When quarantine started, I knew I was going to be bored. I had written my first book FORLORN. I wanted something fantasy-esque. I thought of Game of Thrones but I thought the books looked too long. Mr. Martin is a talented writer, but not the kind I want to read just yet.
I remembered the original movie Conan the Barbarian. And how many times I has re-watched the original over and over. I also knew they were based on books. Now their was something I could sink my teeth into. Short stories / novellas. Accessible. Don’t have to follow 9 different characters.
I admit, the first time I picked one up I was surprised. This wasn’t easy reading. This was pure emotion. So much passion put into each action. The violence reminded me of that Starz TV show Spartacus. And the character of Conan was way more dimensional than I initially thought.
I was hooked. And still am hooked. I’ve now read maybe 8 or 9 of the stories and plan on reading all of them. I truly love the poetic style, the plots which feature monsters and a big muscular man coming to the rescue. As a writer, I really could FEEL Mr. Howard’s passion with each page. I can picture him smiling behind his typewriter and just pouring his soul into this world and enjoying it. That joy truly seeped into me.
The character inspired me so much in fact that I’ve brought one of my own characters into the spotlight. Darak the Minotaur. He’s someone I’ve had in my head for quite a while but didn’t know how to write him. Thanks to REH now I know what sort of stories I want to tell with him. If I can hold a candle to Conan, then I’ll be shocked honestly.
There are two factors I should mention. Sexism and racism. One of which I see and the other not so much.
Howard seems to write about females being strong a lot. Granted they’re the ‘damsel’ types but I feel that they’re also witches and warriors who fight along side or against Conan. I think it was the film adaptations that sorta painted Conan in a certain way. In the books, he doesn’t say his famous ‘crush your enemies’ speech.
Racism. Yes. And that’s my gripe. The story Red Nails is especially racist-which is a shame because they’re lots of good story beats there. I don’t excuse racism. I feel icky when I read anything like that. I hate that Howard thought that way. Yes he grew up in the South at a time when a lot of people didn’t have rights. Even some of Howard’s colleagues were put off by these ideas. But he still inspires me as a storyteller. I love the character of Conan himself. He’s addicting.
I wish that a company would release Howard’s stories and put a notice speaking of Howard and how his beliefs are inaccurate. No harm with putting labels on things. Or even taking it out all together. The stories themselves wouldn’t be affected.
I think everyone should be able to enjoy Conan. Teens and young adults especially. I think in high school teens would love Conan and really find the tales fascinating. I know I would have back in class. I urge anyone who writes or hell, anyone who just wants good entertainment to pick up Conan.
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