Recommended for Howard completists.
This is an interesting book, but there's a reason Howard was more known for his fantasy than his historical adventures. Well, not that these stories aren't really fantasy - they're all about Howard's personal fantasy of manly warriors doing military things. But magic & monsters really jazz up his work.
The title story here is by far the best, followed by the other bits where the female warrior Dark Agnes makes an appearance. Too many of the other stories, while not bad, just weren't really gripping. This became my 'breakfast reading' because I didn't really mind leaving the story where ever I happened to be and coming back to it later.
I did like the 'untitled fragments' included near the end, however, because I felt they gave some interesting insights into Howard's writing process.
This is an interesting book, but there's a reason Howard was more known for his fantasy than his historical adventures. Well, not that these stories aren't really fantasy - they're all about Howard's personal fantasy of manly warriors doing military things. But magic & monsters really jazz up his work.
The title story here is by far the best, followed by the other bits where the female warrior Dark Agnes makes an appearance. Too many of the other stories, while not bad, just weren't really gripping. This became my 'breakfast reading' because I didn't really mind leaving the story where ever I happened to be and coming back to it later.
I did like the 'untitled fragments' included near the end, however, because I felt they gave some interesting insights into Howard's writing process.
