So happy to see Beyond the BLACK RIVER so high on your list. Its definitely a favorite of mine. Its a Conan story that I think would transfer well to Cinema. Conan's Woodcraft and stalking of his prey always reminded me a bit of David Morrel's character Rambo in the 1s blood novel and film.
There are not many doing what you do. Along with Michael Moorcock and Elric, I loved Conan, and would not have read everyday for 30 years if it wasn't for Robert Howard. Thanks for your Conan content!'
Hour of the Dragon is definitely the best Robert E Howard story, but also the saddest. It's epic and full of fantastic characters and action sequences but it leaves you wondering what the man might have written had he lived past 30.
You probably should've made 2 lists: the 10 greatest Conan stories REH wrote, as well as the 10 greatest non-Conan stories he wrote. "Pigeons From Hell" certainly deserves a place in any list of Greatest REH tales. There's at least one El Borak tale that could bake the grade, too. There's just too damn many REH yarns to choose from!!!
My favorite is “red nails”, which I think was the last story he ever wrote. Such a shame Howard died so young, just think about all the cool stories that could have been.
Mr. McMillan, you raise a valid point: it's possible Howard might've continued to write more Conan adventures (and maybe mainly western stories), had he not shot himself in the head at 30. Who really knows why he took the easy way out? 😭😿 Moreover, I wouldn't be surprised if Howard's estate is still making money even today. 📚 That's also true of many deceased actors and musicians. 🎭🎭🎸🎸🎷🎷
Me too. Red Nail has such a palpable claustrophobic feel to it. If you haven't seen the Roy Thomas - Barry Windsor-Smith Savage Tales adaptation, I highly recommend!
I'm going to give my top four REH stories, I tried to limit it to three but it couldn't be done. 1) Twighlight of the Grey God, also known as The Grey God Passes and Spears of Clontarf. 2) The Shadow of the Vulture 3) Beyond the Black River 4) Sword Woman Keep up the good work.
Hi, Michael. I've only recently discovered you brilliant Channel, but I love it. I have read some Conan stories and rightly or wrongly I'm going through them chronologically. The last Conan story I read was 'People Of The Black Circle'. The last Robert E. Howard story I read was 'Wolfshead', which I finished last night. I'm very pleased that 'The Hour Of The Dragon' is your favourite Conan story. On my list it's the last one to read but I'm hoping it is a matter of saving the best for last too. 'People Of The Black Circle' was fantastic and I loved 'Tower Of The Elephant', they will be hard to top. In fairness though I've enjoyed all the Conan stories so far. Your channel has inspired me to start reading more of the brilliant stories by Robert E. Howard. I have lots to look forward too.
Beyond the Black River has always stayed with me since 1976 when I began all 12 of the books out at that time. The novel is great and should have been the script for a Conan movie instead of the crap they made. Thank You for your show.
A solid list as each story is excellent. I might have chosen "Red Nails" instead of "Queen of the Black Coast. You should do a Top 10 Conan stories while you're at it.
That's a really good list. I've never tried to put them in a top ten, but my list would be pretty close to yours, with a few variations in number, and I might shoehorn in The Frost Giant's Daughter and Red Nails somewhere. I love Tower of the Elephant, and am glad you included Worms of the Earth. Every time I read that one, Bran Mak Morn's horror at what he set in motion gets me.
Congrats on a worthy 5 k subs. (I’m stuck on 1.9k but then I haven’t made vids in a year..) your enthusiasm for these books and stories is infectious. I’m glad I found this channel.. I’ve been telling my pals about it…. Another great vid.
My favorite REH stories ever are The Shadow Kingdom, Exile of Atlantis, and The Mirrors of Tizune Thune because those are the only three that I've read! And I had dutifully read Tizune Thune on the weekend for you to review it today, but instead I get to hear about 9 other/better REH stories I have yet to read - _Thanks Roger!_ ;P
Really interesting to see your list. Can’t say I fully agree, but REH wrote so many great tales that even a top 30 would be tough. Was really surprised that Pigeons From Hell didn’t make the list, though.
Alas, the rest of Hollywood and media is run by the same group of people Howard and Lovecraft complained about owning all the publishing houses. See the first letters between Howard and Lovecraft in 1931. They were both perceptive, observant, independent thinking intelligent men. Which is why their views are so "reprehensible" to the modern conformists.
Also, I love REH's stories so much I really don't know if I can narrow down a top ten list of my own, but if I did, I'd probably have included Valley of the Worm. Of the books I have of REH's works so far - and Crom knows I'm missing a few, like the Bran Mak Morn collection - Valley of the Worm in "The Best of Robert E. Howard: Volume 1: Crimson Shadows" is a story I revisit every now and again to inspire me to write. ⚔
I never thought about it like this, but some of the best Conan stories have him talking personal philosophy. Queen of the Black Coast and Tower of the Elephant are particularly good examples of this. Beyond the Black River and Red Nails are also very philosophical, but not expounded by Conan, simply part of the writing. Good call with The Hour of the Dragon. We see that he is not simply a muscle bound adventurer, but an intelligent, thoughtful, and devoted king.
