Book Review 246 // The Hour of the Dragon by Robert E. Howard.

We are nearing the end of our adventures with Conan, and I can't help but feel a little sad. It has been a joy to read these in order and watch as Howard progresses the character and builds upon previous ideas. This is a unique title as it was originally written as a series and then squashed together to make the book. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Title: The Hour of the Dragon

Author: Robert E. Howard

Blurb: Written in the 1930s as a serial for Weird Tales, the famous pulp magazine, Hour of the Dragon is the only novel by Howard featuring his greatest creation, Conan the Barbarian. This powerful novel of violent adventure has spawned many imitations in the genre over the years, including a series of best-selling paperbacks which, in imitation of Howard, continued the adventures of Conan.

Conan is at the pinnacle of his career in this story, having roamed the imaginary prehistoric world of Hyborea and, with native cunning and sheer force, fought his way to the throne of Aquilonia. He is the archetype of the invincible warrior: tough, fearless and incredibly strong.

As the novel opens, King Conan is captured by the magic of the evil sorcerer Xaltotun, whom Conan's enemies have raised from the dead, after three thousand years, for the express purpose of removing Conan from the throne. Conan's armies are so unprepared to battle Xaltotun's sorcery that they are routed on the battlefield and Aquilonia is conquered.

Conan is secretly released from prison by a slave girl who loves him, and he fights his way out of the dungeon catacombs to freedom, defeating a giant murderous ape who blocks his way. In the course of his escape, he overhears a secret meeting and learns that the source of Xaltotun's power is a mysterious jewel, the Heart of Ahriman, which Xaltotun's allies have stolen from him to insure their control over him.

Conan resolves to track the jewel across the barbaric landscape of Hyboria, destroy Xaltotun and regain his kingdom.

Format: 296 pages, E-book (you can find it on my affiliate store)

Review

Strange to read a multiplot story in one go as a book. If you read it as a series over months, the story would flow better. But in this set-up, it felt like a lot of jumping forwards was happening and a loss of time. But as a story, I personally really enjoyed it. It feels like Howard is finding his stride and embracing previous ideas in this tale. People may dislike its similarities to other tales, but I can see how Howard tries to improve upon previous attempts.

With a longer flowing story, we can enjoy events you wouldn't usually get in a short tale. We get full-scale battles, well-rounded villains, and encounters. We also still have plenty of space for creature features and treacherous allies. I enjoyed the quest, as Conan has to move through many personas to seek a magical jewel that will end the reign of the evil wizard. It allowed our kingly Conan to revisit his Barbarian days and his old life as a pirate and polish up on his thieving skills. Pirate Conan is my favourite version of the hero.

Though it is a highlight, it acts as a double-sided blade, and due to so much travelling, we lose the joy of the location. In his short stories, Howard has done a fantastic job of describing a place. But with this constant changing of the site gives us no chance to enjoy this aspect of his writing. But overall a great read that I would happily enjoy again.

Audio Review 37 // Hand of Darkness by Gav Thorpe

I'm rather happy to announce that I got my hands on some Aeldari short stories by the one and only Gav Thorpe. I've read rather a few of his stories, and I know he can spin a good one, so let us dive on in.

Title: Hand of Darkness

Author: Gav Thorpe

Actors: Gareth Armstrong, Cliff Chapman, Steve Conlin, Emma Gregory, Matt Hunt, Jonathan Keeble, Toby Longworth, Penelope Rawlins, Melvyn Rawlinson.

Run time: 61 minutes

THE STORY:

Fell is the Hand of Darkness, a relic of great evil. Seeking to rob the powers of Chaos of this relic and bend fate to the favor of order, Yvraine of the Ynnari and the mysterious yet deadly Visarch lead a host of Aeldari on a quest to steal it. To reach it, however, they must first beseech the aid of the Black Library. Only then will Yvraine and her warriors have even the slightest chance to slip through the Garden of Nurgle and from there to the Plague Planet and the Whispering Tower of Mortarion, where the Hand of Darkness surely resides.

Before diving in deep, this title was well acted and absorbed me into the story. This is what I've come to expect from Black Library titles. Set in the aftermath of the galaxy ripping apart, we join the Ynnari on a quest to recover an old artifact. The story is broken into three parts.

