Conan, The Buccaneer

Carter and de Camp do a good job of capturing the Robert Howard "feel" of the tale while making it a full length story. There's plenty of action and (as Carter says in the introduction)impossibly beautiful women. Fans of Conan comics will be happy to see the Cimmerian's Kushite comrade-at-arms Juma playing a part in this adventure. The story takes place on the high seas and sweltering southern jungles, so it makes for a great read during the hot summer months - or maybe a good escape from a snowy winter weekend. The only complaint I have is the man eating tree they have Conan face off against. This is kinda lame, but I was having so much fun with this story that I really didn't mind. This book is worth reading if you can track it down.

Say what you will against a pastiche, but I like Conan novels. Howards will always be the best, but it is great to see his characters continue on.de Camp and Carter have kept this Conan story nicely in the lifeline (actually tying it in to fill a gap in his history). While some parts of the story lost my interest, there were quite a few great scenes in the novel that made me forget that I wasn't actually reading a Howard novel.If you are interested in reading past Howard's Conan stories, this is a good one in the pack.