Barbarian with a Thousand Faces
Written: Jan 13 '04 (Updated Jul 11 '05)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: The Original.
Cons: Incomplete. Or is that a bad thing?
The Bottom Line: Pulp Fiction: adolescent fantasy or maligned and marginalized storytelling?
|
|
|
| panguitch's Full Review: The Essential Conan Books |
Conan is a name everyone knows. For most, the image it carries is a conglomeration: He-Man, Kull, Beastmaster, the Hercules-breed of TV show. But many of us also remember the Conan movies of the 80s, or the Conan comic books of the 70s. Some are familiar with the Conan franchise of novels, the mantle taken up by writers of varying talent, much like the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises. Conan is a fixture of popular culture. Yet finding the real Conan isn’t easy.
Robert E. Howard wrote 21 Conan stories from 1932 to 1935, publishing most in the pulp Weird Tales. Since the untimely demise of both Howard and Weird Tales, the Conan stories have passed through several incarnations and many compilations. Karl Edward Wagner came close to creating a definitive collection in 1977. Contemptuous of alterations and additions made to Howard’s stories (notably the Gnome Press Editions spearheaded by L. Sprague de Camp), Wagner set out to resurrect the true Conan, Howard’s Conan. He meticulously copied the text of the stories exactly as Weird Tales had printed them. He published three volumes, adding elucidary prefaces and afterwords to each. Unfortunately, because of copyright complications he was unable to finish the project and left it less than half complete.
Wagner’s dream has been pursued by others to varying success. The task is complicated. It takes little inspection before the textual issues involving Howard’s Conan stories begin to resemble those clouding Shakespeare’s work, amusing though the comparison may be. Sifting through the mess of Howard pastiches and contradictory Howard ‘originals’ is only worth the most passionate fan’s time. (A good bibliography can be found at http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3f978/Glade/conanbib.html). But in 1998 the Science Fiction Book Club (sfbc.com) put out a hardback containing the three volumes Wagner had finished. Relatively easy to come by and presenting nine Howard pieces in strict original form, this is a good place to start if you’re looking for the real Conan.
The Essential Conan
Robert E. Howard
The Hour of the Dragon
• An introductory poem
• The Hour of the Dragon
The People of the Black Circle
• The Devil in Iron
• The People of the Black Circle
• A Witch Shall be Born
• Jewels of Gwahlur
Red Nails
• Beyond the Black River
• Shadows in Zamboula
• Red Nails
• The Hyborian Age
Details on a Few of the Tales
The Hour of the Dragon is actually considered a novel in its own right, and is by far the longest piece Howard wrote. It’s also the last in the Conan chronology. And the last Howard saw published. We see Conan here as king of Aquilonia, and Howard displays a zeal for depicting court politics and the attitudes of more civilized knights. But Conan is the same man. And the story is familiar. An evil sorcerer from ages past is resurrected and sets about conquering the world. Conan soon finds himself dethroned and imprisoned. The story’s damsel, Zenobia, rescues him (that’s refreshing) and after a jaunt to Stygia to steal a magic jewel from an evil temple Conan returns to muster his loyal armies and defeat the sorcerer.
This is a sweeping tale, seeing Conan traverse the globe in roles as varied as king, general, lover, warrior, pirate, thief, and of course, barbarian. If Arnold Schwarzenegger really wants to do a third Conan movie, this would be perfect material.
"The People of the Black Circle" is set in northwestern Asia, where Conan is known best as a leader of horsemen. Here the evil sorcerer is more deeply characterized than usual, a somewhat tragic figure who defies his master for love. Conan himself is paired with a Devi of Vendhya, a more independently-willed heroine than usual. Their careening adventures in the high mountains of central Asia are memorable as an outstanding Conan story, but also display Howard’s talents at evoking regional settings. Fritz Leiber called this tale "the best of the Conan stories and perhaps the pinnacle of Howard’s writing. Tightly plotted, pithily poetic, gorgeously ornamented, manned by grand heroes and villains and also by characters torn between good and evil, and above all brimming with glamour and glory."
"A Witch Shall be Born" contains perhaps the most memorable of any Conan scene: his crucifixion and humiliation (which was adapted with little success for the Conan the Barbarian movie). From this low Conan fights back to victory over an evil sorceress who has usurped her sister’s throne. Interestingly, much of the fighting is ‘off-camera,’ related by third parties. Here Howard spares us the details of each sword thrust. Instead, focus lies on Salome, the usurping sorceress. One of Conan’s most delightful adversaries, she’s purely decadent. She’s also a great example of the eroticism Howard employed. Like several other female villains, she’s taken to flagellating women. Despite (or because of) the fan of the day’s puritanical streak, such situations earned Conan Weird Tales covers several times, this one being a typical Margaret Brundage drawing.
