I have been a Conan fan since my childhood in the 1970s. My interest began with the Frank Frazetta covers. It was intensified by a gory graphic novel by Marvel comics. I read the original Robert E. Howard short story Jewels of Gwalhur. I was not allowed to watch the 1982 Conan the Barbarian movie till later because my mother disapproved of the nudity and gore.
I read every Conan story written by its original author... but they were modified by the pulp magazine Weird Tales and later by L. Sprague de Camp. I loved them... but was disappointed to learn they were not entirely true Robert E. Howard's work.
I read the true Robert E. Howard versions... and love them.
I write my own fiction. It is very much inspired by the works of Robert E. Howard. His relationship with H.P. Lovecraft encouraged me to read Lovecraft too, and I was not disappointed. I was inspired yet again.
Conan is about a hero in a world of survival-of-the-fittest. Savagery ultimately outmatches civilization. Even the civilized thrive as brutes. The universe is still one that favors good over evil, however. It simply distinguishes goodness from law and order and compassion from ethics or pity.
Like the original Conan stories, my work is mostly novellas, novelettes and short stories. The settings, like the Hyborean Age of Conan are worlds where the wars of tribes, nations and empires are not struggles of good against evil. The heroes are antiheroes until they do what they do for the sake of the innocent... and they are especially brutal when protecting or avenging the innocent.
.jpg)
I read every book in the Fully Illustrated Robert E. Howard Library and was amazed by how much he was able to write in such a short time and at such a young age. His work sets the standard for Sword and Sorcery. I loved the grittiness of the stories and the unapologetic nature of the characters.
ReplyDeleteAnd he wrote most of it while still in his twenties! He was very insightful for a young man. He never travelled the world yet he created a world that set a high standard for one of the greatest genres.
Delete