Howard Donald Books

The novel length Conan work. An aging Conan is now in a position of responsibility, being King of Aquilonia.

His reign is threatened by a very powerful sorcerer, whom Conan is unable to stop by mundane means, and must take himself off hunting for a mystic artifact.

Having done this, there is some wizard smiting to be done.

Top notch work.

Howard's only full-length Conan novel features the real deal. If you read this book before you read any of the more recent attempts to rewrite Conan, you will be hard-pressed to find its equivalent. While the role of king doesn't quite seem to suit Conan, most of this book portrays him in his role as the savage, independent wanderer, in search of a jewel with sorcerous powers. This book waxes more powerful as it progresses, with Conan finding himself among black pirates, searching through gloomy subterranean lairs, and confronting horrifying creatures. Conan meets a number of intriguing friends and foes along the way. Unlike many Conan novels, the feminine characters in this book have somewhat minor roles. So if you read Conan books for the "babe factor", look elsewhere. If you like the raw, full-orbed Conan as he was intended to be, you'll be very satisfied with this novel.

A note on the Berkeley Medallion paperback edition - the cover proclaims this to be an "illustrated" edition. This is a slight exaggeration as only two rather mediocre pen-and-ink illustrations are found within! These have been taken from the original Weird Tales publication. The "full color fold-out poster" is all of 12 1/2 x 7 inches, and features a larger version of the cover, a rather fanciful Conan.

Having read a few dark fantasy novels in my day, I would definately classify this work as belonging in that sub-genre.

If you are into good hard-hitting violence and are up for a rip-roaring ride through Robert E. Howard's Hyborian world, then this book is for you. Having been the only full length novel written featuring the legendary barbarian, Conan, Howard delivers a very solid piece of work with Hour of the Dragon.

Powerful mages resurrect a being of astonishing power and set out to conquer the world. Of course, one of their first acts is to dispose King Conan who is a direct threat to this conquest. With some supernatural help, they succeed in this venture. The rest of this novel features a mad Conan that hacks his way back to the throne of Aquilonia. Recommended.

This book actually began life as a serial in "Weird Tales" in the 1930s. Robert E. Howard (REH) never actually wrote any Conan novels, all of Conan's tales were written for the magazine marketplace. But this is his only novel length Conan tale so it is considered by many to be the only REH Conan novel.

That being said, it is easily one of the best Conan stories written. In the tale, Conan is the king of Aquilonia, but he has plenty of people conspiring to dethrone him. These conspirators raise the wizard, Xaltotun, from the dead to use his magic against Conan.

They succeed in dethroning Conan when he is paralyzed by the wizard and unable to ride out into battle. After the battle they believe Conan is dead (big mistake) for a time, only he is actually in hot pursuit of the Heart of Ahriman, the only thing capable of defeating Xaltotun.

Naturally, the Heart is not easily obtained and Conan journeys far and wide in his pursuit of it. The story is incredibly fast paced and for a relatively short novel, its packed with action and story. Of course, Conan succeeds at the end and regains his kingdom (as well as gaining a wife).

Even though the story is at a mid-point in Conan's career, its an excellent starting point for those who are new to REH's work. As other reviewer's have noted, this story also exists in paperback as "Conan the Conqueror," although it has been edited to correct grammer and some of REH's politcally incorrect references. Heck, it was the first Conan story I ever read and it got me hooked.

REH is a moody, atmospheric writer and much of his work, including this one, carries a sense of darkness to it. Even this book, where Conan ultimately is victorious carries that feeling to it. It tends to almost carry an air of that darkness, a feeling that no matter what Conan does, his victories will be short-lived and even he will not be able to defeat death when his time comes.

For sword and sorcery fans, this is as good as it gets. Ignore the hoard of imitators who followed and stick to the master-- Robert E. Howard.

"The Conan Chronicles, Volume 2: The Hour of the Dragon" is the second volume in a series collecting all of Robert E. Howard's Conan stories, exactly as he wrote them. Most readers (myself included) are only familiar with the edited versions of these stories made available in the Conan pocketbooks of the seventies and eighties. The writing is lusty, bloody and vibrant. Conan is not for the easily offended.

The Conan Chronicles presents the stories chronologically as seen by Conan, not as written. Howard's first Conan story, "The Phoenix on the Sword" (included in the middle of this volume) already has Conan as King of Aquilonia. In the opening story, "Red Nails," he is still a pirate on the run, adventuring with Valeria of the Red Brotherhood. The only Conan novel, "The Hour of the Dragon" is also included.

The stories are intense and captivating. It has been a true pleasure to rediscover Conan as a different, better character than I remember.

"Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes" is indeed an empire within itself. This book manages to expose the life of a very seceretive and private man of power who lived in his own unique way in the world. An incredible book about an incredible man...

After reading other books on Howard Hughes, I thought this book would be a waste of my time since I'd "read everything else" but little did I know that this book went into such detail of his life, exposing in great detail specifics that other books briefly mentioned.

The story of Howard Hughes, told superbly in this classic bio, is simply magnetic. How else could you describe a tale that begins with young Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. being born into one of Texas's wealthiest oil families (his father's company, Hughes Tool Company, held a virtual monopoly on drill-bits for many years), moving to Califoria to become a movie mogul, pioneering aviation, heading TWA, and then slipping into degenerative obsessive madness that rendered him completely in the hands of his manipulative underlings. Thus in this book we confront both the young, energetic Hughes (romantically linked to both Jane Russell and Katharine Hepburn) and the old, sick hughes - a nudist who left his hair and fingernails uncut for years, chronicly addicted to codeine, flitting between vacuum-sealed hotel rooms in diffent countries (Bahamas, Nicaragua, Toronto, London, etc.), yet whose name continued to command terror and respect among presidents and governors.

As I read this book, there were many Hughes habits that I found deeply endearing, even as the weird details mounted. How can you not like a guy who, in the pre-VCR era, decided to buy the local Nevada TV station, just so they'd play the movies he wanted? Who - upon installing his home entertainment system - had an obsessive-compulsive need to watch the epic 1968 thriller "Ice Station Zebra" over and over again? (It's a good movie, after all.) Who bought up half of the real estate of Nevada in a doomed expectation of a world gold shortage? Or who lent his name to the ocean-dredging vessel, Glomar Explorer, to aid the CIA's covert attempts to refloat a Soviet sub? And there was something genuinely visionary about the way he built his aircraft and electronics empires. Indeed, despite the piles of carefully-compiled evidence of financial disasters at TWA, RKO, Air West and Summa Corporation, somehow I want to believe that Hughes was not the bungling sicko that emerges from these pages, but so what if he was, the story remains magnificent.

As a postscript, every time you see a DirectTV advertisement, remember that it used to be a Hughes company.

Donald Bartlett and James Steel's book, "Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes" is an excellent example of journalistic reporting converted into book form; the book is simply fascinating to read. The authors accomplish the gargantuan task of separating fact from fiction in the very complex life of Howard Hughes. "Empire" is impeccably researched and documented; It is a bona fide biography that reads more like fiction than real life-such was the world of Howard Hughes.

"Empire" traces the rise and tragic fall of Howard Hughes; a man who wore many hats, he was an aviator, Hollywood movie producer, Las Vegas hotel/casino owner ... and a recluse. For one brief shining moment, Hughes was considered one of America's premier aviators, breaking flying records, but then falling out of grace with government and the aviation industry for breaking contract deadlines. In the long run, Howard Hughes would become a grand failure in the world of big business.

Bartlett and Steel show the reader a man who had everything to live for, good looks, fame, fortune, power and prestige, but he was unable to triumph over his social and physical phobias that led to psychological, emotional, and physical illnesses and to his final descent into the dwellings of the insane. Hughes' deep mistrust of all people-even family, worked against him and led to his demise and the lose of his billion dollar empire by the very people whose job it was to safeguard him and his empire.

By the time I finished reading "Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes, I was much more accepting of my status as a non wealthy individual. Although Howard Hughes had everything a man could possibly wish for, he was underprivileged in peace of mind.... The authors do a superb job in separating fact from myth in the life of Howard Hughes. The book is worth reading.

The Life, Legend, and Madness offers an in-depth view into the secretive life of Howard Hughes. Unbiased in its writing, the book focuses on all of Hughes accomplishments and successes, as well as some of the darker aspects of his life. After reading this book, one can really see that Hughes is one of the few "larger than life" characters that ever lived.

Hughes played an integral role in shaping this country, a role unknown to many of today's younger generations. Donald Barlett and James Steele do an amazing job detailing both his accomplishments and private life. Some of his endeavors are less obvious today than others, such as helping transform Las Vegas into the resort town we know today. Many people are unfamiliar with the Hughes Medical Institute or the creations from the Hughes Aircraft Company. Although the book does show his odd lifestyle behind the darkened windows and closed doors, it is fair in that it also accurately focuses on his important business dealings.

The popular movie "The Aviator" seems to be scripted largely from the first half of this book. To fully appreciate the movie, I recommend reading this particular book first. Not only will it help clarify references that may slip by in the movie, but this book shows that Hughes was much more than a movie producer who flirted with Hollywood's divas of the day. He was a master engineer, expert businessman, and defender of Democracy (he furiously fought Communists). Innovative people like Hughes is what America is all about.

