Pages

Pages

Thursday 4 February 2010

I have finally started to read ... The Complete Chronicles of Conan

I bought this book last month, and have finally got round to starting to read it.

So far I have read the first chapter of this anthology. It was written in 1936 and is entitled THE HYBORIAN AGE. This is a fictional history of Hyboria and begins with the following statement:
'Nothing in this article is to be considered as an attempt to advance any theory in opposition to accepted history. It is simply a fictional background for a series of fiction-stories. When I began writing the Conan stories a few years ago, I prepared this 'history' of his age and the people of that age, in order to lend him and his sagas a greater aspect of realness. And I found that by adhering to the 'facts' and spirit of that history, in writing the stories, it was easier to visualize (and therefore to present) him as a real flesh-and-blood character rather than a ready-made product. In writing about him and his adventures in the various kingdoms of his Age, I never violated the 'facts' or spirit of the 'history' here set down, but have followed the lines of that history as closely as the writer of actual historical-fiction follows the lines of actual history. I have used this 'history' as a guide in all the stories in this series that I have written.'
Having read this I can see why the stories that Robert E Howard wrote about Conan and the Hyborian Age are still so well regarded today.

The endpapers have a map of Hyboria which is based on an original drawn by Robert E Howard, and I found constant reference to this map very helpful when reading the opening chapter.

The map of Hyboria from THE COMPLETE CHRONICLES OF CONAN by Robert E Howard (Gollancz [2006] ISBN 978 0 575 07766 9).

4 comments:

  1. Interesting. It almost makes me want to get a copy just for that chapter.

    It also speaks to those of us who have Imagi-Nations of our own. When I started mine a few years back, I did create a "backstory" for Saxe-Bearstein . . . but not for their traditional enemy (Stagonia). Maybe I should re-think that.


    -- Jeff

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cool map in the Conan book. Reminds me of the Tolkien maps of Middle Earth.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fantasy Morschauser anyone? Conan the Barbarian with Arnie Schwarzenegger in is not a bad film to watch but dont bother with the second!

    Ogre

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dear all,

    I must admit that the map and the first chapter are - in my opinion - more than worth the money I paid for the book.

    The map is simple enough to be a good starting point for someone wanting to set up a campaign, and the back-story provides lots of information that is also useful.

    Fantasy Morschauser? Well, he did write a set of Ancients rules for a 1-inch grid so ... you never know!

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for leaving a comment. Please note that any comments that are spam or contain phishing messages or that come from Google Accounts that are 'Unknown' will be deleted.