Conan the Fearless (Conan the Barbarian) 2.5Stars

 

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Title: Conan the Fearless
Series: Conan the Barbarian
Author: Steve Perry
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 176
Words: 62K

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Each author that has authored multiple Conan stories seems to bring their own slant to things. Perry is definitely all about the monsters and over the top sorcerers and rather silly naming conventions.

In this, the sorcerer is trying to collect all four children of the elements (gotta catch’em all!) and create (and I will quote here) “The Thing of Power”. How original, how amazing, how powerful. /sarcasm. I knocked off a whole star just for that ultra mega totally stupid name. I mean, latinize or greekenize it for goodness sake, don't be so flipping lazy!

As for the sorcerer, he is one of the Black Square sorcerers and he is opposed by one of the last remaing White Square sorcerers. If you know your Conan lore, or are even semi-familiar with it, you’ll know that the Sorcerers of the Black Circle are a much feared group in the world. One of the original stories by Howard is entitled “People of the Black Circle”. I reviewed it here in fact:

https://bookstooge.blog/2018/06/07/the-people-of-the-black-circle-the-essential-conan-2-%e2%98%85%e2%98%85%e2%98%85%e2%98%86%c2%bd/

It was with actual disgust that I saw Perry’s bastardization. I mean, come on! Write like you care more than a plugged nickels’ worth, you sot.

All of the storylines were weak and I’m afraid this little venture into the 5 or 6 stories by Perry about Conan will be some of the weakest I’ve read so far. Stories like this are why Conan had/has a bad name as a franchise fiction series. You might wonder why such a rugged adventurer as myself would continue with such weaksauce but that is because my literary thews are tougher than iron. I will forge on, unafraid and totally victorious. And I will bash the ever living daylights out of these books by Perry until they collapse in defeat at my muscular calves, clad in boot cut jeans.

★★✬☆☆

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From Wikipedia

Conan finds himself in the Corinthian city of Mornstadinos, after he enlists as a bodyguard defending a magician and Eldia, a girl who has control over fire elementals, against an evil mage named Sovartus. Sovartus is collecting such elemental whisperers and already has the other three. He wants Eldia to complete his set. This brings Conan into conflict with a host of other threats as well, including a demon employed by Sovartus and the witch Djuvula, who happens to be the demon's half-sister, the rich senator Lemparius, who's actually a were-panther, an avaricious thief named Loganaro, and various monsters. Plots and counter-plots build up to a climax at Sovartus' stronghold.

• The “Essential Conan” Trilogy

• All of My “Conan” Reviews