"Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet."And so it was...The best of the collection are ... The Tower of the Elephant The Pool of the Black Ones Queen of the Black Coast The Devil in Iron The People of the Black Circle A Witch shall be Born Beyond the Black River, and The Hour of the Dragon.(Reviewed from last to first...)15/May/20: 26, 27, 28. Afterword ...: There is an extensive afterword about the career of Robert E. Howard. Well worth a read.15/May/20: 26, 27, 28. The Snout in the Dark (Draft), Hall of the Dead (Synopsis), The Hand of Nergal (Fragment): Are very much just that, half-written drafts, notes, etc - not rated.04/May/20: 25. Wolves Beyond the Border (Draft): More of technical interest than to be enjoyed as a story, as the final act was in a summary outline form. Also, the big guy was completely off stage. At best, 3 'Howard's Prep Techniques on Show,' stars.30/Apr/20: 24. The Vale of Lost Women: Lost Ophirian princess Livia flees a tribe of savages while Conan takes a few heads. Wandering aimlessly in the night, she falls into the hands of a tribe of soulless women and a 'Devil from the Outer Dark.' Fortunately, Conan followed her tracks and sends the foul horror back to the cosmic realm whence it came. Kinda ho hum .... 3 'Let the Cosmic Horror Win Next Time,' stars.24/Apr/20: 23. Drums of Tombalku (Draft): Kinda a replay of '#7. The Slithering Shadow' where a lost city is filled with a degenerating people and a fell 'cosmic,' horror. Conan is off scene and his 'boon companion,' Amalric the Aquilonian is front and center stage. Ended in a hurry with a sense that more needed to be said. 3 'Still a Draft,' stars.22/Apr/20: 22. The Frost Giant's Daughter: So, this faery king has a beautiful, but cruel daughter... Conan, weary, spent, the sole survivor of a furious battle encounters the daughter of a God, who asks ... "'Am I not beautiful, oh man?' 'Like Dawn running naked on the snows,' he muttered, his eyes burning like those of a wolf." Filled with a divinely inspired raging desire, Conan gives chase, but to little avail as hot mortal lust will not be quenched by a cosmic maiden of ice. 3 'Beware Uncanny Maidens Stalking Blood-Drenched Fields,' stars.21/Apr/20: 21. The Black Stranger: Frack! For half this tale, the mighty Cimmerian is off scene, and even worse the key dimensions of conflict swirl around him. Once Conan arrives, it's with his blood-soaked cutless swinging, but he can't save this tale from its lack of focus. 3 'Where's the Beef?' stars.24/Mar/20: 20. The God in the Bowl: The keystone cops Nemedian police catch Conan in the middle of pilfering a rich man's horde. Murder has been done, and baseless accusations fly, until they all realize they are far from alone. 4 'Cosmic Horror,' stars.18/Feb/20: 19. The Hour of the Dragon: The horseshoes hit the road in a massive pursuit story. Ancient wizards are resurrected, kingdoms are lost and won, battles are fought, slaves freed, rival priests conduct magic war over a terrifying artifact, fell tyranny is practiced by ambitious princes, there are ghouls, vampires, giant serpents, fell cults, wise women, and over all, majestic themes of revenge, justice, loyalty, perseverance, courage and love. 5+ epic fantasy stars. (Best of book so far).26/Jan/20: 18. Red Nails: A divided house will fall, and so it does for the ill-fated inhabitants of the lost city/castle of Xuchotl. Supposedly one of R.E Howard's more famous stories I was underwhelmed. There's a massive Deus Ex Machina in the last three pages that rescues Conan and Valeria from certain death at the hands of a life-sucking vampiress... 3 'assisted by undead ghouls' stars.Deus Ex Machinas and Villainous Gloat speeches are personal pet hates of mine. On reflection, this reminds me of the -T-Rex vs Velociraptors scene in Jurassic Park. You Know the one. The humans are surrounded, no weapons, and about to become snacks, when T-Rex wanders on stage from a closet just off screen, slaughters the velociraptors, and roars mightily while the amazingly lucky humans scamper away to safety....14/Jan/20: 17. Shadows in Zamboula: Not Howard's best work. A little bit by the numbers tale, where Conan outwits and out-fights the locals in Zamboula. Add in a dark priest's brew of potions, illusions, stranglers, greedy inn-keepers, a deceitful dancer, and a posse of lumbering cannibals and we have a story worthy of 3 chin-scratching stars.07/Jan/20: 16. Beyond the Black River: A moving tale of courage against insurmountable odds. Long prosper the shades of Balthus and Slasher. I wasn't sure what sort of story I had here until the end. It kept me guessing all along, and like the war-weary woodsman who remarks to Conan at the end of the story - I also find civilization to be a thin and fragile veneer. 5 courageous against all odds stars.22/Dec/19: 15. Jewels of Gwahlur: A baffling tale of scheming mercenaries, hidden temples, lost humanoids of terrifying violence, a fabled, mystical treasure, religious fanatics, cryptic clues, secret doorways, an actress, and a goddess - although the goddess might be optional, she kept appearing and disappearing like the pea in a shell game. Not R.E's best work. It kept losing me because I had to think too much... 3 baffling stars. 