‘The Slithering Shadow’ – Robert E. Howard


Page Count – 37 Pages

I’m doing my commute reading the other way round this week. I actually bought ‘The Slithering Shadow’ last week, for the commute read home, but that didn’t happen and so ‘The Slithering Shadow’ became this week’s read for the trip into the office. And it wasn’t a bad read either 😊 I’m still not big on ‘Reading Resolutions’ but one thing I would like to do this year is read more stuff by Robert E. Howard. I’m steadily working my way through Clark Ashton Smith and Lovecraft gets his turn as well; it doesn’t seem fair to leave Howard out so here we are. There’s plenty to choose from but it’s inevitable that there will be Conan tales amongst that reading and so again, here we are 😉

‘The Slithering Shadow’ was originally published in the September 1933 issue of ‘Weird Tales’ but can also be found under the guise of ‘Xuthal of the Dusk’ in other publications. Project Gutenberg has a free copy Here but I found my copy on Amazon. Lets talk about it a little…

Conan and his companion, Natala the Brythunian, are the sole survivors of Prince Almuric’s rampaging army but stranded in the Stygian Desert, Conan does not expect to survive for long. That is, until he sees a strange citadel in the near distance. Gaining entry, Conan and Natala discover food and water but they also discover mystery as well, a mystery that will threaten their very existence. Are the dead returning to life? Who is Thalis? And what is the ravenous shadow that prowls the citadel, leaving nothing in its wake but the echoing scream of its victim…?

It was interesting to read the Wikipedia entry for ‘The Slithering Shadow’ and note that Felix Leiber rated it as one of three of the worst Conan stories. Not knocking Leiber at all but I read ‘The Slithering Shadow’ and really enjoyed the experience myself. I’d agree that we’re not seeing anything particularly new here but that’s kind of the whole point with Conan and what really matters is whether Howard is on top of his storytelling game. And I’d say that he very much is.

Howard tells another gripping tale and I love the way that he switches effortlessly between unsettling passages and moments of explosive action where anything within reach of Conan’s sword is liable to have a really bad day. What I really enjoyed is Conan’s reaction to the cosmic horror of the creature Thog; anyone would be unsettled by this creature and I love that Conan is no different. He’s not an invincible, fearless warrior (like some of his successors), Conan has his fears and while he can get his head round the foibles of civilisation, he can’t reconcile the otherworldly and it really gets in his head. It means so much more then when you see him dig his heels in and draw on reserves of strength to carry on the fight. And that’s just what we see with Conan’s fight with Thog, a fight that’s so much more powerful for it.

For a story that’s only thirty seven pages long, Howard crams a lot into it and I’m only just getting onto Conan’s inevitable ruminations on ‘the barbarian and his struggle with the concept of civilisation’. All that is there too and while Howard isn’t really saying anything new by this point, it’s still worth a look and a ponder.

The bottom line is that ‘The Slithering Shadow’ is another example of Howard doing what he did best. Another excellent dose of adventure with one of the most compelling leads you’ll come across.

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