So much for finding something else to talk about! As I got closer to the end, I found myself getting excited to complete my journey! This final stretch has Howard's only Conan novel, the bizarre sequel by Nyberg, and the last adventures of our hero, wrapping up the Lancer/Ace books by de Camp and Carter. While it remains stirring pulpy adventures throughout, these ones do show a few different sides to Conan that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise.
Let's start off with one of the last Howard pieces Howard, which is the only novel he would write for Conan. Originally titled Hour of the Dragon, it's certainly an epic tale that establishes some of the traditions that many later authors would follow.
After being the King of Aquilonia for a few years, Conan finds himself at the mercy of yet another plot to dethrone him, as a handful of nobles meet with a fallen priest to revive an ancient sorcerer named Xaltotun with a magic stone called the Heart of Ahriman. However, as this mummy regains his powers, he has his own designs for the land. Still, he helps these plotters defeat and capture Conan, only for him to be saved by a neglected slave girl named Zenobia. As Conan makes his way back to his kingdom, he is guided by a witch who helps him understand that it will take more than grim determination to regain his throne. Deciding to leave his kingdom in the hands of his enemies, he sets off on a quest to find the Heart of Ahriman himself, but circumstances keep it moving from hand to hand, forcing Conan to chase after it.
In the end, the scenario sets the stage for Conan to rely on his old adventuring expertise and diverse connections in order to make through each part of the journey as he revisits many lands, including Nemedia, Ophir, Koth, Argos, the high seas, and eventually Stygia. The first part of the novel is quite good, establishing the stakes right away with the villains explaining their plan from the beginning, something many of the later novels emulated. However, once the quest is revealed and Conan rides off on his new adventure, I feel like the book just kinda coasts to an end, going from episode to episode, sometimes stumbling around without much purpose. One part that really sticks out badly is a strange but short digression where Conan is suddenly dealing with a Stygian vampiress that has no bearing on the plot at all. The ending is pretty satisfying, but does feel kinda rushed as Conan dashes in at the last moment. Still, this is definitely a pretty satisfying read and some of Howard's best work as he gets to show a few different sides of Conan and explore more the world he created.
Björn Nyberg is probably the most mysterious author I've read for this series, as he is pretty much only known for a handful of Conan stories, including this novel. I'm not sure how this Swede was able to get his stories into the classic canon, but de Camp felt they belonged, and so here they are. Of his two short stories, the first was just okay and the second was pretty good. As for the novel, it's largely middle-of-the-road material.
A year after Conan regained his kingdom of Aquilonia and married the former slave girl, Zenobia, he holds a ball to celebrate the peace he's established. However, when his new queen gets abducted by a strange monster shrouded in black and controlled by an evil sorcerer, he decides to quest off on his own to get her back, first meeting with the sorcerer Pelias before heading further east. Along the way, he gets ambushed and side-tracked by a number of villains and events.
So once again, we see Conan go through what feels like a greatest hits compilation of his career. However, the quest seems to take a backseat to whatever situation he finds himself in as he carries on east. While the moment-to-moment action is good, and teases a lot of connections and flashbacks, it doesn't really hold together as a whole, as side-characters show up, help Conan, and then disappear. It also feels a little disingenuous when a big deal is made of Conan's monogamy to Zenobia in the beginning, only to indulge some of his time to the women he meets along the way. I get that Conan is not a moral hero or a icon of virtue, but it does feel like his monogamy got thrown out because it got in the way of how a Conan adventure is supposed to work, as opposed to what makes sense for the narrative or characters.
After a handful of adventures, the novel also rushes things towards the end. A handful of convenient deus ex machinas reveal themselves and Conan really doesn't have much trouble rescuing his queen. That being said, the novel does also tie up a few lingering threads from some of the other stories quite well. Overall, I would say this isn't a bad story, just kinda messy and disorganized, and certainly underwhelming after Hour of the Dragon.
And now we're back to some novellas written by the now familiar team of de Camp and Carter as they continue to expand on Conan's time as the King of Aquilonia. The biggest difference in these stories is right there on the cover, as Conan has his son Conn with him on these adventures. Essentially training him to become a second generation of adventurer, seeing Conan be a father on top of everything he already is does provide a new dynamic for the character.
As for the stories themselves, they actually weave together into a larger narrative, almost like a novel. Conan's old sorcerous villain Thoth-Amon has had enough of failure and seeks to conspire against Conan directly. At first, Conan's son gets kidnapped, compelling him to go north to Hyberborea where he discovers that a handful of sorcerers have come together to defeat Conan once and for all. However, he works his way through Thoth-Amon's allies, first in Hyperborea, then later in Stygia, Zembabwie, and eventually to the World's End in the south. Of course, he isn't going alone, bringing his son, his trusted generals and a faithful army along with him.
It's hard to say if these stories are actually good or just kind of average, as they aren't as action-heavy as the others. At this point, it's not to feel like the whole affair isn't something of a cozy jaunt across the continent, despite Conan facing one of his greatest villains (or so he claims). I don't know if any of these novellas hold up too much on their own, but together, to do craft a somewhat epic tale. Unfortunately, the ending ends up being a bit slapdash and underwhelming. Part of me wishes that, instead of just collecting the novellas and leaving them as is, the pair had taken the time to flesh out these stories into a proper novel, as I think it could have been great. As is, though, it gives Conan another tour of the lands while letting his son get some of the spotlight as well.
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