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Conan Chronologies
This article covers some of the major Conan chronologies that have been advanced over the years. From the 1930s onward a number of fans and scholars have analyzed the numerous Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard and later writers, and attempted to organize them into a chronological timeline. Going beyond a simple fan activity, these efforts have had a significant impact on the development of the popular conception of the character of Conan as well as economic consequences on the Conan franchise. As Paolo Bertetti observes, the focus on the creation of a character chronology outside the work of the original author begins a "process that tends to transform the character into a social object of inter-individual construction and public debate, rendering it independent of texts in which it was born," and in the case of Conan, this has led to the exploitation of the character for commercial reasons and perhaps encouraged and justified the proliferation of pastiche stories an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conan The Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer''), television programs (animated and live-action), video games, and role-playing games. Robert E. Howard created the character in 1932 for a series of fantasy stories published in ''Weird Tales'' magazine. Thought to be the earliest known appearance of Robert E. Howard’s character was that of a black-haired barbarian with heroic attributes named Conan in the 1931 short story "People of the Dark". By 1932, Howard had officially conceptualised Conan and in his lifetime wrote 21 stories. Over the years many other writers have written works featuring Conan. Many Conan the Barbarian stories feature Conan embarking on heroic adventures filled with common fantasy elements such as princesses and wizards. Howard's mythopoeia has the stories se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conan And The Sorcerer
''Conan and the Sorcerer'' is a fantasy novel written by Andrew J. Offutt and illustrated by Esteban Maroto. Featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian, it is the first in a trilogy continuing with '' Conan the Mercenary'' and concluding with '' The Sword of Skelos''. It was first published in paperback by Sunridge Press in October 1978, and reprinted in May 1979, 1982, and March 1984 by Ace Books. Plot summary Attempting to steal from a wizard named Hissar Zul, the young Conan finds the tables turned when his intended victim steals his soul and imprisons it inside a mirror. The Wizard promises to restore Conan's soul if he retrieves for Zul a magical artifact previously stolen from him. With little recourses, the barbarian tracks down Zul's artifact along with the woman who stole it, recovering it after a number of adventures. Unfortunately, he finds Zul disinclined to honor his end of the bargain. After killing the wizard, Conan's new goal is to fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conan The Defender
''Conan the Defender'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Robert Jordan, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in trade paperback by Tor Books in December 1982, followed by a regular paperback edition in December 1983. The book was reprinted by Tor in February 1991 and September 2009. The first British edition was published by Legend in September 1996. It was later gathered together with '' Conan the Invincible'' and '' Conan the Unconquered'' into the omnibus collection '' The Conan Chronicles'' (Tor Books, 1995). Plot summary The book opens around noon in the mansion of Albanus the wizard, Vegentius the Commander of the Golden Leopards (the bodyguard regiment of Nemedia's Kings), Demetrio Amarianus (a landowner), Constanto Melius (a noble), and Sephana Galerianus (the rejected mistress of King Garian). They are gathered to plot the usurping of the Dragon Throne of the kingdom of Nemedia. During their meeting, Alban ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lair Of The Ice Worm
"The Lair of the Ice Worm" is a fantasy short story by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. It was first published by Lancer Books in the paperback collection ''Conan of Cimmeria'' (1969), which was reprinted several times, first by Lancer and later by Ace Books through 1993. It has also been published by Sphere Books in the omnibus paperback collection ''The Conan Chronicles'' (1989). Plot summary Tiring of the icy lands of the Aesir, Conan is traveling through the frozen wastelands north of his home country, and finds himself protecting a girl named Ilga, who is attacked by a tribe of savage subhumans. With night approaching fast, and Conan's horse killed in his battle against the savages, they take refuge in an ice cave, despite Ilga's seemingly irrational fears of something she merely calls "Yakhmar", failing to elaborate. After building a small fire, they make lov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Frost Giant's Daughter
"The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is one of the original fantasy short stories about Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard. The story is set in the fictional history of the Hyborian Age and details Conan pursuing a spectral nymph across the frozen tundra of Nordheim. Rejected as a Conan story by ''Weird Tales'' magazine editor Farnsworth Wright, Howard changed the main character's name to "Amra of Akbitana" and retitled the piece as "The Gods of the North", as which it was published in the March 1934 issue of '' The Fantasy Fan''. It was not published in its original form in Howard's lifetime. Plot summary "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is the earliest chronological story by Robert E. Howard in terms of Conan's life. The brief tale is set in frozen Nordheim, geographically situated north of Conan's homeland, Cimmeria. Conan is a young warrior traveling in a war party of the Aesir, the principal gods of Norse mythology. Shortly before the story begins, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Blood-Stained God