I second Beyond the Black River. Love that story. I read it once a year. (good choices all. I would add 'A Witch Shall be Born' to the list... and 'Red Nails')
I am soon to start my first Howard story which is so intriguing because of these videos discussing his virtues. I am so glad to have discovered your series. DramOfEale
I enjoyed the first story `The Phoenix and the Sword.' Atmospheric. An interesting contrast to the previously read Jane Austen. Noted some Lord of the Ring precursors, such as the use of a malevolent, dominating ring and war domesticated oliphants. Th
8:46 Al Harron of The Blog that Time Forgot - a blog dedicated to REH's legacy - once pointed out that Balthus in Beyond the Black River is likely a case of the author writing himself into the story. That's not to say it was bad, considering Harron also notes that Balthus is a very humble sort compared to how most fantasy authors Self Insert these days. Of particular note is his relationship to the dog in the story. It reminded Harron of REH and his own dog.
Very well done, Michael--you uploaded this video on March 21, 2022, which is my birthday!🎂 I enjoyed this Top 10 REH stories presentation; my personal Conan favorites are: The Hour of the Dragon, The Black Stranger (Howard's version), and Red Nails. (The last two were published posthumously, in book form in 1987 and in Weird Tales, July 1936, respectively.) Red Nails, the last complete Conan story , is action--packed, but the ending is anti--climactic, to put it kindly. Howard readers, form your own opinions. Incidentally, what do you have planned for the Robert E. Howard Show this February & March?🗡🗡🗡 🇬🇧🇬🇧🐨🐨
Sir, great content and list. I do like such content, as I find it really interesting to see how others "rank" stories. Such lists are mutable and it's their appeal--every single person will have slightly different titles and/or rank positions to overlapping stories--as you rightly mentioned: it is, after all, a personal matter and each and every one will interact with a text based on their expectations and experience with an author or genre. My favourite story is "The Fire of Asshurbanipal" the version with supernatural/lovecraftian horror elements; Howard also put out a version of the text removing the supernatural and making it a more "adventure-middle-east-western" type. For me, this story brings together the uneasy feeling from Lovecraft--the fear of the unknown, of things so grotesque our brains cannot fully comprehend--with the mystic of the desert landscape. Deserts on themselves have an aura of mystery, of things forgotten beneath the sands, of danger yet excitement. Keep it up the Great work, Sir! I'm marathoning your channel!
Solomon Kane is a specie of puritain punisher. His stories are an mixed of supernatural and looking for justice and defense of his ideals. I loved Beyond of black river of Conan. This story have an better final wrotten by Robert E. Howard. I also loved The Queen of the Black Coast, Conan explaing his philosophy to Bellit. They're really character fantastics.
I just found this video. I had no idea I used the same art as you for my thumbnail 🤦. I even searched youtube before making mine. I guess Krom enjoyers think alike 😅. Great list!
Do you have that comic of Worms Of The Earth that you pictured (I believe it was published by Wandering Star)? It’s very good. Also, why no Skull Face or Graveyard Rats?
I've only read 1 volume of his works, The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, I only know the Conan stories so far. I will have to get the next volume as it has The Hour of the Dragon. Was your dog chewing on a copy of Shogun per chance ? 🤣
Someday I should read some Robert E. Howard. Actually I did read a Conan book a long time ago, but I don't have that book anymore, so I don't know what it was, maybe Conan the Barbarian.
Its hard for me to choose. I would say my favorite scene was a Solomon Kane story. A girl comes out of nowhere, dies in his arms while naming her killer. He then hunted down the criminal and his gang across two continents over years. In the final confrontation, when the leader asks him why he did it, he's amazed to discover he never knew the girl. He'd done it because avenging her was the right thing to do.
Red Nails is a notable Conan story. The movie series The Chronicles of Reddick is nothing but Conan plots. Pitch Black is Red Nails or Queen of the Black Coast.
I wrote out my list before the video, just to see which are included. Im not a huge fan of Howard's Conan stuff. I think his best work were his crusader tales by far. But I also tried for a few different genres. 12. Dark man 11. guns of Khartoum 10. Man-eaters of Zamboula 9. Rogues in the house 8. Road of Azrual 7. Worms of the earth 6. Hawks over Egypt 5. Gates of Empire 4. Wolfshead 3. Black Vulmea's vengence 2. Lion of Tiberius 1. Shadow of the Vulture
Those are all great stories. I think these are better. Of course, if you want to make your own version of this list I would watch it. I wouldn’t even “Feh” you.
