Conan (short story collection)

Short story collection

Conan
Cover of first edition
Author	Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter
Cover artist	Frank Frazetta
Language	English
Series	Conan the Barbarian
Genre	Sword and sorcery Fantasy short stories
Publisher	Lancer Books
Publication date	1967
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (paperback)
Pages	221 pp

Conan is a 1967 collection of seven fantasy short stories and associated pieces written by Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories were originally published in various pulp magazines. The book was first published in paperback by Lancer Books in 1967, and was reprinted in 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 (twice) and 1973.^[1]^[2] After the bankruptcy of Lancer, publication was taken over by Ace Books.^[1] Its first edition appeared in May 1977, and was reprinted in 1979, 1982 (twice), 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1990. The first British edition was issued by Sphere Books in 1974, and was reprinted in 1977.^[1]^[2] The book has also been translated into German, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish and Dutch.^[1] It was gathered together with Conan of Cimmeria and Conan the Freebooter into the omnibus collection The Conan Chronicles (Sphere Books, August 1989).^[2]

Reception

The book has been reviewed by:^[2]

Fritz Leiber (1968) in Fantastic, May 1968
Thomas M. Egan and Robert Reginald [as by Thomas M. Egan and Rex Miletus] (1979) in Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Review, August 1979
Pierre Pelot (1980) in Fiction, #309

"Introduction" (L. Sprague de Camp)
"Letter from Robert E. Howard to P. Schuyler Miller" (Robert E. Howard)
"The Hyborian Age, Part 1" (Robert E. Howard)
"The Thing in the Crypt" (L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter)
"The Tower of the Elephant" (Robert E. Howard)
"The Hall of the Dead" (Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp)
"The God in the Bowl" (Robert E. Howard)
"Rogues in the House" (Robert E. Howard)
"The Hand of Nergal" (Robert E. Howard and Lin Carter)
"The City of Skulls" (L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter)

Plot

After a letter reflecting on Conan's life written by Howard to P. Schuyler Miller and John D. Clark, both fans of Howard's work, is an essay on the invented prehistory in which the hero's adventures are set tracing its development up to Conan's own time. The stories gathered in this collection then follow the Cimmerian from his escape from slavery in Hyperborea through his days as a youthful thief in Zamora, Corinthia, and Nemedia, to the beginning of his employment as a mercenary for King Yildiz of Turan. To Conan's discomfiture, the supernatural is his constant companion.

Chronologically, the seven short stories collected as Conan are the earliest in Lancer's Conan series. The stories collected as Conan of Cimmeria follow.

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Laughlin, Charlotte; Daniel J. H. Levack (1983). De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller. pp. 33–35.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Conan title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

External links

Conan #1 Review

Preceded by

none

Lancer/Ace Conan series
(chronological order)

