Shadows in the Moonlight (Iron Shadows in the Moon)

By Robert E. Howard

This early work by Robert E. Howard was originally published in 1934 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'Shadows in the Moonlight' is a story in the Conan series about his escape to a remote island of mystery. Robert Ervin Howard was born in Peaster, Texas in 1906. During his youth, his family moved between a variety of Texan boomtowns, and Howard – a bookish and somewhat introverted child – was steeped in the violent myths and legends of the Old South. At fifteen Howard began to read the pulp magazines of the day, and to write more seriously. The December 1922 issue of his high school newspaper featured two of his stories, 'Golden Hope Christmas' and 'West is West'. In 1924 he sold his first piece – a short caveman tale titled 'Spear and Fang' – for $16 to the not-yet-famous Weird Tales magazine. Howard's most famous character, Conan the Cimmerian, was a barbarian-turned-King during the Hyborian Age, a mythical period of some 12,000 years ago. Conan featured in seventeen Weird Tales stories between 1933 and 1936 which is why Howard is now regarded as having spawned the 'sword and sorcery' genre. The Conan stories have since been adapted many times, most famously in the series of films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

• Language: English
• Publisher: White Press
• Release date: Feb 12, 2015
• ISBN: 9781473397767

Reviews for Shadows in the Moonlight (Iron Shadows in the Moon)

[questbird · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another entertaining romp in this series. I am reading them out of sequence, but the depiction of Conan has really been beefed up by John Buscema's artwork. Gone is the silly helmet of the first couple of books, to be replaced by a shaggy black 70s mane. This is a book with several stories, my favourites of which were the first, 'The Blood of Bel-Hissar', for its general amorality, the urban adventure 'Two against Turan' and the multiple story sequence beginning with the 'Flame Winds of Lost Khitai'. Having a consistent writer/editor of these books (Roy Thomas) means that there are often recurring characters or themes in spite of the episodic nature of the stories.Although it's not really the place for it here, I really notice and appreciate the density of image (especially with re-coloring) and story in these 1970s Conan collections compared to their relative sparseness in the other similar length graphic novel series I'm concurrently reading, the noughties Dark Tower series.

[quinton.baran · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The art in this book is good throughout, and the stories are interesting, but not particularly memorable. I again enjoyed the essay by Roy Thomas at the end. One of the last items sums up pulp stories: "And that, in the end, is what pulp fiction is all about: fun!"