Scion of the Serpent: Anok, Heretic of Stygia Volume I

This book is a solid read. No its not REH, its York. if you want to only read Howard's Conan then read only Howard. But if you want to read a solid action packed story set in Howards world this is a good book for you. The plot is good, and the characters have breath. There are some PG-13 clean sex scenes in it as well that are are quite nice. Its a quick and easy read and wont let you down. I give it a C+ , one thumb up.

I haven't read Conan in ages, but I have been a big fan of York's other works and when I saw this one I picked it up. It's a great read! Steven brings Anok to life and makes him breath. The settings are excellent. I'm planning to get the rest of the series as well.

I enjoyed it. It is very entertaining and well written with good atmosphere and lots of very good and clever dialogue. the plot is quite good overall and moves along well [ i never got bored, frustrated and fed up with this.. like i did with the recent poor 'Kern' tale] The characters are interesting and mostly well done. My fave character is Fallon the tough, fiesty, sexy and impressive Cimmerian warrioress who is hotter than a big bread oven. can't wait for more of her. [she should get her own novel! ] And there are some sexy scenes and various naked whores a-plenty for the guys. There are some impressive fights and clever ideas from the inventive writer York. his version of Stygia and the cult of Set is nicely done and well detailed, but i wanted it to be much more impressive, mysterious, and more terrifyingly horrific and evil? [but that's the dark horror fan in me. perhaps it will get more evil in the next 2 books? but i don't think that is his style?] The magic /sorcery eventually featured in the Set cult and climax is very impressive and mega-powerful stuff. including various arcane magic items and awesome supernatural beings! [but it feels like too much power too soon for book 1 ?] But the apparent major influence of gods and fate on Anok and the story is always an annoyance for me in any S+S books. and there are a few other 'silly and corny' bits that made me cringe a bit, but there are usually some in most fantasy books. York writes with some spirit and flair, and i welcome and applaud his 1st exciting descent into the dark and fantastic bowels of Stygia. i enjoyed this book for what it mostly is.. good entertaining pulp-style S+S with extra toppings of mega-sorcery. it makes me want to read the next book so its 'magic' is working on me. my thanks to J. S .YORK. Rating = 7 /10. a good impressive start. [worth a read if you are a fan of Stygia and sorcery, or you are a secret worshipper of Set..]:) [BTW, 7 is quite a good score from me. i am hard to please]

Continuing on with the "Age of Conan" series, after Coleman's Legends of Kern trilogy, York takes us to a place, that as far as I know, no other author has had the opportunity to write about in novel format: Stygia. York does an exceptional job in his portrayal of Stygia; breathing life and mystery into the setting and scenery of one of Hyborias most deadly places. Character development is good, but focused almost too much on Anok, the main character. I guess this makes sense in book one, but hopefully York will take a few more pages in book 2 and 3 to really develop Anok's companions. Overall a good book, at least on par with the Kern series, if not better. This book is better than a Forgotten Realms novel, yet still lacking something to take it into area of epic fantasy...the Kern novels suffer from this as well. There are several areas that the story seems "rushed"... and given the time frame the author had to write the book, that's understandable. The romantic scenes are a little cheesy, but it is overall an entertaining read and a series worth picking up if you like Hyboria.

The new Age of Conan series follows up "Legends of Kern" with a bold new trilogy in a rarely explored setting: Stygia. It is an land of ancient evils, of dark magic and shadowy intrigue. J. Steven York gives us insight into this land, created by American fantasy legend Robert E. Howard, through the eyes of Anok, a young half-stygian warrior. While not a Conan clone, Anok fits into the Hyborian age like a well-worn scabbard. He's young, inexperienced, and thirsty for vengence. And yeah, he swings a mean pair of swords. The perfect mix for a fantasy hero.