6:09 Personally, I've always regarded Gods of Pegana as more of a "high fantasy" rather than "sword and sorcery" story. Though of course that all depends on one's definition.
All good choices. For my money "People of the Black Circle" is the best Conan story, and "The Shadow Kingdom" is the best Robert E. Howard story overall. It's kind of transcendent, and the most relevant to our present day situation. Oddly enough, the old Moody Blues song "Nights in White Satin/Late Lament" always makes me think of it. ruclips.net/video/7JFQl_OPofU/видео.html
"At about half-past one on a February night he found himself steaming in a small tug up the silent Thames, armed with swordstick and revolver, the duly elected Thursday of the Central Council of Anarchists. When Syme stepped out on to the steam-tug he had a singular sensation of stepping out into something entirely new; not merely into the landscape of a new land, but even into the landscape of a new planet. This was mainly due to the insane yet solid decision of that evening, though partly also to an entire change in the weather and the sky since he entered the little tavern some two hours before. Every trace of the passionate plumage of the cloudy sunset had been swept away, and a naked moon stood in a naked sky. The moon was so strong and full that (by a paradox often to be noticed) it seemed like a weaker sun. It gave, not the sense of bright moonshine, but rather of a dead daylight. Over the whole landscape lay a luminous and unnatural discoloration, as of that disastrous twilight which Milton spoke of as shed by the sun in eclipse; so that Syme fell easily into his first thought, that he was actually on some other and emptier planet, which circled round some sadder star. But the more he felt this glittering desolation in the moonlit land, the more his own chivalric folly glowed in the night like a great fire. Even the common things he carried with him-the food and the brandy and the loaded pistol-took on exactly that concrete and material poetry which a child feels when he takes a gun upon a journey or a bun with him to bed. The sword-stick and the brandy-flask, though in themselves only the tools of morbid conspirators, became the expressions of his own more healthy romance. The sword-stick became almost the sword of chivalry, and the brandy the wine of the stirrup-cup. For even the most dehumanised modern fantasies depend on some older and simpler figure; the adventures may be mad, but the adventurer must be sane. The dragon without St. George would not even be grotesque. So this inhuman landscape was only imaginative by the presence of a man really human. To Syme’s exaggerative mind the bright, bleak houses and terraces by the Thames looked as empty as the mountains of the moon. But even the moon is only poetical because there is a man in the moon. The tug was worked by two men, and with much toil went comparatively slowly. The clear moon that had lit up Chiswick had gone down by the time that they passed Battersea, and when they came under the enormous bulk of Westminster day had already begun to break. It broke like the splitting of great bars of lead, showing bars of silver; and these had brightened like white fire when the tug, changing its onward course, turned inward to a large landing stage rather beyond Charing Cross. The great stones of the Embankment seemed equally dark and gigantic as Syme looked up at them. They were big and black against the huge white dawn. They made him feel that he was landing on the colossal steps of some Egyptian palace; and, indeed, the thing suited his mood, for he was, in his own mind, mounting to attack the solid thrones of horrible and heathen kings. He leapt out of the boat on to one slimy step, and stood, a dark and slender figure, amid the enormous masonry. The two men in the tug put her off again and turned up stream. They had never spoken a word." -- G.K. Chesterton, _The Man Who Was Thursday_ (1908) 'No word was spoken as Kull swung into the saddle nor as they clattered along the empty streets. The color and the gayety of the day had given way to the eerie stillness of night. The city's antiquity was more than ever apparent beneath the bent, silver moon. The huge pillars of the mansions and palaces towered up into the stars. The broad stairways, silent and deserted, seemed to climb endlessly until they vanished in the shadowy darkness of the upper realms. Stairs to the stars, thought Kull, his imaginative mind inspired by the weird grandeur of the scene. Clang! clang! clang! sounded the silver hoofs on the broad, moon-flooded streets, but otherwise there was no sound. The age of the city, its incredible antiquity, was almost oppressive to the king; it was as if the great silent buildings laughed at him, noiselessly, with unguessable mockery. And what secrets did they hold? "You are young," said the palaces and the temples and the shrines, "but we are old. The world was wild with youth when we were reared. You and your tribe shall pass, but we are invincible, indestructible. We towered above a strange world, ere Atlantis and Lemuria rose from the sea; we still shall reign when the green waters sigh for many a restless fathom above the spires of Lemuria and the hills of Atlantis and when the isles of the Western Men are the mountains of a strange land. "How many kings have we watched ride down these streets before Kull of Atlantis was even a dream in the mind of Ka, bird of Creation? Ride on, Kull of Atlantis; greater shall follow you; greater came before you. They are dust; they are forgotten; we stand; we know; we are. Ride, ride on, Kull of Atlantis; Kull the king, Kull the fool!" And it seemed to Kull that the clashing hoofs took up the silent refrain to beat it into the night with hollow re-echoing mockery: "Kull-the-king! Kull-the-fool!" Glow, moon; you light a king's way! Gleam, stars; you are torches in the train of an emperor! And clang, silver-shod hoofs; you herald that Kull rides through Valusia. Ho! Awake, Valusia! It is Kull that rides, Kull the king! "We have known many kings," said the silent halls of Valusia. And so in a brooding mood Kull came to the palace, where his bodyguard, men of the Red Slayers, came to take the rein of the great stallion and escort Kull to his rest. There the Pict, still sullenly speechless, wheeled his steed with a savage wrench of the rein and fled away in the dark like a phantom; Kull's heightened imagination pictured him speeding through the silent streets like a goblin out of the Elder World.' -- Robert E. Howard, "The Shadow Kingdom"
I thought very seriously that RED NAILS And PEOPLE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE should have made your list of REH'S greatest stories ever.The Hour of The Dragon is fine but it is a short novel written quickly to appease British readers at the time in his career.Short stories only should have been posted but your opinion has been stated in good standing.But mine is totally different.
