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    The Hour of the Dragon
    The Hour of the Dragon
    The Hour of the Dragon
    Ebook271 pages6 hours

    The Hour of the Dragon

    By Robert E. Howard

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    About this ebook

    This early work by Robert E. Howard was originally published in 1935 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Hour of the Dragon' is a story about a conspiracy to depose Conan as King of Aquilonia. 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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWhite Press
    Release dateFeb 12, 2015
    ISBN9781473398016

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    Reviews for The Hour of the Dragon

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      "From death to death [The Heart of Ahriman] came, riding on a river of human blood. Blood feeds it, blood draws it. Its power is greatest when there is blood on the hands that grasp it, when it is wrested by slaughter from its holder. Wherever it gleams, blood is spilt and kingdoms totter, and the forces of nature are put in turmoil." -- Thutothmes of Khemi (The Hour of The Dragon, by REH)The Hour of the Dragon (1934-1936), is Robert E. Howard''s only full length novel of Conan, the barbarian he popularized in short story form. The text is available on-line for free via the Gutenberg project, but there are reason's to track down a paperback. I read the Berkley Putnam 1977 edition, which has splendid additions to the story: comprehensive foreword and afterwords by Karl Wagner explain how the novel formed prior being serialized in Weird Tales; a map of the Hyborian Age (inspired by REH's own drawings) is essential for the Hyborian ambiances; interior illustrations are bonuses; and cover art by Ken Kelly is stellar. Hyborian Age: As Wagner details, this book was REH's attempt to break into the UK market that demanded novels (and were not agreeable to his proposals for a collection of his own stories). REH presents Conan as King of Aquilonia. Sorcery and treachery dethrone him, and Conan trots about much of Hyboria, either pursing or being challenged by those who have the magical Heart of Ahriman (which we learn in the opening chapter). This touring of the pre-drowned Euro-Afro-Asia continent begs for a map. The traveling adventure amplifies the Hyborian Age concept; REH's Conan lived in rich pseudo historical land that enabled real ancient cultures to interact with mythical ones. Each chapter has Conan (and his enemies) traversing Aquilonia, Nemeda, Argos, Stygia, and more (these roughly translates to central Europe and Northern Africa). I'm not sure if any othe rtale Missing Chapter Mystery: A deal was accepted but the UK publisher went belly up, so REH worked with Weird Tales to publish the chapters in serial form. As Wagner explains, there is a possibility that one chapter went missing (#20). Wagner left the numbering of the chapters consistent with the numbering as printed in Weird Tales (#20 is skipped); the original manuscript sent to Denis Archer has 4,000 more words (Pawling & Ness imprint) has 75,000 words. That edition never made it to press, but Weird Tales published the novel in serial form...and it had only 71,000 words. Regardless, the story seems consistent, so there is no obvious loss in plot. Style: REH did not change his writing style, so each chapter maintains a very pulpy feel. Chapters are over saturated with conflicts to maintain a frenetic pace. An over reliance on chance encounters detracts from the enjoyment, but it remains a fun read on the whole. Written in the 1930's, the tone has some racial and misogynistic aspects of the time. Despite the use of the word "negro," Conan appears as a champion/friend to many and even freed many slaves. Woman on the other hand were represented terribly; the few featured are concubines who are cheer leaders of Conan requiring rescue. Here are some examples:Example 1: Concubine saves Conan and is glad to have him put a knife to her "Walk beside me," [Conan] instructed her softly, passing his massive arm about her lithe waist. "You've played me fair so far, and I'm inclined to believe in you; but I've lived this long only because I've trusted no one too far, man or woman. So! Now if you play me false you won't live to enjoy the jest." She did not flinch at sight of the reddened poniard or the contact of his hard muscles about her supple body. "Cut me down without mercy if I play you false," she answered. "The very feel of your arm about me, even in menace, is as the fulfillment of a dream." Example 2: Conan relishes in his obvious manliness "All right," [Conan] muttered. "I'll trust you; though, by Crom, the habits of a lifetime are not easily put aside. Yet I wouldn't harm you now, if you brought all the swordsmen in Nemedia upon me. But for you Tarascus's cursed ape would have come upon me in chains and unarmed. Do as you wish, girl." Kissing his hands, she sprang lithely up and ran down the corridor, to vanish through a heavy double door. He glanced after her, wondering if he was a fool to trust her; then he shrugged his mighty shoulders and pulled the satin hangings together, masking his refuge. It was not strange that a passionate young beauty should be risking her life to aid him; such things had happened often enough in his life. Many women had looked on him with favor, in the days of his wanderings, and in the time of his kingship. Example 3: Conan thanks the concubine who saves him by taking his sexual due "A horse is hidden for you in a thicket beside the road that runs westward, a few hundred paces to the south of the fountain of Thrallos. You know where it is?" "Aye! But what of you? I had meant to take you with me." A flood of joy lighted her beautiful face. "Then my cup of happiness is brimming! But I will not hamper your escape. Burdened with me you would fail. Nay, do not fear for me. They will never suspect that I aided you willingly. Go! What you have just said will glorify my life throughout the long years." He caught