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Post by terryallenuk on Jan 23, 2023 11:50:58 GMT -5
Question: Does anyone know if there is a paperback version of Blood of the Serpent in the pipeline? Thanks in advance. Kev According to Fredrik "Not yet but that’s usually a later release." Probably depends on how well , or not , the HC sells , or how soon it finds the bargain bin!
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Post by nightscape on Jan 24, 2023 20:31:49 GMT -5
Given that my impressions of this pastiche largely mirror those voiced by Hun, Wulfere and others, I’ll just summarize them here:
Pros
For the most part, the period details are nicely done, e.g., descriptions of arms, armor and the like.
Conan’s exemplary grasp of battle strategy is amply demonstrated. He doesn’t just win through in a crisis by strength alone.
While not Howardian, at a sentence level, the prose is never less than readable and occasionally sings with a well-turned phrase. This comment might sound like faint praise but I’ve read plenty of genre fiction that devolves to an unreadable muddle whenever the author attempts an action scene with multiple players and/or parts.
Cons
The novel lacks a strong, compelling plot. It’s highly episodic with only chronology to hold everything together. To make matters worse, key dilemmas are resolved ‘off-screen’ or not at all. It might’ve worked better as a series of three interconnected short stories: the Sukhmet incident, the gold mine standoff and the Darfar adventure.
Valeria comes across as extremely competent but not especially nuanced in terms of personality or motive.
There are some jarring anachronisms, especially when it comes to curses. Every time I read something like That will bite you in the ass,’ it took me out of the story. (The use of arse’ instead of ‘ass’ didn’t help sell it). Also, I found most of the curses hopelessly juvenile and distinctly unfunny.
Conan never seems to be in any real danger. For want of a strong human antagonist, Stirling introduces all manner of animal threats. That strategy not only proves tiresome but lacks dramatic potential. A zoo’s worth of menacing animals can’t substitute for a single old-fashioned pulp villain. As a consequence, the story just peters out rather than builds to a genuine climax.
Overall Impression
A decidedly minor addition to the canon of Conan pastiches and a disappointing first entry in the Titan series. Basically, the literary equivalent of flat root beer.
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Post by boot on Jan 24, 2023 21:06:22 GMT -5
I agree with 99% of Nightscape's review. I don't agree that Conan never seemed to be in any danger. I felt that he was. Personal taste.
For the whole, I liked the book. I'm glad I read it. It is better than stuff I've read by Steve Perry, Roland Green, even Leonard Carpenter.
The book is not as good as a lot the Conan tales that have been offered over the years. Jordan and John Maddox Roberts are excellent Conan writers. I like a lot of de Camp & Co.'s stuff. I'd put Blood of the Serpent smack dab in the middle. I think Sterling's book is very close to Turtledove's Venarium book, rated by the enjoyment I got from reading it.
I do agree with most of Nightscape's criticisms.
But, I'm also glad that we have a new Conan tale available. I hope that it sells well enough to encourage the publishers to bring us more.
And, yes, I do hope the quality improves.
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Post by nightscape on Jan 24, 2023 22:17:28 GMT -5
It seems we share similar tastes. Of the pastiches I’ve read, I also tend to favor deCamp, Carter and Roberts. I’d also throw in Wagner’s lone entry. (Of the Jordan books, I’ve read only the Conan the Destroyer novelization, so can’t offer an informed opinion.)
And like you, despite my criticisms of this first Titan title, I’m glad we have something new and hope for better efforts going forward.
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Post by boot on Jan 25, 2023 15:14:45 GMT -5
It seems we share similar tastes. Of the pastiches I’ve read, I also tend to favor deCamp, Carter and Roberts. I’d also throw in Wagner’s lone entry. (Of the Jordan books, I’ve read only the Conan the Destroyer novelization, so can’t offer an informed opinion.) And like you, despite my criticisms of this first Titan title, I’m glad we have something new and hope for better efforts going forward. If I had to pick one, Robert Jordan is my favorite non-Howard Conan writer. Though John Maddox Roberts is only second by a hair. I like Offutt's three books, too.
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Post by Jason Aiken on Jan 25, 2023 15:59:22 GMT -5
Is it bad that I'm not interested in reading this book? I've had it for a over a month now, flipped through and looked at the art....
I don't know, I just am not that interested in Conan pastiche, I guess.
