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Post by mindboggled on Mar 7, 2019 14:54:36 GMT -5
I already know which ones to avoid like the black plague. I'am actually not that much into the idea of prose pastiches anyway, so I will probably skip almost all of them.... So you are not really interested in pastiches? >>>> A lot of the best pastiches are as good as many REH tales. And several of them are even better than many REH tales. I was amazed and delighted to read discover the very best pastiches: wonderful high quality works by massively talented keen Fans of REH-Conan. just stick to your REH tales. then you wont have to moan about other great writers of conan adventures. Nope, not interested in reading pastiches-I was simple posting my thoughts on The Valorous. The only ones I'am going to read without a doubt are John C. Hocking's, when they released and re-released. I do sort of agree with you tho, that a "few" pastiches are actually pretty decent, like Road of Kings.
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Post by Von K on Mar 9, 2019 17:54:31 GMT -5
JMR repeatedly comes up in reviews as one of the best of the Tor pastichers. He had his own thread on the old forum where he used to hang out with us and answer questions and he’s been a valued member here for a long time.
I've read Conan and the Amazon and Conan the Bold by JMR - Amazon in a single sitting, bar coffee breaks. He’s definitely got the storyteller’s gift and it’s not a surprise to find he’s gone on to have a long and successful writing career after his Conan pastiches.
The start of Bold has a good portrayal of Cimmerians. A Cimmerian father and his two sons fight off a slaver band thirty strong and kill twenty two before they are finally taken down.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2019 17:38:05 GMT -5
Managed to pick up most of JMR's Conan novels (still need Conan and the Amazon). Kinda looking forward to 'Conan the Rogue' and 'Conan the Marauder'.
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Post by Jason Aiken on May 25, 2020 19:56:46 GMT -5
I'm making my way through JMR's King of the Wood and enjoying it very much. I'll definitely be reading his Conan pastiche in the future. I think I own a few already.
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Post by darthgall on May 26, 2020 11:11:04 GMT -5
I'm making my way through JMR's King of the Wood and enjoying it very much. I'll definitely be reading his Conan pastiche in the future. I think I own a few already. Jason give us a few paragraphs in a mini review! Seems like a good one to seek out... I think i have it on an amazon wishlist and need a little motivation to hunt it down...
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Post by Jason Aiken on May 26, 2020 22:06:21 GMT -5
I'm making my way through JMR's King of the Wood and enjoying it very much. I'll definitely be reading his Conan pastiche in the future. I think I own a few already. Jason give us a few paragraphs in a mini review! Seems like a good one to seek out... I think i have it on an amazon wishlist and need a little motivation to hunt it down... It's alternate history, but in a way feels like the western frontier of the Hyborian Age REH wrote about in "The Black Stranger", "Beyond the Black River, "and Wolves at the Border". It's a very interesting North America that is populated by Christian Norsemen and Saxons in the north, Pagans in the South, and Spanish Muslims on the Florida Peninsula. There are also the native americans as Skraelings and the Azteca that come into play. There's a nice little chronology at the beginning of the novel that sets the world up and JMR continues to organically flesh it out in the novel. I'm only three chapters in but I'm really enjoying it and think any REH or Conan fan would as well. My favorite character so far is a Norse frontiersman named Ragnar.
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Post by Lonewolf on Jul 7, 2020 12:57:50 GMT -5
I am reading Conan and the Amazon and got to say I am loving every sentence. Believe it or not this is my first Roberts. Why it took me so long I have no idea except after all the hype I guess I was afraid I would be let down. Roberts has a lot of the gift that Howard had, he is just an excellent storyteller and his characters are very vivid. I have just pushed him to the very pinnacle of Howard pastiche writers. I am also looking forward to the new one by Mr Hocking but I also have seven more Conans by Roberts to enjoy...awesome!!!!! Of the dozen or so TOR pastiche's I have read "Conan and The Amazon" has been my favorite, and IMO John Maddox Roberts in general is the best Conan writer of that series.
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Post by mindboggled on Sept 23, 2021 20:16:28 GMT -5
Going to give The Rogue and The Champion a shot. I think I may have judged JMR too hastily, although I can defiantly say that The Valorous went went down hill for me and I ended up not finishing it because of that—it still has a strong start!
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Post by mindboggled on Oct 10, 2021 15:30:32 GMT -5
I've read the Rogue. It's one of the better pastiches for sure. JMR gets Conan and the world he lives in. There are many will fleshed out and memorable secondary characters in this book. Some of which only get a couple of pages each and yet JMRR still makes each one stand out. The story is good, it is obvious that JMR was inspired by films such as "A Fist Full Of Dollars" and "Yojimbo" for this one. And that is not a bad thing at all, as this architype suits Conan's character exceptionally. And the last thirty pages of this tale, when everything is getting wrapped up, are exhilarating!
Now onto a couple of minuscule qualms I have with the book. Considering the length of the book, I felt there could a have been a tad bit more action and little more sorcery. There is practically no real sorcery all the way up until the end. Additionally, there are moments where it is obvious that JMR is padding out book to achieve the required length.
I look forward to the Champion!
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Post by mindboggled on Nov 17, 2021 20:20:17 GMT -5
I've read the "The Champion". It's not as good as "The Rogue". The engaging part of the book is when Conan is in the spirt realm and he meets the Melnibones. The rest of the book is passable, nothing too interesting. The best part of the book is also the least Howardian. It felt like an Elric adventure featuring Conan; which I had no issue with because it was cool seeing Conan navigate such a supernatural realm—it did not feel Howardian though. This pastiche is okay, but skippable.
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