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sCharles Hoffman has been one of the most perceptive writers on Robert E. Howard’s fiction. His “Conan the Existentialist” has been reprinted three times after its original appearance in Amra #61 in 1974. He has had non-fiction pieces in The Dark Man, Crypt of Cthulhu, Spectrum, The Cimmerian, and The Robert E. Howard Reader. He […]
This is a guest post by Jared: Robert E. Howard’s most famous creation, Conan of Cimmeria, lives in an era called the Hyborian Age. Conan’s barbarian–king predecessor, Kull of Atlantis, hails from a prior era called the Thurian Age. The Hyborian Age is meant to be a predecessor to a world that would be familiar […]
Last week I wrote about Robert E. Howard: A Closer Look. I mentioned two lit-crit anthologies edited by Don Herron: The Dark Barbarian and The Barbaric Triumph. These are logical follow up volumes if you are interested in reading about Robert E. Howard. The Dark Barbarian is a landmark book. Published by the prestigious Greenwood […]
The Starmont Reader’s Guides were published from 1979 to 1992. The entries are numbered up through 61. There are gaps in the numbering as some failed to materialize. The idea was to provide an overview of a fantastic author. At worst, these books were just synopses of the subject author’s fiction. Some had criticism of […]
Author JD Cowan examines Science Fiction: An Illustrated History, by Sam J. Lundwall in the first of many parts. Written in 1975, during the tumultuous years just after John Campbell’s death, Lundwall’s account offers an examination of science fiction history unclouded by the revisionism that accompanied the latest editorial handover in the mid-2000s. Lundwall, a Swedish member […]
Since Jeffro Johnson renewed interest in Dungeons & Dragons’ Appendix N as an indispensable source for understanding both gaming and fantasy, there has been an on-and-off search for similar lists for those of us more inclined to spacesuits and rayguns instead of armor and swords. The most likely source, the Traveller RPG, was not as forthcoming about […]
The Cimmerian was a one of the best Robert E. Howard small press magazines ever produced. Editor/publisher Leo Grin had the idea of a magazine that contained well edited, entertaining non-fiction articles, a few poems, and a letter section. Art, all too often bad art would overwhelm many a small press magazine. The Cimmerian had […]