Part 1

We are informed what the Hand of Darkness actually is; basically, a world-destroying device that should never see the light of day. We then also listen in as Primarch Guilliman, speaks with Eldard of Ulthwe and Yvraine of the Ynnari, about the object. He sets the Aeldari the task of hunting out the relic, which seems to be hidden away on the Plague Planet.

Review

Good opening - slightly annoys me that old Guilliman is bossing everyone around these days.

Part 2

With a trip to the Black Library in search of a way to get to the plague planet. The Aeldari host discovers the ancient Library besieged by Ahriman and his forces. The Ynnari fight their way in and are greeted by the White Seers. The object they need unfortunately lies behind a sealed door that leads to a zone ruled by the Chaos God Slaanesh. As a small force explores this region the rest of the forces join the battle against Ahriman.

Review

Deserved a full book for this section. It is such an amazing story that could have been so much more! Stepping into the Black Library alone was amazing!

Part 3

Now the real action. Happens pretty quickly son hang on! Yvraine having escaped Slaanesh with her prize, leads the Ynnari against Ahriman. Rapidly crushing their attack and routing the invaders. Using the foul Sorcerer's escape route the Ynnari main characters and some Harliquinns infiltrate the Garden of Nurgle, using it as a shortcut to the Plague planet. From here it is a quick jump to the Hand and the completion of the mission.

Review

Completely rushed and deserved a better ending. Left a little disappointed. Would love for Thorpe to do a rewrite and make a proper novel out of this story as it deserves it.

Overall a solid story but definitely could be better! As always thanks for stopping by and reading. Use any of these links to help support the blog and thank you.

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Book Review 82 // Magnus the Red: Master of Prospero

Wow, week four of the Thousand Son themed month of reading. I didn't actually realize how many Fridays there were in May until it was too late to turn back! So far I have read and reviewed the following titles: 

Ahriman: Sorcerer

Ahriman: Unchanged

Horus Heresy: A Thousand Sons

Got to say the Ahriman titles were a little dull. Dealing more with the side characters rather than the main attraction. The HH series A Thousand Sons was everything I hoped for and more, it really showcased this legion in a more positive and inspiring way. So once I had finished that title I knew I had to move onto the Primarch series and take on Magnus the Red: Master of Prospero.

Book Details

Title: Magnus the Red: Master of Prospero

Author: Graham McNeill

Publisher: Black Library

Type: E-book

Page Count: 208

Commercial Fluff: The third novel in The Horus Heresy: Primarchs series, a brand new sequence of novels focused on the superhuman sons of the Emperor.

Lord of the mystical and uncanny, Magnus the Red has long studied the ancient crafts of sorcery. A psyker without peer, save only for the Emperor himself, he commands his loyal followers of the Thousand Sons Legion in the Great Crusade, always vigilant for any lost knowledge they might recover from the remains of dead human civilisations. Now, fighting alongside his brother Perturabo of the Iron Warriors, Magnus begins to foresee an approaching nexus of fate. Will he remain true to their mutual aims, or divert his own efforts towards furthering his own mastery of the warp?

Review

Having just completed A Thousand Sons I was extremely excited to read that Graham McNeill had written this title as well. I really was hoping for even more behind the scene and character building for this legion. It also soon became apparent that it had a cheeky inclusion of Iron Warriors alongside a non-Xenos threat - a rather rare plot in Space Marines battles. The story happens on Morningstar as it is being destroyed by destructive magnetic storms, into this mix an uprising of sorts has been started by a cult called the Sons of Shaitan. Whilst the Thousand Sons and the Iron Warriors attempt to retrieve as much of the resources of the planet as possible, they bump heads on how best to do it. Magnus and his sons care about the history, culture and knowledge of the planet whilst the Iron Warriors care more for the resources and materials, though the two sides have differing views they are remarkably similar in not hugely caring for the human populace!

For me, a standout part of the tale is the brotherhood of Perturabo and Magnus which Graham McNeill plays out wonderfully out using the characters of Forrix and Ahriman to mirror their gene sires. It is always nice to read about the Traitor Legions prior to their falls especially as it hints to some of Graham McNeill's other books. Well worth the read and a great side story to the Horus Heresy series.

Drop me your thoughts in the comments and hopefully next week I will have the Talon of Horus as the final installment for my month of Thousand Son themed stories.