‘Legions of the Dead’ – Lin Carter & L. Sprague de Camp’ (Taken from ‘Conan the Swordsman’)


Page Count: 23 Pages

Prior to my move, back in November, a flurried burst of packing led me to the realization that I had somehow managed to buy three copies of ‘Conan the Swordsman’. All different covers but yep… That’s what happens when you see a copy of ‘Conan the Swordsman’, in the wild, and have to make a quick decision ;o)

Anyway, seeing these books got me thinking that I really should read at least one of them and that’s why we’re here today. Reading time is at a premium so in terms of posts, I’m going to take this book either one story at a time or maybe two or three at once, we’ll see how I feel.

With that said then… Lets jump into a very early chapter in Conan’s life and see what he makes of zombies…

As a young man, Conan finds himself adventuring with Njal of the Aesir and his warband, raiding Vanir and Hyperborean outposts. Now they are on a mission that is far more urgent… Njal’s daughter has been taken by Hyperborean slavers and must be rescued. Even if she can be rescued though, can Conan survive what evil Queen Vammatar sends to retrieve her prize…?

Now… I’m no Conan scholar, I just like reading his adventures. With that in mind then. I know that Carter and Sprague de Camp rescued various fragments of Howard’s tales, repurposing some of them in order to fill in the gaps in Conan’s life. I’m assuming that this is what happened with ‘Legions of the Dead’ and that being the case, the end result is pretty much what you’d expect.

‘Legions of the Dead’ is… well, alright I guess. There’s enough of Howard in it to make the reader feel like they’re in Conan’s world and Conan is very much Conan. That should be all you need really but over the rest of the story, it feels like something is missing.

The horror of the zombie pursuit, and attack, is spot on, tapping into that sense of evil in the pre-history of Conan’s world that ‘present day’ inhabitants can’t comprehend. Conan is as brave as he will ever be but you really get his terror in facing walking dead men that he previously fought beside.

The rescue though (and that’s not a spoiler, this is a Conan tale after all) felt just a little bit flat and lifeless which was a real shame as you have to get through this bit before you reach the zombies. And considering that 'daring rescues' are a key feature in 'Sword and Sorcery', 'Legions of the Dead' really doesn't do itself any favours.

Maybe Carter and Sprague de Camp didn’t have a lot to work with, I don’t know. ‘Legions of the Dead’ isn’t a bad read but if it wasn’t for the zombies, I’m not sure I’d remember the plot if you asked me.

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