FANTASY REVIEW: Conan the Beserker - Robert E Howard

Release Date: 10/11/11

SYNOPSIS:

Conan the Barbarian is one of the most famed figures in fantasy fiction. With the success of the new film starring Jason Momoa (of A GAME OF THRONES)and Ron Perlman, the time is right to revisit Robert E. Howard's classic stories. Presented in chronological order over three books, all of Conan's life is here, from his wild adventures as a youth to the final tale of Conan the King. Howard's tales of the wanderer, the reaver, the thief, the Barbarian have never been surpassed. In this volume Conan learns the secrets of the RED NAILS and the JEWELS OF GWAHLUR, meets THE SLITHERING SHADOW and THE PEOPLE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE, visits THE POOL OF THE BLACK ONE and travels BEYOND THE BLACK RIVER. A selection of other tales and fragments round out this new collection of a classic character.


REVIEW:

The second book of tales from the Conan series that features the stories from “The People of the Black Circle” through to “Beyond the Black River” which takes the reader on a whole set of adventures with perhaps one of the best known fantasy characters of all time. It’s fun, it has plenty of action and as such with Howard’s writing the reader is in for a pulp fiction treat as the tales unfurl.

Add to this as usual, great prose, top notch characters and pace and as a reader I loved the chance to journey back to a time when fantasy was becoming popular again with the reader. A sad shame for the early death of the creator, it would be interesting to see what he’d have made of the success of the series. All in, this is a real treat and if you want something special to help encourage a young reader to move onto adult titles then the Conan series is one of the best ways to go.