Non-Howard Conan Novels

[GMAN]

Hi All

Does anyone know what Non-Howard Conan novels there are out there, or a site with a list of them. I got into Conan through the Marvel comics and really enjoyed them, so after buying the complete Conan Chronicles by Howard, i've decided to look at how other auther take on the Hyborian age.

I've been on a lot of Conan sites and there is a lot of frowning on non-Howard stories, especially towards what is canon, but i'd still like to read them and they can still give insperation to a Conan RPG story, I know the Marvel comics i read where great fun, and gave me a lot to think about for the RPG i'm going to be running soon.

I'm really looking for compilation books with non-Howard novels as i'm coming to an end of my complete Conan book by Howard so looking for a bit more Conan action to chip away at.

Thanks

 

[VincentDarlage]

Sagas of Conan collects several L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter and Bjorn Nyberg stories, including Conan the Swordsman (itself a collection of short stories), Conan the Liberator, and Conan and the Spidergod.

Gnome Press' Tales of Conan includes several L. Sprague de Camp rewrites of Howard stories, where he takes non-Conan stories by Howard and turns them into Conan stories.

The Conan Chronicles collects the Ace/Lancer books Conan, Conan of Cimmeria and Conan the Freebooter.

The Conan Chronicles 2 collects the Ace/Lancer Conan the Adventurer, Conan the Wanderer and Conan the Buccaneer.

The Conan Chronicles (yeah, several books have this title) and The Further Chronicles of Conan collect all but one of the Robert Jordan Conan novels.

Those are the only compilations of pastiches that I am really aware of. Other than those, you will have to go to the individual novels.

 

[kirisute]

TOR fantasy published a HUGE selection of NON Howard conan novels.
http://conan.wikia.com/wiki/Tor

they are not bad, mostly not as gritty or darkly humoured as Howard stuff but a good "pulp" read if you have a few hours to spare.

they can be tough to get hold of though. i just finished my complete collection of them with a few 2nd hand copies from Amazon, so they are certainly out there if your willing to hunt for them.

 

[The King]

This was already asked on the forum.

Anyway, I think Jordan is the best. He was a great writer indeed.

de Camp's and Lin Carter's short stories are also quite good, at least better than novels (though Conan and the spider god is a good read).

 

[VincentDarlage]

Here is a decent bibliography for Conan.

http://www.conan.com/bibliography.shtml

Oddly, the bibliography does not include the three Endless Quest books:

Conan the Undaunted James M. Ward, Jun, 1984
Conan and the Prophecy Roger E. Moore, Jun, 1984
Conan the Outlaw Roger E. Moore, Dec 1984

 

[Supplement Four]

Does anyone know what Non-Howard Conan novels there are out there, or a site with a list of them.

There are close to 100 non-Howard Conan tales. I'd check the timelines, for a couple list all of the Conan books, Howard or no.

Plus, there are non-Conan, non-Howard tales set in the Hyborian Age.

Red Sonja has a series of six books.

There are 3 or 4 trilogies set when Conan is King of Aquilonia, tied to the Age of Conan MMO game (and, I understand the Loren Coleman trilogy is a fun read, though I haven't read it).

There's Kull, whom Howard wrote of, and others wrote of as well, set thousands of years before Conan before Atlantis fell into the sea.

And, there's the extremely hard to find (my friend has it) book of Arquel, the Leopard of Pointain.

I got into Conan through the Marvel comics and really enjoyed them, so after buying the complete Conan Chronicles by Howard, i've decided to look at how other auther take on the Hyborian age.

There's a butt load of comics out there featuring Conan/Red Sonja/Kull. You've read them all?!

I've been on a lot of Conan sites and there is a lot of frowning on non-Howard stories...

Don't believe that dreck. There are Howard purists. There's a few that post on this list. They'll tell you that non-Howard Conan stories suck--all of them.

I'm here to tell you that's not true.

Yes, there are some non-Howard Conan tale that just plain suck. For example, stay away from Steve Perry (who wrote 4-5 books). But, many of the Conan pastiches are damn good reads.

