Conan the Valorous

Conan the Valorous takes the reader on a long journey with the barbarian back to his Cimmerian homeland. The story is packed with action along the way. Again, Roberts has created another character-driven story, where events unfold as the logical consequence of his characters' behaviors. This gives the story a nice feel and solid pace. Roberts also harnesses imagery into his stories more so than the other Conan pastiche writers. His imagery of mountainous Cimmeria and the lands he passes through along the way are often quite stunning. Roberts handled the affect that living in different lands would have on a Cimmerian once he returned to his brutal country. The author obviously gave a lot of thought to how Conan's adventures south would change him. On the down side, there are a few moments when Conan slips out of character and when the action gets a little corny. Overall, a solid story that you should enjoy.

This is the third Conan novel I have read by this author and one of the strongest. Like the other two tales, this one involves a far reaching quest that takes Conan thru several different countries. Most of this story takes place in the Border Kingdoms and Cimmeria.The author does a good job of depicting just how savage the Hyborean age is, and how cheap life was in that era. At the beginning of the book the author goes into detail on some very everyday things, such as Conan trying to buy a sword, which help the reader get a clearer idea of the world he lives in. Another nice touch is the reactions of the Cimmerians when he returns home. Conan is not viewed as a returning hero, but more as a man who was too soft to handle the Northern ways and had to go South. In many of the Conan stories people are just in awe of the bronze barbarian. This was a nice change of pace.There's really two separtate stories here, the first where he fights in the Border Kingdoms and the second fulfilling his quest in Cimmeria. The Border Kingdom story is fast paced and action packed. Things slowed down a little in the Cimmeria story, but it was still very enjoyable. If the Mr. Roberts could have kept that level of quality up throughout the book I would have given it 5 stars. The last line of the book was vintage Conan!

Conan the Valorous is a refreshing read after some of the other Conan materiel that they've put out. It's got plenty of action, with humans, demons, gods, mages, you name it. It really gets into what life is like up in Cimmeria and the northern nations, and how those civilizations are organized. We get plenty of real Conan -- not terribly intelligent, but good in a fight and quick with his wits; not the 'detective' Conan which some authors have tried to pass off as the real thing. This is pure escapist reading, and it's better than most. It's definitely worth the few hours it will take you to read it.

I was in an airport a little over 10 years ago and saw Conan the Valorous on a book shelf. I was curious after seeing the movie and picked it up. I have read fifty or more conan books since than. I still think this is on of the best. I lent it to friend and it was lost. I would like to get another copy. I hope they will print more copies in the future