I didn't really know what to expect when I started this book. I don't consider myself a Conan fan, I just thought it might be a fun read. As the introduction explains, Howard began writing short stories about Conan the Barbarian for a fantasy magazine in the 1920's. When he wrote them, they were all out of order in respect to Conan's life. This book keeps the stories in the order they were written, rather than rearranging them chronologically, so you get more of a feel for what Howard was trying to accomplish. On that note, Howard was actually a pretty good writer. Reading through, you start to notice a rhythm to the words on the page, almost as if you're reading poetry in stanza form. I appreciate this sort of attention to word choice.

One more thing I'd like to point out. The introduction went into this a little and I think it's worth mentioning. 'Barbarian' fantasy was not invented by Howard. Howard simply took the concept and ran with it. As a Texan, he brought a lot of new things to the table that hadn't really been done before. The deep south has a rich cultural heritage for story telling which does come across a bit, and there's definitely a little 'gun-slinging' going on. But mostly, it engages you with the author's personal philosophies about freedom, 'civilization', the march of so-called 'progress', and what it is to truly be born of the earth. Keeping Howard in mind while reading his stories is worth as much as the stories themselves. It makes you wonder what on earth people got up to back then in the great wild boonies of Texas.

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