Conan the Rebel

Novel by Poul Anderson

0-553-13831-6

Conan the Rebel is a fantasy novel by American writer Poul Anderson, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Bantam Books in July 1980. It was reprinted once by Bantam (1981) and twice by Ace Books (1988, 1991). The first hardcover edition was published by Tor Books in 2001; a trade paperback followed from the same publisher in 2003. The first British edition was published by Sphere Books in 1988.^[1]

Plot summary

Conan the Rebel details the involvement of Conan in a rebellion in the kingdom of Stygia, on account of his lover, the pirate queen Bêlit. Having taken upon himself the task of rescuing Bêlit's brother from captivity, Conan finds himself enmeshed in the affairs of the rebel province of Taia, where he conveniently fits into their legend of a savior from the north. Meanwhile, the priests of Stygia, prompted by an oracle of their god Set branding Conan a threat, want to capture Conan, and the king, to whom the unrest is a distraction from his scheme to invade Ophir, also has it in for him.

Chronologically, the story occurs between chapters 1 and 2 of the Robert E. Howard Conan story "Queen of the Black Coast". Bêlit, aside from getting the action going, is almost entirely absent from the ensuing adventure.

Reception

Reviewer Don D'Ammassa noted "There are some very contrived plot devices but overall this was an entertaining adventure."^[2] Publishers Weekly felt that it didn't live up to Howard's creation but that fans would enjoy it.^[3]

References

^ Conan the Rebel title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
^ D'Ammassa, Don. "Conan the Rebel" (review on Critical Mass). Jul. 14, 2017.
^ "Fiction Book Review: CONAN THE REBEL by Poul Anderson, Author". Publishers Weekly. October 10, 2001.

External links

Page at Fantastic Fiction

Preceded by The Road of Kings	Bantam Conan series (publication order)	Succeeded by Conan and the Spider God
Preceded by Queen of the Black Coast (Part 1)	Complete Conan Saga (William Galen Gray chronology)	Succeeded by Queen of the Black Coast (Part 2)

Works by Poul Anderson

Hoka!

Earthman's Burden
Star Prince Charlie
Hoka!

The Psychotechnic League

Star Ways
The Snows of Ganymede
Virgin Planet
The Psychotechnic League
Cold Victory
Starship

Technic History

Polesotechnic League period of Nicholas van Rijn	War of the Wing-Men Trader to the Stars The Trouble Twisters Satan's World The Earth Book of Stormgate Mirkheim The People of the Wind
Terran Empire period of Dominic Flandry	Ensign Flandry A Circus of Hells The Rebel Worlds The Day of Their Return Agent of the Terran Empire Flandry of Terra A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows A Stone in Heaven The Game of Empire The Long Night Let the Spacemen Beware

History of Rustum

Orbit Unlimited
New America

Maurai

Maurai and Kith
Orion Shall Rise

Other science fiction novels

Flight to Forever
Vault of the Ages
Brain Wave
Question and Answer
No World of Their Own
The Long Way Home
Perish by the Sword
War of Two Worlds
The Enemy Stars
The High Crusade
Murder in Black Letter
Twilight World
After Doomsday
The Makeshift Rocket
Murder Bound
Shield
Three Worlds to Conquer
The Corridors of Time
The Star Fox
The Fox, the Dog and the Griffin: A Folk Tale Adapted from the Danish of C. Molbeck
World Without Stars
Tau Zero
The Byworlder
The Dancer from Atlantis
There Will Be Time
Fire Time
Inheritors of Earth
The Winter of the World
The Avatar
The Demnon of Scattery
The Devil's Game
The Boat of a Million Years
The Saturn Game
The Longest Voyage
War of the Gods
Starfarers
Genesis
Mother of Kings
For Love and Glory

Collections

Strangers from Earth
Un-Man and Other Novellas
Time and Stars
The Horn of Time
Beyond the Beyond
Seven Conquest
Tales of the Flying Mountains
The Queen of Air and Darkness and Other Stories
The Worlds of Poul Anderson
The Many Worlds of Poul Anderson
Homeward and Beyond
The Best of Poul Anderson
Homebrew
Winners
The Night Face & Other Stories
The Dark Between the Stars
Explorations
Fantasy
Winners
Cold Victory
The Gods Laughed
Starship
The Winter of the World / The Queen of Air and Darkness
Conflict
The Long Night
Past Times
The Unicorn Trade
Dialogue With Darkness
Space Folk
Alight in the Void
The Armies of Elfland
Inconstant Star
Kinship With the Stars
All One Universe
Going for Infinity
Swordsmen from the Stars

Operation Otherworld

Operation Chaos
Operation Luna

Other fantasy novels

Three Hearts and Three Lions
The Broken Sword
Hrolf Kraki's Saga
A Midsummer Tempest
The Merman's Children
Conan the Rebel
War of the Gods

Historical novels

The Golden Slave
Rogue Sword
Mother of Kings

Novellas and short stories

"Brake"
"Call Me Joe"
"Delenda Est"
"Entity"
"Eutopia"
"Goat Song"
"The Light"
"The Longest Voyage"
"The Man Who Came Early"
"Marius"
"Memory"
"Night Piece"
"No Truce with Kings"
"The Pirate"
"The Queen of Air and Darkness"
"Quest"
"Sam Hall"
"The Saturn Game"
"The Sensitive Man"
"The Sharing of Flesh"
"Un-Man"

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