Conan of Cimmeria
Encyclopedia
Conan of Cimmeria is a 1969 collection of eight fantasy
short stories written by Robert E. Howard
, L. Sprague de Camp
and Lin Carter
featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery
hero Conan the Barbarian
. Most of the stories were originally published in various fantasy magazines
. The book has been reprinted a number of times since by various publishers, and has also been translated into German
, Japanese
, Spanish
, Dutch
, Swedish
and Italian
. It was later gathered together with Conan
and Conan the Freebooter
into the omnibus collection The Conan Chronicles
(1989).
soldier for King Yildiz of Turan to his initial adventures in the black kingdoms of Kush. In between he visits his native Cimmeria
and the far north then makes his way southward where, in Argos, he gets his first taste of life as a sea rover as the right hand man of the pirate queen Bêlit
.
Chronologically, the eight short stories collected as Conan of Cimmeria fall between Conan
and Conan the Freebooter
.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
short stories written by Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
, L. Sprague de Camp
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...
and Lin Carter
Lin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft and Grail Undwin.-Life:Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida...
featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...
hero Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
. Most of the stories were originally published in various fantasy magazines
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
. The book has been reprinted a number of times since by various publishers, and has also been translated into German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
. It was later gathered together with Conan
Conan (collection)
Conan is a 1967 collection of seven fantasy short stories and associated pieces written by Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories were originally published in various pulp magazines...
and Conan the Freebooter
Conan the Freebooter
Conan the Freebooter is a 1968 collection of five fantasy short stories written by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories originally appeared in the fantasy magazine Weird Tales in the 1930s...
into the omnibus collection The Conan Chronicles
The Conan Chronicles
The Conan Chronicles is a 1989 omnibus collection of three previous fantasy collections by Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian, published by Sphere Books. The component collections had originally been published by...
(1989).
Contents
- "Introduction" (L. Sprague de Camp)
- "The Curse of the MonolithThe Curse of the Monolith"The Curse of the Monolith" is a short story written by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan of Cimmeria created by Robert E. Howard. It was first published in the magazine Worlds of Fantasy in 1968 as "Conan and the Cenotaph".-Publication...
" (L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter) - "The Blood-Stained GodThe Blood-Stained GodThe Blood-Stained God is a 1955 fantasy novella written by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was revised by de Camp from Howard's original story, a then-unpublished non-fantasy Oriental tale that featured Kirby...
" (Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp) - "The Frost Giant's DaughterThe Frost Giant's Daughter"The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is one of the original short stories about Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard, but not published in his lifetime....
" (Robert E. Howard, edited by L. Sprague de Camp) - "The Lair of the Ice WormThe Lair of the Ice Worm"The Lair of the Ice Worm" is a fantasy short story by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. It was first published by Lancer Books in the paperback collection Conan of Cimmeria , which was reprinted several...
" (L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter) - "Queen of the Black CoastQueen of the Black Coast"Queen of the Black Coast" is one of the original short stories about Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in Weird Tales magazine circa May 1934...
" (Robert E. Howard) - "The Vale of Lost WomenThe Vale of Lost Women"The Vale of Lost Women" is one of the original short stories about Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard, but not published during his lifetime. The story was first published in The Magazine of Horror for Spring, 1967, and republished in the collection Conan of Cimmeria...
" (Robert E. Howard) - "The Castle of TerrorThe Castle of Terror"The Castle of Terror" is a fantasy short story by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. It was first published by Lancer Books in the paperback collection Conan of Cimmeria , which was reprinted several...
" (L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter) - "The Snout in the DarkThe Snout in the DarkThe Snout in the Dark is one of the original stories by Robert E. Howard about Conan the Cimmerian, a fragment begun in the 1930s but not finished or published in Howard's lifetime. It was completed by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter and in this form first published in the collection Conan of...
" (Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter)
Plot summary
In a number of episodes Conan, now in his mid- to late-twenties, is followed from the end of his career as a mercenaryMercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
soldier for King Yildiz of Turan to his initial adventures in the black kingdoms of Kush. In between he visits his native Cimmeria
Cimmeria (Conan)
Cimmeria is a fictional land of barbarians in antediluvian earth and the homeland of Conan the Barbarian in the works of Robert E. Howard.-Fictional history:...
and the far north then makes his way southward where, in Argos, he gets his first taste of life as a sea rover as the right hand man of the pirate queen Bêlit
Bêlit (Robert E. Howard)
In the fictional universe of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian, Bêlit is a pirate queen who has a romantic relationship with Conan. She is Conan's first serious lover. She appears in Howard's Conan novelette "Queen of the Black Coast", first published in Weird Tales 23 5...
.
Chronologically, the eight short stories collected as Conan of Cimmeria fall between Conan
Conan (collection)
Conan is a 1967 collection of seven fantasy short stories and associated pieces written by Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories were originally published in various pulp magazines...
and Conan the Freebooter
Conan the Freebooter
Conan the Freebooter is a 1968 collection of five fantasy short stories written by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories originally appeared in the fantasy magazine Weird Tales in the 1930s...
.