I just finished Andrew Offutt's trilogy: Conan And The Sorcerer - Conan The Mercenary - Conan The Sword of Skelos.

I enjoyed every page of them.

John Maddox Roberts writes a damn good Conan book. Buy his stuff.

Unlike many others, I like L. Sprague de Camp's Conan stuff, too. I think his work is worth buying/reading.

Also, Robert Jordan's seven books that he wrote are a pure delight to read (even the novelization of the horrible movie Conan The Destroyer).



Three things: If you've read a lot of Conan comics, you've also read many of the Conan comics. Two of the books from the Offutt trilogy I mention above are presented in Savage Sword of Conan. Most of the stories that I've read, so far, in SSoC, are taken from Conan novels and short stories, both by Howard and other writers.

Second: Most of the non-Howard Conan collection is out of print. Which means half price used books stores, eBay, Amazon, and used book services on the net are your friend.

Third: I own about 90% of the entire Conan collection. I'm just missing a few books, that I'll get, eventually. I've also got some duplicates that I've been thinking of putting on eBay. When I do, I'll make an announcement here in case you want to bid on them.

 

[VincentDarlage]

There's a butt load of comics out there featuring Conan/Red Sonja/Kull. You've read them all?!

That's possible. I've read them all. I have a complete collection. I hope I am not the only one on this board who can claim that.

 

[Spectator]

I SECOND Supplement 4's assertion that the HOWARD PURISTS are plenty and vocal. But I think its fair to say that some Pastiche stories are as good and likewise some are just incredibly bad (Roland Green, sorry Bro!).
My favorite Pastiches Writers are
John Roberts Maddox (Excellent). His best book is Conan the Valorous. All of his others are just Damn Good.
Robert Jordan (Damn Good). Each story is kinda similar, but they are very good.
Andrew Offut (skelos trilogy, pretty good).
DeCamp/ Carter/ Nyberg: Any one of these will be a good read for the novice. I think there is a lot of DeCamp hating because of how he would mangle, when editing, REH's stuff, and I think the Criticism is true. Just because he's a shite editor doesn't mean he's a bad story teller/ writer, though.

A little note On John Maddox Roberts; he still writes fiction, but historical fiction (Roman Murder Mysteries taking place in the decades before Julius Caesar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPQR_series , this fits in very well with on of my favorite REH novels: THe God in the Bowl. http://conan.wikia.com/wiki/The_God_in_the_Bowl )


If you run out of CONAN books read SPQR, by John Roberts Maddox, that's what I'm doing. ITs a blast.

 

[Supplement Four]

I think there is a lot of DeCamp hating because of how he would mangle, when editing, REH's stuff, and I think the Criticism is true.

I agree. Read the same stories, side by side, and the pure Howard IS better than Howard tweaked by LSdC. Sometimes the differeces are minute, but add to the whole that makes Howard's stuff superior.

OTOH, LSdC writes a pretty damn good original-story Conan.

 

[GMAN]

There's a butt load of comics out there featuring Conan/Red Sonja/Kull. You've read them all?!

I havn't read every comic, i have the Conan Chronicles, the TPB of Marvels comics that Dark Horse have been releasing and the Red Sonja TPB of Marvels comics that have been released. I havn't read any Kull stuff at all, but i am interested in elements such as Acheron, so in time i'll give it a look.

TOR fantasy published a HUGE selection of NON Howard conan novels.

These TOR books are what really got my interest in Conan pastiches due to the fact that the covers on the books are really cool, i've seen them on Amazon and Ebay for a couple of pounds each. I saw Conan and the Amazon and thought the cover looked ace.

Thanks for everyones help, i'm think im going to pick up a few of the compilations and chip away here and there on the individual books. I'm surprised just how much there is. I do think its a good thing that theres so much out there, even if Howard purists slate them, especially for GMS of the RPG. The way i see Conan canon, you should just pick and choose what you like, i love Howards work but i also love the Marvel comics, and what i've read of the Dark Horse series, and if you're a GM running a game, use what you like in your games. After all, the story a GM makes up is a form of pastiche in itself.