Succeeded by

Conan of Cimmeria

Conan the Barbarian

Stories, books

Books	Conan (books)
Original works by Robert E. Howard	"Beyond the Black River" "Black Colossus" "The Black Stranger" "The Devil in Iron" "Drums of Tombalku" "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" "The God in the Bowl" "The Hall of the Dead" "The Hand of Nergal" The Hour of the Dragon "Jewels of Gwahlur" "The People of the Black Circle" "The Phoenix on the Sword" "The Pool of the Black One" "Queen of the Black Coast" "Red Nails" "Rogues in the House" "The Scarlet Citadel" "Shadows in the Moonlight" "Shadows in Zamboula" "The Slithering Shadow" "The Snout in the Dark" "The Tower of the Elephant" "The Vale of Lost Women" "A Witch Shall be Born" "Wolves Beyond the Border"
Non-Howard works (some based on non- Conan Howard works)	"Black Sphinx of Nebthu" "Black Tears" The Blood-Stained God "The Castle of Terror" "The City of Skulls" Conan and the Amazon Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza Conan and the Emerald Lotus Conan and the Gods of the Mountain Conan and the Grim Grey God Conan and the Manhunters Conan and the Mists of Doom Conan and the Shaman's Curse Conan and the Sorcerer Conan and the Spider God Conan and the Treasure of Python Conan at the Demon's Gate Conan, Lord of the Black River Conan of the Isles Conan of the Red Brotherhood Conan of Venarium Conan, Scourge of the Bloody Coast Conan the Barbarian (1982) Conan the Barbarian (2011) Conan the Bold Conan the Buccaneer Conan the Champion Conan the Defender Conan the Defiant Conan the Destroyer Conan the Fearless Conan the Formidable Conan the Free Lance Conan the Gladiator Conan the Great Conan the Guardian Conan the Hero Conan the Hunter Conan the Indomitable Conan the Invincible Conan the Liberator Conan the Magnificent Conan the Marauder Conan the Mercenary Conan the Outcast Conan the Raider Conan the Rebel Conan the Relentless Conan the Renegade Conan the Rogue Conan the Savage Conan the Triumphant Conan the Unconquered Conan the Valiant Conan the Valorous Conan the Victorious Conan the Warlord "The Curse of the Monolith" "Death-Song of Conan the Cimmerian" The Flame Knife "The Gem in the Tower" "Hawks over Shem" "The Ivory Goddess" "The Lair of the Ice Worm" "Legions of the Dead" "Moon of Blood" "The People of the Summit" "Red Moon of Zembabwei" The Return of Conan The Road of Kings "The Road of the Eagles" "Shadows in the Dark" "Shadows in the Skull" "The Star of Khorala" The Sword of Skelos "The Thing in the Crypt" "The Witch of the Mists"
Collections	Black Colossus The Bloody Crown of Conan The Coming of Conan The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian The Complete Chronicles of Conan Conan The Conan Chronicles (Howard, et al) The Conan Chronicles (Jordan) The Conan Chronicles, 1 The Conan Chronicles 2 The Conan Chronicles, 2 The Conan Chronicles II Conan of Aquilonia Conan of Cimmeria Conan the Adventurer Conan the Avenger Conan the Barbarian (1954) Conan the Barbarian (2011) Conan the Freebooter Conan the Swordsman Conan the Usurper Conan the Wanderer Conan the Warrior The Conquering Sword of Conan The Devil in Iron The Essential Conan The Further Chronicles of Conan Jewels of Gwahlur King Conan The People of the Black Circle The Pool of the Black One Queen of the Black Coast Red Nails Rogues in the House Sagas of Conan The Sword of Conan Tales of Conan The Tower of the Elephant The Treasure of Tranicos
Scholarship	The Blade of Conan The Conan Grimoire The Conan Reader The Conan Swordbook The Spell of Conan

Authors

Creator	Robert E. Howard
Later authors	Poul Anderson Leonard Carpenter Lin Carter L. Sprague de Camp Roland J. Green John C. Hocking Robert Jordan Sean A. Moore Björn Nyberg Andrew J. Offutt Steve Perry John Maddox Roberts Michael A. Stackpole Roy Thomas Harry Turtledove Karl Edward Wagner

Other media

Films

Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Conan the Destroyer (1984)
Conan the Barbarian (2011)

Related films	Red Sonja (1985) Kull the Conqueror (1997) Red Sonja (2024)

Television

Conan the Adventurer (1992)
Conan and the Young Warriors (1994)
Conan the Adventurer (1997)

Comics

Conan (comics)
Conan (Dark Horse Comics)
Conan (Marvel comics)
The Savage Sword of Conan

Games

Tabletop	Unchained! Against Darkness! Role-Playing Game (1985) GURPS The Roleplaying Game (2004) Collectible Card Game Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of
Video	Hall of Volta The Mysteries of Time The Cimmerian Conan (2004) Conan (2007) Age of Conan Rise of the Godslayer Exiles
Other	Hyborian War

Setting

Characters	Bêlit Conan the Barbarian Kulan Gath Red Sonja Serpent Men Thulsa Doom Valeria
Chronology	Hyborian Age
The Hyborian Age Conan chronologies

Related articles
"The Shadow of the Vulture" Red Sonja Cerebus the Aardvark Conan the Librarian The Adventures of Conan: A Sword and Sorcery Spectacular

