''King Conan'' is a collection of five
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, ...
short stories by American writer
Robert E. Howard featuring his
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 is also the name of two separate comic book series featuring the character.
The book was first published in hardcover by
Gnome Press
Gnome Press was an American small-press publishing company active 1948 – 1962 and primarily known for fantasy and science fiction, many later regarded as classics.
Gnome was one of the most eminent of the fan publishers of SF, producing 86 ...
in 1953. The stories originally appeared in the 1930s in the fantasy magazine ''
Weird Tales''. The collection never saw publication in paperback; instead, its component stories were divided and distributed among other "Conan" collections.
Chronologically, the five short stories collected as ''King Conan'' are the fourth in Gnome's Conan series; the novel ''
Conan the Conqueror'' follows.
Contents
*"Introduction" (
L. Sprague de Camp)
**July 1, 1931 note from
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos.
Born in Provi ...
to Robert E. Howard
*"
Jewels of Gwahlur"
*"
Beyond the Black River"
*"
The Treasure of Tranicos" (edited/rewritten by de Camp from Howard's "The Black Stranger")
*"
The Phoenix on the Sword"
*"
The Scarlet Citadel"
Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics published 55 issues of a ''King Conan'' series from 1980 to 1989 (retitled ''Conan the King'' from #20-onward).
Dark Horse Comics
In 2011,
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...
started a new Conan comic book, named ''King Conan''; the Cimmerian, now old and alone on his throne of Aquilonia, recalls his previous years adventures with the young royal scribe; his tales are set after he got the throne. Dark Horse adapted several Howard's short stories plus
The Hour of the Dragon. Until now, the list includes, in the following order:
*"The Scarlet Citadel" (2011)
*"The Phoenix on the Sword" (2012)
*"The Hour of the Dragon" (2013)
*"The Conqueror" (2014) (Originally, Dark Horse wanted to make 12 issues of ''The Hour of the Dragon'', then they decided to split the story into two, publishing the second part with the alternate name of the novel.)
Reception
P. Schuyler Miller received the collection favorably, praising Howard's ability "to make the preposterous doings of his superhuman hero so real."
Everett F. Bleiler found that the original text of "The Black Stranger" "is much superior to the adaptation" provided here. He characterized the collection overall as "a weak selection", although singling out two scenes as effective.
[ Everett F. Bleiler, ''The Guide to Supernatural Fiction'', Kent State University Press, 1983, pp.260-61]
References
{{Conan
1953 short story collections
Conan the Barbarian books by Robert E. Howard
Gnome Press books