The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard

Another fine collection of short stories from Robert E. Howard accompanied by some truly amazing artwork by Greg Staples. As I always do with these Del Rey collections, I read one story per week (with a few exceptions when I couldn’t resist the urge to read just one more) and thus it has taken me five full months to get through the collection. No doubt I will go into withdrawal now until I start the next set.

There are 60 items within, counting stories, poems, and unfinished fragments. There are, of course, horror elements in all 60 but the range of “horror” is quite vast. We are treated to everything from traditional supernatural tales, to occult horror, to psychological scares. Occasionally we encounter characters we’ve come across before, including Solomon Kane and Steve Costigan but for the most part these are all unique, stand-alone stories that demonstrate the amazing versatility of this gifted writer. There is even a story that ties in to HP Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos (not surprising given the pair’s well-known long-term correspondence).

No doubt I will return to these stories from time to time, just like my other REH collections. They never seem to get old.