CONAN BOOKS: Things you should know [by Falconer]

Last edited by Amorey on Mon Apr 28, 2008 1:55 pm; edited 1 time in total

I think this deserves to be posted Very Happy

Originally posted on the Main AoC Forums by Falconer king

Quote :: CONAN BOOKS: THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW!

» "Should I read the stories in the chronological order of Conan's life?"

No...

Robert E. Howard explicitly stated he did not want his Conan stories read the in the "chronological order of Conan's life."

Many individuals make the mistake of believing Robert E. Howard's Conan lore should be read in chronological order (i.e. in the order in which Conan experiences the events). In terms of literary insight, you may find it quite interesting to read Howard's Conan tales in the order of creation to see the characterization of Conan unfold and, more importantly, the world of Hyboria widen in its scope as well as intricacy.

In a letter to a friend, Robert E. Howard stated he wrote the Conan stories in the manner of which a hero would randomly tell them. As such, Howard himself would prefer you read his Conan stories in the order they were written:

Again, the stories should be read in the manner originally presented and/or written by the author, and not how they were "re-arranged" thirty years after he died by meddling editors. :p

As such, here are the Conan short stories in the order Howard wrote them (and the way you should read them):

1. "The Phoenix on the Sword"
2. "The Frost-Giant's Daughter"
3. "The God in the Bowl"
4. "The Tower of the Elephant"
5. "The Scarlet Citadel"
6. "Queen of the Black Coast"
7. "Black Colossus"
8. "Iron Shadows in the Moon"
9. "Xuthal of the Dusk"
10. "The Pool of the Black One"
11. "Rogues in the House"
12. "The Vale of Lost Women"
13. "The Devil In Iron"
14. "The People of the Black Circle"
15. "The Hour of the Dragon"
16. "A Witch Shall Be Born"
17. "The Servants of Bit-Yakin"
18. "Beyond the Black River"
19. "The Black Stranger"
20. "The Man-Eaters of Zamboula"
21. "Red Nails"

» "Are the Del Rey versions better than the Centenary Edition?"

Yes...

Only the Del Rey compilations utilize Howard's original, unedited, uncensored Conan tales.

In contrast, The Complete Chronicles of Conan (Centenary Edition) by Golancz utilizes -- contrary to their "As Howard wrote it" claim -- the edited and censored versions of Howard's works. However, if you live outside of the United States, it is the best collection available.

To my knowledge, the Del Rey books (only available in the U.S.?) are the most unedited and untouched versions of Howard's writing. We discussed this subject on Page 4 of this same thread.

To quote noted Howard scholar Patrice Louinet:

Again, the Centenary Edition by Golancz is questionable because some tales are from the heavily edited/altered/censored Donald M. Grant collection...

I shall quote this [url="http://www.pulpanddagger.com/pulpmag/editorial21.html"]editorial[/url]:

Note The Conan Chronicles Volume I and Volume II by Orion are, in essence, the Centenary Edition by Golancz. The centenary book is basically a compilation of the two paperback Masterworks volumes that were released in the United Kingdom. ([url="http://www.conan.com/invboard/lofiversion/index.php?t2788.html"]source[/url])

Now, the question remains how much Donald M. Grant altered/censored. Supposedly, Grant sometimes [url="http://www.barbariankeep.com/issues.html"]edited[/url] the stories for "moral reasons"...

The [url="http://www.barbariankeep.com/edited.html"]Barbarian Keep[/url] has some information regarding Grant's editing:

http://www.barbariankeep.com/edited.html

» "Can't I just skip the stories and watch the movies instead?"

No...

Age of Conan is not based upon the events, characters, storyline, etc., depicted in John Milius' Conan the Barbarian (1982) or Richard Fleischer's Conan the Destroyer (1984). The 1980s films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and this computer game by Funcom have no "official" connection. This game is based more upon the darker, bloodier Conan stories written by Robert E. Howard in the 1930s.