"Beyond the Black River" is rather out of the norm for Conan. Really a frontier story in the American tradition, the narration follows a more ordinary man, Balthus, who soon teams up with Conan. They help fight a losing battle against natives who are overrunning frontier settlements. Unlike most Conan tales, there is no damsel in distress and no prominent villain. The story is vulnerable to criticism as a western dressed up to be a Conan story, yet Howard’s dark pessimism shows through clearly: "Barbarism is the natural state of mankind. Civilization is unnatural. It is a whim of circumstance. And barbarism must ultimately triumph."
"Red Nails" is the last fantasy story Howard wrote, and an example of a common Conan setting: the lost city. Here the city is deserted save for two decimated bands that have been killing each other off for generations. Conan and his heroine, Valeria (an uncommonly capable Conan heroine) get mixed up in the fighting. Howard called this "the bloodiest and most sexy weird story I ever wrote." But the gore doesn’t stand out from any other tale, and the lesbianism (if you want to call it that) hardly goes farther than it does in tales like "A Witch Shall be Born." This story is poorly conceived, though the lost city motif is better rendered than in, say, "Jewels of Gwahlur."
Some Comments
The Conan most of us are familiar with hasn’t changed much. He still hacks and slashes through innumerable hosts single-handed. He still outwits evil sorcerers and saves poorly-clad nymphos. But there are subtle differences. For instance, because of Schwarzenegger’s role in Milius’s movie, we may think of Conan as a near-mute. But in Howard’s stories we find a Cimmerian who is downright chatty. His talkativeness, combined with the cleaner language of the day, leads to some amusing lines. Like Conan’s reproachfully calling the heroine in "Jewels of Gwahlur" a "sacrilegious little hussy." Or his hurling the insulting appellation "misbegotten offspring of questionable parents" in "Red Nails."
Less amusing is the racism (to say nothing of sexism) inherent in many of the stories. Not only evident in the barbarism/civilization dichotomy, this undercurrent at times rears its head obtrusively. Of a magnificent ruined city Conan wonders "could black people build a city like that?" The nations corresponding to Africa are dangerous, mysterious, and evil, while black characters are either nameless servants or demonic villains. Though Howard deserves no more condemnation for his attitudes than does his entire generation, one should be forewarned of such indelicacies before reading these Conan stories.
But is it worth turning back to the original Conan? It most certainly is. While later authors of Conan stories, like de Camp and Jordan, are perhaps better writers, none surpass Howard for his energy. Still, Howard’s Conan wears thin quickly. There is no variation in him. And few facets. Which is why Milius’s Conan seems a better conceived character. Despite his muteness, it is clear his predilection to violence comes partly from fear, and partly from revenge, whereas Howard’s Conan is matter-of-fact about violence, if not bloodthirsty. Milius also gives Conan nuances of insecurity, something Howard’s character never shows. Which is exactly the reason his Conan becomes wearying. He never fears, never hesitates, never really worries. While this characterization projects a larger than life hero to inspire daydreams for the insecure (and who of us aren’t?), it’s the rare reader who won’t get bored with such fantasy.
So these stories are just as rollicking and meaty as you might expect. Howard wrote with breathless energy and a grandiose eye. This is pulp in an ultimate sense: not high literature, but highly entertaining. And like all candy, you can lose your taste for it if you eat too much, which is why The Essential Conan is as complete a collection as I’ll ever need.
– Panguitch
All fled—all done, so lift me on the pyre—
The feast is over and the lamps expire.
-note found on Howard’s body after his suicide
Other Conan-Related Reviews:
• The masterful (I’m serious!) film, Conan the Barbarian: http://www.epinions.com/content_85970751108
• The exquisite score to the masterful film: http://www.epinions.com/content_85970947716
• The pathetic sequel, Conan the Destroyer: http://www.epinions.com/content_106376760964
• The Whole Wide World, a quasi-biographical movie about Howard: http://www.epinions.com/content_189404384900
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
panguitch
|
 in Magazine Subscriptions, Books |
 - Top 1000 |
|
Location: Springville, UT
Reviews written: 285
Trusted by: 222 members
About Me:
"Realism is quite incapable of describing the complexity of contemporary experience." -Ursula K. Le Guin
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.