This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Conan the Valorous
Series: Conan the Barbarian
Authors: John Maddox Roberts
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 219
Words: 86K
| Synopsis: |
From Wikipedia.org
Hathor-Ka, a Stygian sorceress, tricks Conan into stealing certain relics from Ben Morgh, a sacred mountain in Cimmeria. His expedition takes him across Koth, Nemedia, and the Border Kingdoms where Conan is diverted by his rescue of a chieftainess. Meanwhile, Jaganath (a sorcerer from Vendhya) is also on a journey into the Cimmerian Wilderness. In Cimmeria, the various clans are uniting against the Vanir and their allies, a tribe of lizard folk. The two armies are traveling towards Ben Morgh and proceed with a final battle. As the conflict rages on, Conan and a wizard from Khitai wage a more crucial battle inside Crom’s Cave beneath the mountain with the aid of Jaganath, Hathor-Ka, and her patron, Thoth-Amon. Ultimately, Cimmeria is delivered from outside sorcery and Conan joins a raiding party of Aesir in their journey towards Hyberborea.
| My Thoughts: |
Robert Howard wrote the original Conan the Barbarian stories. I reviewed a collection of them back in ’18 and thoroughly enjoyed them. So much so that I have finally tracked down a collection of Conan the Barbarian stories by two other authors, notably John Maddox Roberts and Robert Jordan (of the Wheel of Time fame). Since I finished WoT last year, I wanted to give myself a break from Jordan and so chose Roberts to begin my Conan Pastiche journey with. I’ve got 6 Conan books by him to keep me occupied for a while.
I am not sure if these stories by Roberts are in any particular order or how they fit into the original canon by Howard. Honestly, I don’t think it matters. I am treating each one as a standalone story. Howard also mainly wrote the Conan stories as short stories, so getting full length novels is going to be a different beast and we’ll see how Conan the Character handles it.
This story is about Conan getting tricked by a sorceress and being involved in a once in a millennium confluence where great powers are bestowed on one sorcerer. Conan has to go back to his homeland of Cimmeria and you find out they’re a bunch of goat herders who like to kill everyone else with their weapons. Conan isn’t the sharpest sword in the barrel but compared to the rest of the Cimmerians he’s a world traveling playboy of exquisite refinement.
There are monsters galore and the god of the Cimmerians plays a tiny part as does an Eldrich Horror. Roberts delves into the Cosmic Horror side of things with tentacled god monsters in the spaces between the planets but it is more of just a nod to the idea than any real work on the idea.
This was a decent sword & sorcery adventure tale but it didn’t hold a candle to Howard’s original stuff.
Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road 
Well I remember the Arnie movie but never knew it was from a book series. Was Red Sonja part of all this?
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think the original Conan stories were actually short stories for magazine back in the day.
As for Red Sonja, I don’t know. She’s cut from the same cloth but I dont know if she was in a story of Conan and somebody else ran with it or somebody just decided to make a female version of Conan.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Red “Sonya” was from a historical fiction short story written by Howard (it’s set in midieval Constantinople, IIRC.) Sonya is a cannoneer, although she also is a dab hand with a blade, and the hero is a Varangian Guard. Or something.
Red “Sonja” was a riff off of this character, albeit in name and redness only, set in a fantasy genre to provide a distaff counterpart to Conan.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Riders. I had no idea and I can guarantee I never would have found that out on my own…
LikeLiked by 1 person
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sonja
Red Sonja is a fictional sword and sorcery comic-book superheroine[3] created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith for Marvel Comics in 1973, partially based on Robert E. Howard’s characters Red Sonya of Rogatino, Dark Agnes de Chastillon, and Valeria.
oO
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope Fraggle is paying attention!
LikeLiked by 1 person
In the first Conan movie, he gets strong by pushing a big wheel in circles for years, but I don’t understand why his muscles don’t develop in a lop-sided way as a result. Can you explain?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Movies.
That’s all the explanation needed.
Now in the books there’s no wheel or nonsense like that. Conan’s just big and runs around and kills people. Nothing to develop muscles like swinging a sword while running.
I’m sure if he’d known about spinach though, he might have gone that route…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Crom!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loincloth chafing?
LikeLike
Sorcerers are always bad news for Conan aren’t they?
LikeLiked by 2 people
They really are. I think overall they are just badguys in this world, period.
LikeLike
I have yet to read a Conan pastiche that holds a candle to REH’s original stories, but the John Maddox Roberts and Robert Jordan novels are the best of them in my experience (I’ve read five of Roberts’ pastiches, all of Jordan’s but his novelization of the second movie, and a handful of others).
LikeLiked by 1 person
From what you had said and somebody else or other, I figured Roberts and Jordan were my best bets.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Conan isn’t the sharpest sword in the barrel but compared to the rest of the Cimmerians he’s a world traveling playboy of exquisite refinement.” That’s hilarious!
I think it was a Conan movie that has a quote my husband and I love to repeat to each other. When asked what is best in life, only Conan gets it right:
“Rush your enemies, drive them before you; hear the lamentation of the women.” Except you have to say it in a low German accent. In fact, Josh says it better than Schwarzenegger.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dang it, I meant “CRUSH your enemies”. I really need to proofread before posting my comments.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve seen the Arnie Conan movie once. I also saw the new one (and man, that was a really stupid movie). I think i”ll stick with the books 🙂
Do you comment on a computer or your phone?
LikeLiked by 1 person
On my computer. I don’t have my wordpress passwords memorized or on my phone.
And yes. They are super lame movies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
For the longest time I had no interest in reading Conan stories or books, not sure why. I stuck to comics and movies. But for several years now I’ve wanted to try some of Howard’s original stories. Glad to hear you enjoyed those, and I think I’ll skip these by other authors at least until I’ve also tried the originals.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you do decide to read some Conan books, definitely start with the Howard stuff. That way you can judge a bit more accurately all johnny come lately’s 🙂
LikeLike
Conan by Jordan?? I’m so curious to hear more about that part of your adventure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
With the 5 or 6 by Roberts, I’m guessing I won’t get to Jordan until early to mid ’23.
I have to admit, taking the long view of my reviewing has seriously eased up the pressure I used to feel about “getting to the books” 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person