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Post by deuce on Feb 5, 2016 21:18:45 GMT -5
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2016 4:20:09 GMT -5
I always felt that over the years depending on my mood almost all of the Conan stories have appealed to me one way or another.
If I had to pick Conan stories that I have found difficult to enjoy they would be - 'The God in the Bowl' and 'The Vale of Lost Women'
The Black Stranger, another one that did not make it to Weird Tales is one of my favourites.
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Post by deuce on Feb 28, 2016 9:13:08 GMT -5
I always felt that over the years depending on my mood almost all of the Conan stories have appealed to me one way or another. That's how it is with me. If backed in a corner, I generally say Hour of the Dragon is my favorite. |
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Post by CoonDogBo on Feb 28, 2016 11:29:42 GMT -5
all of them are the best! however, Vale of Lost Women was a bit bland by Howard's standards. I even liked the ones De Camp adapted for Howard that were originally written for other characters. I would say Beyond the Black River and A Witch is Born are my favs...certain sections of Hour of the Dragon really rock out too. I was amazed by the parts that took place in Khemi...I have read those chapters over and over and over...A great movie could be made on that section alone...a truly great fantasy movie.
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Post by Char-Vell on Mar 18, 2016 9:30:53 GMT -5
In order of favorite-ness:
Beyond the Black River
Red Nails
Rogues in the House
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Post by zarono on Mar 18, 2016 12:52:22 GMT -5
Nice avatar Char-Vell!
Favorites/reccomendations:
Beyond the Black River
The Scarlet Citadel
The Frost Giant's Daughter
The Tower of the Elephant
Red Nails
The Black Stranger
The Queen of the Black Coast
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Post by Jason Aiken on Mar 19, 2016 21:47:02 GMT -5
I haven't read "Red Nails," yet, but here's my list:
Iron Shadows in the Moonlight
The Tower of the Elephant
Queen of the Black Coast
The Black Stranger
Beyond the Black River
The Devil in Iron
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Post by robp on Mar 20, 2016 5:02:55 GMT -5
Difficult choice, but as a Top Five:
Red Nails
Tower of the Elephant
Rogues in the House
Beyond the Black River
The Slithering Shadow
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fernando
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I'm purist and proud! I hate insistent people! And I only give opinions when I'm ASKED!!
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Post by fernando on Mar 26, 2016 13:29:43 GMT -5
The Hour of the Dragon is my predilect one. 
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Post by Von K on Mar 28, 2016 9:45:28 GMT -5
Hour of the Dragon is my top pick, too. He probably worked harder and more intensively on that yarn than any other, only to get knocked back by the closure of the publisher that had requested it.
Beyond the Black River
Queen of the Black Coast
Rogues in the House
Scarlet Citadel
Phoenix on the Sword
Too many other good ones to fit in a top five.
In retrospect, I'm slowly developing more of a fondness for those which contain epigraphs of REHs own poetry. In the early days that was all I ever had to read of his verse, which I have always admired.
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Post by amrathelion on Sept 20, 2017 21:09:10 GMT -5
Hour of the Dragon
Red Nails
Tower of the Elephant
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Post by Sangria Sword on Feb 22, 2019 18:16:38 GMT -5
My favorite Conan stories are "Tower of the Elephant", "The Frost's Giant's daughter", "Hour of the Dragon"; "The Devil in Iron", "Queen of the Black Coast", and "A witch shall be born". Hark! I hear the thunder of hoofs and the clash of steel and the screams of the dying! I hear the lone warrior cursing his God, Crom, as he slays relentlessly!
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Post by bartonamra on Feb 23, 2019 20:11:01 GMT -5
It’s interesting to see how a majority of the Conan tales are mentioned, by a person or another, when asked which are the best. Only a few are never mentioned. It shows how good the whole serie is. In almost every story, I can think of something that makes it a favorite. Here are the ones I like the less :
The Vale of Lost Women
Pool of the Black One
The Devil in Iron
The Devil in Iron is sometimes named as among the best, but I fin iron Shadows in the Moin much more focused and entertaining. While not a best, it really works, as an aversge by the number Conan adventure.
Beyond the Black River is, to me, the absolute best, no question about it.
Then there is a long list of runner ups :
Hour of the Dragon
People of the Black Circle
Queen of the Black Coast
Black Colossus
I would name Tower of the Elephant, but I think it’s a bit overrated. Maybe I like the realistic/adventure type more than the weird tales of Conan.
Red Nails is, to me, the anomaly. So many name it as their best tale! Don’t get me wrong, it’s above average. But it is still a regular Conan adventure. Yes, Valeria is a more interesting companion, but she still is a damsel in distress after she is wounded in battle. I guess I enjoy the fisrt part much more than the second half. Still, I don’t think it has a place among his best. The fact that it’s the last written gives it a free pass I guess.
Now for my personnal favorites. They wouldn’t make it in a Best Of, but...
The Black Stranger
The Servants of Bit-Yakin
The God in the Bowl
The Black Stranger is exceptionnal. I wonder if Howard, having failed to sell it, thought he had to go back to the regular formula, for his next tale (Man-eaters of Zamboula). Maybe he was trying to go for a more western Conan but let it go because he couldn’t follow up on Beyond the Black River.
So there you go, my comments and reflecions on how hard it is to make a top 5 Conan tales.
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Post by Sangria Sword on Mar 7, 2019 18:25:49 GMT -5
Is Howard's story, "Red Nails" his best yarn? Not for me. For me, it's " The Tower of the Elephant." I'm not sure why I like it so much, but it's the Howard story that I've re-read the most. It's a cool and fantastic story, and maybe it's because Howard shows Conan as intelligent and thoughtful. And perhaps because I like elephants. The story has an alien and cosmic feel to it, and Yag-Kosha's situation is heart-breaking. Okay, Conan fans, what's your best liked Howard yarn?
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