Curious about Scarlett Tears?

[themirrorthief]

Just a few minutes ago I finished reading Scarlett Tears AKA Hand of the Black Goddess.   The version I read was the one "extensively" edited by Lin Carter.  I was curious how different this version is from the unedited Howard version which was called Hand Of the Black Goddess.  There was no black goddess in the Carter edited version.  I really enjoyed the story and there was definitely a powerful Howard vibe in the Carter version, especially the the second half of the tale.  I know Carter sometimes totally changed a story but I am curious about what he did to this story cause I have never read the Howard original version. There is no sign of a "Black Goddess" in the Carter version, in fact the bad guys were from India I believe.  The story was a long one and got off to a bumpy start but certainly ended with a bang and generated a healthy dose of suspense towards the end.  Im not a huge Carter fan but I like this tale. I loved the chief baddie...I would have enjoyed more tales with him in it tho he got his in Scarlett Tears....good character.

Scarlett Tears was a lot of fun, now I want to read Hand of the Black Goddess...interested to hear any comments or info on either or both versions of this one

[elegos7]

I only read REH's original version, which features Thugs, the stranglers of the Black Goddess Kali, lead by a certain Khemsa.

It looks like once the story was rejected, REH reused the name Khemsa in the Conan story "The People of the Black Circle".

[themirrorthief]

I would like to read the original version...still, I enjoyed Scarlett Tears very much. It was a long story too which I always appreciate.

[themirrorthief]

I meant to say I would have enjoyed more stories featuring the baddie from Scarlet Tears...I will fix that typo now

[themirrorthief]

I really liked this and highly recommend it to hard core Howard addicts. If Carter made a huge contribution then its the best thing connected to him I ever read outside a couple of the Conan pastiches