Hey just curious but have you ever heard of Record of Lodoss War. It’s an anime series based on some D&D it’s a classic if you have never checked it out. Conan forever brother!!
The Robert E Howard universe. Thurian age Kull, Hyborian age Conan, 300 AD Bran Mark Morn, 1573-1610 Solomon Kane, El Borak 1875-1920, modern stories set 1920-1935. Every robert e howard story is connected in the same universe. Just like HP Lovecraft every story is connected in its own universe. We need the robert e howard/hp Lovecraft multiverse lol be an amzing franchise or two. One fantssy/horror and one Horror/scifi be a great franchise lol
Bran has to get Kull from the past because his Picts have met up with some proto Vikings...but the Vikings won't fight with the Picts against the Romans unless there is a general they respect. Hence, Kull. Even the Vikings have to admit Kull is great...they go in and between Bran with his Picts and the Vikings under Kull, they win the battle. Yay.
So happy to see Beyond the BLACK RIVER so high on your list. Its definitely a favorite of mine. Its a Conan story that I think would transfer well to Cinema. Conan's Woodcraft and stalking of his prey always reminded me a bit of David Morrel's character Rambo in the 1s blood novel and film.
There are not many doing what you do. Along with Michael Moorcock and Elric, I loved Conan, and would not have read everyday for 30 years if it wasn't for Robert Howard. Thanks for your Conan content!'
Thanks. I should have another Robert E Howard video up on Friday. I hope.
Hour of the Dragon is definitely the best Robert E Howard story, but also the saddest. It's epic and full of fantastic characters and action sequences but it leaves you wondering what the man might have written had he lived past 30.
You probably should've made 2 lists: the 10 greatest Conan stories REH wrote, as well as the 10 greatest non-Conan stories he wrote. "Pigeons From Hell" certainly deserves a place in any list of Greatest REH tales. There's at least one El Borak tale that could bake the grade, too. There's just too damn many REH yarns to choose from!!!
My favorite is “red nails”, which I think was the last story he ever wrote. Such a shame Howard died so young, just think about all the cool stories that could have been.
Mr. McMillan, you raise a valid point: it's possible Howard might've continued to write more Conan adventures (and maybe mainly western stories), had he not shot himself in the head at 30. Who really knows why he took the easy way out? 😭😿
Moreover, I wouldn't be surprised if Howard's estate is still making money even today. 📚 That's also true of many deceased actors and musicians. 🎭🎭🎸🎸🎷🎷
Yeah. Love that story.
Me too. Red Nail has such a palpable claustrophobic feel to it. If you haven't seen the Roy Thomas - Barry Windsor-Smith Savage Tales adaptation, I highly recommend!
I'm going to give my top four REH stories, I tried to limit it to three but it couldn't be done.
1) Twighlight of the Grey God, also known as The Grey God Passes and Spears of Clontarf.
2) The Shadow of the Vulture
3) Beyond the Black River
4) Sword Woman
Keep up the good work.
I recently discovered your channel when looking up Robert Howard bios. I really appreciate your spirit of enthusiasm along with the knowledge.
Thanks!
5k subs, congrats. You’ve doubled in the last month or two, probably because you’re good at this.
I just keep subscribing to myself over and over.
I'm learning english, your channel is great. I loved the works of Robert E. Howard.
Thank you!
Nice list. I, of course, have not read any of these… YET.
You have a lot of great stories ahead of you.
Roger was right. I can’t imagine anyone better to pick the ten best REH stories. Great video! And congratulations on 5K!!!
Thanks!
