Conan the Marauder

John Maddox Roberts writes my favorite Conan spinoffs and this is the best of his lot. Roberts has shown with his S.P.Q.R. series set in ancient Rome that he can write solid, character-driven historical fiction. It is no different in Marauder. Conan meets a steppe chieftan on his way to world domination and much of the technological and cultural references throughout the book are accurate to the Mongol empire under Temujin. Roberts obviously did his research before setting about writing this tale. A few other notable features of Marauder are the large-scale battle scenes, the unique environment of the steppes (I can't think of any other Conan adventure set entirely upon the grasslands south of Turan and west of Khitai), and the richly detailed city of Sogaria. You will find yourself rooting for Conan as he ascends from captured slave to the khan's second-in-command to outcast to freelancer. In all, an exciting story, a unique take on the Conan genre and a solid alternative history combine to make Marauder well worth the $1 it costs to buy a used copy.

In this Conan pastiche, we see the Cimmerian go from slave to general and back to his barbarian roots. Captured by the Hyrkanian tribes, he battles his way to a spot in the army of Bartatua, would-be ruler of the world. Betrayed by Lakhme, one of the nastiest females in the Conan saga, he finds himself trying to rescue the city he has just laid siege to. He also finds himself helping an annoying poet rescue the city's princess. The book has some nice touches. One moment that struck me, and it was only one line, was when oil drenched corpses are used to light the work site for a siege ramp. Surprisingly for a Conan story, there is no girl for the barbarian and the sorcery (with monster)is compressed into just 3 pages. In addition, though I often find the secondary characters in a Conan pastiche to be forgettable, Roberts creates several characters who merit stories of their own. Lakhme, Manzur the poet, Bartatua, Conan's friend Rustuf are all characters I would like to see again. It's a different kind of Conan story but a superior pastiche.

This story is about an epic adventure with Conan, a Cimmerian being captured as a slave and working his way up through the ranks in the army. He fights in many battles and wins most of them. In the end he has to fight a very powerful wizard whose name is Khondemir. I really enjoyed this story because I like a lot of action in stories. I like the author describing how people die. Most of the time it shows what is on their minds.

Well written and fast paced, this book strongly captures the essence of Howard's original character even as it hints at a new, deeper characterization of the mighty Cimmerian. The plot is strong and engaging and goes down as one of my all time favorite Conan novels. An all around good read.