The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian

The definitive collection of the original Conan stories, presented in the order Robert E. Howard wrote them, unedited and as raw as they were meant to be. This 2003 Del Rey edition contains Howard’s first thirteen Conan tales, including genre-defining classics like “The Tower of the Elephant” and “Queen of the Black Coast.”

Why This One

Howard created Conan in 1932 for Weird Tales magazine, and in doing so he essentially invented sword and sorcery as a distinct genre. These stories are propulsive, vivid, and shockingly modern in their pacing. Conan is no thoughtful strategist. He acts on instinct, trusts his strength, and survives through sheer will. The world around him is ancient, crumbling, and haunted by sorcery that predates human civilization.

This Del Rey edition is the best way to read Howard’s original vision. Previous collections were often edited by later authors who rewrote passages or rearranged stories. Here you get Howard’s prose as he intended it, with scholarly notes by Patrice Louinet and illustrations by Mark Schultz.

What to Expect

Short, punchy stories that hit hard and move fast. Howard’s prose is muscular and cinematic. Each tale drops Conan into a different situation: a thief sneaking into a sorcerer’s tower, a pirate sailing with a warrior queen, a gladiator fighting his way out of a corrupt kingdom. The stories work as standalone adventures but together they paint a portrait of a character who is far more complex than his reputation suggests. At 496 pages the collection is substantial, but the individual stories are short enough to read in a single sitting.