most readers, but other segments remain just as
trenchant as they were when originally written. A
handful of later novels were influenced in part by
Bangs’s series, including the Riverworld series of
science fiction novels by Philip José Farmer and Not
Too Narrow, Not Too Deep(1936) by Richard Sale.
Howard, Robert E. (1906–1936)
With the exception of J. R. R. TOLKIEN, it is un-
likely that any 20th-century fantasy writer rivaled
the influence of Robert E. Howard on his fellow
writers, particularly in the subcategory of sword
and sorcery tales. Howard was an incredibly pro-
lific writer who took his own life when he was only
30, leaving behind an astonishingly large and vari-
able body of work, much of which was fantasy and
supernatural fiction, although he also wrote sea ad-
ventures, boxing stories, and straightforward ac-
tion tales. His most memorable creation was, of
course, the barbarian warrior Conan, although he
penned less than two dozen stories featuring that
character. Solomon Kane, Red Sonja, Bran Mak
Morn, and King Kull were lesser but no less inter-
esting protagonists.
Howard began writing professionally in 1925
and produced new tales at an average of more than
one per month thereafter. The great majority of his
stories are set in the distant past, either among the
Vikings or Picts or even further back, in imaginary
lands that existed in prehistoric times such as At-
lantis, Lemuria, and various nations of his own cre-
ation. Most of the stories involve heavy doses of
magic, and many involve one or more monsters, ei-
ther natural or supernatural, although the actual
villains are more likely to be human—cruel
tyrants, evil sorcerers, or craven criminals. Even
Howard’s more sophisticated heroes display a cer-
tain degree of contempt for the complacent life,
and his protagonists seem more at ease roaming
the landscape or carousing in a tavern than in
more refined pursuits, even when they themselves
sit on the throne. Howard’s stories have been re-
assembled in different collections so many times
that it might appear that he produced an even
larger body of work than is in fact the case, and it
is impossible to obtain a complete collection with-
out considerable duplication.
As mentioned above, Conan is without ques-
tion his most famous creation. Howard wrote 17
adventures in the series, but many of his other sto-
ries and story fragments were later completed or
modified to expand that number. The stories are
scattered throughout Conan’s life, from his inexpe-
rienced youth as a wanderer from a remote region
to his mature years as a warrior and eventually a
king. They rely heavily on action and violence but
also make use of relatively sophisticated storylines,
such as in “The Tower of the Elephant” (1933).
The brawling hero, sometimes bodyguard, some-
times thief, has subsequently become the hero of
two motion pictures and a Marvel comic book
title. More significantly, more than 60 new novel-
length adventures of Conan have been published
since Howard’s death, including titles by such
leading writers as Robert JORDAN, L. Sprague DE
CAMP, Poul Anderson, Karl Edward WAGNER,
Harry TURTLEDOVE, and Andrew J. OFFUTT.
Howard himself wrote only a single book-length
Conan story, Conan the Conqueror(1935, also pub-
lished as The Hour of the Dragon).
King Kull appeared only in short fiction, all of
which has been collected as Robert E. Howard’s
Kull(1985). An earlier volume, King Kull(1967),
includes new and altered stories by Lin CARTER.
Kull leaves Atlantis and makes a new life for him-
self in Valusia, eventually becoming its ruler. He is
described in much the same fashion as Conan, al-
though perhaps less inclined to tolerate rivals. The
stories vary considerably in quality, but several are
quite good, particularly “The Shadow Kingdom”
(1929). Kull also became the inspiration for a mo-
tion picture, but other than the name, little of
Howard’s creation survived the transition.
The Bran Mak Morn series is set in very an-
cient Britain and also consists exclusively of short
stories, variously collected as Bran Mak Morn
(1969) and Worms of the Earth(1974). Karl Ed-
ward Wagner added to this history with Legion of
the Shadows(1976). Bran battles the Romans as
they evict the Picts from their native lands, some-
times aided by druid magic. “Worms of the Earth”
(1932) is the best of Bran’s adventures. Turlogh
Dubh is another Howard hero, though a bit of a
rogue, whose best adventure is “The Gods of Bal-
Sagoth” (1931). Still another is Cormac Mac Art,168 Howard, Robert E.