Don Herron's Dark Barbarian and The Barbaric Triumph

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Don Herron has long been considered by many to be the dean of Howardian literary criticism. His The Dark Barbarian anthology is an unquestioned landmark in Howard Studies.  His follow-up, The Barbaric Triumph, is also quite excellent. The two of them plus extras are collected in the Dark Barbarian Towers Over All Megapack.

Here is a link to Herron's seminal "The Dark Barbarian" essay:


books.google.com/books?id=kQCohrOGHOsC&pg=PA149&lpg=PA149&dq=%22created+one+of+the+great+mythic+figures%22&source=bl&ots=XP0ZlzJVvO&sig=WkipbdmNykXpoLcq74k27rFP8TI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjTzrmntpbUAhVlrlQKHdhdCToQ6AEINzAE#v=onepage&q=%22created%20one%20of%20the%20great%20mythic%20figures%22&f=false

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Don Herron gives the lowdown on the contents of the Dark Barbarian That Towers Over All "Megapack":


 www.donherron.com/two-gun-bob-the-dark-barbarian-that-towers-over-all/


For $4.99, anyone can get a very solid grounding in Howard Studies. Within the megapack are the essays and articles -- not just by Herron, but many other scholars as well -- that changed the way we look at REH and Conan.

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A link to Don Herron's Conan vs. Conantics essay written in 1976.

www.donherron.com/some-essays/conan-vs-conantics/

[robp]

Jun 6, 2017 2:21:58 GMT -5 @hunnu said:

A link to Don Herron's Conan vs. Conantics essay written in 1976.

www.donherron.com/some-essays/conan-vs-conantics/

Thanks for posting the link, that's a great article and spot on.

One of the most impressive things about REH Conan for me is that, although the tales are not in chronological order, you can see the development of the character from young thief Conan to King Conan, something that pastiche writers often miss.  For a lot of them it seems Conan is Conan and that is it, more a two dimensional  super-hero than REH's rounded character

[Von K]

I took notes from that essay by Don when I was writing Conan fanfics.

This Dark Barbarian collection also contains the essay by Fritz Leiber, which includes one of his most famous quotes on REH.

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From what I remember I think it was with the SSOC adaptations when I started to realize the difference between the original REH yarns and Carter/De Camp stories - there was something that did not feel right in the pacing in the De Camp adaptations. They seemed a little boring, it certainly did feel that way to me at the time, but, Roy Thomas, John Buscema and Tony Dezuniga produced some beautiful work considering. When I attempted to read the De Camp stories in the Lancer/Sphere books I'd lose interest within a few pages. It was when I read Karl Wagner's introduction in Hour of the Dragon, a few years later that I finally decided I had enough of De Camp's Conan. 

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Don Kraar's review of The Dark Barbarian:The Writings of Robert E Howard, a Critical Anthology from SSOC 109.

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Ed Waterman's great essay, "The Shadow of a Soul On Fire" from The Barbaric Triumph:


books.google.com/books?id=rVERL_j9UfcC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=%22the+shadow+from+a+soul+on+fire%22+waterman&source=bl&ots=RfFVUyEi_R&sig=tsFj88xyzujry_Lkl_WtxbobZJ4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwja7oyI-ofVAhVI1oMKHdD6BCMQ6AEIJDAA#v=onepage&q=%22the%20shadow%20from%20a%20soul%20on%20fire%22%20waterman&f=false

[deuce]

Don Herron, in his essay "Robert E. Howard: Hard-Boiled Heroic Fantasist", pointed out the many similarities between REH's grim heroes and the tough, street-wise protagonists of Hammett and Chandler. Another landmark in Howard Studies:


books.google.com/books?id=kQCohrOGHOsC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=hardboiled+heroic+fantasist+herron&source=bl&ots=XQTTpIIZxI&sig=K62waSIaiLhOK9k8Mdh5V_oSAU0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiu1LXWipnVAhXo3YMKHTZCBnwQ6AEIKjAC#v=onepage&q=hardboiled%20heroic%20fantasist%20herron&f=false

[emerald]

Jul 20, 2017 20:07:16 GMT -5 deuce said:

Doh Herron, in his essay "Robert E. Howard: Hard-Boiled Heroic Fantasist", pointed out the many similarities between REH's grim heroes and the tough, street-wise protagonists of Hammett and Chandler. Another landmark in Howard Studies:


books.google.com/books?id=kQCohrOGHOsC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=hardboiled+heroic+fantasist+herron&source=bl&ots=XQTTpIIZxI&sig=K62waSIaiLhOK9k8Mdh5V_oSAU0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiu1LXWipnVAhXo3YMKHTZCBnwQ6AEIKjAC#v=onepage&q=hardboiled%20heroic%20fantasist%20herron&f=false

This is probably the single most trenchant and important essay in Howard studies. Seminal enough that much of its message has been absorbed as common wisdom, but it was, and is, a breakthrough insight.

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Don Herron is not only considered by many to be the greatest living critic/scholar of the works of Robert E. Howard, he also shares a birthday with REH. Here's a post he wrote on Bob's (and his own) birthday:


www.donherron.com/two-gun-bob-birthday-107/


Happy birthday, Don!

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Our own ThorJRS has just picked up a copy of The Dark Barbarian:


mightythorjrs.com/2018/02/21/book-haul-spotlight-the-dark-barbarian-the-writings-of-robert-e-howard-a-critical-anthology-by-don-herron/

[mightythorjrs]

Feb 21, 2018 13:37:46 GMT -5 deuce said:

Our own ThorJRS has just picked up a copy of The Dark Barbarian:


mightythorjrs.com/2018/02/21/book-haul-spotlight-the-dark-barbarian-the-writings-of-robert-e-howard-a-critical-anthology-by-don-herron/











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Thanks again,
James
Mighty Thor JRS