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Post by lordyam on May 2, 2018 13:38:03 GMT -5
It's without question that Howard was GREAT when he was good, but even he had his down days writing wise. So what are the 3 best and 3 worst Conan stories
My personal favorite is Hour of the Dragon, and my least favorite is Vale of Lost Women.
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Post by Char-Vell on May 2, 2018 14:49:25 GMT -5
My personal opinion:
Best:
Beyond the Black River
Red Nails
Rogues in the House
Worst:
Queen of the Black Coast
A Witch Shall be Born
The Pool of the Black One
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Post by lordyam on May 2, 2018 15:25:28 GMT -5
Queen is weird in that when it's fleshed out it's pretty good. Roy Thomas's run on the story was legendary and deserves it's praise.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2018 15:47:26 GMT -5
I don't really have a favorite Conan yarn. I kinda enjoy each tale depending on my mood at the time.
I'm not too keen on the Vale of Lost Women or the Frost-Giant's Daughter.
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Post by lordyam on May 2, 2018 16:02:53 GMT -5
Yeah you get the feeling even Howard was rather ashamed of Vale
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2018 17:08:04 GMT -5
Yeah you get the feeling even Howard was rather ashamed of Vale I dunno if REH was ashamed of Vale of Lost Women. But, if I remember correctly, there's no record of a submission of Vale to Weird Tales - or a rejection from Weird Tales editor Farnsworth Wright. Vale of Lost Women kinda reminds me of Almuric; it does not quite feel right. |
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Post by lordyam on May 7, 2018 12:59:33 GMT -5
Vale's one tale even most Howardian's don't really defend. It's like HP Lovecraft's "the street" in that regard.
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Post by Char-Vell on May 7, 2018 13:04:30 GMT -5
I'll have to re-read Vale. I don't rememeber much about it other than the general plot and there was a kick ass moth monster in it.
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Post by ChrisLAdams on May 7, 2018 14:20:56 GMT -5
While Red Nails is a personal fav, I really like the verv displayed in Frost Giant. It's just a purely brutal and savage tale with lots of energy - which suits a Conan tale to a T.
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Post by zarono on May 7, 2018 16:41:35 GMT -5
It's without question that Howard was GREAT when he was good, but even he had his down days writing wise. So what are the 3 best and 3 worst Conan stories My personal favorite is Hour of the Dragon, and my least favorite is Vale of Lost Women. What are are your other 2 best and worst choices? Seems odd that you ask others for 3 but only list one each of your own. But anyway I'll participate in this survey, psych evaluation, purity test, or whatever it is. I like all the Conan stories so I'm not ranking the stories on any other criteria other than what Conan stories I read for pleasure most and least often. The 3 stories I read most often: The Scarlet Citadel The Tower of the Elephant Beyond the Black River The 3 stories I read least often: Vale of Lost Women (I would agree it's not near the quality of the rest of REH's Conan stories. There are a couple of good scenes but overall it's lacking in points of interest compared the rest of the stories and it seems rushed to me.) Servants of Bit-Yakin Pool of the Black One |
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Post by Char-Vell on May 7, 2018 17:22:18 GMT -5
I have an affection for Servants of Bit-Yakin, probably because it was in the ace book with Red Nails and BtBR
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Post by Von K on May 7, 2018 17:42:25 GMT -5
Mark Finn once wrote an overview of all the Conan yarns and rated them out of five with commentary on each one. It was about four years ago I read it but have had no luck finding it again to post a link. Well worth tracking down if it's still online.
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Post by zarono on May 7, 2018 21:23:31 GMT -5
I have an affection for Servants of Bit-Yakin, probably because it was in the face book with Red Nails and BtBR It's REH Conan so even if it's not a favorite it's still in a class by itself above the rest. Reminds me of something a grizzled old truck driver once told me concerning his on the road pastimes "Evan the worst was still better than anything else"  |
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2018 1:16:57 GMT -5
I'll have to re-read Vale. I don't rememeber much about it other than the general plot and there was a kick ass moth monster in it.
Sounds like a good idea. I recently re-read The God in the Bowl and appreciated the yarn a lot more than before. I'll re-read Vale of Lost Women in the next couple of days. |
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Post by Aryeh on May 8, 2018 6:54:52 GMT -5
The last time I read "The Vale of Lost Women" I actually enjoyed it. Because it is so over the top and I could not take it entirely seriously, in same sense one cannot approach Tarantino movies without some sense of humor, or without some distance. The way I see it, it's one of those things one cannot be sure up to which point it's serious and when exactly it becomes a sort of parody.
I am aware REH didn't intend it as parody, but I am saying that's how the story reads, or at least how I experienced it on my last reading.
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