Furthermore, the 1980s movies often contradict the established Conan lore of Robert E. Howard. Just the problems of characters dying in the films and being unlike their literary counterparts is a confusing nightmare. For example: Valeria, Thulsa Doom and Thoth-Amon all perish in the films. Not to mention the slave back-story for Milius' Conan does not match Howard's Conan, and contradicts the Hyborian Age time-line.

If a person relies on the films and then plays this game, they'll wonder: "Why is Valeria still alive in this game? Why is she a member of the Red Brotherhood and not a petty thief like in the film? Wasn't Conan a slave and a gladiator? If Conan was a slave and all his people killed, how did he fight at Venarium as a teenager? If all his people were killed by Thulsa Doom, why is his Cimmerian tribe in Age of Conan? Why is Thulsa Doom a grinning skull with no body, and nothing like James Earl Jones? Thoth-Amon died in Conan the Destroyer, why is he alive? Why are the Turanians not like the Mongols shown in the film? Why is Juma a male in this game when Juma was a female character in the second movie?"

The list goes on and on...

For every lore contradiction that can be explained, there are ten more to take their place.

In my personal opinion, if a forum newcomer is seeking to learn about Conan and the background setting for Age of Conan, the original stories and/or the Dark Horse Comics are vastly preferable to the 1980s movies. You learn so much more about the Hyborian Age in general, and you won't be confused by the various discrepancies (i.e. Valeria being alive, etc).

» "Screw Howard! I want to read his stories using an artificial timeline!"

Howard and most Conan scholars would be against this but, if you insist, okay --

In my opinion, the best "chronological path of Conan's life" to date is the Darkstorm Conan Chronology by Dale Rippke. Rippke's version is a completely revised and heavily researched chronology, including only those stories written or initiated by Howard.

The Dark Horse comic series follows this chronology. Its major strength is its well-documented support for its various arguments for story placement, based on the texts as Howard wrote them. While works completed or revised by other hands and post-Howard works find no place in this chronology they were not intended to, the often erroneous assumptions under which they were written precluding their inclusion. A minor weakness is the disappearance and reappearance of Conan's horned helm.

"The Frost Giant's Daughter
"The God in the Bowl
"The Tower of the Elephant"
"The Hall of the Dead"
"Rogues in the House"
"The Hand of Nergal"
"Shadows in the Moonlight"
"Black Colossus"
"Queen of the Black Coast"
"The Snout in the Dark"
"The Slithering Shadow"
"A Witch Shall Be Born"
"The Devil in Iron"
"The People of the Black Circle"
"Shadows in Zamboula"
"Drums of Tombalku"
"The Vale of Lost Women"
"The Pool of the Black One"
"Beyond the Black River"
"The Black Stranger"
"Red Nails"
"The Teeth of Gwahlur"
"Wolves Beyond the Border"
"The Phoenix on the Sword"
"The Scarlet Citadel"
The Hour of the Dragon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_Chronologies

» "Should I buy the 18-part Ace/Lancer series about Conan?"

No...

The Ace/Lancer book series by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter severely edited and censored Robert E. Howard's original tales. In some cases, de Camp altered Howard's Conan stories beyond recognition (i.e. The Black Stranger -> The Treasure of Tranicos). As you can now purchase the unedited and untouched versions of Howard's Conan stories, the Ace/Lancer series is not recommended.

On a side note, if you have only read the Ace/Lancer series about Conan, then you have never truly experienced the unedited versions of Robert E. Howard's writings. To remedy this, pick-up the Del Rey versions.

Those stories were originally penned by Robert E. Howard, yes. However, they are published by Donald M. Grant; hence, the "Donald M. Grant editions, 1974-1989" category. However, Donald M. Grant controversially edited and/or censored those versions:

On a side note...

If you are interested in reading the unedited Conan stories by Robert E. Howard, DarkPrinZ, I would suggest you purchase The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian as this book provides a better introduction to the Hyborian Age. For me, the following three volumes by Del Rey are my Conan Bible --

1. The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian
2. The Bloody Crown of Conan
3. The Conquering Sword of Conan

Therefore, you should start with The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian. Accept no substitutes.