The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian (Conan the Barbarian Book 1)

Conan is one of the greatest fictional heroes ever created–a swordsman who cuts a swath across the lands of the Hyborian Age, facing powerful sorcerers, deadly creatures, and ruthless armies of thieves and reavers. “Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities . . . there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars. . . . Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand . . . to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet.” In a meteoric career that spanned a mere twelve years before his tragic suicide, Robert E. Howard single-handedly invented the genre that came to be called sword and sorcery. Collected in this volume, profusely illustrated by artist Mark Schultz, are Howard’s first thirteen Conan stories, appearing in their original versions–in some cases for the first time in more than seventy years–and in the order Howard wrote them. Along with classics of dark fantasy like “The Tower of the Elephant” and swashbuckling adventure like “Queen of the Black Coast,” The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian contains a wealth of material never before published in the United States, including the first submitted draft of Conan’s debut, “Phoenix on the Sword,” Howard’s synopses for “The Scarlet Citadel” and “Black Colossus,” and a map of Conan’s world drawn by the author himself. Here are timeless tales featuring Conan the raw and dangerous youth, Conan the daring thief, Conan the swashbuckling pirate, and Conan the commander of armies. Here, too, is an unparalleled glimpse into the mind of a genius whose bold storytelling style has been imitated by many, yet equaled by none. "Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities . . . there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars. . . . Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand . . . to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet."Conan is one of the greatest fictional heroes ever created--a swordsman who cuts a swath across the lands of the Hyborian Age, facing powerful sorcerers, deadly creatures, and ruthless armies of thieves and reavers.In a meteoric career that spanned a mere twelve years before his tragic suicide, Robert E. Howard single-handedly invented the genre that came to be called sword and sorcery. Collected in this volume, profusely illustrated by artist Mark Schultz, are Howard's first thirteen Conan stories, appearing in their original versions--in some cases for the first time in more than seventy years--and in the order Howard wrote them. Along with classics of dark fantasy like "The Tower of the Elephant" and swashbuckling adventure like "Queen of the Black Coast," The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian contains a wealth of material never before published in the United States, including the first submitted draft of Conan's debut, "Phoenix on the Sword," Howard's synopses for "The Scarlet Citadel" and "Black Colossus," and a map of Conan's world drawn by the author himself.Here are timeless tales featuring Conan the raw and dangerous youth, Conan the daring thief, Conan the swashbuckling pirate, and Conan the commander of armies. Here, too, is an unparalleled glimpse into the mind of a genius whose bold storytelling style has been imitated by many, yet equaled by none. "Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities ... there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars. ... Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand ... to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet." Conan is one of the greatest fictional heroes ever created--a swordsman who cuts a swath across the lands of the Hyborian Age, facing powerful sorcerers, deadly creatures, and ruthless armies of thieves and reavers. In a meteoric career that spanned a mere twelve years before his tragic suicide, Robert E. Howard single-handedly invented the genre that came to be called sword and sorcery. Collected in this volume, profusely illustrated by artist Mark Schultz, are Howard's first thirteen Conan stories, appearing in their original versions--in some cases for the first time in more than seventy years--and in the order Howard wrote them. Along with classics of dark fantasy like "The Tower of the Elephant" and swashbuckling adventure like "Queen of the Black Coast," The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian contains a wealth of material never before published in the United States, including the first submitted draft of Conan's debut, "Phoenix on the Sword," Howard's synopses for "The Scarlet Citadel" and "Black Colossus," and a map of Conan's world drawn by the author himself. Here are timeless tales featuring Conan the raw and dangerous youth, Conan the daring thief, Conan the swashbuckling pirate, and Conan the commander of armies. Here, too, is an unparalleled glimpse into the mind of a genius whose bold storytelling style has been imitated by many, yet equaled by none Title Page 1 Contents 2 Dedication 5 Foreword 6 Introduction 9 Cimmeria 16 The Phoenix on the Sword 18 The Frost-Giant's Daughter 39 The God in the Bowl 46 The Tower of the Elephant 67 The Scarlet Citadel 88 Queen of the Black Coast 121 Black Colossus 146 Iron Shadows in the Moon 178 Xuthal of the Dusk 208 The Pool of the Black One 238 Rogues in the House 262 The Vale of Lost Women 284 The Devil in Iron 297 Miscellanea 323 The Phoenix on the Sword (First submitted draft) 324 Notes on Various Peoples of the Hyborian Age 348 The Hyborian Age 350 Untitled Synopsis 367 Untitled Synopsis (The Scarlet Citadel) 369 Untitled Synopsis (Black Colossus) 370 Untitled Fragment 372 Untitled Synopsis 374 Untitled Draft 376 Hyborian Names and Countries 384 Hyborian Age Maps 386 Appendices 388 Hyborian Genesis 389 Notes on the Conan Typescripts and the Chronology 412 Notes on the Original Howard Texts 418 Acknowledgements 424 Praise for Robert E. Howard 426 Copyright Page 428