Age of Conan: Ghost of the Wall

Being a Robert E. Howard fan, I'm excited that someone has finally started writing other stories taking place in his Hyborian age. However, it has to be done right, if not for the entertainment values, then out of respect for REH. Mariotte does that here. Of all the places and peoples of the Hyborian world to write a story, none better could be picked then the Pictish frontier. Howard himself wrote of his fascination with the Picts. A forbidden friendship (hinting of future romance) between a young Pictish warrior, Kral, and an Aquilonian ambassador's daughter, Alanya, gives an ambitious uncle the excuse to break the fragile truce of the frontier. After his clan is massacred, Kral fights a one man war against the empire and starts his quest to return the sacred Teeth of the Ice Bear. Alanya becomes his ally as she must right the wrongs done against her and her family. I do question a couple things that Mariotte has in this story. I'm not sure what the Aquilonion policy would be with the Pictish people, since Howard wrote of the racial hatred between King Conan's people, the Cimmierians, and the Picts. Then again, if anyone could understand and respect the savage Picts, it would be the ultimate barbarian himself. Also, Mariotte's take on the Picts isn't as brutal as the way Howard wrote of them (in Howard's stories, "brutal", would be a compliment). Of course, we must remember this story is told more from the Picts's side then any of Howard's. At times the story seems a little simplistic, but that's only part of the fun. This story reminds me of the books like, ERB's Tarzan and REH's original Conan stories, that I loved so much as an adolescent. It's only a couple hundred pages long with short, to-the-point chapters, and all wrapped in a cover sporting the exiting illustrations that make you daydream of barbaric warriors and exotic beauties. I can't wait for the next book.