'Baffled wrath confused the brain of Conan the Cimmerian.' Yes, Conan - you and me both.18/Dec/19: 14. A Witch Shall be Born: Ahh... yes! The iconic Conan on the cross scene biting a vulture's head off finally raises its bloodied head. This story is rich in themes of revenge and justice with multiple interesting character arcs. 5 vengeful stars.14/Dec/19: 13. The People of the Black Circle: More rightly, the Shapeshifting Wizards of the Black Circle ... In the longest tale I've read so far, Conan is beset by multiple adversaries in a wonderfully layered novella. I believe we have an early instance of horcruxes on display - was J.K.Rowling a Conan fan? 5 Wizarding Stars.08/Dec/19: 12. The Devil in Iron: Brilliantly written. The images leap off the page like Conan himself. A cosmic horror haunts a lost island in an inland sea. Only a magic dagger made of sky iron can harm it. Conan wins the girl and sends the fell creature back to the dark dimension whence it came. 5 iron giant stars.28/Nov/19: 11. Queen of the Black Coast: Conan and his squeeze, Belit, 'Queen of the Black Coast,' reave across a dozen kingdoms until they embark upon a quest for a nameless lost city along a poisoned river. Conan prevails against a foe fallen from greatness into degeneracy in one of those scenarios where 'nuke 'em from orbit,' was the better option. Ends on a rare elegiac note of pale fire over a burnished sea. 5 love lost stars.23/Nov/19: 10. Shadows in the Moonlight: Conan rescues a lost princess (Olivia) and rows across a sea, encounters an island harboring the revenge of a god, an anthropomorphic horror, and reckless, ruthless pirates. Mayhem ensues. Loved how this connected together and progressed smoothly through the whole story, plus there is some remarkable poetic imagery in this story. 5 lost island of horror stars. 'The sun sank like a dull-glowing copper ball into a lake of fire. The blue of the sea merged with the blue of the sky, and both turned to soft dark velvet, clustered with stars, and the mirrors of stars.' 09/Nov/19: 9. Rogues in the House: A Nobleman, a Priest, and a Cimmerian walk into a Pub... Conan teams up with a nobleman, and a priest to escape a deadly trap. In the end, there is no honor amongst thieves. Not Howard's best work. 4 beast-ape-man stars.01/Jul/19: 8. The Pool of the Black One: "He watched with the calm alertness of a wolf, and when he struck it was with the devastating suddeness of a thunderbolt -" With echoes of Sun Tzu, The Odyssey, and Sinbad the Sailor, this story hits a new high, evoking a genuine sense of mysterious horror that threatens not just the body but the soul itself. 5 mysteriously evocative stars of dark horror.27/Jun/19: 7. The Slithering Shadow: Conan and his current squeeze Natala stumble upon a fabulous high-tech (radium illumination, vivifying liqueurs, advanced narcotics) lost city peopled by drug addicts and a nameless shadowy horror. The dark humor and gritty battles left a smile on my face. 5 stars of mirth laced bloody mayhem.24/Jun/19: 6. Black Colossus: A demonic cosmic horror, a lich-like ancient sorcerer, a tremendous battle of armies that made me think of Erikson's Malazan. A beautiful princess in need of rescuing - this ticked all the boxes, however I'm pinging a star for the villain's 'gloat speech,' at the end - I hate those with a passion. 4 dungeons and dragons inspiring stars.08/Apr/19: 5. The Tower of the Elephant: 5 Cosmic Horror Tragic stars. This is a ripper of a story. OMG! Spiders ... I hate spiders - especially giant ones... . Simple thievery becomes a rescue mission and the original thrust of the story is turned on its head in a third act climax worthy of the name. Brilliant in both brevity and completeness of technique. This story is a showcase of story telling ability that could be used as a text-book example of 'how to do it.'07/Mar/19: 4. The Scarlet Citadel: Captured, imprisoned in a fell dungeon, surrounded by cosmic horrors, escape, a massive pitched battle, wizards - by Crom! What a story. 5 blood drenched stars.03/Mar/19: 3. The Phoenix on the Sword: A good start, but later in Conan's life when he is King of Aquilonia. He thwarts an assassination attempt complicated by "cosmic horrors." 4 spectral stars torn from an abysmal realm of blasphemous horrors and made such flesh that only a talisman bound sword could kill.01/Mar/19: 2. Cimmeria (verse): Poetry is not really my thing. 3 'huh, poetry!' stars.01/Mar/19: 1. The Hyborian Age: Simply genius world building in action. This fictional/historical essay sets the stage for what comes next. 5 genius stars. 01/Mar/19: 0. : This book just arrived on my doorstep. Leather bound, beautiful paper, a work of art in its own right. Joy!Sadly - postponed for a week as the eBook seller (Dymocks - may you rot in bankruptcy...) eReader is a crashy bit of spam software that should be consigned to bit hell. I then went to the angels (Angus & Robertson) and paid for the hardcover version. The Complete Chronicles Of Conan (9780575077669) Hardback Robert E. Howard should arrive by the end of February.Strongly Recommended: 5 'sets the bar high heroic fantasy,' stars.