Hi, Michael. I've only recently discovered you brilliant Channel, but I love it. I have read some Conan stories and rightly or wrongly I'm going through them chronologically. The last Conan story I read was 'People Of The Black Circle'. The last Robert E. Howard story I read was 'Wolfshead', which I finished last night. I'm very pleased that 'The Hour Of The Dragon' is your favourite Conan story. On my list it's the last one to read but I'm hoping it is a matter of saving the best for last too. 'People Of The Black Circle' was fantastic and I loved 'Tower Of The Elephant', they will be hard to top. In fairness though I've enjoyed all the Conan stories so far. Your channel has inspired me to start reading more of the brilliant stories by Robert E. Howard. I have lots to look forward too.
There is no wrong way to read Robert E Howard’s Conan! The Hour of the Dragon is definitely a fitting conclusion.
I would definitely replace Queen of the Black Coast with Pigeons from Hell, but other than that I absolutely have to agree with you. Great list!
Congratulations on the 5K subs sir. You and Roger deserve it for being the best booktubers out there. But... No Pigeons From Hell?
If I was doing a top twenty list Pigeons would be in there.
Beyond the Black River has always stayed with me since 1976 when I began all 12 of the books out at that time. The novel is great and should have been the script for a Conan movie instead of the crap they made. Thank You for your show.
Worms of The Earth is fantastic! I’m so happy you made this video! And let’s not forget- congratulations on 5k! 🎉
Thanks!
Just found your channel. Love the content! Great to see more booktubers with a focus on classics, lesser-known, and older books!
Thanks! I’m glad you found my channel!
Tell Roger I said "good idea" for this one. This was another fun Top 10 video. "The Tower of the Elephant" is probably my favorite thus far.
That’s a really great story.
A solid list as each story is excellent. I might have chosen "Red Nails" instead of "Queen of the Black Coast. You should do a Top 10 Conan stories while you're at it.
That's a really good list. I've never tried to put them in a top ten, but my list would be pretty close to yours, with a few variations in number, and I might shoehorn in The Frost Giant's Daughter and Red Nails somewhere. I love Tower of the Elephant, and am glad you included Worms of the Earth. Every time I read that one, Bran Mak Morn's horror at what he set in motion gets me.
Yeah, Worms of the Earth is such a great story.
Congrats on a worthy 5 k subs. (I’m stuck on 1.9k but then I haven’t made vids in a year..) your enthusiasm for these books and stories is infectious. I’m glad I found this channel.. I’ve been telling my pals about it…. Another great vid.
Thanks!
My favorite REH stories ever are The Shadow Kingdom, Exile of Atlantis, and The Mirrors of Tizune Thune because those are the only three that I've read! And I had dutifully read Tizune Thune on the weekend for you to review it today, but instead I get to hear about 9 other/better REH stories I have yet to read - _Thanks Roger!_ ;P
Sorry! Mirrors this Monday! And then the following Monday we get to talk about one of REH’s worst stories ever!
I agree on your choice for number one.
Tigers of the Sea! Pared down pure action. Mikhail Sholokov style!
Hey Michael! For a future top 10 video I'd love to see you do one for Sherlock Holmes stories!
Excellent idea!
Really interesting to see your list. Can’t say I fully agree, but REH wrote so many great tales that even a top 30 would be tough. Was really surprised that Pigeons From Hell didn’t make the list, though.
Yeah, it was tough leaving Pigeons out. If this was a top twenty list it would have been in there.
At least Disney will never get their filthy paws on R.E Howard's canon. We all know what they would do to the stories...
Alas, the rest of Hollywood and media is run by the same group of people Howard and Lovecraft complained about owning all the publishing houses. See the first letters between Howard and Lovecraft in 1931. They were both perceptive, observant, independent thinking intelligent men. Which is why their views are so "reprehensible" to the modern conformists.
Also, I love REH's stories so much I really don't know if I can narrow down a top ten list of my own, but if I did, I'd probably have included Valley of the Worm. Of the books I have of REH's works so far - and Crom knows I'm missing a few, like the Bran Mak Morn collection - Valley of the Worm in "The Best of Robert E. Howard: Volume 1: Crimson Shadows" is a story I revisit every now and again to inspire me to write. ⚔
I never thought about it like this, but some of the best Conan stories have him talking personal philosophy. Queen of the Black Coast and Tower of the Elephant are particularly good examples of this.
Beyond the Black River and Red Nails are also very philosophical, but not expounded by Conan, simply part of the writing.
Good call with The Hour of the Dragon. We see that he is not simply a muscle bound adventurer, but an intelligent, thoughtful, and devoted king.
I second Beyond the Black River. Love that story. I read it once a year. (good choices all. I would add 'A Witch Shall be Born' to the list... and 'Red Nails')
Awesome list!
Thanks James!
Marchers of Valhalla, Drums beyond the Black River, By this Axe I Rule, and the list goes on and on for me.
Just found this channel, and will you look at that? A video on one of my favorite author's top ten stories? Sign me up!!!
I’m very happy you found my channel! Thanks for watching!
Congratulations on 5K! 🎉🎉🎉
Thanks Lady Jane!