 

[kirisute]

the primary artist for the TOR colelction is Ken Kelly. he shot to fame doing the conan stuff and also the majority of covers for MANOWAR! (a conan fans metal band if ever there was one! LOL)
his older work can be seen on the CrossBows and Catapults game that came out in the mid 80's.

as for the TOR collection..someone said earlier that its nigh on 100 books..and yeah thats about right....i have just 100% done my collection and its close to 100. I enjoy them all! and re-read then often!
some you might find hard to get or will have to pay over the odds for:
Conan the Rogue can be tough, as can be Conan, Scourge of the Bloody Coast.
like i said before Amazon is a decent place to start the hunt and you can get some decent copies 2nd hand...i was actually suprised at how good the copies i got 2nd were!

 

[VincentDarlage]

as for the TOR collection..someone said earlier that its nigh on 100 books..and yeah thats about right....i have just 100% done my collection and its close to 100. I enjoy them all! and re-read then often!

There are nowhere near 100 Tor books, if you look at the link I provided:

1 Conan the Invincible, Jun 1982 Robert Jordan
2 Conan the Defender, Dec 1982, (T) Robert Jordan
3 Conan the Unconquered, Apr 1983 Robert Jordan
4 Conan the Triumphant, Oct 1983, (T) Robert Jordan
5 Conan the Magnificent, May 1984 Robert Jordan
6 Conan the Destroyer (movie adaptation), Jul 1984. Robert Jordan
7 Conan the Victorious, Nov 1984, (T) Reprinted Mar 1991 Robert Jordan
8 Conan the Valorous, Sep 1985, (T) Reprinted Feb 1998, (T) John Maddox Roberts
9 Conan the Fearless, Feb 1986, (T) Steve Perry
10 Conan the Renegade, Apr 1986 Leonard Carpenter
11 Conan the Raider, Oct 1986, (T) Leonard Carpenter
12 Conan the Champion, Apr 1987 John Maddox Roberts
13 Conan the Defiant, Oct 1987, (T) Steve Perry
14 Conan the Marauder, Jan 1988 John Maddox Roberts
15 Conan the Warlord, Mar 1988 Leonard Carpenter
16 Conan the Valiant, Oct 1988, (T) Reprinted Jul 2000 Roland Green
17 Conan the Hero, Feb 1989 Leonard Carpenter
18 Conan the Bold, Apr 1989 John Maddox Roberts
19 Conan the Great, Apr 1989 Leonard Carpenter
20 Conan the Indomitable, Oct 1989, (T) Steve Perry
21 Conan the Free Lance, Feb 1990 Steve Perry
22 Conan the Formidable, Nov 1990, (T) Steve Perry
23 Conan the Guardian, Jan 1991 Roland Green
24 Conan the Outcast, Apr 1991 Leonard Carpenter
25 Conan the Rogue, Nov 1991, (T) John Maddox Roberts
26 Conan the Relentless, Apr 1992 Roland Green
27 Conan the Savage, Nov 1992, (T) Leonard Carpenter
28 Conan of the Red Brotherhood, Feb 1993 Leonard Carpenter
29 Conan and the Gods of the Mountain, May 1993 Roland Green
30 Conan and the Treasure of Python, Nov 1993, (T) John Maddox Roberts
31 Conan the Hunter, Jan 1994 Sean A. Moore
32 Conan, Scourge of the Bloody Coast, Apr 1994 Leonard Carpenter
33 Conan and the Manhunters, Oct 1994 John Maddox Roberts
34 Conan at the Demon's Gate, Nov 1994, (T) Roland Green
35 Conan the Gladiator, Jan 1995 Leonard Carpenter
36 Conan and the Amazon, Apr 1995 John Maddox Roberts
37 Conan and the Mists of Doom, Aug 1995 Roland Green
38 Conan and the Emerald Lotus, Nov 1995, (T) Reprinted Sep 1999 John C. Hocking
39 Conan and the Shaman's Curse, Jan 1996 Sean A. Moore
40 Conan, Lord of the Black River, Apr 1996 Leonard Carpenter
41 Conan and The Grim Grey God, Nov 1996, (T) Reprinted Nov 1997 Sean A. Moore
42 Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza, Jan 1997 Roland Green
43 Conan of Venarium, Jul 2003 (hardcover) Reprinted Jul 2004 Harry Turtledove

Even if you collect the oversized trade editions as well as the regular ones, that only puts the collection at about 59 books.

