More Than Just a Barbarian: Introducing Newcomers to Conan the Cimmerian

Inspired by the release of the new Conan film and a “Momoa isn’t AHNOLD” comment on Facebook, I started wondering which of Robert E. Howard's original Conan stories would be the best to introduce a newcomer to the genuine article. Not necessarily my personal favorites (although the two do mostly overlap), just which ones would provide a good sample of the original stories. Given the movie’s poor reception, it’s probably more crucial than ever to let people know there’s more to Conan than Schwarzenegger and the quest to avenge his parents. Really, there’s no reason to be limited by that when so many of Howard’s stories have straightforward plots with plenty of underlying thematic depth that could translate well to the big, or even small screen. And if there’s no faithfully-adapted film to draw people to Howard’s work, then maybe a select sample of his best stories, or at least his best Conan stories, is the alternative for getting people to realize there’s plenty of material already available without the need for an origin story. And the more interest there is in the originals, the more chance there is (hopefully) that they’ll get the treatment they deserve.

With that in mind, my criteria in picking stories were:

• Show Conan in a variety of occupations and situations, with a variety of outcomes. As conceived by Howard he was more than a muscle-bound caveman who slays the monster/(probably non-white) sorcerer and heads off into the sunset with the girl over his shoulder and the treasure under his arm every time, and one of the points of this is to show that he was far more complex and interesting than that.

• Choose ones with strong female characters. As a corollary to the above. Women in these stories weren’t always scantily-clad damsels in distress and that’s equally worth pointing out.

• They should be some of the best Conan stories plain and simple. After all, what better way to introduce something than to show how good it can be? 

This is meant to be roughly in reading order rather than a ranking of quality. Also, if you “newcomer to Robert E. Howard’s Conan” applies to you, be advised that everything after the list contains spoilers.

1.       The Phoenix on the Sword

• This one just feels like it’s meant to be read first. Not only does The Nemedian Chronicles serve as a great encapsulation of the Hyborian Age, but much of the description and characterization of Conan dwells on how he’s a barbarian among civilized men and uncomfortable with their ways, which the reader already knows if they’ve read other stories. And since it can’t help but introduce Conan and really highlight the underlying themes of the stories as a whole, having been written first, I really can’t think of a better place to start.

2.       The Tower of the Elephant

• Highlights Conan’s career as a thief and gives a different take on the way monsters and treasure are usually handled in sword-and-sorcery stories. These stories may have helped launch the genre, but they’re anything but typical, and Tower of the Elephant shows that nicely.

3.       Queen of the Black Coast

• Introduces one of Howard’s strong female characters in Bêlit, and gives us a glimpse of Conan’s intelligence and philosophical side. His speech to Bêlit is far more poetic than “crush your enemies” and alongside his relationship with her demonstrates his complexity as a character.

4.       Beyond the Black River

• This story powerfully illustrates not only the clash between civilization and barbarism that underlies many of the other stories, but also its complexity and nuances in the contrast between the situations of the Pictish natives and Aquilonian settlers, and the fact that Conan, a barbarian, is working for the civilized Aquilonians. What’s more, Conan isn’t even the main character, or the only one who performs worthy deeds.

5.       Red Nails

• We have Valeria, another strong female character who more than anyone except Bêlit is a skilled adventurer in her own right, and gets to demonstrate it in-story. It also has an effective demonstration of the savagery that lies beneath a civilized exterior, with the remnants of past glories contrasted with a bloody feud that reminds us how dangerous, and ultimately petty, they can be.

I wanted to keep it to just a few, so obviously there are some omissions that would otherwise be worthy. The Frost Giant’s Daughter, of course, because it shows Conan as a pure warrior. That is part of his character, after all, but it’s easy without a close reading to assume Conan is motivated purely by his own desire to rape Atali. Not really the best idea when giving recommendations to someone who knows nothing about him or thinks that’s all there is to his views on women. I also would’ve included Black Colossus, which does the best job of showcasing Conan as a leader of men (it didn’t make the cut because he gets the girl, but even with the outlined criteria I’m sure that’s probably a bit arbitrary), as well as People of the Black Circle, which is the best “Conan vs. sorcerers” story and shows it’s possible for women to not swoon before his rugged manliness by the end of the story.

I don’t think this would necessarily be the best introduction to Howard in general, but I still haven’t read enough of his work to make that kind of judgement. However, since Conan is his most recognizable character, maybe he’d make a good “gateway” into reading Howard?