I still haven't started reading Howard 🙃
You should…if you can tear yourself away from Richard Laymon! 😅
The phoenix on the sword is awesome! 😊❤❤❤❤
And congratulations! Now we are more than five thousand.
If I had a vote, I would add "The Frost Giant's Daugther." This seems to me to be the perfect short story.
I am soon to start my first Howard story which is so intriguing because of these videos discussing his virtues. I am so glad to have discovered your series. DramOfEale
I enjoyed the first story `The Phoenix and the Sword.' Atmospheric. An interesting contrast to the previously read Jane Austen. Noted some Lord of the Ring precursors, such as the use of a malevolent, dominating ring and war domesticated oliphants.
Th
8:46 Al Harron of The Blog that Time Forgot - a blog dedicated to REH's legacy - once pointed out that Balthus in Beyond the Black River is likely a case of the author writing himself into the story. That's not to say it was bad, considering Harron also notes that Balthus is a very humble sort compared to how most fantasy authors Self Insert these days.
Of particular note is his relationship to the dog in the story. It reminded Harron of REH and his own dog.
Well done sir! I've subscribed! Looking forward to catching up on all of your vids! Howard is the best! I've been reading his work for 45 years.
Very well done, Michael--you uploaded this video on March 21, 2022, which is my birthday!🎂 I enjoyed this Top 10 REH stories presentation; my personal Conan favorites are: The Hour of the Dragon, The Black Stranger (Howard's version), and Red Nails. (The last two were published posthumously, in book form in 1987 and in Weird Tales, July 1936, respectively.)
Red Nails, the last complete Conan story , is action--packed, but the ending is anti--climactic, to put it kindly. Howard readers, form your own opinions.
Incidentally, what do you have planned for the Robert E. Howard Show this February & March?🗡🗡🗡 🇬🇧🇬🇧🐨🐨
Sir, great content and list.
I do like such content, as I find it really interesting to see how others "rank" stories. Such lists are mutable and it's their appeal--every single person will have slightly different titles and/or rank positions to overlapping stories--as you rightly mentioned: it is, after all, a personal matter and each and every one will interact with a text based on their expectations and experience with an author or genre.
My favourite story is "The Fire of Asshurbanipal" the version with supernatural/lovecraftian horror elements; Howard also put out a version of the text removing the supernatural and making it a more "adventure-middle-east-western" type.
For me, this story brings together the uneasy feeling from Lovecraft--the fear of the unknown, of things so grotesque our brains cannot fully comprehend--with the mystic of the desert landscape. Deserts on themselves have an aura of mystery, of things forgotten beneath the sands, of danger yet excitement.
Keep it up the Great work, Sir!
I'm marathoning your channel!
Red Nails, is probably my favourite REH Conan story, it has a great combination of horror, mystery, action and adventure.
That was a great story.
Solomon Kane is a specie of puritain punisher. His stories are an mixed of supernatural and looking for justice and defense of his ideals. I loved Beyond of black river of Conan. This story have an better final wrotten by Robert E. Howard. I also loved The Queen of the Black Coast, Conan explaing his philosophy to Bellit. They're really character fantastics.
I just found this video. I had no idea I used the same art as you for my thumbnail 🤦.
I even searched youtube before making mine.
I guess Krom enjoyers think alike 😅.
Great list!
Roger likes to chew on things and strangle people? Well, we all need hobbies...
Hey Michael, curious about the art behind Rogers Left shoulder. Looks like Original EC Comic art?
Broadly agree, but where is "Red Nails"? Great vid!!
My favorite one will be beyond the Black River.
Do you have that comic of Worms Of The Earth that you pictured (I believe it was published by Wandering Star)? It’s very good.
Also, why no Skull Face or Graveyard Rats?
Thoughts on the Conan story The People of the Black Circle Michael?
That's my personal favorite Conan story.
I've only read 1 volume of his works, The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, I only know the Conan stories so far. I will have to get the next volume as it has The Hour of the Dragon. Was your dog chewing on a copy of Shogun per chance ? 🤣
My copy of Shogun is too big and frightening for Rhonda. She was chewing on one of my 🧦 socks. She be likes to steal socks.
Someday I should read some Robert E. Howard. Actually I did read a Conan book a long time ago, but I don't have that book anymore, so I don't know what it was, maybe Conan the Barbarian.
Definitely read Howard! I think you would like his stuff.
I agree that these are the greatest sword and sorcery/horror REH stories. Some of his other work (boxing and sailors) are great too!
My Personal Top 5:
1- Worms of the Earth
2- Kings of the Night
3- The Valley of the Worm
4- The Tower of the Elephant
5- The Hour of the Dragon
Pigeons from hell is pretty messed up,first time i was like how the pigeons could be more evil than this,except poopin' all over the place ?
Pigeons make more sense now that I know they are from Hell. That was a great story.
