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Red Nails
Collection of three Conan stories.
Shadows in Zamboula
Beyond the Black River
Red Nails
Shadows in Zamboula
Beyond the Black River
Red Nails
- GenresFantasy
244 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1977
1 person is currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Robert E. Howard
2,979 books2,641 followersRobert Ervin Howard was an American pulp writer of fantasy, horror, historical adventure, boxing, western, and detective fiction. Howard wrote "over three-hundred stories and seven-hundred poems of raw power and unbridled emotion" and is especially noted for his memorable depictions of "a sombre universe of swashbuckling adventure and darkling horror."
He is well known for having created—in the pages of the legendary Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales—the character Conan the Cimmerian, a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can only be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond.
—Wikipedia
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
He is well known for having created—in the pages of the legendary Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales—the character Conan the Cimmerian, a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can only be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond.
—Wikipedia
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 26, 2021
I devoured Howard's books as a teen. This is my first re-read of one in maybe 40 years. And I confess to being very pleasantly surprised.
Written in 1920s-1930s, Howard is the foundation upon which modern epic fantasy, particularly dark fantasy, is based. Howard's Conan and King Kull, and other serials were published ten years before Tolkien's Hobbit and twenty years before the Lord of the Rings. His closest comparators at the time were probably Edgar Rice Burroughs of Tarzan and John Carter of Mars fame, and H. P. Lovecraft, known for his Cthulhu Mythos. Howard and Lovecraft were in fact friends though they disagreed on many things. Howard's work bridges Burroughs and Lovecraft, combining the adventuring spirit of Burroughs and the supernatural horror of Lovecraft into the first true sword and sorcery fantasies. Howard to my mind is the superior writer. His ability to create legendary characters, complete worlds (he wrote an entire history of the fictional Hyborian age setting of his Conan stories), suspense and urgency within the few pages of a magazine serial should be the envy of many of today's authors who struggle to tell a story in many 100s-1000s of pages. (Looking at you Sanderson, Martin, Rothfuss, et. al.)
The Last Atlantean, Barry Windor-Smith
Most surprising for me in this re-read is the almost modern presentation of his characters. Compared to Burroughs and Lovecraft, Howards heroes are not just strong and good with a blade. They are clever, quick-witted, and insightful. And the modern touch: They are all jaded by their experiences; not the simple barbarians they are often portrayed as in comic books. Conan, Howard's most lasting creation, solved problems with his brain as often as his sword, and ultimately becomes a well respected king.
Howard's women characters are very interesting for their time. The women in Burroughs' stories are typically maidens waiting to be saved from some fiend or terror, primed to fall in love with the hero. There is almost always romance in a Burroughs story. Lovecraft had no interest in women characters at all. If they appear, they are typically there to be terrorized or eaten. Howard's women are worldly. Are they babes in bikinis per the sword and sorcery meme? They often are dressed alluringly, but even then they typically play equal to Howard's male characters, using feminine guile and their own skills with a blade or other instrument to achieve their aims, sometimes at the hero's expense. In Red Nails we meet Valeria, a female pirate who Conan clearly respects while also lusting after her. Conan makes his interest clear, but does not force himself on her as in most fantasy of this (and too often later) eras. She is comrade in arms first, friend with benefits if she chooses. In Red Nails she repeatedly spurns Conan and asserts her independence. The villain of the story is also a woman, the witch Tascela, who also has little time for men. Shadows in Zamboula features Nafertari, a disguised princess who entices Conan to slay an evil priest, then begs off on the promised "physical" payment for his services. Rather than force the issue, Conan, laughs, takes payment in coin, and rides off. All to say that while there is undoubtedly sexism in Howard's writing, he is far more respectful of his women characters that most of his peers. Howard's women are almost always smart, strong, and able to take care of themselves.
Conan and Valeria, Barry Windor-Smith
Regarding diversity, Lovecraft was racist full stop. Burroughs presents the black characters in his Tarzan stories as noble and sympathetic. The Picts, Kushites and other black races in Howard's stories are typically portrayed as wild, savage. and villainous, but not I think because Howard was racist. The encroachment of white Aquilonians into the lands of the Picts in Beyond the Black River is portrayed as an invasion that is justly repelled by the Picts. In other stories, Conan encounters friends and enemies of varying ethnicities. The hero of Howard's Bran Brak Morn stories is a Pict. Howard it appears, and his heroes certainly, are far more interested how a person acts than the color of their skin. Anyone can be a hero in Howard's worlds. A rather enlightened view for a man who was born, raised, and never left rural and remote Cross Plans, Texas.
Bran Bark Morn, Barry Windor-Smith
When Howard died by suicide in 1936, age 30, distraught over the death of his mother from tuberculosis, the world lost a masterful storyteller. In the words of Stephen King:
Amazon and iBooks offer collections of Howard's work for as little as $1. Pick one up. I think you'll be surprised.
