‘Conan the Barbarian’ – L. Sprague De Camp and Lin Carter (Titan Books)


Page Count: 218 Pages

It took me a little while to get round to it but I did say I’d read it and… Here we are :o)

I’m not a hundred percent certain (near as dammit though) but I think this was the first ‘Conan’ story I ever read, way back in the days of family caravanning holidays and markets where what was left of your pocket money could get you a book like… Well, ‘Conan the Barbarian’ ;o) I lost my original copy years ago, replaced it via eBay and then bought this copy because… Frankly, the size of the font is a lot easier on my eyes. Maybe I should start using my Kindle more… Anyway :o) Lets talk about ‘Conan the Barbarian’.

The official adaptation of CONAN THE BARBARIAN, the seminal film written by John Milius and Oliver Stone, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Earl Jones. In the novel by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, the Cimmerian youth Conan witnesses the death of his parents at the hands of Thulsa Doom, a priest of Set. Enslaved, he is trained as a gladiator. Gaining his freedom he allies with Subotai, a Hyrkanian archer, and a skilled swordswoman thief named Valeria. Together they raid the Tower of the Serpent, then Conan breaks away to seek the cult of Doom—and revenge on the sorcerer who leads it.

I’ve got a little bit of an uneasy relationship with the ‘Conan the Barbarian’ movie. As much as I enjoy it (click Here for my ‘Conan the Barbarian, the movie’ post), I can’t help but think they missed a massive opportunity by not using any of Howard’s actual ‘Conan’ tales. Maybe they weren’t allowed to? I don’t know. The funny is, as much as that bugs me about the movie, it doesn’t bother me at when reading the book. I mean, that’s the whole point of a ‘movie tie-in’ novel, isn’t it? Well, there’s a little more going on here.

Given De Camp and Carter’s prior involvement in Conan’s world, I’d say that the level of expectation creeps up a notch or two when their name is on the cover. As far as I’m concerned, the good news is that they absolutely live up to those expectations here; ‘Conan the Barbarian’ is a hell of a lot of fun to read, a little verbose in places (although that might just be me coming down after a heavy week) but full of those hectic Sword and Sorcery stylings that make any ‘Conan’ read a good one. Tower raids? Check. Raid on the Temple? Also check. You get the idea ;o)

You could say that the book has an unfair advantage; after all, all it needs to do is follow the movie’s plot and it’s all good. De Camp and Carter give us a little more than just that though. Their depiction of the locales, that Conan must travel through, are superb and they display a real deft touch at getting us inside the heads of not only Conan but Valeria and Subotai as well. ‘Conan the Barbarian’ is a well rounded, fleshed out read that I really enjoyed getting re-acquainted with and is a real sign of Titan Books’ commitment to bringing us the best of the barbarian. You’ve seen the film (of course you have) but definitely give the book a shot as well. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

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