Jim’s
Comments
(group member since Apr 30, 2022)
Jim’s
comments
from the Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy" group.
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Thanks Luke! Yes, too many people don't understand the concept of why this genre dominated the 60's 70's and early 80s. It is supposed to be larger than life. The weird, the impossible, the rich prose, vileness, pacing, harshness........... Yes, I agree we need to support this new Conan effort as I did by getting the Hardcover.
Here is my review: I was very excited when I heard the news this was coming out about a year ago. The story is pretty good- it fills in the time Conan and Valeria are with a band of Free Companions mercenaries. Right off you can tell Sterling is a good author. I do like how Sterling focused the story on Conan, rather that the ridiculous Tor book process that jumped from one chapter of Conan, and then one chapter of the nemesis (sorcerer/demon etc.) This way we get a full novel of Conan, rather than a 50/50 split. The problem I have with the book is Conan seems somewhat subdued, as if the editors forced Sterling to tame his Barbarian soul. His dialogue is off, and mannerisms seem changed. A copy of Howard's Red Nails is at the end of the book, and the first chapter will point out the stark differences in character and mood. Obviously, we can't expect a Robert E. Howard genius story, but I still miss The John Maddox Roberts books. He nailed the character and mood pretty well. The good thing is we have new Conan! Hopefully Titan continues this effort, maybe with an established Sword and Sorcery author. Although, I'm not sure if the editors at Titan understand. A passage from the Afterword reads " Red Nails is pure Howard, restored from his original manuscript. Raw and powerful, it's also very much of its time--written almost a century ago, when our culture could be less socially aware and genre fiction in particular often exhibited rough edges some of today's readers may find jarring." Make of that what you will. I'm hoping for more edginess. One other note- you will enjoy a nod to Burroughs' Mangani apes from Tarzan. The ritual area was pretty cool.
Richard- You are probably correct, my friend.
Well, that review leaves some concern...... "make Conan palatable to a modern audience" "by leaning even further into Conan's sense of honour Stirling can reign in some of Conan's appetites" ...... oh boy.
The days are inching closer!
Did you read it? Was it any good?
Interesting, Richard! I didn’t know that.
Christopher wrote: "I don't know if this is the appropriate place to drop this, and it may in fact have already been noted elsewhere on this board. but Stirling's book has been pushed back to December 6th."Yeah, I saw that. I'm a little bummed.
