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/lit/ - Literature

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6187776 No.6187776 [Reply] [Original]

Hey, I'm reading all the Conan stories for the first time.

Can we talk about Conan?

>> No.6187787

Bump

Haven't read Conan, but I've always wondered if it was worth the effort

>> No.6187791

>>6187787
There isn't much effort, tbh. I just nabbed the centenary edition which contains all the Conan material.

The first story's a bit of a chore- as it's worldbuilding only. But it's very short.

After that, you get lots of stories about Conan going around, slaying people and abberations, and getting all the chicks. Well, most of the chicks.

>> No.6187794

>>6187791
also, it's fun to see how violent it is, for something so old.

>> No.6187808

>>6187776
>>6187787
>>6187791
>>6187794
samefag

fuck off to /co/ or /tv/

>> No.6187813

>>6187776
Come back when you've actually read them you idiot, then we can talk.

>> No.6187816

>>6187808
This.

Conan is the lowest of the low. Go be a manchild elsewhere.

>> No.6187820

>>6187808
Stop being new and posting. No, you don't "fit in yet guys".

>> No.6187827

>>6187816
>Conan is the lowest of the low.
Certainly not. Howard is hard to tolerate in large doses, but he's a genuinely talented author.
>Go be a manchild elsewhere.
Conan is too ironic and self-referential for manchildren. (Manchildren don't read books anyways, they watch movie/TV adaptations instead.)

>> No.6187850
File: 12 KB, 184x274, download.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
6187850

I'm reading conan right now, just finished the one where he was the king of aquilonia and the one where he rescues the princess from the witch guy. Surprised at how quickwitted he is vs his film portrayal

I feel hercules might be closer to book conan than either of the actual adaptations

>> No.6187865

What's your favorite story so far, OP? I've always been partial to "The Pool of the Black One," but "The Scarlet Citadel" was fun, too.

>> No.6187910
File: 446 KB, 952x1200, conan crimson citadel.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
6187910

>>6187813
Suppose that's true. But I've already read a bunch. Still got 2 thirds of the book ahead of me!

I think I like The Red Citadel the most so far.

>>6187808
>>6187816
the hell is your problem?

>> No.6187917

>>6187865
Pool of the Black One was neat.. Wait, was that the one with the "dark people" transforming people into bone figures, or the one where Conan stumbles into a colony of hippies who have sex and go to sleep all the time?

>> No.6187934

>>6187917
The former. The latter, I think, was "Xuthal of the Dusk." Which was also very cool, and had some sexy whip-play between the Stygian girl and the white girl.

>> No.6187976
File: 102 KB, 700x1051, conan3.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
6187976

>>6187934
Ah yeah, that one was pretty cool.
Although, it's silly to see how much effort Howard goes into when describing simple transformation spells. Eldritch sorcery, secrets unfathomed, unnameable deaths... and it all ends up with a guy transformed into a rat or a doll or some shit.
I guess it was kinda mindblowing during the 30's.

In any case, the atmosphere and writing are all still entertaining as fuck. And Conan too, of course. Dude's as blunt as a brick!

>> No.6187989

>>6187976
But he's also extremely funny, which is great.

I like the bit in one of the stories where Conan gets cheated by a prostitute, then goes to great lengths to track her down, drag her out of bed (while she's fucking a guy), and drop her two stories into a huge puddle of mud.

>> No.6188010

>>6187989
Ah, that was Rogues in the House. Conan murderized the dude she was sleeping with before that - made sure she knew about it too, haha.

>> No.6188022

>>6187816
What would make you say that?

>> No.6188066

It's been a while since I've read them but I remember liking The Tower of The Elephant a lot.

>> No.6188078

>>6187816

Howard has some pretty based prose and he's better than pretty much all of his imitators which he spawned. Conan is based pulp and some of the Howard's later works show a writer who was maturing and really coming into his own. It's a shame he killed himself. I think he may have turned out to be a really important American writer.

Conan is based.

>> No.6188088

>>6187865
The frost giants daughter

>> No.6188198

>>6188078
Any specific stories you'd recommend? The site I grabbed the centenary edition from also has Kull and Solomon Kane and a bunch of other stuff.

>> No.6188207

>>6187787
Same. After reading Wolf in White Van I always wondered myself. Would like to hear more opinions.

>> No.6188232
File: 447 KB, 1656x1920, conan the cimmerian.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
6188232

>>6188207
It's... fun, don't know what else to tell ya. Each story is self contained, with Conan going on adventures and kicking ass.

Read this if you want to have an idea of what to expect.

http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600821h.html

>> No.6188247

>>6188198

Rogues in the House, Tower of the Elephant, Queen of the Black Coast, and Jewels of Gwahlur are personal favorites.

They're all pretty great, though, so it's hard to go wrong with any of them.

>> No.6188257

>>6188247
Oh, I was referring to the
>Howard's later works show a writer who was maturing and really coming into his own

part. I already got all of the Conan stories here!

>> No.6189565

>>6187850
That film was awful cliche trash, whereas the Conan stories are quality cliche trash.

>> No.6190287
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6190287

>>6187865
The Tower of the Elephant has always been my favorite. It starts off weird and just keeps getting stranger.

>> No.6191456
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6191456

>>6190287
I like how they drew him in the new Conan KS thing.
In the book, and most illustrations, they just drew him as a lanky dude with an elephant's head, but I like to believe that was only what Conan THOUGHT an elephant looked like (as it's described he never saw one back then)

>> No.6191612

>>6187776
I'm just starting on it too since I dig the two movies with Arnie but seriously they read like young adult fiction dreck and I feel that if it was just a series among others and not the forefather mor a huge part of modern fantasy it could be dismissed as not that relevant.

I'm ready a translation though so maybe it's just more cheesy in the language I read in but still it's cringeworthy at times.

I don't read fantasy besides this so maybe I lack perspective and this is actually top-of-the-shelf material but I'm really disappointed

>> No.6191648
File: 128 KB, 1024x768, boris_vallejo_01.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
6191648

>>6187776

the only think enjoyable about Conan is Boris Vallejo's paintings

>> No.6191745

>>6187776
I started a collection about a month or two ago. I really loved the Tower of the Elephant and the Queen of the Black Coast. Howard is a really good writer when he's not repeating "the Cimmerian" or "fierce/bruising kisses".

Queen of the Black Coast had some really high quality dualistic descriptions of Belit that I really loved, comparing her beauty and grace to the simultaneous violence and beauty of natural disasters.

And I really loved the tone in Tower of the Elephant. It reminded me a lot of Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing.

>> No.6192406

>>6187776
I like his TV show but I can't see it now that he's moved to cable.