Red Nails (collection)

''Red Nails'' is a 1977 collection of three

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 and one essay by American writer

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 ...

, 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 ...

. The collection was edited by Karl Edward Wagner. It was first published in hardcover by Berkley/Putnam in 1977, and in paperback by

Berkley Books Berkley Books is an American imprint founded in 1955 by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein owned by the Penguin Group unit of Penguin Random House. History Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Compa ...

the same year. It was reprinted in hardcover for the

Science Fiction Book Club Bookspan LLC is a New York–based online bookseller, founded in 2000. Bookspan began as a joint endeavor by Bertelsmann and Time Warner. Bertelsmann took over control in 2007, and a year later, sold its interest to Najafi Companies, an Arizon ...

, also in 1977, and combined with the Wagner-edited '' The Hour of the Dragon'' and '' The People of the Black Circle'' in the book club's omnibus edition '' The Essential Conan'' in 1998. The stories originally appeared in the fantasy magazine ''

Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, printe ...

'' in the 1930s. The pieces in ''Red Nails'', in common with those in the other Conan volumes produced by Karl Edward Wagner for Berkley, are based on the originally published form, of the texts in preference to the edited versions appearing in the earlier

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 ...

and

Lancer A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by India, Egypt, China, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...

editions of the Conan stories. In contrast to the earlier editions, which included Conan tales by authors other than Howard, Wagner took a purist approach, including only stories by Howard, and only those thought to be in the public domain. His editorial comments dismiss editorial revisions made in the earlier editions.

*"Foreword" by Karl Edward Wagner *"

Beyond the Black River "Beyond the Black River" is one of the original short story, short stories about Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in ''Weird Tales'' magazine, v. 25, nos. 5-6, May–June 1 ...

" *" Shadows in Zamboula" *"

Red Nails "Red Nails" is the last of the stories featuring Conan the Cimmerian written by American author Robert E. Howard. A novella, it was originally serialized in ''Weird Tales'' magazine from July to October 1936, the months after Howard's suicide. ...

" *"

The Hyborian Age "The Hyborian Age" is an essay by American writer Robert E. Howard pertaining to the Hyborian Age, the fictional setting of his stories about Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Cimmerian. It was written in the 1930s but not published during Howard's ...

" (essay) *"Afterword" by Karl Edward Wagner 1977 short story collections Conan the Barbarian books Conan the Barbarian books by Robert E. Howard Fantasy short story collections Berkley Books books {{1970s-fantasy-story-collection-stub fr:Conan : Les Clous rouges

Contents