able to get a much more accurate look at the both the evolution of the character, as well as Howard's skill as a writer. In the Lancer/Ace editions, the stories were placed in chronological order and peppered with dreadful pastiches. The problem with this is that it was never Howard's intention for his stories to be read that way. The Conan saga is not a unified Joseph Campbell style hero's journey such as "Star Wars" or "Lord of the Rings". Rather, it's more akin to James Bond. Each story can be read and enjoyed on its own, without any prior knowledge of the events or characters in previous stories. In fact, in no Conan story are the plot details of any other Conan story ever even mentioned, except in the most general of terms (Conan gives a brief overview of his career in "Red Nails"). This was by nature, a matter of necessity, as these "pulp fiction" stories were geared towards the casual magazine reader who might be picking up a copy of "Weird Tales" for the first time.
Of the five stories in this volume, three of them are considered by fans and literary scholars to be among the best work that Howard ever produced. They are "Beyond the Black River", "The Black Stranger, and "Red Nails".
Beyond the Black River: this is generally considered Howard's finest work, transcending the level of pulp fiction and worthy of serious critical analyses. Even if viewed as a simple adventure story, it's unbelievably exciting and entertaining. In order for this story to fit into the genre that he invented, which would later be known as "Sword and Sorcery", Howard populates it with the traditional elements, such as an evil sorceror and supernatural monsters. However, these elements are downplayed. This is the most realistic and true to life Conan story that Howard wrote. Its basically an American frontier saga transported to the Hyborian age. The Picts in "Beyond the Black River" bear little of no resemblance to the Picts of Bran Mak Morn or King Kull's time. Here, they serve as thinly vealed stand-ins for native Americans. The story also contains Howard's most famous quote: "Barbarism is the natural state of mankind. Civilization is unnatural. It is a whim of circumstance. And barbarism must always ultimately triumph".
To those who have never read Howard, who think of Conan as a sort of monosyllabic Tarzan on steroids, I urge you to read the aforementioned story. You'll never see Conan the same way again.
The Black Stranger: what's really amazing about this story is that this is the first time most of us have ever read it in its original form. In the Lancer/Ace editions, this story was heavily edited and rewritten by the self serving L. Sprague de Camp so that it could be used to set the stage for his mind numbingly dreadful pastiche, "Conan the Liberator". He also changed the name to "The Treasure of Tranicos". His justification for doing this was equally ludicrous. He claimed he was concerned that the readers would become "confused" with so many Conan stories with "black" in the title (Black Colossus/Pool of the Black One), as if we're a bunch of four year olds.
It continues many of the themes started in "Beyond the Black River", and is once again a thinly vealed American frontier story transported to the Hyborian Age.
Red Nails: This is the most hardcore Conan story of all. Dr. Freud would have field day with this. Graphic violence, deviant sex, sadomasochism; all are here in full display. The editor of these editions, Patrice Louinet, suggests that this story is a subconsious projection of Howard's relationship with Novalyne Price and resulting conflict between this and his VERY unhealthy relationship with his own mother.
One thing that strikes me about this story is Howard's much more realistic portrayal of the female pirate Valeria, when you compare her to Howard's earlier character Belit, from "Queen of the Black Coast". In "Queen", Belit basically throws herself at Conan at their first meeting, and they immediately have sex right there on the deck of the Tigris with the entire crew looking on. While its a very memorable and well written scene, it does come off as an adolescent fantasy of someone who hasn't had much experience with women. In "Red Nails", Valeria is portrayed much more realistically, like a real woman would behave around a man she's attracted to. She sits on Conan's lap and lets him play with her hair. In one scene, she gives him a "you're not getting any tonight" look and slams the door in his face. She doesn't relent until the end of the story, after Conan proves his worthiness by rescuing her. I have no doubt that this new found maturity on the part of Howard's writing is due, at least in part, to his relationship with Ms. Price.
The two lesser stories are "The Servants of Bit-Yakin" and "Shadows of Zamboula". "Shadows", while more of a conventional Conan story, benifits from outstanding writing and some really good scenes. The strangulation scene, and the dance of the cobras are particalrly memorable. I won't go into any detail about "Servants", other than to say it is worth reading. While some are obviously better than others, there are no bad Howard Conan stories.
I really like the artwork by Gregory Manchess. Its an entirely new take on the character, especially the depiction of Conan in a Captain Hook outfit on page 141. While I didn't like the artwork at first, preferring Gary Gianni's interpretaions in the previous volume, it has really grown on me over the months. I can't wait for the Wandering Star edition to be released so that I can finally see these in full color. It's way overdue.The Conquering Sword of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 3) Overview"FOR HEADLONG, NONSTOP ADVENTURE AND FOR VIVID, EVEN FLORID, SCENERY, NO ONE EVEN COMES CLOSE TO HOWARD."–Harry TurtledoveIn a meteoric career that covered only a dozen years, Robert E. Howard defined the sword-and-sorcery genre. In doing so, he brought to life the archetypal adventurer known to millions around the world as Conan the barbarian.Witness, then, Howard at his finest, and Conan at his most savage, in the latest volume featuring the collected works of Robert E. Howard, lavishly illustrated by award-winning artist Greg Manchess. Prepared directly from the earliest known versions–often Howard's own manuscripts–are such sword-and-sorcery classics as "The Servants of Bit-Yakin" (formerly published as "Jewels of Gwahlur"), "Beyond the Black River," "The Black Stranger," "Man-Eaters of Zamboula" (formerly published as "Shadows in Zamboula"), and, perhaps his most famous adventure of all, "Red Nails."The Conquering Sword of Conan includes never-before-published outlines, notes, and story drafts, plus a new introduction, personal correspondence, and the revealing essay "Hyborian Genesis"–which chronicles the history of the creation of the Conan series. Truly, this is heroic fantasy at its finest.

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