Written in 1920s-1930s, Howard is the foundation upon which modern epic fantasy, particularly dark fantasy, is based. Howard's Conan and King Kull, and other serials were published ten years before Tolkien's Hobbit and twenty years before the Lord of the Rings. His closest comparators at the time were probably Edgar Rice Burroughs of Tarzan and John Carter of Mars fame, and H. P. Lovecraft, known for his Cthulhu Mythos. Howard and Lovecraft were in fact friends though they disagreed on many things. Howard's work bridges Burroughs and Lovecraft, combining the adventuring spirit of Burroughs and the supernatural horror of Lovecraft into the first true sword and sorcery fantasies. Howard to my mind is the superior writer. His ability to create legendary characters, complete worlds (he wrote an entire history of the fictional Hyborian age setting of his Conan stories), suspense and urgency within the few pages of a magazine serial should be the envy of many of today's authors who struggle to tell a story in many 100s-1000s of pages. (Looking at you Sanderson, Martin, Rothfuss, et. al.)
The Last Atlantean, Barry Windor-Smith
Most surprising for me in this re-read is the almost modern presentation of his characters. Compared to Burroughs and Lovecraft, Howards heroes are not just strong and good with a blade. They are clever, quick-witted, and insightful. And the modern touch: They are all jaded by their experiences; not the simple barbarians they are often portrayed as in comic books. Conan, Howard's most lasting creation, solved problems with his brain as often as his sword, and ultimately becomes a well respected king.
Howard's women characters are very interesting for their time. The women in Burroughs' stories are typically maidens waiting to be saved from some fiend or terror, primed to fall in love with the hero. There is almost always romance in a Burroughs story. Lovecraft had no interest in women characters at all. If they appear, they are typically there to be terrorized or eaten. Howard's women are worldly. Are they babes in bikinis per the sword and sorcery meme? They often are dressed alluringly, but even then they typically play equal to Howard's male characters, using feminine guile and their own skills with a blade or other instrument to achieve their aims, sometimes at the hero's expense. In Red Nails we meet Valeria, a female pirate who Conan clearly respects while also lusting after her. Conan makes his interest clear, but does not force himself on her as in most fantasy of this (and too often later) eras. She is comrade in arms first, friend with benefits if she chooses. In Red Nails she repeatedly spurns Conan and asserts her independence. The villain of the story is also a woman, the witch Tascela, who also has little time for men. Shadows in Zamboula features Nafertari, a disguised princess who entices Conan to slay an evil priest, then begs off on the promised "physical" payment for his services. Rather than force the issue, Conan, laughs, takes payment in coin, and rides off. All to say that while there is undoubtedly sexism in Howard's writing, he is far more respectful of his women characters that most of his peers. Howard's women are almost always smart, strong, and able to take care of themselves.
Conan and Valeria, Barry Windor-Smith
Regarding diversity, Lovecraft was racist full stop. Burroughs presents the black characters in his Tarzan stories as noble and sympathetic. The Picts, Kushites and other black races in Howard's stories are typically portrayed as wild, savage. and villainous, but not I think because Howard was racist. The encroachment of white Aquilonians into the lands of the Picts in Beyond the Black River is portrayed as an invasion that is justly repelled by the Picts. In other stories, Conan encounters friends and enemies of varying ethnicities. The hero of Howard's Bran Brak Morn stories is a Pict. Howard it appears, and his heroes certainly, are far more interested how a person acts than the color of their skin. Anyone can be a hero in Howard's worlds. A rather enlightened view for a man who was born, raised, and never left rural and remote Cross Plans, Texas.
Bran Bark Morn, Barry Windor-Smith
When Howard died by suicide in 1936, age 30, distraught over the death of his mother from tuberculosis, the world lost a masterful storyteller. In the words of Stephen King:
Howard overcame the limitations of his puerile material by the force and fury of his writing and by his imagination, which was powerful beyond his hero Conan's wildest dreams of power. In his best work, Howard's writing seems so highly charged with energy that it nearly gives off sparks. Stories such as "The People of the Black Circle" glow with the fierce and eldritch light of his frenzied intensity. At his best, Howard was the Thomas Wolfe of fantasy, and most of his Conan tales seem to almost fall over themselves in their need to get out.As a pulp fiction writer (all of his work appeared in pulp magazines like Weird Tales; he was never published in book form in his lifetime), Howard did write a lot of crap. His livelihood depended on volume, as his compensation per story was never very high. The three stories in this collection are the not crap, some of Howard's best. They are well worth reading to see where fantasy began and how relevant Howard's work remains today.
Amazon and iBooks offer collections of Howard's work for as little as $1. Pick one up. I think you'll be surprised.
September 30, 2020
This is my favorite Robert Howard story that I have read, and I've read it multiple times. Its a real pleasure and a great escape. A sense of place and darkness permeates Robert Howard stories, old decayed civilizations, remnants from a distant past lurk in jungles, etc. This story is a good place to start if you want to dig in and really appreciate this woefully underappreciated author.
November 10, 2025
Είναι μία από τις αγαπημένες μου ιστορίες. την λατρεύω όσες φορές και να τη διαβάσω
October 15, 2009
Conan, what more do I need to say.
A Howard collection...one volume from 1977. I incorrectly refered to these '77 books as novels. They are one volume Naratives. But still good if you can find them.
A Howard collection...one volume from 1977. I incorrectly refered to these '77 books as novels. They are one volume Naratives. But still good if you can find them.
June 9, 2012
Three short stories by Robert E. Howard, "Beyond the Black River", "Shadows in Zamboula", "Red Nails", and his essay, "The Hyborian Age". Foreword and afterword by Karl Edward Wagner.
One of three volumes presenting all of REH's Conan stories in the exact text of the original Weird Tales publication.
One of three volumes presenting all of REH's Conan stories in the exact text of the original Weird Tales publication.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews