The Bloody Crown of Conan
Page 46
Rusty Burke
I would like to thank Marcelo, Patrice and Rusty for being a pleasure to work with once again and Gary for revitalising my interest in Conan. Thanks also to Mandy and Emma for being patient and understanding, Fishburn Hedges for allowing me to use their design studio after hours and at weekends again (and again) and, finally, to Phil Watson with whom I used to exchange Howard books and Conan comics many, many years ago. Cheers, Phil!
Stuart Williams
When I first started these books I had no idea that I would be creating a library of illustrated books. I would like to thank all who have been involved in its conception and to the many artists who have been incredibly supportive of my endeavour: Al Williamson, Mike Mignola, Mark Schultz, Geof Darrow, Neil Gaiman, Bruce Timm, Frank Cho, Justin Sweet, Frank Frazetta, Jeff Jones and, of course, Gary Gianni. Very special thanks also to Jim Keegan, Stuart, Rusty and Patrice, my keystones, and not forgetting Ed Waterman, web designer supreme.
Marcelo Anciano
THE FULLY ILLUSTRATED ROBERT E. HOWARD LIBRARY from Del Rey Books
The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian
The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane
The Bloody Crown of Conan
Bran Mak Morn: The Last King*
The Conquering Sword of Conan*
*forthcoming
PRAISE FOR ROBERT E. HOWARD
“I adore these books. Howard had a gritty, vibrant style—broadsword writing that cut its way to the heart, with heroes who are truly larger than life. I heartily recommend them to anyone who loves fantasy.”
—DAVID GEMMELL
Author of Legend and White Wolf
“The voice of Robert E. Howard still resonates after decades with readers—equal parts ringing steel, thunderous horse hooves, and spattered blood. Far from being a stereotype, his creation of Conan is the high heroic adventurer. His raw muscle and sinews, boiling temper, and lusty laughs are the gauge by which all modern heroes must be measured.”
—ERIC NYLUND
Author of Halo: The Fall of Reach and Signal to Noise
“That teller of marvelous tales, Robert Howard, did indeed create a giant [Conan] in whose shadow other ‘hero tales’ must stand.”
—JOHN JAKES
New York Times bestselling author of the North and South trilogy
“For stark, living fear . . . what other writer is even in the running with Robert E. Howard?”
—H. P. LOVECRAFT
“Howard . . . painted in about the broadest strokes imaginable. A mass of glimmering black for the menace, an ice-blue cascade for the hero, between them a swath of crimson for battle, passion, blood.”
—FRITZ LIEBER
“Forget Schwarzenegger and the movies. This is pure pulp fiction from the 1930s, before political corrections and focus groups dictated the direction of our art. Swords spin, entrails spill, and women swoon.”
—Men’s Health
“Howard wrote pulp adventure stories of every kind, for every market he could find, but his real love was for supernatural adventure and he brought a brash, tough element to the epic fantasy which did as much to change the course of the American school away from precious writing and static imagery as Hammett, Chandler, and the Black Mask pulp writers were to change the course of American detective fiction.”
—MICHAEL MOORCOCK
Award-winning author of the Elric saga
“In this, I think, the art of Robert E. Howard was hard to surpass: vigor, speed, vividness. And always there is that furious, galloping narrative pace.”
—POUL ANDERSON
“Howard honestly believed the basic truth of the stories he was telling. It’s as if he’d said, ‘This is how life really was lived in those former savage times!’ ”
—DAVID DRAKE
Author of Grimmer Than Hell and Dogs of War
“For headlong, nonstop adventure and for vivid, even florid, scenery, no one even comes close to Howard.”
—HARRY TURTLEDOVE
The Bloody Crown of Conan is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
A Del Rey® Book
Published by The Random House Publishing Group
Copyright © 2003 by Conan Properties International, LLC.
Editor: Patrice Louinet
Series Editor: Rusty Burke
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Del Rey Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. Previously published in Great Britain by Wandering Star, Ltd., London, in 2003.
Del Rey is a registered trademark and the Del Rey colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
Conan is a registered trademark of Conan Properties International, LLC.
www.delreybooks.com
This edition published by arrangement with Wandering Star Books, Ltd.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2004103781
eISBN 0-345-48078-3
v1.0
Table of Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Publication Information
Foreword
Introduction
The People of the Black Circle
The Hour of the Dragon
A Witch Shall Be Born
Miscellanea
Untitled Synopsis (The People of the Black Circle)
The Story Thus Far...
Untitled Synopsis
Untitled Draft
Untitled Synopsis (The Hour of the Dragon)
Notes on The Hour of the Dragon
Untitled Synopsis (A Witch Shall Be Born)
Appendices
Hyborian Genesis Part II
Notes on the Conan Typescripts and the Chronology
Notes on the Original Howard Texts
Acknowledgments
Praise for Robert E. Howard
Also by Robert E. Howard
Preview for The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian
Copyright