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Post by alexander on Jan 26, 2023 10:36:16 GMT -5
Is it bad that I'm not interested in reading this book? I've had it for a over a month now, flipped through and looked at the art.... I don't know, I just am not that interested in Conan pastiche, I guess. If it makes you fell better you're not alone :-) I've not even purchased it. I do like pastiches (you just have to lower your expectations and bear in mind it won't be REH). yet all the reviews I've read - I've posted several here - make me worry the pace will be too slow for me.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2023 12:09:48 GMT -5
Is it bad that I'm not interested in reading this book? I've had it for a over a month now, flipped through and looked at the art.... I don't know, I just am not that interested in Conan pastiche, I guess. If it makes you fell better you're not alone :-) I've not even purchased it. I do like pastiches (you just have to lower your expectations and bear in mind it won't be REH). yet all the reviews I've read - I've posted several here - make me worry the pace will be too slow for me. I'm kinda the same, especially since the Wandering Star/Del Rey editions. I prefer reading something by REH that I've not read before. I don't mind reading comics that fill in the gaps between the original Conan yarns - not so sure about the prose pastiche stuff.
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Post by terryallenuk on Jan 26, 2023 12:22:26 GMT -5
If it makes you fell better you're not alone :-) I've not even purchased it. I do like pastiches (you just have to lower your expectations and bear in mind it won't be REH). yet all the reviews I've read - I've posted several here - make me worry the pace will be too slow for me. I'm kinda the same, especially since the Wandering Star/Del Rey editions. I prefer reading something by REH that I've not read before. I don't mind reading comics that fill in the gaps between the original Conan yarns - not so sure about the prose pastiche stuff. I'm exactly the same , with so much REH generally available and more coming , hopefully soon , in more affordable editions from the REHFP I've no interest in more prose pastiche , though I would read John Hocking's sequel if they ever deem to print it. Again , I will be interested in what Titan do with the comics if they can make a go of it.
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Post by Von K on Jan 26, 2023 19:22:32 GMT -5
Here's Brian Murphy's review of the novel, posted over at DMR Books:
A Review of Titan Books’ Blood of the Serpent: Is the New Conan Novel Really Conan?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2023 23:12:55 GMT -5
Here's Brian Murphy's review of the novel, posted over at DMR Books:
A Review of Titan Books’ Blood of the Serpent: Is the New Conan Novel Really Conan?
Thanks Von K.
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Post by mindboggled on Jan 27, 2023 21:58:07 GMT -5
Is it bad that I'm not interested in reading this book? I've had it for a over a month now, flipped through and looked at the art.... I don't know, I just am not that interested in Conan pastiche, I guess. Not at all, it's a waste of time, couldn't even bring myself to finish it. My advice, save yourself the effort.
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Post by Grim Wanderer on Feb 3, 2023 10:51:35 GMT -5
I finished Blood yesterday. It took me longer to finish than I would have thought it would. I guess it didn't grip me the way Howard's or other Conan stories had. While it's not to everyone's tastes I do think it was good enough to introduce novices to Conan. After reading Blood reading Howard's raw Red Nails is a savage treat. Blood will hint and tease new readers and Red Nails hook them in completely.
One thing that did irritate me was Titan's apology for Howard at the end. If they're that concerned they shouldn't have printed Red Nails then.
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Post by johnnypt on Feb 3, 2023 11:00:33 GMT -5
I finished Blood yesterday. It took me longer to finish than I would have thought it would. I guess it didn't grip me the way Howard's or other Conan stories had. While it's not to everyone's tastes I do think it was good enough to introduce novices to Conan. After reading Blood reading Howard's raw Red Nails is a savage treat. Blood will hint and tease new readers and Red Nails hook them in completely. One thing that did irritate me was Titan's apology for Howard at the end. If they're that concerned they shouldn't have printed Red Nails then. What's their excuse for this? If they'd done Vale of Lost Women or Shadows in Zamboula, I could see a bit of "contextualizing". It isn't some "Howard was a little misogynistic" thing, was it?
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Post by Grim Wanderer on Feb 3, 2023 11:20:22 GMT -5
Quoting the text:
"Red Nails" is pure Howard, restored from his original manuscript. Raw and powerful, it's also very much of its time - written almost a century ago, when our culture could be less socially aware and genre fiction in particular often exhibited rough edges some of today's readers may find jarring.
Yet this seminal fantasy by a writer whose work Stephen King has called "so highly charged that it nearly gives off sparks." Rather than alter it in any way, we've chosen to offer it in its original form for the reader to experience.
End quoting
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