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Post by johnnypt on Feb 3, 2023 12:07:45 GMT -5
Only thing in RN that would jump out at me as out of step with today is the whipping scene. Would there be people upset the names in Xoctol are sort of kind of semi Aztec-ish?
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Post by Grim Wanderer on Feb 3, 2023 12:36:20 GMT -5
I'm sure someone would take offense if they had a mind to.
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Post by bunty0barbarian on Feb 4, 2023 9:47:54 GMT -5
I guess the opening chapter of RN does have an element that might flinch a new reader. The text says that Conan is tired of screwing black women and wants to get some action with Valeria.
In that aspect, Titan's disclaimer isn't that bad, though it should have been short and curt such as " Hey this is an old story written in a different time, so please keep that in mind while enjoying the tale".
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Post by Grim Wanderer on Feb 4, 2023 13:41:43 GMT -5
Why would that be jarring to anyone with an internet connection today?
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Post by johnnypt on Feb 4, 2023 16:34:57 GMT -5
I guess the opening chapter of RN does have an element that might flinch a new reader. The text says that Conan is tired of screwing black women and wants to get some action with Valeria. In that aspect, Titan's disclaimer isn't that bad, though it should have been short and curt such as " Hey this is an old story written in a different time, so please keep that in mind while enjoying the tale". It's funny how Howard recycled THAT from Vale of Lost Women, he really wanted to get that in there!
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Post by boot on Feb 4, 2023 21:35:33 GMT -5
I guess the opening chapter of RN does have an element that might flinch a new reader. The text says that Conan is tired of screwing black women and wants to get some action with Valeria. In that aspect, Titan's disclaimer isn't that bad, though it should have been short and curt such as " Hey this is an old story written in a different time, so please keep that in mind while enjoying the tale". It's funny how Howard recycled THAT from Vale of Lost Women, he really wanted to get that in there! If I recall, Howard wrote that Conan would not lie with black women in Vale of Lost Women. He wasn't tired of it. He just wouldn't do it.
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Post by johnnypt on Feb 5, 2023 6:05:59 GMT -5
It's funny how Howard recycled THAT from Vale of Lost Women, he really wanted to get that in there! If I recall, Howard wrote that Conan would not lie with black women in Vale of Lost Women. He wasn't tired of it. He just wouldn't do it. He said he was sick to the guts, which I interpret as he’d been partaking in them but was now tired of them. In my chronology, Vale follows Tombalku so as king there, he would definitely had had his share. See, the unpublished material always plays into the published work! 😊
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Post by boot on Feb 5, 2023 21:28:16 GMT -5
If I recall, Howard wrote that Conan would not lie with black women in Vale of Lost Women. He wasn't tired of it. He just wouldn't do it. He said he was sick to the guts, which I interpret as he’d been partaking in them but was now tired of them. Maybe. I can see that interpretation, but that's not how I read it the first time I read that story. He actually says, "...I have looked at black sluts until I am sick at the guts." Did he look at them, or did he partake of them. I read that as up to interpretation by the reader. I took it as he's looked them up and down and doesn't like what he sees. I can easily see your interpretation, though. His looking meant a little more than just looking at.
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Post by darthgall on Feb 16, 2023 9:04:19 GMT -5
I'm about a quarter of the way into the book; they're just setting off on the caravan guard mission.
I'm enjoying this so far. As others have said, it's definitely not REH's style, and isn't trying to be.
One thing the curious should know, there's lots of setting elements that are sprinkled throughout. Explanations and asides about how mercenary garrisons work, how credit is handled at a bar, etc.
Generally, I do like them. They do divert from the plot, but are interesting enough in their own right that they don't bog the book (yet, at least).
I love Conan and REH's writing, but I've also definitely fallen in love with the setting. The idea of taking any neat pre-industrial civilization and cramming them altogether, actual historic chronology be damned, is just so darned cool to me.
Along those lines: have you ever bought a RPG sourcebook for a game you don't play, but b/c of the deep dive into the setting? I have, and parts of "Blood of the Serpent" are like that and scratch that same curiosity.
But also I don't want that to intimidate people. I love Lord of the Rings but man, some of those asides are looooong winded and sleep inducing. Here, the author is pretty deft about weaving in Conan's interaction with whatever thing he's describing, or sprinkling some good dialogue throughout to make it more organic.
So if you want a breakneck thriller pace that's all plot and action, this might feel a bit slow. But if you liek the Hyborian age and can handle a few paragraphs here and there as seasoning, it's pretty good so far.
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Post by Jason Aiken on Feb 16, 2023 10:22:57 GMT -5
So if you want a breakneck thriller pace that's all plot and action, this might feel a bit slow. But if you liek the Hyborian age and can handle a few paragraphs here and there as seasoning, it's pretty good so far. This is why I didn't feel Stirling was a good choice. I couldn't make it through the first book in his Nantucket series for this exact reason, despite trying twice Once via ebook, then again via audible. He's a bit too long winded and seems to really stretch stories out. I would be interested to see how his short fiction reads, because he is a good writer, just takes too long to get to the point in my limited experience with him.
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Post by Grim Wanderer on Feb 16, 2023 16:51:12 GMT -5
I don’t know how others felt, but I found some elements of the story repetitive.
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Post by karasuthecrow on Feb 16, 2023 22:29:15 GMT -5
Only thing in RN that would jump out at me as out of step with today is the whipping scene. Would there be people upset the names in Xoctol are sort of kind of semi Aztec-ish? It would be mayan-insh as the aztecs does not used the "X" that often , they mostly used the "tla"
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Post by johnnypt on Feb 17, 2023 8:13:50 GMT -5
Only thing in RN that would jump out at me as out of step with today is the whipping scene. Would there be people upset the names in Xoctol are sort of kind of semi Aztec-ish? It would be mayan-insh as the aztecs does not used the "X" that often , they mostly used the "tla" Should've used the more generic ancient Latin American, but Howard used one or two Tla's as well.
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Post by karasuthecrow on Feb 18, 2023 11:06:09 GMT -5
It would be mayan-insh as the aztecs does not used the "X" that often , they mostly used the "tla" Should've used the more generic ancient Latin American, but Howard used one or two Tla's as well. I just re-read the story , Howard made a wierd mix of Aztec, Mayan and Inca culture.....lets wait to see how Monolith makes it into the board game.
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Post by boot on Feb 18, 2023 22:31:34 GMT -5
That scene, though, in the river with the crocs (or was it alligators), with the Stygian priest on the rock, chanting, cutting children's throats then throwing their bloody carcasses into the water, letting them float down with the current, to cast his spell. Dude! That was a gruesome, but awesome, VERY CONAN scene.
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