Conan The Barbarian

Conan – the name conjures up images of swords, bare chests, sweat, blood and lots of furs (like a non-campy version of Dolf Lungren's He-Man). It's hard to believe that Conan is more than 100 years old.Howard created the world around his central character Conan. While Conan is titled as a barbarian we get to see a deeper side to him as the stories progress. He is supposed to be a barbarian but is also a linguist, strategist, charmer, thief, and king (eventually). The fact that the character is depicted in spectacular prose just makes the story even more memorable. Why it's on the list These books are a vital read for any lover of fantasy. Ignore what you have seen on TV and in comic books – Howard's Conan is a unique and memorable story. At times brooding, bloody, sincere or just funny, these stories are beautifully written. Howard's style of writing is so perfectly detailed that you very quickly get sucked in for the ride.Howard did something that Tolkien later would perfect. Building a world around his characters. He added an appendix called "The Hyborean Age" to many of his stories as a way to create some additional depth to Conan's universe and thereby give it a deeper sense of authenticity. What this means to us as readers, is that Howards world gets deeper as you read and it becomes even easier to engross yourself.Robert E. Howard's character inspired a whole host of authors with this new "sword and sorcery" style of storytelling. Stephen King said, "Howards writing seems so highly charged with energy that it nearly gives off sparks"Read if you likeClassic sword and sorcery. To know the real character behind the movies.