Conan - Blood of the Serpent

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Gargle Blaster: The local sorghum liquor, which Conan describes as having the same effect on one's head as a Vanir war axe. The pulse-pounding return of Conan, the most iconic fantasy hero in popular culture, with a brand-new standalone novel by New York Times bestselling author S.M. Stirling, tied directly to the famous tales written by the legendary Robert E. Howard. I think this should have been called Conan - Plod of the Serpent because man, this book dragged. Very little actually happens, and Stirling pads out the books with explanations on...well, everything. The novel’s dual themes—myth and technology—should appeal to both fantasy and hard SF readers as well as to techno-thriller fans.”— Publishers Weekly on Dies the Fire This was a great decision. Stirling writes to his own strengths. He really knows how to capture the intimate close-up nature of adventuring in the savage Hyborian Age, with all the creatures, cultures, languages and worldbuilding we have loved for a century. Most important of all is that he has almost perfectly encapsulated the character of Conan. He knows how Conan speaks, how he acts, what motivates and drives him, what he looks like, how he feels about other people, and on and on. It is a closer look at the character, yet not in any way unfamiliar, than we've ever had.

The inside illustrations by Roberto De La Terre are very good. And browsing the Internet shows us that Mr. De La Terre (when allowed) can draw female warriors. There is a particular good illustration of Valeria toward the end of the book. Pun: In Stygia, in dice gambling, it's noted that what would be a winning throw of double sixes is "the demons" and a losing throw. Instead, the winning throw is double ones, or "Eyes of Set," known commonly and in real life as "snake eyes." I've said it a million times, no one is going to top Howard. So S. M. Stirling comes in and decides he wants to build on the history of Conan by telling a story in his early years, without trying to imitate or outdo Howard in any way. At the same time, when launching an ambitious new fiction initiative, authors are needed who possess recognized credentials, enthusiastic audiences, and a genuine affinity for Howard’s legendary character. A Conan novel has to be an event. Thus, we’ve reached out to many of today’s top fantasists. And on that note I have to mention the stellar voice narration ability from Bradford Hastings. He pronounced things a little different from what I'm used to but his characterizations, gruff and gritty Conan voice, smooth narration all came together in a much appreciable way. It was voice butter for my ear bread.

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The book's first adventure has Conan, Valeria and other mercenaries guiding a Stygian shipment of supplies and slaves to one of their massive mines. In an odd twist, Conan and Valeria must protect the Stygians when the slaves revolt, kill off their masters and run the mercenaries off. Conan admits that if he were enslaved, he would have done the same. With the slave uprising, the Stygian command is fragmented, making a perfect getaway for Conan and Valeria to conduct a gold heist. After some fights with crocodiles and other reptiles and animals, the gold heist doesn't quite work out. But, this sets up the next part of the narrative when Valeria is forced to kill the Stygian commander she skirmished with earlier. She then flees on her own, but Conan learns that the commander's brother is going to trail her, hoping for a vengeful surprise kill away from prying eyes and allies. I read books, and I dreamed of Mars, and the planets in those books, and of the Hyborian Age of Robert E. Howard’s Conan books…”—George R. R. Martin, author of A Game of Thrones Does Stirling succeed? Yes, by leaning even further into Conan’s sense of honour Stirling can reign in some of Conan’s appetites. That is not to say that he is does not kill, drink and chase women, just that it is done with a little more subtlety and self-awareness from the character. Having read a lot of modern low fantasy, the gore and sex in this book is on the same level, even tamer. The first half of this book is why I titled this review as I did; on no less than 3 occasions our iron-thewed barbarian hero watches from the sidelines as Valeria participates in the main action. The first and last are excusable, the second is so utterly out of character for Conan I began to fear Valeria would usurp Conan's place in his own story. Avoiding spoilers, Conan watches from the shadows as Valeria duels a gang of men who outnumber her more than five times and not only carries the day, but does so in such good health she can scramble up the side of a building Assassin's Creed style. In case the author ever reads this I say to him; if you'd like to write a story or stories focusing on Valeria of the Red Brotherhood, I and many other Conan fans would read it happily.

In Howard’s grim and all too realistic view, the barbarians are always at the gate, and once a culture allows itself to grow soft, decadent or simply neglectful, it will be swept away by the primitive and ruthless.”—Michael Dirda, The Washington Post I didn't really think Conan could be boring, but I found myself drifting all the time I was reading this. I understand what complaints people might have but seeing him still take the lead everywhere he goes, reading about the difference in cultures and languages, outfits, gear, etc., as he fights against and alongside men and women from other regions was a welcome expansion to the world and lore that we know and love. I appreciated the little details.

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This book takes place prior to Robert E. Howard's Red Nails. Stirling has obviously done his homework and comes up with a plausible geopolitical scenario for Stygia and the surrounding kingdoms which fits into and expands upon the groundwork that Howard laid. Super-Persistent Predator: The novel features a considerable variety of dangerous predators that pursue their victims with a vicious persistence at odds with their known behavior. Justified Trope because there is nothing natural about the animals' behavior, it is the result of the sorcery of a Priest of Set who is compelling them to try to kill Valeria. Said sorcerer/priest also puts a dying curse on Conan to make every predator in the region come after him. I was entertained by the novel as a whole. It moves very fast and has plenty of exciting parts that I wished were developed more. Particularly the aftermath of the Stygian slave revolt and what could have been an interesting gold heist story. If Stirling hadn’t felt compelled to include “Red Nails” as his finale, the events in this novel, minus Valeria, could have been the main plot elements of a wholly original novel. This book is much crasser than a Robert E Howard book. That may be because Howard was working within certain limitations of the era. Howard was known to push the boundaries of the day, but those boundaries have long since been obliterated. However, a crasser Conan story is not necessarily a better one.