Asthon Clark smith would be another episode I might suggest ;)
I loved the list! But I would only put "The Dark Man" in place of "The Black Stone".
That’s a good call, actually.
Roger's going to leave you for hollywood soon. lol
Probably.
Haven't read all these yet but find it hard to believe Valley of the Worm is not in the top ten.
That is hard to believe.
My intro to REH was Tigers Of The Sea so I wanted some Cormac Mac Art.
I'm very fond of The Horror from the Mound.
Its hard for me to choose. I would say my favorite scene was a Solomon Kane story. A girl comes out of nowhere, dies in his arms while naming her killer. He then hunted down the criminal and his gang across two continents over years. In the final confrontation, when the leader asks him why he did it, he's amazed to discover he never knew the girl. He'd done it because avenging her was the right thing to do.
Beyond the Black river no doubt !
Red Nails is a notable Conan story. The movie series The Chronicles of Reddick is nothing but Conan plots. Pitch Black is Red Nails or Queen of the Black Coast.
I think Roger doesn't get much appreciation for his many great suggestions for video topics.😄
That’s what Roger is always telling me.
nice
I wrote out my list before the video, just to see which are included. Im not a huge fan of Howard's Conan stuff. I think his best work were his crusader tales by far. But I also tried for a few different genres.
12. Dark man
11. guns of Khartoum
10. Man-eaters of Zamboula
9. Rogues in the house
8. Road of Azrual
7. Worms of the earth
6. Hawks over Egypt
5. Gates of Empire
4. Wolfshead
3. Black Vulmea's vengence
2. Lion of Tiberius
1. Shadow of the Vulture
They're all Conan/Kull/Bran Mac Morn stories! Where's 'Pigeons From Hell'? 'Dig Me No Grave'? 'The Valley Of The Worm'? Feh!
Those are all great stories. I think these are better. Of course, if you want to make your own version of this list I would watch it. I wouldn’t even “Feh” you.
6:09 Personally, I've always regarded Gods of Pegana as more of a "high fantasy" rather than "sword and sorcery" story. Though of course that all depends on one's definition.
All good choices. For my money "People of the Black Circle" is the best Conan story, and "The Shadow Kingdom" is the best Robert E. Howard story overall. It's kind of transcendent, and the most relevant to our present day situation. Oddly enough, the old Moody Blues song "Nights in White Satin/Late Lament" always makes me think of it.
ruclips.net/video/7JFQl_OPofU/видео.html
"At about half-past one on a February night he found himself steaming in a small tug up the silent Thames, armed with swordstick and revolver, the duly elected Thursday of the Central Council of Anarchists.
When Syme stepped out on to the steam-tug he had a singular sensation of stepping out into something entirely new; not merely into the landscape of a new land, but even into the landscape of a new planet.
This was mainly due to the insane yet solid decision of that evening, though partly also to an entire change in the weather and the sky since he entered the little tavern some two hours before.
Every trace of the passionate plumage of the cloudy sunset had been swept away, and a naked moon stood in a naked sky. The moon was so strong and full that (by a paradox often to be noticed) it seemed like a weaker sun. It gave, not the sense of bright moonshine, but rather of a dead daylight.
Over the whole landscape lay a luminous and unnatural discoloration, as of that disastrous twilight which Milton spoke of as shed by the sun in eclipse; so that Syme fell easily into his first thought, that he was actually on some other and emptier planet, which circled round some sadder star. But the more he felt this glittering desolation in the moonlit land, the more his own chivalric folly glowed in the night like a great fire.
Even the common things he carried with him-the food and the brandy and the loaded pistol-took on exactly that concrete and material poetry which a child feels when he takes a gun upon a journey or a bun with him to bed. The sword-stick and the brandy-flask, though in themselves only the tools of morbid conspirators, became the expressions of his own more healthy romance.
The sword-stick became almost the sword of chivalry, and the brandy the wine of the stirrup-cup. For even the most dehumanised modern fantasies depend on some older and simpler figure; the adventures may be mad, but the adventurer must be sane. The dragon without St. George would not even be grotesque.
So this inhuman landscape was only imaginative by the presence of a man really human. To Syme’s exaggerative mind the bright, bleak houses and terraces by the Thames looked as empty as the mountains of the moon. But even the moon is only poetical because there is a man in the moon.
The tug was worked by two men, and with much toil went comparatively slowly. The clear moon that had lit up Chiswick had gone down by the time that they passed Battersea, and when they came under the enormous bulk of Westminster day had already begun to break.
It broke like the splitting of great bars of lead, showing bars of silver; and these had brightened like white fire when the tug, changing its onward course, turned inward to a large landing stage rather beyond Charing Cross.
The great stones of the Embankment seemed equally dark and gigantic as Syme looked up at them. They were big and black against the huge white dawn.
