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.

The Bloody Crown of Conan by Robert E. Howard

This book compiles three of Robert E. Howard's longer Conan works, including the only full length Conan novel that he ever wrote, "The Hour of the Dragon."  It also contains "The People of the Black Circle" as well as "A Witch Shall Be Born" which contains probably the most famous scene in all of Conan literature: the one where he gets nailed to a tree, crucified really, and left to the mercy of the hungry vultures and the elements.  As the title implies, all three stories are from Conan's later days, when he is king.  

As in all of these Del Rey editions of Howard's work, the book also contains several untitled synopsis (synopses? synopsizes?), fragments, etc. as well as a thought-provoking essay on Howard and his life and times as it pertains to the included stories.

I think the noble nature of Conan really comes out in these stories, particularly in "The Hour of the Dragon".  When Conan has the opportunity to conquer a neighboring kingdom he says, "Let others dream imperial dreams. I but wish to hold what is mine.  I have no desire to rule an empire welded together by blood and fire.  It's one thing to seize a throne with the aid of its subjects and rule them with their consent.  It's another to subjugate a foreign realm and rule it by fear."  As Patrice Louinet says in the essay, "Whoever had the idea of retitling Howard's novel, 'Conan the Conqueror' had evidently not understood its theme: Conan is anything but a conqueror by nature."

Enjoyable reading and, of course, absolutely required reading for Conan enthusiasts.

Bran Mak Morn - The Last King by Robert E. Howard

Before Conan, before Solomon Kane, and even before Kull of Atlantis, there was Bran Mak Morn, King of the Picts.  In fact, Bran was the second main character ever developed by Robert E. Howard, second only to Francis X. Gordon (El Borak).  This book contains several stories about Bran as well as numerous fragments, untitled/unsold stories, essays, letters (most notably to and from Weird Tales magazine and Howard’s buddy, H.P. Lovecraft), etc. that help to define REH’s life-long interest in the Picts.

The more pulp fiction that I read, the more I have come to appreciate Howard’s work.  His historical research and in-depth understanding of history, its peoples and cultures, all led to stories that have a genuine ring of actual historical texture to them, even for those stories that are part of his imaginary history.  The Picts are a perfect example, described in this book in an authentic manner while also appearing in Conan’s Hyborian age stories.  Often, they are the enemy race and easily maligned so for Howard to create a character such as Bran Mak Morn that will lead such a people, was perhaps risky but also admirable. 

These stories were written early in Howard’s career and as such there is inconsistency among them.  I wish Howard had developed Bran more thoroughly through additional stories but alas, Conan came along and that market drove Howard’s output for several years and put an end to Bran.  A couple of the stories in this volume have very small roles for Bran himself and tend to concentrate on co-characters or take a wide-angle lens approach to the history of the era.  It seems as if Howard’s penchant for research was translating itself directly into the story, rather than developing a typical plot structure that we might expect.  This book includes those stories for the sake of completeness, even though the pulp magazines didn’t buy them. As such, while I heartily recommend this book to Howard readers (indeed, necessary reading), for others who are simply looking for another Conan-style character, I would still encourage diving into these stories simply on their own merits…just expect a different experience.

Robert E. Howard - The Complete Action Stories

“I weren’t to blame for what happened. Breaking Joel Gordon’s laig was a mistake, and Erath Elkins is a liar when he says I caved in them five ribs of his’n plumb on purpose. And I don’t take no blame for Jim Gordon’s ear which Jack Grimes shot off, neither.  I figger everybody was more to blame than I was, and I stand ready to wipe up the earth with anybody which disagrees with me.”  -- Brekinridge Elkins

Robert E. Howard is, of course, well known for creating the epic characters of Conan the Barbarian, Bran Mak Morn, Solomon Kane, El Borak, and many more.  His fantasy worlds are legendary.  But far fewer people are aware of his other creations and perhaps may not appreciate his versatility as a writer.  

This volume reprints all 23 of Robert E. Howard’s stories ever printed in “Action Stories” pulp magazine.  They are presented in order of publication from the original dates of 1931 to 1937, including the original accompanying artwork.  Five stories feature his boxing hero Sailor Steve Costigan while the remaining 18 are about western mountain man, Brekinridge Elkins.  These yarns are filled with humorous situations and packed with glorious fights that tend toward tickling the funny bone rather than brutal violence.  

Howard should get credit for inventing a whole new type of story, especially with the Brekinridge Elkins stories. They can probably best be described as “Tall Tales”, with  characters displaying extremely over-the-top abilities (like Brekinridge getting shot directly in the chest with a shotgun blast but with skin so tough it serves only to make him think the gun-wielder must have been sore at him).  Both Brekinridge and Steve Costigan are far from the brightest bulbs but their lack of intellect is more than balanced with skill with their fists.  Best of all, these tales are pure fun to read.  More than once I laughed out loud and I had to stop and read aloud so my wife could be in on what was so funny.

Robert E. Howard certainly knew how to tell a tale and these are no exception.  Fans of his more famous works will want to be sure to give these a go as well.