 Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | Leonard Carpenter |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Ken Kelly |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Conan the Barbarian |
| Genre | Sword and sorcery |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
Publication date | 1994 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 244 |
| ISBN | 0-8125-2488-8 |
Conan, Scourge of the Bloody Coast 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 1994. [1]
Conan, under his piratical alias of Amra, continues in developing a pirate empire in the Vilayet Sea. Operating from the rebuilt city of Djafur, located on one of the islands in the Aetolian Archipelago, Conan tricks the Turanian Empire of King Yildiz into a war against the Hyrkanians. Joining forces with a necromancer, Crotalis, Conan and his pirates participate in looting the lost city of Sarpedon. However, Crotalis betrays the pirates, forcing Conan to run his vessel ashore, where he's captured by a tribe of Hyrkanian nomads. Fortunately, Conan is released after he proves his value as a warrior. In return for his release, Conan agrees to support the Hyrkanians in their naval invasion of Turan.
Crotalis also offers his services to the Hyrkanians, leading to another rogues' alliance with Conan. Using a magical wind summoned by Crotalis, the Hyrkanian fleet moves to attack the Turanians. After their lengthy nautical battle ends in a stalemate, Crotalis re-animates the corpses of all the pirates' former victims, forcing Conan into battle with an undead army. Suddenly, before Crotalis could claim his final victory, he is burned alive. Soon, the battle leaves the navies of both kingdoms in a weakened state, and Conan's Red Brotherhood becomes the strongest fleet in the Vilayet Sea.
Reviewer Bob Byrne writes "Overall, I thought it was an okay book. One I didn’t mind reading but not one I expect to read again." He feels the story "largely consists of two parts: an extended undersea excavation and a big naval battle. Everything else is pretty much filler. There’s not a whole lot to this novel, and if you don’t buy into the 'Conan as king of a pirate city' thing, you aren't going to put this in the keeper pile." The climactic battle he considers "interesting, though I thought that the end of it was a bit weak." In regard to the writing he feels "some of Carpenter’s description evinces a nice writing style, such as scenes where the ships are at sea. Other parts, however, do not." Citing dialog between Conan and his mistress, he notes "I might have thought that clever as a teenager, but I’m not sure even then." He rates the book "pretty tame on the Conan sex scale, with the wenches who get angry at him always falling back into his arms," and regards Conan as "awfully forgiving to someone who betrays him, costing him a fortune and leaving [him] to escape a near certain death." His conclusion: "If you like Conan as a reaver/corsair/pirate instead of a land-based barbarian, you should probably give this one a read." [2]
Don D'Ammassa writes "I generally enjoy pirate stories but there was not a lot of that despite the title. There's a pretty good sea battle and some other effective scenes, but the ending feels rushed." [3]
"Shadows in the Moonlight" is one of the original short stories starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in Weird Tales magazine in April 1934. Howard originally named his story "Iron Shadows in the Moon". It's set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age and concerns Conan escaping to a remote island in the Vilayet Sea where he encounters the Red Brotherhood, a skulking creature, and mysterious iron statues.
Conan of the Isles is a fantasy novel by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published October 1968 in paperback by Lancer Books, and reprinted in July 1970, 1972, and May 1973; publication was then taken over by Ace Books, which reprinted the novel in May 1977, May 1979, April 1980, July 1981, April 1982, November 1982, November 1983, June 1984, September 1986, February 1991, and May 1994. The first British edition was published in paperback by Sphere Books in December 1974 a number of times since by various publishers. It has also been translated into French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Russian and Japanese.
The Conan books are sword and sorcery fantasies featuring the character of Conan the Cimmerian originally created by Robert E. Howard. Written by numerous authors and issued by numerous publishers, they include both novels and short stories, the latter assembled in various combinations over the years by the several publishers. The character has proven durably popular, resulting in Conan stories being produced after Howard's death by such later writers as Poul Anderson, Leonard Carpenter, Lin Carter, L. Sprague de Camp, Roland J. Green, John C. Hocking, Robert Jordan, Sean A. Moore, Björn Nyberg, Andrew J. Offutt, Steve Perry, John Maddox Roberts, Harry Turtledove, and Karl Edward Wagner. Some of these writers finished incomplete Conan manuscripts by Howard, or rewrote Howard stories which originally featured different characters. Most post-Howard Conan stories, however, are completely original works. In total, more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories featuring the Conan character have been written by authors other than Howard. This article describes and discusses notable book editions of the Conan stories.
Conan the Great 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 1990. It was reprinted by Tor in August 1997. It is the only one of the Tor series of Conan novels set in the period of Conan's kingship.
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 and the Mists of Doom is a fantasy novel written by Roland Green featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in August 1995.
Conan the Barbarian is a fantasy novel written by Michael A. Stackpole featuring Robert E. Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero of the same name, a novelization of the feature film of the same name. It was first published in paperback by Berkley Books in 2011. An earlier novel of the same name by L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter and Catherine Crook de Camp, based on the original film of which the 2011 version was a remake, was published by Bantam Books in 1982.
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 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.
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 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 the Victorious 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 trade paperback by Tor Books in November 1984; a regular paperback edition followed from the same publisher in December 1985, and was reprinted in March 1991 and August 2010. The first British edition was published in paperback by Sphere Books in April 1987. The novel was later gathered together with Conan the Magnificent and Conan the Triumphant into the hardcover omnibus collection The Further Chronicles of Conan.
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 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 Gods of the Mountain 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 May 1993 and reprinted in November 1998.
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.
Conan the Gladiator 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 January 1995 and was reprinted in August 1999. Carpenter dedicated the book to L. Sprague de Camp.
| Preceded by Conan the Hunter | Tor Conan series (publication order) | Succeeded by Conan and the Manhunters |
| Preceded by Conan of the Red Brotherhood | Complete Conan Saga (William Galen Gray chronology) | Succeeded by Conan the Champion |