''Conan of Cimmeria'' is a collection of eight

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

short stories written by Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp, and

Lin Carter Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. ...

and featuring Howard's sword and sorcery hero

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and ''Conan the Destroyer''), ...

. Most of the stories were originally published in various fantasy magazines. Lancer Books first published the paperback collection in 1969, and reprinted the book in 1970, 1972, and 1973. After Lancer's bankruptcy, Ace Books took over publication. Ace published its first edition in May 1977 and reprinted it in August 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982 (twice), 1984, 1985, 1990, and 1993. Sphere Books published the first British edition in 1974 and reprinted that edition in 1976 and 1987. The book has also been translated into German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish and Italian. It was gathered together with '' Conan'' and ''

Conan the Freebooter ''Conan the Freebooter'' is a 1968 collection of five fantasy short stories by American writers Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories originally appeared in the ...

'' into the omnibus collection '' The Conan Chronicles'' (Sphere Books, August 1989).

*"Introduction" (L. Sprague de Camp) *"

The Curse of the Monolith "The Curse of the Monolith" is a short story by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan of Cimmeria created by Robert E. Howard. It was first published in the magazine ''Worlds of F ...

" (L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter) *"

The Blood-Stained God ''The Blood-Stained God'' is a 1955 fantasy novella by American writer Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was revised by de Camp from Howard's original story, an unpublished ...

" (Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp) *" The Frost Giant's Daughter" (Robert E. Howard, edited by L. Sprague de Camp) *"

The Lair of the Ice Worm "The Lair of the Ice Worm" is a fantasy short story by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. It was first published by Lancer Books in th ...

" (L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter) *" Queen of the Black Coast" (Robert E. Howard) *"

The Vale of Lost Women "The Vale of Lost Women" is a fantasy short story by American author Robert E. Howard. It is one of his original short stories about Conan the Cimmerian that was not published during his lifetime. ''The Magazine of Horror'' first published th ...

" (Robert E. Howard) *" The Castle of Terror" (L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter) *"

The Snout in the Dark "The Snout in the Dark" is one of the original short stories by Robert E. Howard about Conan the Cimmerian, an untitled fragment begun in the 1930s but not finished or published in Howard's lifetime. It was completed and titled by L. Sprague de ...

" (Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter)

Plot summary

In a number of episodes Conan, now in his mid to late twenties, is followed from the end of his career as a

mercenary soldier A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...

for King Yildiz of Turan to his initial adventures in the black kingdoms of Kush. In between, he visits his native Cimmeria and the far north. Soon, Conan journeys southward where, in Argos, he gets his first taste of life as a sea rover as the right-hand man of the

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

queen Bêlit. Chronologically, the eight short stories collected as ''Conan of Cimmeria'' fall between '' Conan'' and ''

''.

Notes

External links

Fantastic Fiction entry for ''Conan of Cimmeria''
{{Lin Carter (books) 1969 short story collections Fantasy short story collections Fantasy short story collections by L. Sprague de Camp Conan the Barbarian books Lancer Books books

Contents

Plot summary

Notes

External links