Even I, a REH fan, was wondering how a boxing yarn could be any good. I was expecting just a bunch of in-ring action with the only differences from story to story being the fighters and who won. Far from it. This book starts off with an essay entitled Men of Iron, where Howard asks the question: "What freak of nature makes an iron man?" I personally didn't find the essay all that interesting==but the rest of the book makes up for that. The first story is The Iron Man. In my opinion, it's the best in the book. While I read it, I couldn't help but think of the B and W movie Champion with Kirk Douglas. Iron Man has got one whopper of a storyline. Next up is They Always Come Back. This is the second story in the book, and the second best. There's a few nice twists in this story, though. Finally, there's Fists of the Desert. After reading that story, I really felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. That one is the third best of the bunch. This is a hard book to find--even in paparback--but if you see it, pick it up--you won't be disappointed.

This is a must for all Howard fans,especially the newer ones who may have only read his sword & sorcery stories.Iron Man is about boxing pure and simple;the men who took untold punishment in the ring before usually winning their bouts by knocking out their fatigued opponents.Howard wrote this using some of his personal experiences following the fight game in Texas and has based some of his later and well known characters like Conan and Kull on the fighters in this book.They all share the same characteristics of toughness,incredible vitality and endurance.Iron Man is a good guide to how Howard thought and how he shaped his future characters

Robert E. Howard was great fan of the ring. He loved the action and the shear power of the men who fought between the ropes. This respect for manly strength shows in every story he wrote, from his westerns right up to his most famous creation, Conan. Here in this book he writes about the real thing. These are men here. Real men! Howard was a life time fan of boxing and these stories are based on men he actually watched trading blows in the ring. If you think these men are larger than life, think again. For each fictional character found in this book there was a real man behind the character. Real men lived the lives presented here. While it is true that these are fictitious accounts it is also true that boxing really was once like this. It was brutal. It was bloody. It was all about fighting. The boxers of today, with their polish and their fancy footwork would not have had a chance in the boxing ring of old. Only an iron man could get through a match in those days. An iron man was a man who didn't duck and dodge but, rather, took each blow to come his way and never faltered. An iron man could take any amount of punishment and still win the fight. An iron man was the toughest of the tough. In this book you will find four such men. These are the men who inspired the great barbarian, Conan. Read this book and enjoy, but beware. No matter how tough you think you are you will feel weak and helpless compared to the giants found in these pages. This is Howard at his best. This is Howard writing about that which he loved most. This is The Iron Man!

This is the eleventh book in Chaosium's Cthulhu Cycle series. This volume features tales of Lovecraft's most well-known creation, the octopus-headed entity, Cthulhu. Included are the foundational stories (i.e. "The Call Of Cthulhu" by H.P. Lovecraft and "The Black Island" by August W. Derleth), some rare reprints (i.e. "Some Notes Concerning A Green Box" by Alan Dean Foster) and some interesting new stories of Cthulhu in the modern world (i.e. "Rude Awakening" by Will Murray). In any collection the stories are of varied quality but I enoyed the majority of the works collected. If you are a reader of Lovecraft's Mythos fiction then this is a must for your library.

The Cthulhu Cycle

THE CTHULHU CYCLE and THE DISCIPLES OF CTHULHU are some of the best collections that Chaosium has put together. THE CTHULHU CYCLE is marked by strong writing and and classic tales pertaining to Cthulhu. Something included that I have missed from some of the other anthologies is the editor's notes that discuss academically the stories and their part in the development of the Mythos. Having certain influences pointed out is helpful to those who are familiar enough with Lovecraft's work to want more depth.

"A Shop in Go-By Street" by lord Dunsany: A few phrases on an idol in a reliquary seem to have sparked the first half of Lovecraft's famous story. Knowing that Dunsany strongly influenced HPL, I appreciated seeing one of his stories included.

"Count Magnus" by MR James: I'm not sure that this strongly ties in with the theme, but James is an excellent writer of terror and horror, and this is one of his better stories.

"The Call of Cthulhu" by that guy. You don't expect it to be missing, do you?

"The Black Islnad" by August Derleth: I have a beef about Derleth's "Shrewbury cycle." The guy is like some Scooby-Doo mystery gang, globe-trotting and solving mysteries. It has the feel of organized resistance to the Old Ones, and winning to boot. But, being the influence that he has been, Derleth's work deserves to be there.

"Patiently Waiting" is a story from Inspector Lagrasse's point of view, as he deals with cults and Things Man Was Not Meant To Know (tm). As with other stories in this collection, the characters are fleshed out along with their emotions and motivations.

"Recrudescence": this is an interesting story about a different cult, a different god, and a different mechanism for release. I've seen something similar in "The Greatest Adventure" by Eric Temple Bell, but otherwise it is an original plot device involving the stored bio-energy of dead species.

