I've been playing Conan Exiles for a while and i was captivated by snippets from the book that are put in item descriptions, such as that one scribe who broke down in the middle of his writings because of his life wasted behind paper and pen while never made something original for himself.The games can only do so much for exploring the lore so i'm asking if anyone could give me recommendation on where to start regarding Robert E Howard's works. Not a lot of people pointed it out but it's crazy how such beautiful proses are made by a texas man living in his mid 20s, i thought that he would be much older because some people compared him to Tolkien in regards to his influence on Fantasy genre.
>>25401228there's a comfy 3-volume set published recently that collects everything REH did regarding Conan
>>25401238This one? https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/A6Y/conan-the-barbarian/
>>25401240Yes, that one exactly, it even has the short essay he wrote for his own reference to keep the lore consistent. If you want more REH, check out the 2 volume set of his letters with Lovecraft. Their debate of society vs barbarism is highly engaging.
>>25401240Do those have something that this doesn't?
>>25401275Probably not, I've never seen that one. All the Conan stories REH wrote were in Weird Tales. Though one thing I remember from the intro is the saying it was the first time they were collected in the order in which they were published, rather than being put into some kind of forced chronological order. The very first Conan story was actually about Conan as an aging king, which I never knew.
Just read the Original stories. They're all availible for free online.>Conan ExilesHas nothing to do with the canonical Hyborian age.
They're actually not bad when in audiobook format either. Free on youtube, just start with the phoenix on the sword and go with the chronological release order.
>>25401240Yes, those are the best editions. They have everything Howard wrote, including unfinished drafts and his essay on the Hyborian Age (which is a cool piece of worldbuilding).The same publisher has complete editions of his characters too. The most similar to Conan is Kull of Atlantis. My personal favourite is Solomon Kane.
>>25401238>>25401240>>25401250>>25401714What about the centenary edition? Other than the backhanded quote from King on the back, is there anything wrong with this one?
>>25402562I'd like to know this too. Conan is one of those things I prefer to own in print.
>>25401228The first Conan short story I read is still my favourite so far, so I'll recommend it: Queen of the Black Coast. It had everything I wanted out of a sword & sorcery tale.
>>25402562>>25403054Seems to be the same thing but in one black leather-bound and gilded volume instead of three, now I wish that I had got that one. Damn it.
>>25403058That and Red Nails were two of the best. Conan was the most-requested character by Weird Tales female readership, even though all he did was slap bitches on the ass and call them sluts.
>>25403058It was mediocre conan story. Belit rose to prominence in the comics. But red nails is peak as the other anon said
>>25403081Conan always simply protects the women he meets until they demand sex from him
>>25402562Iirc when I was looking at different versions trying to determine what to get, this one goes off publication order and I think its also the edited versions (ie the published version)The 3 del Rey versions are the original versions before they were edited for publishing and the story order follows the written order (since some stories were published after Howard died, order written =/= order published).Im sure either is fine
>>25403828Well, it's tax time and I got a 3k refund. Impulse purchase ahoy. Cheers.
