Almuric

By Robert E. Howard

Robert E. Howard is probably best known for his character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre. Almuric is a science fiction novel that features a muscular hero known on earth as Esau Cairn. He is transported through space to a world known as Almuric by unspecified scientific methods. While there he battles with frightening monsters and beautiful women. Cairn becomes known as the Iron Hand due to his powerful punches and boxing skills. The novel is a planetary romance in which Esau Cairn, a former boxer seeking a life strenuous enough for his great strength and violent nature, is transported from Earth to the planet Almuric to escape the clutches of a corrupt city government. Cairn finds ape like human tribes in fortified towns and fights other apelike humans, winged demons, and various monsters. By the end of the novel, he and his friends from the towns Khor and Koth capture Ugg - citadel of the winged Yaga demons.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781300325550

Reviews for Almuric

[TomTattershall · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Robert E Howard science/fantasy action/adventure. 4.5 stars, not Howard's best, but still very good.

[borumas_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is one of Howard's few novels and like his other stories is rich with action and adventure. A man who feels misplaced winds up wanted by the police for a crime and ends up with the help of a scientist on another planet. On this planet he finds that he can be himself, he does not have to limit his physical strength and attributes so that he doesn't hurt others, here on this planet he is smaller and more frail than the other humanoids and he finds acceptance from them.

[michael5rimmer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you've read any of Robert E. Howard's sword-and-sorcery or horror stories but not Almuric, then probably the only thing that will be unfamiliar is the setting: not the Hyborian Age, nor Southern Gothic or Cthulhu mythos, but rather another planet, possibly in another dimension. Now, if that sounds like faint praise, or even criticism, it isn't meant to be: Howard was very, very good at what he did, and this is an excellent example of his work.

The people and places on Almuric are savage and exotic. There's a lot of hints at back history, abandoned cities, elder races and unknown lands. I really wish that Howard had gone back to explore and expand the world he created.

[jimmaclachlan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A stand alone book, it's pretty typical of his writing. He uses a lot from ERB in this.

[karlstar_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Burroughs type fantasy by Howard, though a bit more brutal than typical Burroughs.