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Title: The Black Colossus
Series:
Conan Chronicles #4
Author: Robert Howard
Rating:
3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages:
45
Words: 14K
Publish: 1933
This was a quintessential Conan story. A country is in trouble, threatened by an old time’y sorcerer, Conan gets hired to fight the horde the Sorcerer has raised, there’s a beautiful (probably semi or completely naked) girl involved and Conan kills said old time’y sorcerer with ye olde time’y sword.
I kind of wish there had been more to this story. A 3,000 year old sorcerer is resurrected, begins the conquest of the world and Conan ends the whole shebang by spearing him with a sword. Apparently old time’y sorcerers just aren’t what they used to be. My goodness, back in my day sorcerers used to wipe out whole nations with just a gesture of their hand. To kill one you needed a super secret jewel dipped in extinct alien blood. That’s the kind of sorcerer we had back in the bad old days!
Hahahahahaaa.
Not high on my personal list of Conan stories. Not bad, hence why I’m still giving it 3.5stars but not one I’d voluntarily go back and re-read because I enjoyed it so much.
The cover is pretty cool. It’s by the same publisher that did The Tower of the Elephant. I think I’m going to try to find these covers whenever I can.
★★★✬☆
From Grokipedia.com
"Black Colossus" takes place in the Hyborian Age, opening in the desolate ruins of Kuthchemes in eastern Shem, where the master thief Shevatas penetrates the ivory-domed tomb of the ancient sorcerer Thugra Khotan in search of treasure but meets a gruesome end at the hands of a guardian serpent and the tomb's lingering magic. [14] [15] The narrative shifts to the small kingdom of Khoraja on the Kothian frontier, where Princess Yasmela rules as regent while her brother is held captive in Ophir. Yasmela is plagued by psychic visitations from Natohk the Veiled One, a mysterious desert prophet who has united thirty nomadic tribes, fifteen cities, rebel Stygian elements, and five thousand chariots into a vast invading horde threatening Khoraja. [14] [15]Desperate for guidance, Yasmela consults the ancient oracle of Mitra in a hidden palace shrine. The god's voice instructs her to walk the midnight streets alone and entrust the kingdom's fate to the first man she meets. [14] [16] She encounters Conan the Cimmerian, a scarred mercenary captain serving in the employ of General Amalric's regiment. Despite skepticism from nobles including Count Thespides, Chancellor Taurus, and Amalric himself, Yasmela appoints Conan supreme commander of Khoraja's forces. [14] [17]The Khorajan army, bolstered by mercenaries, Shemitish archers, and aristocratic knights, marches south to intercept the invaders at the strategic Pass of Shamla, with Yasmela accompanying them in a camel litter. Conan deploys the troops defensively around the Well of Altaku, positioning archers on ridges and holding the main strength on the plateau. [15] Natohk's horde emerges from an unnatural mist, and the battle erupts when Count Thespides leads an unauthorized charge that falls victim to Natohk's sorcery—a glittering powder that explodes in blinding white flame, annihilating the knights. [14] [15] The disciplined core of the enemy, including Stygian nobles and mailed Shemitish asshuri, advances relentlessly, clashing in brutal hand-to-hand combat at the pass's narrow neck. [15]Conan directs Amalric's mercenary cavalry on a flanking ride through hidden paths while leading a suicidal downhill charge with Khorajan spearmen on half-wild mounts. The combined assault shatters the horde's cohesion, causing the nomads to panic and the disciplined units to collapse in rout. [14] [15] In the final chaos, Natohk seizes Yasmela in a driverless chariot drawn by a monstrous black creature and flees toward desert ruins. Conan pursues alone, confronts Natohk—who reveals himself as the resurrected Thugra Khotan after three thousand years—and slays the sorcerer with a thrown sword. [14] [15] The invading threat is decisively ended, and the story closes with an intense personal moment between Conan and Yasmela amid the aftermath. [14]
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