The Best of Robert E. Howard Volume 1: Crimson Shadows (Best of Robert E Howard)
Robert E. Howard is one of the most famous and influential pulp authors of the twentieth century. Though largely known as the man who invented the sword-and-sorcery genre?and for his iconic hero Conan the Cimmerian?Howard also wrote horror tales, desert adventures, detective yarns, epic poetry, and more. This spectacular volume, gorgeously illustrated by Jim and Ruth Keegan, includes some of his best and most popular works.
Inside, readers will discover (or rediscover) such gems as ?The Shadow Kingdom,? featuring Kull of Atlantis and considered by many to be the first sword-and-sorcery story; ?The Fightin?est Pair,? part of one of Howard?s most successful series, chronicling the travails of Steve Costigan, a merchant seaman with fists of steel and a head of wood; ?The Grey God Passes,? a haunting tale about the passing of an age, told against the backdrop of Irish history and legend; ?Worms of the Earth,? a brooding narrative featuring Bran Mak Morn, about which H. P. Lovecraft said, ?Few readers will ever forget the hideous and compelling power of [this] macabre masterpiece?; a historical poem relating a momentous battle between Cimbri and the legions of Rome; and ?Sharp?s Gun Serenade,? one of the last and funniest of the Breckinridge Elkins tales.
These thrilling, eerie, compelling, swashbuckling stories and poems have been restored to their original form, presented just as the author intended. There is little doubt that after more than seven decades the voice of Robert E. Howard continues to resonate with readers around the world.
The Best of Robert E. Howard Volume 1: Crimson Shadows (Best of Robert E Howard) Accessories
 The Best of Robert E. Howard Volume 2: Grim Lands (Best of Robert E Howard)
Kull: Exile of Atlantis
The Conquering Sword of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 3)
The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian: The Original Adventures of the Greatest Sword and Sorcery Hero of All Time!
The Bloody Crown of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 2)
The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard
Bran Mak Morn: The Last King
The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane
Lord of Samarcand and Other Adventure Tales of the Old Orient (The Works of Robert E. Howard)
Almuric (Planet Stories)
The Best of Robert E. Howard Volume 1: Crimson Shadows (Best of Robert E Howard) Reviews
Crimson Shadows : The People of the Black Circle - Robert E. They run the gamut from dark fantasy to broad humor, from brooding horror to gentle love story.". Crimson Shadows : For the Love of Barbara Allen - Robert E. Howard.
Crimson Shadows : The Tide - Robert E. Crimson Shadows : Beyond the Black River - Robert E. With a caveat that only two Conan stories per book, maximum. Howard.
Howard. Crimson Shadows : Kings of the Night - Robert E. Crimson Shadows : Sharp's Gun Serenade - Robert E. Crimson Shadows : The Fightin'est Pair - Robert E.
Howard. Crimson Shadows : The Shadow Kingdom - Robert E. Howard. Crimson Shadows : The Valley of the Worm - Robert E.
Crimson Shadows : The Grey God Passes - Robert E. Howard. Crimson Shadows : The Curse of the Golden Skull - Robert E. Howard.
Crimson Shadows : The Dark Man - Robert E. Crimson Shadows : Hawk of the Hills - Robert E. Howard. The only one I don't think is any good is the Curse of the Golden Skull. Crimson Shadows : The Black Stone - Robert E. Howard.
Howard. Howard. Burke further states that he used a fan poll of the top 25 Howard stories to help in choosing the stories, taking a goodly percentage of them. A selection of stories from many and varied genres. Howard. Howard.
Howard. Howard.
Howard. There are also many poems included here, and Burke points out that Howard wrote over 300 stories and 800 poems in 12 years, approximately. Crimson Shadows : Lord of the Dead - Robert E.
Howard. Crimson Shadows : Red Shadows - Robert E. As the editor says "He is most famous, of course, for Conan of Cimmeria, who has taken on a life of his own as Conan the Barbarian, far removed from Howards brilliantly original conception; herein you will find other great characters, like Kull of Atlantis, king of fabled Valusia; Solomon Kane, the swashbuckling Puritanadventurer; Bran Mak Morn, last king of an ancient race; Sailor Steve Costigan, the champion of the forecastle; Breckinridge Elkins, the man-mountain who cant seem to avoid walking into trouble; Steve Harrison, the detective whos as likely to solve the mystery with his fists as with his wits; and many others.
Crimson Shadows : Worms of the Earth - Robert E.
In contrast, Keegan offers no better than a ho-hum representation of Conan standing there, utterly relaxed, as if he's about to start filing his friggin' fingernails). To top it off, Jim and Ruth Keegan seem to have taken the quick way out of illustrating the works, foisting off the easiest possible substitutes for what should be action drawings. I am, first and foremost, a diehard fan of Howard's sword-and-sorcery tales, particular his Conan series and, to a lesser extent, his Kull, Kane, and Bran series (in descending order). No, by all means purchase the first six volumes of the series, but pass on these two. (As the simplest example, when Conan and Valeria must escape from a murderous giant snake in the novelette "Red Nails," Gary Manchess [in the same publisher's "Bloody Crown of Conan"] offers us a thrilling picture of the duo taking to their heels, with a slavering reptilian colossus in hot pursuit. What we have in the last two volumes (#7 and #8) of the Ballantine/Del Rey series too often feels like a collection of lesser leftovers. I was never impressed by his Western-themed works nor by his two-cent street boxing efforts. This is made all the more disturbing by the Keegans' foreword that praises the excellence of the works, the outstanding opportunity to illustrate them, and (thank you very much) their own profoundly challenging efforts at slaving away to produce a handful of tres boring charcoals.
Howard, this is a superb place to start. You may find it worth buying anyway, as I did, in order to get Howard stories about lesser known characters (but not written with less passion). So is the best Bran Mak Morn story (Worms of the Earth). I have only one caveat about this excellent collection. This book is REH at his best. The original version of "The Grey God Passes" is here, etc. The best Kull story ever (Shadow Kingdom, one of REH's very best) is here. But the overlap with previous volumes in the same series is at least 50%.
The books provide the most authoritative versions of Howard's stories available anywhere, with scholarly notes (in the back, which you need not read, but can be cool to sample) on the original texts. Many are well worth the read. If (like me) you have previously purchased the previous volumes in the series, namely the Conan, Kane, Kull, and Bran Mak Morn books, then you have already more than half the material in the book. For some one who has not read much of Robert E. Crimson Shadows is the latest in Del Rey's definitive Howard series.
We are unlikely to ever again see another writer of his caliber. Howard was a master of the short story format, and it shows in his writing style, which is intense, bold, descriptive, and yet concise, pulling the reader inexorably into his visions and leaving one wanting more. Collected in two volumes are many of his most popular stories about his most exciting heroes: Conan of Cimmeria; the grim Puritan, Solomon Kane; the boxer, Steve Costigan, and his bulldog, Mike; Red Sonya of Rogatino; King Kull; and a host of others. Howard's works, then this is a great place to start. If you have never read any of the late Robert E. These heroes are truly larger than life, ready to do battle with fists and swords.
This is a must have for any fantasy collector. In the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Howard's writing inspired Stephen King and left a series of stories about a bloodthirsty and crude fantasy world.
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