Conan of Cimmeria vs Elric of Melnibone

"Conan, what is best in life?"

"To crush your enemies...to see them driven before you... and to hear the lamentation of their women."

Yes, this quote is actually from the movie, but need I really say more?

This is the first of three books collecting ALL of the original Robert E. Howard Conan stories. Whether you are a long time Howard fan or have never read him before, do yourself a favor and pick up copy of these fantasy classics!

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Since I first wrote this, Del Rey has not only published all three Conan collections that I mention above, The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, The Bloody Crown of Conan, and The Conquering Sword of Conan, but also three others featuring Robert E. Howard's lesser known but just as swashbuckling pulp heros: The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn: The Last King, and Kull: Exile of Atlantis. These are truly essential books to add to the library of any discriminating swords and sorcery buff and required reading for any fantasy reader looking to explore an important (and thoroughly entertaining) chapter in the history of the genre!

DelRey also recently announced that they would be publishing the complete stories of Michael Moorcock featuring Elric of Melnibone in a similar format to the Howard collections, beginning sometime in 2008. This is incredibly exciting because not only is the doomed albino prince and his cursed black sword Stormbringer yet another important chapter in the evolution of the sword and sorcery sub-genre, but these have always been some of my favorite fantasy stories ever!

I read the entire Elric series voraciously as a D&D playing teenager and Elric's melancholy doom was immensly appealing to my moody adolescent world view. I still go back and read certain stories (or the entire series) every so often and I enjoy it just as much as I did when I first read them so many years ago. My old DAW editions with the Michael Whelan covers are some of the most treasured books in my library--maybe even more than the complete fifteen volume Eternal Champion series published by White Wolf that I have sitting in my "special collection" bookcase!

Finally as an added bonus for your entertainment: CONAN RAVES!