Lord of Samarcand and Other Adventure Tales of the Old Orient (The Works of Robert E. Howard)

For five centuries of Crusades, European armies of believers, fanatics, and mercenaries warred with the followers of the Prophet for control of Asia Minor and Palestine. From Jerusalem to Vienna, the frontier between West and East saw battle and bloodshed, treachery and butchery on a scale hitherto unknown and unimagined. The pageantry of medieval knighthood, the exoticism of the Orient, the ferocity of the invaders from the steppes, the mysteries of the seraglio, the rise and fall of great dynasties—these provided a real historical backdrop for some of Robert E. Howard’s greatest fiction. This volume contains the complete Oriental stories by the creator of Conan the Barbarian and Solomon Kane. Some were published in Farnsworth Wright’s Oriental Stories between 1930 and 1934; others were left unpublished and are printed here in authoritative texts based on the author’s surviving typescripts; and still others, left unfinished at his death, are presented as suggestive evidence of the work he had yet to do. As this collection attests, no one else writes action stories with Howard’s fast-paced intensity or brooding moral outlook. Here, the fates of empires rest on the swords of exiles, vagabonds, and renegades; whether civilization will be annihilated by religious zealots or by bloodthirsty barbarians, who is to say? For five centuries of Crusades, European armies of believers, fanatics, and mercenaries warred with the followers of the Prophet for control of Asia Minor and Palestine. From Jerusalem to Vienna, the frontier between West and East saw battle and bloodshed, treachery and butchery on a scale hitherto unknown and unimagined. The pageantry of medieval knighthood, the exoticism of the Orient, the ferocity of the invaders from the steppes, the mysteries of the seraglio, the rise and fall of great dynasties-these provided a real historical backdrop for some of Robert E. Howard’s greatest fiction. This volume contains the complete Oriental stories by the creator of Conan the Barbarian and Solomon Kane. Some were published in Farnsworth Wright’s Oriental Stories between 1930 and 1934; others were left unpublished and are printed here in authoritative texts based on the author’s surviving typescripts; and still others, left unfinished at his death, are presented as suggestive evidence of the work he had yet to do. As this collection attests, no one else writes action stories with Howard’s fast-paced intensity or brooding moral outlook. Here, the fates of empires rest on the swords of exiles, vagabonds, and renegades; whether civilization will be annihilated by religious zealots or by bloodthirsty barbarians, who is to say? Red Blades Of Black Cathay -- Hawks Of Outremer -- The Blood Of Belshazzar -- The Sowers Of The Thunder -- Lord Of Samarcand -- Timur-lang -- The Lion Of Tiberias -- The Shadow Of The Vulture -- Gates Of Empire -- The Road Of The Eagles -- Hawks Over Egypt -- The Road Of Azrael -- The Slave Princess (synopsis) -- The Slave Princess (unfinished Draft) -- Against Tyre (unfinished Draft) -- The Track Of Bohemund (unfinished Draft) -- The Shadow Of The Hun (unfinished Draft) -- He Knew De Bracy ... (untitled Fragment) -- The Wind From The Mediterranean ... (untitled Fragment). Robert E. Howard ; Edited By Rusty Burke ; With An Introduction By Patrice Louinet. Red blades of black Cathay Hawks of Outremer The blood of Belshazzar The sowers of the thunder Lord of Samarcand Timur-lang The lion of Tiberias The shadow of the vulture Gates of empire The road of the eagles Hawks over Egypt The road of Azrael The slave princess (synopsis) The slave princess (unfinished draft) Against Tyre (unfinished draft) The track of Bohemund (unfinished draft) The shadow of the Hun (unfinished draft) He knew de Bracy ... (untitled fragment) The wind from the Mediterranean ... (untitled fragment) Recap of Howard Lamb's "The wolf chaser" The Persians had all fled ... (untitled draft). The mystery and exoticism of the Orient, the pageantry of medieval chivalry, the seductive qualities of the seraglio, and the rise and fall of great empires form the backdrop for a collection of action-packed short stories, all appearing in authoritative versions based on the author's surviving manuscripts. Simultaneous.