The Complete Chronicles of Conan by Robert E. Howard
reviewed by Steven H Silver
If you only know Conan the Barbarian from the dreary Arnold Schwarzenegger films or from the colorful Marvel Comics version, you don't know Conan. The character created by Robert E. Howard to traverse the breadth of lands during the Hyborian Age is much more complex and nuanced than either of those versions, or of the popular image. All of the stories Howard managed to finish about Conan appear in this edition, published to recognize the hundredth anniversary of Howard's birth.

The Riot at Bucksnort by Robert E. Howard
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
Along with historical tales of the East, American Western tall tales were the other form that Robert E. Howard was increasingly exploring. In particular his humourous adventures of Breckenridge Elkins the big, two-fisted, gun-slinging, good-hearted but naive galoot from Bear Creek and similar tales of Pike Bearfield and Buckner J. Grimes were the complete antithesis of his dark tales.

The Black Stranger by Robert E. Howard
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
In The Black Stranger editor Steven Tompkins collects a number of Robert E. Howard's tales set in the United States, albeit some occurring in far remote times. In his informative introduction, he introduces the works selected and how they relate to Howard's development as a writer.

Boxing Stories by Robert E. Howard
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
For many of the stories, some never reprinted before, the editor has gone back to the original typescripts or magazine appearances: restoring 10,000 words to "The Iron Man" cut by the editors of Fight Stories; restoring Sailor Steve Costigan as the protagonist of Dennis Dorgan stories, a name change brought on by Howard having to disguise his authorship to avoid having two stories under the same by-line in a single magazine issue.

The People of the Black Circle by Robert E. Howard
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
To many people the character of Conan is the one they know from two films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, for others Conan is the barbarian character of comic book fame, for others still the literary character written of by a host of modern would-be sword and sorcery authors. What is presented in in this collection are the original unadulterated Robert E. Howard Conan tales, directly from the pages of Weird Tales and original manuscripts.