[Kieran]

Here we go. My opinion of the first Conan pastiche I have read: Robert Jordan's "Conan the Invincible". Why he chose "invincible" rather than any other adjective is beyond me; Conan's no more invincible than normal. "Conan the Schemer" might have been a more accurate title though perhaps not as catchy. Anyway, I digress.

First off, for those who do not know, this is set early in Conan's career, probably shortly after Tower of the Elephant. it concerns Conan teaming up with some vagabonds under a woman named Karela the Red Hawk in an attempt to get some pendants that a pair of sorcerors are trying to geta hold of. So pretty standard stuff then. The sorcerors are pretty much the usual bad guys that populate Howard's stories, there's nothing really intriguing about either of them. Karela herself is a complete bitch! She makes Belit look like someone who bakes cookies for little children all day. I found her character unlikeable and I also found it hard to believe she could command such respect as she doesn't seem particularly capable (she gets captured incredibly easily and is incapable of smelling rats) and she is completely hysterical and over-emotional. Her second-in-command Hordo is more of a likeable and believable charcater, but he is annoyingly two dimensional. As for Jordan's Conan, I found him far too talkative and manipulative; he seems to rely a lot less on instinct and more on his gift of the gab than Howard's version. He also seems to behave like a lovestruck puppy in the first couple of chapters which I thought very un-Conan. Still, he wasn't completely different from the original; his sence of honour and his stregth were still intact, which was pleasing to see.

Jordan's writing isn't amazing. He does atmosphere fine and gets a good sense of drama going in the climax, but he isn't great at writing action - he doesn't make it particularly vivd or tense, and there is an inordinate amount of time talking about women's curvy bits. Not that I mind this of course and Howard was prone to doing it too, but Jordan seems to spend a bit too much time on it, particularly in the first few chapters which pretty much consist of varying descriptions of near naked prostitutes and very little else. Another thing I found annoying was his repeated use of the word "an" instead of "if". Such an archaism seems unnecesary, particularly as he doen't use any other archaic terms in his writing.

As far as pacing goes, the book is a bit slow in starting. If you are looking for something very exciting, it is not really into the denoument that things really get started, but when it gets there it is actually very enjoyable and I found the ending particularly entertaining.

All in all, its not bad attempt at a Conan tale, but it is neither as good as one of Howard's, nor an excellent sword and sorcery tale in its own right.
3/5

[Irvius]

I enjoyed very much this tale.
Maybe because english is not my mother language and I read so few titles in original language as i read The Invincible.
I found Karela a real good threat to Conan who was always too vulnerable to girls . But I love very much the scene when he put this bitch into the pit until she stops to insult him!!

The plot is not "amazing" but i felt the writing very fluid and rich in details.
Overall 4/5 score.

[PaulMc]

Thanks for the review. I read that one awhile ago, I don't recall too much about it. I think Conan pastiches need to be taken on two levels - as novels in-and-of themselves, and then whether or not they seem to fit in the world of Conan.

I just finished reading Conan the Buccaneer a couple of weeks ago. I'll post a review if I can get some time to write one!

[Amra]

The very story where Karela the Red Hawk proves to be the unltimate witch spelled with a capital B. Conan saves the woman from rape and most certain death-and to show her thanks she tries to have him killed. I like the story-I like Jordan's writing in general. Conan once reffered to Karela as the perfect woman as far as her looks are concerned. But that attitude-whoaa!!

Karela and Belit are/were both a bit off in the head, and both had a rather formidable crew. Belit had to take Conan on as her mate to keep her ship, although I am not so sure about Karela's position with her men. Hordo seemed to be the "faithfull hound" that heeled at her every call and kept the crew in check.

All in all I felt the story was entertaining, so I give it a 3 out of 5.

[budgie]

Arias de Camp, on Jun 6 2005, 10:16 PM, said:

The very story where Karela the Red Hawk proves to be the unltimate witch spelled with a capital B.  Conan saves the woman from rape and most certain death-and to show her thanks she tries to have him killed.  I like the story-I like Jordan's writing in general.  Conan once reffered to Karela as the perfect woman as far as her looks are concerned.  But that attitude-whoaa!!

