Conan - Blood of the Serpent: The All-New Chronicles of the Worlds Greatest Barbarian Hero

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And the interior black-and-white art by Roberto De La Torre evokes the John Buscema illustrated Conan the Barbarian comics of the 1970s.

Formerly of the Red Brotherhood, the blonde and blue-eyed pirate’s beauty is matched only by her lethality. The reason I mention this is because unlike Jordan, Stirling in Blood of the Serpent has captured Conan almost perfectly, at least to me.Maybe the dialogue is too coarse for REH’s Valeria and too similar to that god-awful Ablaze comic-book version of the character but Stirling needed a shorthand way to introduce her as a no nonsense warrior and it probably works for a modern audience. Howard himself only ever wrote one Conan novel, the Hour of the Dragon, so it isn't too weird seeing the character again in novel format, but it is a deviation from the genre norm. I didn't really think Conan could be boring, but I found myself drifting all the time I was reading this. What Titan does, is take this exposition and blow it up into a 304-page trainwreck of a “novel” that functions as a slipshod prequel to Red Nails.

This will be a little frustrating to some who prefer Conan and his villains to mostly drive the plot as he is bound to the quest of his soldiery or mercenary band. It may not be perfect, and some people are likely going to have decades of expectations to sour the experience, but it's something special.De Camp and Jordan managed, to varying degrees, to continue Howard's stylistic turns in a manner respecting the original source material whilst tuning the dialogue to modern ears. Remember those excerpts from A Probable Outline of Conan’s Career that prefaced the stories in the Lancer/Ace series? Conan Blood of the Serpent is by SM Stirling is a pastiche novel based on Robert E Howard's character Conan the Barbarian. Stirling has obviously done his homework and comes up with a plausible geopolitical scenario for Stygia and the surrounding kingdoms which fits into and expands upon the groundwork that Howard laid.

Stirling's version of Conan's world includes more Lovecraftian horror elements as well (Howard usually wrote these as separate stories).I don't intend to comment on any reader's potential liking for 'arse' of any kind, but it is out of place and simply doesn't fit. Once back in the 1970s and 1980s you could get two to three Conan books and the graphic novels too now Conan is out of fashion but Netflix may be bring him to the back. The amount of work to get into another author's world and "get it right" is probably way more difficult than just making it up as you go. Contrary to what many uninitiated believe, Conan is not just a musclebound brute sporting a sword, a fur diaper, and a voluptuous half-naked damsel clutching at his mighty thews.

Valeria's reputation is that of a deadly swordswoman, a notoriety she quickly proves to be accurate. I had high hopes for this novel given some of Stirling's past novels, and the fact that he was taking over such a storied character in such an undeveloped time period.

When you read the opening chapter of Red Nails you can really see the groundwork for Sterling’s novel. But, as I imagine is the way with any pretty pirate, especially one as well put together and dangerous as Valeria, trouble always finds her and, naturally, Conan is all too ready to jump into the fray. Particularly I loved the line (paraphrasing) that went something like "if he was particularly inclined toward cannibalism, he still wouldn't go near that body". As much as I would love some more weird and sorcery I found myself pleasantly surprised by this book, hugely relieved to finally have a good old friend back in my life in a sense, and something I will be able to read again and again out of love.