 Cover of first edition | |
| Author | Leonard Carpenter |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Conan the Barbarian |
| Genre | Sword and sorcery |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
Publication date | 1986 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 276 |
| ISBN | 0-8125-4256-8 |
Conan the Raider is a fantasy novel by American writer Leonard Carpenter, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in October 1986. It was reprinted by Tor in September 1987. [1]
In the deserts of Shem, Conan tracks a thief who stole from him a jewel known as the Star of Khorala. He finds the man, but his gem is missing. Eventually, Conan is saved from death by dehydration during an encounter with the caravan of Otsgar the Vanir, into which he is welcomed due to his previous acquaintance with Isaiab, a Shemite he had known in Arenjun. Otsgar's party turns out to be a band of tomb raiders, though their expedition proves disappointing, even with Conan's aid. Ostgar gains little, while death traps and tomb guardians with the heads of crocodiles combine to dispatch everyone except Conan, Otsgar, Isaiab, and two survivors; the Stygian woman, Zafriti, and a Shemitish rebel, Asrafel.
The thieves eventually regroup in Abaddrah, Isaib's hometown, a city-state on the River Styx, bordering Stygia. The king, Ebnezub, is having a great tomb constructed for himself on the advice an exiled prophet named Horaspes. Ebnezub is likely to need it soon, as his wife, Nitokar, has been poisoning him. The thieves hope to plunder Eznezub's tomb and the ancient catacombs beneath Abaddrah. Conan investigates the catacombs between encounters with Zafriti and Princess Afrit. Soon, Conan wanders into a gladiatorial arena where he must fight against a shaman armed with snakes.
The situation escalates when the villainous Horaspes reveals his true scheme, and an army of undead warriors lay siege to Abaddrah. After a great battle, Conan defeats Horaspes with the very jewel he sought in the first place.
Reviewer Ryan Harvey considered the novel "the best Leonard Carpenter entry in the series I've yet read," writing that "it starts weakly and episodically, but slaps together a busy and exciting conclusion." He felt it "heads into Indiana Jones territory, and is basically an Egyptian tomb-robbing adventure in a fantasy setting." Despite "the derivative tomb-robbing plot [i]t has a touch more horror to it than other pastiches, and I always appreciate a pastiche writer willing to dig down into the more horrific side of the Weird Tales legacy." [2]
Reviewer Don D'Ammassa noted "This was a significant improvement over Carpenter's first novel, dropping the clunky artificial dialogue and expanding to a fairly large number of reasonably well developed characters, three of whom are women." [3]
Conan the Hunter is a fantasy novel by American writer Sean A. Moore, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in January 1994.
Conan the Savage is a fantasy novel by American writer Leonard Carpenter featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in trade paperback by Tor Books in November 1992; a regular paperback edition followed from the same publisher in August 1993, and was reprinted in March 1999.
Conan the Renegade is a fantasy novel by American writer Leonard Carpenter, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in April 1986. The first British edition was published by Sphere Books in August 1988.
Conan the Unconquered is a fantasy novel by American writer Robert Jordan, featuring Robert E. Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in April 1983, and reprinted on a number of occasions. The first British edition was published by Sphere Books in February 1988. The first trade paperback edition was published by Tor in 1991. It was later gathered together with Conan the Invincible and Conan the Defender into the omnibus collection The Conan Chronicles.
Conan and the Treasure of Python is a fantasy novel by American writer John Maddox Roberts, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in trade paperback by Tor Books in November 1993; a regular paperback edition followed from the same publisher in August 1994.
Conan and the Amazon is a fantasy novel by American writer John Maddox Roberts, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in April 1995. It was reprinted by Tor in April 1999.
Conan and the Manhunters is a fantasy novel by American writer John Maddox Roberts, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in October 1994 and reprinted in April and June 1999.
Conan the Bold is a fantasy novel by American writer John Maddox Roberts, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in April 1989 and reprinted in June 1997.
Conan the Rogue is a fantasy novel written by John Maddox Roberts featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in trade paperback by Tor Books in November 1991; a regular paperback edition followed from the same publisher in August 1992, and was reprinted in January 1999.
Conan the Marauder is a fantasy novel by American writer John Maddox Roberts, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in January 1988, and reprinted in 1992. The first British edition was published in paperback by Orbit Books in February 1991.
Conan the Champion is a fantasy novel by American writer John Maddox Roberts, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in April 1987 and reprinted in January 1989. The first British edition was published in paperback by Sphere Books, also in January 1989.
Conan and the Shaman's Curse is a fantasy novel by American writer Sean A. Moore, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in January 1996.
Conan the Indomitable is a fantasy novel by American writer Steve Perry, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in trade paperback by Tor Books in October 1989; a regular paperback edition followed from the same publisher in September 1990.
Conan the Defiant is a fantasy novel by American writer Steve Perry, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in trade paperback by Tor Books in October 1987, with a regular paperback edition issued simultaneously by the same publisher, and was reprinted in August 1988. A British edition was published in paperback by Orbit Books in January 1990.
Conan the Fearless is a fantasy novel by American writer Steve Perry, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in trade paperback by Tor Books in February 1986; a regular paperback edition followed from the same publisher in January 1987, and was reprinted at least once. The first British edition was published in paperback by Sphere Books in January 1988.
Conan the Warlord is a fantasy novel by American writer Leonard Carpenter, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in March 1988, and was reprinted in April 1997.
Conan the Invincible is a fantasy novel by American writer Robert Jordan, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in June 1982 and reprinted in July 1990; a trade paperback edition followed from the same publisher in 1998. The first British edition was published in paperback by Sphere Books in September 1989; a later British edition was published in paperback by Legend Books in August 1996. It was later gathered together with Conan the Defender and Conan the Unconquered into the hardcover omnibus collection The Conan Chronicles.
Conan the Hero is a fantasy novel by American writer Leonard Carpenter, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian and his black counterpart Juma of Kush, a character originally created by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter for their Conan story “The City of Skulls.” It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in February 1989, and was reprinted in September 1991 and March 1997.
Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza is a fantasy novel by American writer Roland Green, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in January 1997.
Conan of the Red Brotherhood is a fantasy novel by American writer Leonard Carpenter featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in February 1993, and reprinted in 1998.
| Preceded by Conan the Renegade | Tor Conan series (publication order) | Succeeded by Conan the Champion |
| Preceded by "Shadows in Zamboula" | Complete Conan Saga (William Galen Gray chronology) | Succeeded by "The Star of Khorala" |