Karela and Belit are/were both a bit off in the head, and both had a rather formidable crew.  Belit had to take Conan on as her mate to keep her ship, although I am not so sure about Karela's position with her men.  Hordo seemed to be the "faithfull hound" that heeled at her every call and kept the crew in check.

All in all I felt the story was entertaining, so I give it a 3 out of 5.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yep, fan of the old Red Hawk myself and Im sure this was among the first Conan novels I read many moons back.. Karela and Hordo appear in another pastiche too , more likely another Jordan one..
I loved the well scene.. very amusing

Budgie

[Amra]

I also favored the small twist at the end, when Conan honored his vow to Karela to never help her again.....

[Ironhand]

I never read the Jordan Conans, and so never read about Karela. But from the descriptions above, I can see that the Karela character in the TV "Conan the Adventurer" was exactly true to Jordan's Karela. An authentic Karela, true enough to the original to satisfy the most rigorous of Jordan purists! How ironic.

-- Ironyhand

[Speelie]

This one never appealed to me at all, between the Kezenkian Mountains setting and the steal the gems plot. But aside from that, subjectively, I think the writing is decent enough, as it is in all Jordan's books. However, I also get the feeling in Jordan's books that he was writing the first "Age of Conan" books. His volumes are listed as being about Conan, but to me always felt more like the adventures of some other hero in the Hyborian age. I find I like Jordan's Conan titles better if I pretend as I'm reading that the hero is some other musclebound guy, and not Conan.

[Strom]

budgie, on Jun 6 2005, 05:36 PM, said:

 

Yep, fan of the old Red Hawk myself and Im sure this was among the first Conan novels I read many moons back.. Karela and Hordo appear in another pastiche too , more likely another Jordan one..
I loved the well scene.. very amusing

Budgie

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I believe Hordo and Karela were in Conan the Triumphant by Jordan. I remember Karela because she was trying to kill Conan but ended up sleeping with him and then continued to try and kill him.

[budgie]

Strom, on Jun 7 2005, 03:34 AM, said:

budgie, on Jun 6 2005, 05:36 PM, said:

 

Yep, fan of the old Red Hawk myself and Im sure this was among the first Conan novels I read many moons back.. Karela and Hordo appear in another pastiche too , more likely another Jordan one..
I loved the well scene.. very amusing

Budgie

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I believe Hordo and Karela were in Conan the Triumphant by Jordan. I remember Karela because she was trying to kill Conan but ended up sleeping with him and then continued to try and kill him.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yep Stom, sounds about right.. Karela definately seems to have a huge love/hate relationship with Conan.. Ive known women like that in the past (ok, they aint tried to kill me though)

Ironhand, give it a try, it aint a bad book as pastiches go.. definately a lot better than the later ones at least..

Budgie

[Cadogan]

Ironhand, on Jun 7 2005, 12:27 AM, said:

I never read the Jordan Conans,

-- Ironyhand

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ironhand, you should give them a try. They are IMHO the best Conan pastiches that Tor put out.

[korak]

At any rate, Jordan certainly seems to have gone on to make quite a name for himself!

[Swiftsteel]

He definitely was obsessed with setting nearly every damned story in either the Kezankians or Zamora/Turan!

I always wanted more stories based out of Nordheim/Hyperborea, or The Pictish Wilderness.

[Buxom Sorceress]

CONAN THE INVINCIBLE by Robert JORDAN [RJ]

[ with Karela the buxom bandit leader, + Amanar evil sorcerer]
rating 4 of 5. a very good + entertaining adventure.
recommended.

RJ is a great writer + knows how to entertain fans of Hyborian swords+sorcery.
his great descriptions + attention to details make for good atmosphere + bring gritty hyboria to vivid life. + his evil sorcery + magic are very inventive, clever, + satisfyingly horrific.
his very buxom + beautiful vixens are very sexy + passions are hot + sparks fly.

all his Conan books are entertaining + worth a read. but this 1 [his 1st] is probably his best for plot + overall quality.
----
hey KIERAN, thanks for your nice review.
hope to read more from u please?
cheers ***

[Kieran]

No problem. I've got a couple of other Conan pastiches at home so when I get round to reading them I'll tell you my thoughts.

[Kieran]

It might be an idea to move this to The Library of Epemitreus