Works by Robert E. Howard

Fantasy

Conan	"Beyond the Black River" "Black Colossus" "The Black Stranger" "The Devil in Iron" "Drums of Tombalku" "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" "The God in the Bowl" "The Hall of the Dead" "The Hand of Nergal" The Hour of the Dragon "Iron Shadows in the Moon" "Jewels of Gwahlur" "The People of the Black Circle" "The Phoenix on the Sword" "The Pool of the Black One" "Queen of the Black Coast" "Red Nails" "Rogues in the House" "The Scarlet Citadel" "Shadows in Zamboula" "The Snout in the Dark" "The Tower of the Elephant" "The Vale of Lost Women" "A Witch Shall be Born" "Wolves Beyond the Border" "Xuthal of the Dusk"
Kull	"By This Axe I Rule!" "Exile of Atlantis" "The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune" "The Shadow Kingdom"
Bran Mak Morn	"The Children of the Night" "Worms of the Earth"

Adventure

El Borak	"Blood of the Gods" "The Coming of El Borak" "The Country of the Knife" "The Daughter of Erlik Khan" "Hawk of the Hills" "The Lost Valley of Iskander" "North of Khyber" "Son of the White Wolf" "Three-Bladed Doom"

Comedy

Sailor Steve Costigan

Breckinridge Elkins

Horror

John Kirowan	"The Children of the Night" "The Haunter of the Ring" "The Black Stone"

Other

Short story collections	Skull-Face (1946) The Dark Man (1963) Kull (1967) Red Shadows (1968) Wolfshead (1968) Red Blades of Black Cathay (1971) Marchers of Valhalla (1972) The Sowers of the Thunder (1973) Tigers of the Sea (1974) Worms of the Earth (1974) Black Vulmea's Vengeance (1976) The Iron Man (1976) Hawks of Outremer (1979) The Road of Azrael (1979) Lord of the Dead (1981) Nameless Cults (2001) People of the Dark (2005) Heroes in the Wind (2009)
Other stories	Almuric "Black Canaan" "The Cairn on the Headland" "The Curse of the Crimson God" "Hawks Over Egypt" "Pigeons from Hell" Post Oaks & Sand Roughs "The Road of the Eagles" "The Shadow of the Vulture" Skull-Face "The Sowers of the Thunder" "The Twilight of the Grey Gods"
Other characters	Cormac Fitzgeoffrey Dark Agnes de Chastillon Kirby O'Donnell Red Sonya Solomon Kane The Sonora Kid Steve Harrison Turlogh Dubh O'Brien
Poetry	Always Comes Evening (1957) ("Men of the Shadows") Singers in the Shadows (1970) Echoes from an Iron Harp (1972) Shadows of Dreams (1989) Poems (A–H) (I–O) (P–Z)
See also	Bibliography "The Hyborian Age" Unaussprechlichen Kulten

L. Sprague de Camp

Viagens
Interplanetarias

Krishna	"Finished" (1949) The Queen of Zamba (1949) The Hand of Zei (1950) "Perpetual Motion" (1950) "Calories" (1951) The Virgin of Zesh (1953) The Tower of Zanid (1958) The Hostage of Zir (1977) The Prisoner of Zhamanak (1982) The Bones of Zora (1983) The Swords of Zinjaban (1991)
Kukulkan	The Stones of Nomuru (1988) The Venom Trees of Sunga (1992)
Other	"The Animal-Cracker Plot" (1949) "The Colorful Character" (1949) "Git Along!" (1950) "The Inspector's Teeth" (1950) "Summer Wear" (1950) The Continent Makers (1951) "The Galton Whistle" (1951) Rogue Queen (1951)

Harold Shea

Pusadian

Novarian

Neo-Napolitanian

The Incorporated Knight (1987)
The Pixilated Peeress (1991)

Conan

Novels

Conan and the Spider God (1980)
Conan of the Isles (1968)
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Conan the Buccaneer (1971)
Conan the Liberator (1979)
The Return of Conan (1957)

Short stories

"Black Sphinx of Nebthu" (1973)
"The Treasure of Tranicos" (1953)
"Black Tears" (1968)
"The Blood-Stained God" (1955)
"The Castle of Terror" (1969)
"The City of Skulls" (1967)
"The Curse of the Monolith" (1968)
"Drums of Tombalku" (1966)
The Flame Knife (1955/81)
"The Frost Giant's Daughter" Conan (1953)
"The Gem in the Tower" (1978)
"The God in the Bowl" (1952)
"The Hall of the Dead" (1967)
"Hawks Over Shem" (1955)
"The Ivory Goddess" (1978)
"The Lair of the Ice Worm" (1969)
"Legions of the Dead" (1978)
"Moon of Blood" (1978)
"The People of the Summit" (1970/78)
"Red Moon of Zembabwei" (1974)
"The Road of the Eagles" (1955)
"Shadows in the Dark" (1978)
"Shadows in the Skull" (1975)
"The Snout in the Dark" (1969)
"The Star of Khorala" (1978)
"The Thing in the Crypt" (1967)
"The Witch of the Mists" (1972)
"Wolves Beyond the Border" (1967)

