Description of a Shemite city

F

Faraer

Mongoose
This is from Howard's "The House of Arabu"* and describes the Sumerian city of Nippur c.3000 BC, but could well apply to a Shemitish city such as Nippr or Shumir:
The party were proceeding leisurely down the broad white street, gaped at by the common folk who bobbed their shaven heads as they passed. The sun was not long up, but the people of Nippur were well astir. There was much coming and going between the booths where the merchants spread their wares: a shifting panorama, woven of craftsmen, tradesmen, slaver, harlots and soldiers in copper helmets. There went a merchant from his warehouse, a staid figure in somber woollen robe and white mantle; there hurried a slave in a linen tunic; their minced a painted hoyden whose short slit skirt displayed her sleek flank at every step. Above them the blue of the sky whitened with the heat of the mountain sun. The glazed surfaces of the buildings shimmered. They were flat-roofed, some of them three or four stories high. Nippur was a city of sun-dried brick, but its facings of enamel made it a riot of bright color.
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* published in Wolfshead (1979), Eons of the Night (1996), and The Ultimate Triumph (2000)
 
Want more bits like this when I come across them?

From that story and "The Voice of El-Lil" we have some good names:
Shemite f: Amytis, Belibna, Naluna
Khitan: Yotai Lao
etc.
 
This is the type of passage that has always impressed me about REH. His power of description is one of the most enjoyable and impressive of any authors I have read. He puts you right in the dusty streets with the characters, and he does it with such confidence. It's hard to believe he never left Texas during his lifetime.
 
The only authors I've ever read who were his equal were Stephen King, Peter Hathaway Capstick, George R. R. Martin and Tolkien.
 
Johannixx said:
The only authors I've ever read who were his equal were Stephen King, Peter Hathaway Capstick, George R. R. Martin and Tolkien.
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Bold statement, Johannixx! :shock:

Has anyone read Steven Erikson?
 
Nope.

Dave Duncan was pretty impressive too, but I think the four I mentioned were the best at sheer storytelling and scene descriptions. Here's an interesting question, though: Who here has heard of or read Capstick? I highly recommend his first book, "Death in the Long Grass"
 
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