"Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities...there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars.... Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand...to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet."
In a meteoric career that spanned a mere twelve years before his tragic suicide, Robert E. Howard single-handedly invented the genre that came to be called sword and sorcery. Collected in this volume are Howard's first thirteen Conan stories in their original versions and in the order Howard wrote them. Included are classics of dark fantasy like "The Tower of the Elephant" and swashbuckling adventure like "Queen of the Black Coast."
Here are timeless tales featuring Conan the raw and dangerous youth, Conan the daring thief, Conan the swashbuckling pirate, and Conan the commander of armies. Here, too, is an unparalleled glimpse into the mind of a genius whose bold storytelling style has been imitated by many yet equaled by none.
The tales contained in The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian are "The Phoenix on the Sword," "The Frost-Giant's Daughter," "The God in the Bowl," "The Tower of the Elephant," "The Scarlet Citadel," "Queen of the Black Coast," "Black Colossus," "Iron Shadows in the Moon," "Xuthal of the Dusk," "The Pool of the Black One," "Rogues in the House," "The Vale of Lost Women," and "The Devil in Iron."
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"A (mostly) fabulous collection of short stories written in a style that runs rings around most modern drivel. If you like your women lithe and your men tanned bronze and ready for action, this is the book for you. A little fantasy, a little sci-fi, a little horror and a whole lot of blood dripping carnage, this book is a true pleasure for manly men. The only sour note is the fact that the prejudices of Howard's time sometimes show through (much like Tolkein and Lewis). These stories are also best enjoyed with a generous interval between readings. Nevertheless, this is great stuff."
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Dergrossest (4 out of 5 stars)