I think he said there were over 100 pastiche stories, which if you take into account all the short stories LsDC did with Lin Carter that is possibly true - and definitely true if you take the comics into account.

 

[kirisute]

my bad!!
was reffering to my collection of novels.....
i had a list of all the conan stories (novels) and ticked them off as i went through collecting them....that was what was close to 100...

im easily confused...it comes with simply not giving a s**t

 

[Supplement Four]

I think he said there were over 100 pastiche stories, which if you take into account all the short stories LsDC did with Lin Carter that is possibly true - and definitely true if you take the comics into account.

Not quite. I what I said was that there are near or over 100 Conan books, meaning Howard + pastiche, but total books and not pastiche. Not comics either. That's the Tor plus others.

My collection is getting somewhere around that number. Maybe I'm off by 20 one way or the other, but it's close. And, I don't have everything, yet.

 

[VincentDarlage]

Not quite. I what I said was that there are near or over 100 Conan books, meaning Howard + pastiche, but total books and not pastiche. Not comics either. That's the Tor plus others.

Oh? Let's see what you said...

There are close to 100 non-Howard Conan tales.

Sorry. I took "tales" to mean "stories" not "novels." I also took "non-Howard" to mean just pastiche. My mistake, obviously. I thought I understood your words, but I was wrong. I should have understood "non-Howard" actually means "Howard + pastiche." I don't know what I was thinking.

As far as total books, including Howard and pastiche, I counted over 200 books in my collection, but I have a few duplicates (if a book changes cover design, I buy a copy). I am also missing A LOT (3 Gnome Press volumes, I don't have any of the Wildside Press volumes, missing three Donald Grant volumes, et. al.)

As far as Conan pastiche goes, I have all but three (not counting a couple of reprints with different covers):

Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza, Jan 1997 Roland Green
Conan of Venarium, Jul 2003 (hardcover) Reprinted Jul 2004 Harry Turtledove
Conan the Outlaw (Endless Quest) Dec, 1984 Roger E. Moore

 

[flatscan]

Conan the Outlaw (Endless Quest) Dec, 1984 Roger E. Moore

LOL, those old TSR Endless Quest books are the only non-Howard Conan books I own. I've got all 3. Silly, but fun reads.

 

[VincentDarlage]

Yeah. I only have two of them. I am reading one of them to my little boys at night. They like making the choices - and I leave them cliffhanging before they go to bed.

 

[Strom]

JUst found out that Conan the Valorous by John Maddox Roberts has the unique distinction of being the first Tor pastiche - edited by Robert Jordan - checkout this interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91bT073YzRY&feature=PlayList&p=ED65D5D73F283BC6&index=0&playnext=1 .

The collector in me always respects the first issue(book). :lol:

Haven't read it but I do plan to.

 

[VincentDarlage]

But Conan the Valorous was released three years after Conan the Invincible... How could it be the first Tor pastiche?

Unless you are saying that it is the first Tor pastiche edited by Robert Jordan - which is correct, since Robert Jordan wrote all the Tor pastiches prior to Conan the Valorous.

 

[Strom]

But Conan the Valorous was released three years after Conan the Invincible... How could it be the first Tor pastiche?

Unless you are saying that it is the first Tor pastiche edited by Robert Jordan - which is correct, since Robert Jordan wrote all the Tor pastiches prior to Conan the Valorous.

I'm not sure. JMR - if you watch the video - clearly states that he is the author to launch the Tor pastiche series and I asked him which of the 8 books he wrote launched the series and he posted "Conan the Valorous". Perhaps it was written first and accepted but not published until after some others. I'll have to ask him.