Other
speculative
fiction

Novels

The Carnelian Cube (1948)
Genus Homo (1950)
The Glory That Was (1960)
The Great Fetish (1978)
Land of Unreason (1942)
Lest Darkness Fall (1941)
None but Lucifer (1939)
Solomon's Stone (1942)

Short stories

"Aristotle and the Gun" (1958)
"The Blue Giraffe" (1939)
"The Command" (1938)
"The Contraband Cow" (1942)
"Cornzan the Mighty" (1955)
"Divide and Rule" (1939)
"The Egg" (1956)
"Employment" (1939)
"The Gnarly Man" (1939)
"The Guided Man" (1952)
"A Gun for Dinosaur" (1956)
"The Hardwood Pile" (1940)
"The Hibited Man" (1949)
"Hyperpilosity" (1938)
"In-Group" (1952)
"Internal Combustion" (1956)
"The Isolinguals" (1937)
"Judgment Day" (1955)
"Let's Have Fun" (1957)
"Living Fossil" (1939)
"The Merman" (1938)
"Nothing in the Rules" (1939)
"The Reluctant Shaman" (1947)
"The Saxon Pretender" (1952)
"The Space Clause" (1952)
"The Stolen Dormouse" (1941)
"Throwback" (1949)
"The Wheels of If" (1940)

Historical fiction

Fiction edited

The Wolf Leader (1950)
Swords and Sorcery (1963)
The Spell of Seven (1965)
Conan the Warrior (1967)
The Fantastic Swordsmen (1967)
Conan the Conqueror (1967)
Warlocks and Warriors (1970)
3000 Years of Fantasy and Science Fiction (1972)
Tales Beyond Time (1973)

Nonfiction

Science and
history

Inventions and Their Management (1937)
The Evolution of Naval Weapons (1947)
Antarctic Conquest (1949)
Engines (1959)
The Heroic Age of American Invention (1961)
Man and Power (1961)
Energy and Power (1962)
The Ancient Engineers (1963)
Ancient Ruins and Archaeology (1964)
Elephant (1964)
Spirits, Stars, and Spells (1966)
The Story of Science in America (1967)
The Day of the Dinosaur (1968)
The Great Monkey Trial (1968)
Darwin and His Great Discovery (1972)
Great Cities of the Ancient World (1972)
The Ragged Edge of Science (1980)
The Fringe of the Unknown (1983)
The Ape-Man Within (1995)
Rubber Dinosaurs and Wooden Elephants (1996)

Lit crit and
biography

Blond Barbarians and Noble Savages (1975)
The Conan Reader (1968)
Dark Valley Destiny (1983)
Lands Beyond (1952)
Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers (1976)
Lost Continents (1954)
Lovecraft: A Biography (1975)
The Miscast Barbarian (1975)
Science-Fiction Handbook (1953/75)
Time and Chance (1996)

Nonfiction edited

Poetry

Collections

The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens (1953)
The Virgin of Zesh & The Tower of Zanid (1983)
The Incomplete Enchanter (1941)
Wall of Serpents (1960)
The Compleat Enchanter (1975)
The Complete Compleat Enchanter (1989)
The Enchanter Reborn (1992)
The Exotic Enchanter (1995)
The Mathematics of Magic (2007)
The Tritonian Ring and Other Pusadian Tales (1953)
The Reluctant King (1985)
Conan (1967)
The Conan Chronicles (1989)
The Conan Chronicles 2 (1990)
Conan of Aquilonia (1977)
Conan of Cimmeria (1969)
Conan the Adventurer (1966)
Conan the Avenger (1968)
Conan the Freebooter (1968)
Conan the Swordsman (1978)
Conan the Usurper (1967)
Conan the Wanderer (1968)
Sagas of Conan (2004)
Tales of Conan (1955)
The Treasure of Tranicos (1980)
Aristotle and the Gun (2002)
The Best of L. Sprague de Camp (1978)
Divide and Rule (1948)
Footprints on Sand (1981)
A Gun for Dinosaur (1963)
The Purple Pterodactyls (1980)
The Reluctant Shaman (1970)
Rivers of Time (1993)
Scribblings (1972)
Sprague de Camp's New Anthology (1953)
Tales from Gavagan's Bar (1953/78)
The Undesired Princess (1951)
The Virgin & the Wheels (1976)
The Wheels of If (1948)
Years in the Making (2005)