They made him feel that he was landing on the colossal steps of some Egyptian palace; and, indeed, the thing suited his mood, for he was, in his own mind, mounting to attack the solid thrones of horrible and heathen kings.
He leapt out of the boat on to one slimy step, and stood, a dark and slender figure, amid the enormous masonry. The two men in the tug put her off again and turned up stream. They had never spoken a word."
-- G.K. Chesterton, _The Man Who Was Thursday_ (1908)
'No word was spoken as Kull swung into the saddle nor as they clattered along the empty streets.
The color and the gayety of the day had given way to the eerie stillness of night. The city's antiquity was more than ever apparent beneath the bent, silver moon. The huge pillars of the mansions and palaces towered up into the stars.
The broad stairways, silent and deserted, seemed to climb endlessly until they vanished in the shadowy darkness of the upper realms. Stairs to the stars, thought Kull, his imaginative mind inspired by the weird grandeur of the scene.
Clang! clang! clang! sounded the silver hoofs on the broad, moon-flooded streets, but otherwise there was no sound. The age of the city, its incredible antiquity, was almost oppressive to the king; it was as if the great silent buildings laughed at him, noiselessly, with unguessable mockery. And what secrets did they hold?
"You are young," said the palaces and the temples and the shrines, "but we are old. The world was wild with youth when we were reared. You and your tribe shall pass, but we are invincible, indestructible. We towered above a strange world, ere Atlantis and Lemuria rose from the sea; we still shall reign when the green waters sigh for many a restless fathom above the spires of Lemuria and the hills of Atlantis and when the isles of the Western Men are the mountains of a strange land.
"How many kings have we watched ride down these streets before Kull of Atlantis was even a dream in the mind of Ka, bird of Creation? Ride on, Kull of Atlantis; greater shall follow you; greater came before you. They are dust; they are forgotten; we stand; we know; we are. Ride, ride on, Kull of Atlantis; Kull the king, Kull the fool!"
And it seemed to Kull that the clashing hoofs took up the silent refrain to beat it into the night with hollow re-echoing mockery:
"Kull-the-king! Kull-the-fool!"
Glow, moon; you light a king's way! Gleam, stars; you are torches in the train of an emperor! And clang, silver-shod hoofs; you herald that Kull rides through Valusia.
Ho! Awake, Valusia! It is Kull that rides, Kull the king!
"We have known many kings," said the silent halls of Valusia.
And so in a brooding mood Kull came to the palace, where his bodyguard, men of the Red Slayers, came to take the rein of the great stallion and escort Kull to his rest.
There the Pict, still sullenly speechless, wheeled his steed with a savage wrench of the rein and fled away in the dark like a phantom; Kull's heightened imagination pictured him speeding through the silent streets like a goblin out of the Elder World.'
-- Robert E. Howard, "The Shadow Kingdom"
🔥
Beyond the Black River reminds me of James F Coopers last of the mohicans...minus the magic. Solo hero going up against hostile tribes.
Yes,red nails !
Well, Roger does the good taste! *blows kiss to Roge r*
Roger is very popular with the ladies.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 It's his rakish good looks and dapper dressing style
I have to mention "queen of the black coast" of Manilla road group...please,because I'm not a native english speaker show me erros..thank you
No Pigeons From Hell?
If I was doing a top twenty list it would be in there. That was a great story.
I thought very seriously that RED NAILS And PEOPLE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE should have made your list of REH'S greatest stories ever.The Hour of The Dragon is fine but it is a short novel written quickly to appease British readers at the time in his career.Short stories only should have been posted but your opinion has been stated in good standing.But mine is totally different.
Wot no Skullface?
I like Skullface but I don’t think it’s one of his ten best.
I really love the people of the black circle love the middle eastern feel n love that conan is a badass who dont take crap from anyone lol
What about 'Red Nails'?!
Red Nails was great. I thought these stories were better.
Hey just curious but have you ever heard of Record of Lodoss War. It’s an anime series based on some D&D it’s a classic if you have never checked it out.
Conan forever brother!!
The Robert E Howard universe. Thurian age Kull, Hyborian age Conan, 300 AD Bran Mark Morn, 1573-1610 Solomon Kane, El Borak 1875-1920, modern stories set 1920-1935. Every robert e howard story is connected in the same universe. Just like HP Lovecraft every story is connected in its own universe. We need the robert e howard/hp Lovecraft multiverse lol be an amzing franchise or two. One fantssy/horror and one Horror/scifi be a great franchise lol
Bran has to get Kull from the past because his Picts have met up with some proto Vikings...but the Vikings won't fight with the Picts against the Romans unless there is a general they respect. Hence, Kull. Even the Vikings have to admit Kull is great...they go in and between Bran with his Picts and the Vikings under Kull, they win the battle. Yay.
It would-be easier to make a list of books he wrote that were not good. Everything I read of his was great.
edhead