"Black Fire": Usually I don't care for lovecraftian stories where the good-guys triumph - it seems like a contradiction in terms. HPL's vision is that the universe doesn't care if there is a happy ending. In "Black Fire", a carefully-laid plan for the return of the Old Ones is thwarted by a simple man doing the only thing he can think of to stop the destruction. His great sacrifice saves the day, even as the next trap leading to man's destruction begins to unfold elsewhere. It has the feel of inevitable doom that we all know and love, but our capacity to sacrifice for the good of others makes the horror more poignant (if we are mere brutes with no redeeming and enduring qualities, it is hard to feel regret for our passing).

"Zombies from R'Lyeh": The main strength of this piece for me was the author's development of the setting. His description and invocation of tropical seas and islands is a siren song, and the horror is more personal when I feel the longing to be in the same place. I am now seriously considering dropping my thesis work and becoming a pirate to sail the tropical seas. Yar, be forewarned!

These bleak and savage tales of The Crusades, Ottoman Turks, and the Mongol Horde are guaranteed to affect you...Not pretty, yet with a dark, brutal beauty all their own.

One rainy night, in Paris, opposite to the Gothic church of Notre Dame, I happened to be find myself in an archaic looking ,yet beautifull in its own way, bookstore of Shakespeare&Co. Browsing through the old books, my eyes caught the glimpse of this shining star. Sowers of thunder, barbaric stories from middle ages, central asian steps, from empires long forgotten. A Turkoman myself, I was mesmerized by the tune of stories, stories of tatar, seldjuki, and Ottoman warriors from the creator of the fantasy fiction. Here you can find the origin of Red Sonja, when she is defending the city of Vien, against the magnificent army of Ottomans when they have sieged the city. A must book for everybody who's looking for the darkest blood frenzy stories from an era long became an history.

The volume Black Colossus is part of the deluxe Conan series published by Donald m. Grant. It is a triumph of the bookmaker's art - beautifully made, sumptuous, with illustrations by Ned Dameron. The book contains two Conan tales, the title story and "Shadows in the Moonlight." Howard wrote these yarns in his mid-twenties (he would commit suicide at the age of 30) and they were first published in the legendary pulp magazine "Weird Tales" in 1933-34. These are excellent, typical Conan stories: colorful, blazing action, top-notch Howard, ignore the unholy legion of pallid imitators and rip-off artists that haunt us to this day. In Black Colossus, Conan is a captain of mercenary spearmen who fights to save the kingdom of Khoraja (and the lovely princess Yasmela) from the black magic of Natohk, the vieled one. As one character notes, "A short life and a merry one, say I, and with Conan the Throat-slitter in command, life is likely to be both merry and short." These are not my favorite Conan stories (see "People of the Black Circle"), but they are worthy nuggets from the Motherlode, the astonishing amount of good writing REH did in his few short years of productive life.

"Christians Grieve Too" by Donald Howard is an excellent book for anyone experiencing grief. It is also a choice resource for those who have a friend or loved one who is grieving.

I found the book to be thoughtfully written and easy to understand. It discusses many aspects of grieving, such as the stages of grief and the diverse feelings that can and, often do, accompany it.

I have recently suffered the loss of my father, and, as I read and re-read this book, I found myself nodding in agreement with many of the passages as I read.

As the synopsis on the cover of the book states, the writings of this book "serve to fill a gap on the subject of bereavement." And the book does just that, offering facts about grieving, the author's personal experiences with grief, and what the Bible has to say about grief and loss.

I would highly recommend this book for those who are grieving or those who wish to understand and help their grieving loved ones and friends.

This book answers the question, "How did he get to be that way?" It delves deeply into his relationship with his mother (and lack of one with his father) and follows him into adulthood. He seems a little eccentric but still within the normal range for most of his early life. He lived lavishly, but his demons caught up with him eventually. The pity is it didn't have to be that way.

I read this book when it was on the Best Sellers list. Howard Hughes was the subject of one of my papers for a psychology class and this book was my main source.

D.H.Menzel's original Field Guide broke the mold--there has never been anything like it before or since. It is my view Brian Skiff shares my opinion--as co-author of his Observing Catalog the objects are named as in Menzel, plus a section refers to H.A.Rey's diagrams, also in Menzel.

This is a good survey of the varieties of theologies within evangelical christianity. The author does a great service to the evangelical communions by calling for a rediscovery of the historical tradition of Christianity and a turn away from fundamentalism and obscurantism. As a Catholic, I appreciate this work, since it can lead evangelicals to a broader and more inclusive vision of Christianity. Highly recommended.