About de Camp

GURPS Planet Krishna (1997)
The Enchanter Completed (2005)

Works by Lin Carter

Callisto

Green Star

Mars

The Flame of Iridar (1967)
"The Martian El Dorado of Parker Wintley" (1976)
The Valley Where Time Stood Still (1974)
The City Outside the World (1977)
Down to a Sunless Sea (1984)
The Man Who Loved Mars (1973)

Zarkon

Zanthodon

Journey to the Underground World (1979)
Zanthodon (1980)
Hurok of the Stone Age (1981)
Darya of the Bronze Age (1981)
Eric of Zanthodon (1982)

Thongor

The Wizard of Lemuria (1965/69)
Thongor and the Dragon City (1966/70)
Thongor Against the Gods (1967)
Thongor in the City of Magicians (1968)
Thongor at the End of Time (1968)
Thongor Fights the Pirates of Tarakus (1970)
Young Thongor (2012)
The Sword of Thongor (Robert M. Price) (2016)

Conan

Novels	Conan of the Isles (1968) Conan the Barbarian (1982) Conan the Buccaneer (1971) Conan the Liberator (1979)
Short works	"Black Sphinx of Nebthu" (1973) "Black Tears" (1968) "The Castle of Terror" (1969) "The City of Skulls" (1967) "The Curse of the Monolith" (1968) "Death-Song of Conan the Cimmerian" (1972) "The Gem in the Tower" (1978) "The Hand of Nergal" (1967) "The Ivory Goddess" (1978) "The Lair of the Ice Worm" (1969) "Legions of the Dead" (1978) "Moon of Blood" (1978) "Red Moon of Zembabwei" (1974) "Shadows in the Dark" (1978) "Shadows in the Skull" (1975) "The Snout in the Dark" (1969) "The Thing in the Crypt" (1967) "The Witch of the Mists" (1972)
Collections	Conan (1967) The Conan Chronicles (1989) The Conan Chronicles 2 (1990) Conan of Aquilonia (1977) Conan of Cimmeria (1969) Conan the Swordsman (1978) Conan the Wanderer (1968) Sagas of Conan (2004)

Kull

"Exile of Atlantis" (1967)
King Kull (1967)

Gondwane

Terra Magica

Kesrick (1982)
Dragonrouge (1984)
Mandricardo (1987)
Callipygia (1988)

Kylix

Other

Tara of the Twilight (1979)
The Tired Tailor of Oz (2001)
The Merry Mountaineer of Oz (2004)

Collections

Beyond the Gates of Dream (1969)
Lost Worlds (1980)
The Xothic Legend Cycle: The Complete Mythos Fiction of Lin Carter (1997)
Lin Carter's Simrana Cycle (2018)

Anthologies
edited

BAFS and Doubleday anthologies	Dragons, Elves, and Heroes (1969) The Young Magicians (1969) Golden Cities, Far (1970) New Worlds for Old (1971) The Spawn of Cthulhu (1971) Double Phoenix (1971) Discoveries in Fantasy (1972) Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy I (1972) Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy Volume II (1973) Kingdoms of Sorcery (1976) Realms of Wizardry (1976)
Flashing Swords!	Flashing Swords! #1 (1973) Flashing Swords! #2 (1973) Flashing Swords! #3: Warriors and Wizards (1976) Flashing Swords! #4: Barbarians and Black Magicians (1977) Flashing Swords! #5: Demons and Daggers (1981) Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! #6 (2020/21) Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! #7 (2023) Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! #8 (2023)
Year's Best Fantasy	The Year's Best Fantasy Stories (1975) The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 2 (1976) The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 3 (1977) The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 4 (1978) The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 5 (1980) The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 6 (1980)
Weird Tales	Weird Tales #1 (1980) Weird Tales #2 (1980) Weird Tales #3 (1981) Weird Tales #4 (1983)
Other	The Magic of Atlantis (1970)