her up in his iron arms, crushed her slim, vibrant figure to him and kissed her fiercely on eyes, cheeks, throat and lips, until she lay panting in his embrace; gusty and tempestuous as a storm-wind, even his love- making was violent.The over arching plot is engaging, as is Conan's adventures as he meets up with past friends/foes/allies of his pre-King days. The titular Dragon refers to the antagonist's standard (there are many other bad guys, often associated with serpents); Conan and his allies have Lion icons. Conan is dethroned in the very beginning, and it is nigh impossible not to read on to see how he can win it back. That said, the constant, intense adventure indicative of pulp fiction doesn't work well in a novel form. There is a chaotic, accumulating silliness: our "wilderness-bred", panther-stalking hero trips in a curtain while attacking his major foe; he routinely stumbles across key foes in random places, encounters that push any bounds of coincidence; he is saved too often by random characters/events; there are too many evil-dude-explains-his-ways scenes; every few pages he comes across new, crazy conflicts that would work well in short story form (ghouls, vampires, etc.). The in-your-face misogyny and high-frequency-chance-encounters/saves is distracting.The Hour of The Dragon is good adventure and represents Conan and REH's Hyboria well. The story is best when it focuses on the grand battles and weird descriptions of necromancy. A map and context (i.e. from Wagner's essays) make it more enjoyable.
    • 5/5
      One of the best books ever written by Robert E. Howard. This Conan story has it all.
    • 2/5
      I'm not a great Conan fan, but if you were around in the late sixties this was one of the few titles available. This is the only Conan novel by Howard, and thus an easy job for De Camp to ready for reprint.
    • 3/5
      Yes, it's that Conan--the one that inspired the Schwarzenegger film, Conan the Barbarian. The best way to give you a flavor of the stories and the character is to quote you a bit that appears above the first story published and familiar from the film:Know, oh prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars... Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet."--The Nemedian Chronicles.The character was established in 17, mostly short, stories by Robert E. Howard published in Weird Tales from 1932 to 1936. Only one, the one in this book, was novel-length, originally published as The Hour of the Dragon. This is numbered 9 in the series edited by L. Sprague de Camp that put the shorter stories in chronological order, finished fragments of stories left after Howard's death, and filled in the gaps with stories by other writers. I own and have read only the first book in the series before this one, but I didn't feel lost. Indeed, I think because Conan is not a character noted for character development. Howard himself according to the introduction said he liked characters like Conan because they're "simpler... They are too stupid to do anything but cut, shoot, or slug themselves into the clear." And in this novel, at least once that proclivity is exactly what gets him into trouble. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer this Conan. It's something I didn't like about the character in the first book of stories, but hoped that might change, especially since by this installment he's a King. But no, in this tale after losing his kingdom he's still going solo and refusing help. He's no leader in the mold of such fictional heroes as Horatio Hornblower or Jack Aubrey--or even Moon's Paksenarrion or Tolkien's Aragorn. He's no leader at all. Just hack and slash. These novels remind me of nothing so much as video games.On the other hand, like video games it can be mindless fun. Howard's style is colorful, but not so purple as to be jarring. I rather like the tantalizing hints of a world derived from out of our far past. I don't regret reading this certainly, but I can't imagine I'll be seeking out more of Howard's Conan.
    • 4/5
      An outline of the plot would read like a laundry list of the worst fantasy/adventure cliches, but it's fun anyway. The writing is a mix of efficient storytelling and extremely corny language, which is perfect for the story. But most importantly, Conan is the baddest badass of an antihero you could hope for.
    • 4/5
      One of the truly great Conan Stories. In Hour of the Dragon we see an older and more mature Conan as the King of Aquilonia. He is calculating, brooding and an reluctant observer to the world around him. As Usual Conan is handed lemons and proceeds to make his bittersweet Cimmerian Lemonade. He is now fighting a war amidst sorcerers, witches and the ever present backstabbing crumb snatchers around him.
    • 5/5
      This authorized Book Club Edition edited by Karl Edward Wagner is schweet! Included are quite a few extras—a couple of illustrations, tidbits from Howard's personal letters, editorial digressions on the mysterious chapter 20, et cetera...At the start of Howard's only Conan novel, I became a bit distraught. I thought, "My God, why am I reading this?" Within a few pages things really took off and I was entrenched. Scattered throughout are several brilliant little one or two sentence epiphanies of Conan's (this novel denoted the end of the middle-aged barbarian's known career). Upon discovering them, you think to yourself, "Wow, that is truly an exquisite example of simply stunning prose".The story is character rich and keeps you guessing (despite the canabilization of previous Conan stories of Howard's). I was quite pleased at the appearance of vampire Princess Akivasha. The chapters in which massive war scenes are described reminded me quite a bit of Josephus, Tacitus, Lord of the Rings.... My favorite chapters however were those in which Conan was alone, in a dark dungeon, with his own thoughts and his blade. Lovely and nostalgic.

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    The Hour of the Dragon - Robert E. Howard

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