''Conan the Indomitable'' is a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

novel by American writer

Steve Perry Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and frontman of the rock band Journey during their most successful years from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He wrote/co-wrote ...

, featuring

Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was an American writer who wrote pulp magazine, pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He created the character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sor ...

sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S), or heroic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of Romance (love), romance, Magic (fantasy), magic, and the supernatural are also ...

hero

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...

. It was first published in trade paperback by

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles. History Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, ...

in October 1989; a regular paperback edition followed from the same publisher in September 1990.

Plot

Conan and his companion, Elashi, find themselves pursued by pirates under the leadership of a hermaphroditic amalgamation of two lovers, who believe Conan's sword can separate the couple back into their original state. The two men soon discover a subterranean world, where a beautiful sorceress named Chuntha and Katamay Rey, an evil necromancer, struggle for control over various intelligent creatures. The bizarre cave-dwellers include blind white apes, vampire bats, web-spinning plants, one-eyed monsters, burrowing lizards, mole-like beasts, and giant earthworms. The local balance of power is threatened by Conan's arrival and various complications ensue, including a revolt by the enslaved creatures, before Conan can win his way back to the surface. One of the worms and a cyclops are featured sympathetically in a subplot.

Chronology

Internal evidence indicates that Perry's earlier Conan work '' Conan the Defiant'' directly precedes this novel, though in the comprehensive Conan chronology of William Galen Gray,

Sean A. Moore Sean A. Moore (April 20, 1964 – February 23, 1998) was an American fantasy and science fiction writer, and computer programmer. His primary significance as a writer is for his three pastiche novels featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery ...

's '' Conan the Hunter'' is placed between the two books.

Reception

Writing on one of Perry's other novels, reviewer Ryan Harvey assessed the author's Conan corpus as "goofy", noting that he "has a reputation among Conan fandom for overkill and general silliness." Don D'Ammassa calls "Perry's third Conan pastiche ... rather out of the ordinary ith ts of chase scenes and more humor than is usual in sword and sorcery."D'Ammassa, Don
"Conan the Indomitable"
(review o

. Oct. 30, 2017.

References

External links

{{Conan 1989 American novels 1989 fantasy novels Conan the Barbarian novels American fantasy novels Tor Books books