''The Blood-Stained God'' is a 1955 fantasy novella by American writer Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was revised by de Camp from Howard's original story, an unpublished non-fantasy oriental tale that featured Kirby O'Donnell titled " The Curse of the Crimson God". De Camp changed the names of the characters, added the sorcery elements, and recast the setting into Howard's Hyborian Age. The story was first published in the hardbound collection ''Tales of Conan'' (Gnome Press, 1955), and subsequently appeared in the paperback collection ''Conan of Cimmeria'' (Lancer Books, 1969), as part of which it has been translated into German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, and Italian. The stories elements were used on the 1976 Peter Pan Records Peter Pan Records is an American record label specializing in children's music. The label was introduced to the public in March 1948. The label was owned by the Synthetic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conan And The Spider God
''Conan and the Spider God'' is a fantasy novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Bantam Books in December 1980; later paperback editions were issued by Ace Books (April 1989, reprinted August 1991) and Tor Books (June 2003). The first hardcover edition was issued by Robert Hale in 1984, and the second by Tor Books in 2002. It was later gathered together with ''Conan the Swordsman'' and '' Conan the Liberator'' into the omnibus trade paperback collection ''Sagas of Conan'' (Tor Books, 2004). ''Conan and the Spider God'' is the only fictional Conan work credited solely to de Camp; his other Conan stories being collaborations with Howard (posthumously), Lin Carter, and Björn Nyberg. De Camp also wrote numerous non-fiction pieces about Conan and Howard, both alone and with others. Plot summary Conan finds himself in the kingdom of Zamora, a fugitive under suspici ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Curse Of The Monolith
"The Curse of the Monolith" is a short story by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan of Cimmeria created by Robert E. Howard. It was first published in the magazine ''Worlds of Fantasy'' in 1968 as "Conan and the Cenotaph". Plot summary Conan is a mercenary serving in the army of the empire of Turan. Having attained the rank of captain, he has been chosen by King Yildiz to lead a calvary of soldiers and deliver a letter of friendship to King Shu of Kusan, a minor kingdom in the east. Shu sends Conan back to Turan with a formal letter of acceptance and provides him with a high noble of his own court, Duke Feng, to act as a guide and escort. However, unknown to both Conan and King Shu, Feng is a member of an isolationist political party known as the Golden Pheasant, which is against all contact between Kusan and the nations of the west. Determined to prevent Conan from delivering the letter of treaty back to Tura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The People Of The Summit
"The People of the Summit" is a short story by Swedish writer Björn Nyberg, subsequently revised by L. Sprague de Camp, featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. Nyberg's version of the story was first published by Lancer Books in the paperback anthology ''The Mighty Swordsmen'' in December 1970. The revised version was first published by Bantam Books in the paperback collection '' Conan the Swordsman'' in August 1978. Later paperback editions of the collection were issued by Ace Books (1987 and 1991). The first hardcover edition was published by Tor Books in 2002. The book has also been translated into Italian. It was later gathered together with '' Conan the Liberator'' and '' Conan and the Spider God'' into the omnibus collection ''Sagas of Conan ''Sagas of Conan'' is a 2004 omnibus collection of three previously issued fantasy books written by L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter and Björn Nyberg featuring Robert E. Howard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The City Of Skulls (short Story)
"The City of Skulls" is a short story by American writers Lin Carter and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian created by Robert E. Howard. Plot overview Conan is a mercenary serving in the Turanian army along with his friend Juma of Kush, both of them having met while in combat. They are assigned by King Yildiz to his Turanian detachment, whose mission is escorting the king's daughter, Princess Zosara, to her wedding with the Great Khan of the Kuigar nomads in the eastern land of Hyrkania. Before they could reach their destination, the Turanian soldiers are ambushed by a tribe of warriors who descend upon them from the foothills of the Talakma Mountains. The Turanians are all killed in the battle except for Conan, Juma, and Zosara. The three survivors are captured by the tribesmen and journey into the fabled kingdom of Meru, which consists of seven sacred cities on the shore of an ancient lake within a tropical valley concealed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Hand Of Nergal
"The Hand of Nergal" is one of the original short stories by American author Robert E. Howard starring the sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, an untitled fragment begun in the 1930s but not finished or published in Howard's lifetime. It was completed and titled by Lin Carter and in this form was published in the following collections: *'' Conan'' (Lancer, 1967, later reissued by Ace Books). *''The Conan Chronicles'' (Sphere Books, 1989) *''Beyond the Gates of Dream'' ( Belmont Books, 1969), a collection of short stories by Lin Carter and collaborators. It has since been published in its original form in: *'' The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle'' ( Gollancz, 2000) *'' Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932-1933)'' ( Del Rey, 2003). Plot summary (Carter) Conan is a mercenary, serving in the empire of Turan, and fighting in a pitched battle against the forces of a rebellious satrap named Munthassem Khan. As the two sides are locked in furious comba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conan The Unconquered
''Conan the Unconquered'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Robert Jordan, featuring Robert E. Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in April 1983 and reprinted on a number of occasions. The first British edition was published by Sphere Books in February 1988. The first trade paperback edition was published by Tor in 1991. It was later gathered together with '' Conan the Invincible'' and ''Conan the Defender'' into the omnibus collection '' The Conan Chronicles'' (Tor Books, 1995). Plot An evil sorcerer Jhandar wishes to raise an army of undead slaves, and his meddling with chaos brings him into conflict with Conan, who must battle his deadly ninja henchmen who can kill with a touch, and retrieve a weapon from a dent in reality created by the sorcerer's earlier botched experiments. A whirlwind of adventure ensures. Reception Reviewer Ryan Harvey feels " e book has a feeling of comfort food: neither chal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |