27 replies to this topic

[cimmerianbloke]

My favourite Conan yarn quote is actually the opening paragraph of "Tower of the Elephant". I remember reading it as a teenager, and not understanding a word (I am a native French speaker). The whole depiction of the Maul is just amazing and so elegantly written it has no match in French nor in Spanish, who only offer approximative translations. REH's writing is so fluid and energic it can generate powerful images in the reader's mind with only a short sentence. As for any kind of literature, REH is better enjoyed in its original language.

[ValeriaBlonde]

"She was tall, full-bosomed, and large-limbed, with compact shoulders. Her whole figure reflected an unusual strength, without detracting from the femininity of her appearance. She was all woman, in spite of her bearing and her garments... On one shapely hip she wore a straight double-edged sword, and on the other a long dirk. Her unruly golden hair, cut square at her shoulders, was confined by a band of crimson satin."

That's what I want to be when I grow up.

[ha!]

Conan put his back against the wall and lifted his ax. He stood like an image of the unconquerable primordial- legs braced far apart, head thrust forward, one hand clutching the wall for support, the othergripping the ax on high, with the great corded muscles standing out in iron ridges, and his features frozen in a death snarl of fury- his eyes blazing terribly through the mist of blood which veiled them. The men faltered-wild, criminal and dissolute through they were, yet they came from a breed of men called civilised, with a civilised background; here was a barbarian-the natural killer. They shrank back-the dying tiger could still deal death.

REH, The Phoenix on the Sword

I love that quote from "Phoenix on the Sword" the kicker for me was the next two lines,

Conan sensed their uncertainty and grinned mirthlessly and ferociously.
"Who dies first?" he mumbled through smashed and bloody lips.

[Toadyking]

Iron Shadows in the Moon

"The sun sank like a dull-glowing copper ball into a lake of fire. The blue of the sea merged with the blue of the sky and both turned to soft dark velvet, clustered with stars and the mirrors of stars. Olivia reclined in the bows of the gently rocking boat, in a state dreamy and unreal. She experienced an illusion that she was floating in midair, stars beneath her as well as above. Her silent companion was etched vaguely against the softer darkness. There was no break or falter in the rhythm of his oars; he might have been a fantasmal oarsman, rowing her across the dark lake of Death."

[Ironhand]

Iron Shadows in the Moon

"The sun sank like a dull-glowing copper ball into a lake of fire. The blue of the sea merged with the blue of the sky and both turned to soft dark velvet, clustered with stars and the mirrors of stars. Olivia reclined in the bows of the gently rocking boat, in a state dreamy and unreal. She experienced an illusion that she was floating in midair, stars beneath her as well as above. Her silent companion was etched vaguely against the softer darkness. There was no break or falter in the rhythm of his oars; he might have been a fantasmal oarsman, rowing her across the dark lake of Death."

I like that quote. It's a good one to show to anyone who thinks that REH wasn't a real writer.

[Toadyking]

Yeah it was a fairly uneventful scene but i got that to use for an oil painting of it to showcase the crazy colorful spectrum of the scene.

[EM Erdelac]

"Crom's devils! Let men worship what gods they will." - Conan, The Hour Of The Dragon


The fantastic priest bounded high in the air, flinging away the
red-dabbled switches, and the worshippers, howling and foaming at the
mouths, turned on each other with tooth and nail, rending one another's
garments and flesh in a blind passion of bestiality. The priest swept up
the infant with a long arm, and shouting again that Name, whirled the
wailing babe high in the air and dashed its brains out against the
monolith, leaving a ghastly stain on the black surface. Cold with horror
I saw him rip the tiny body open with his bare brutish fingers and fling
handfuls of blood on the shaft, then toss the red and torn shape into
the brazier, extinguishing flame and smoke in a crimson rain, while the
maddened brutes behind him howled over and over the Name. Then suddenly
they all fell prostrate, writhing like snakes, while the priest flung
wide his gory hands as in triumph. I opened my mouth to scream my horror
and loathing, but only a dry rattle sounded; a huge monstrous toad-like
thing squatted on the top of the monolith! - The Black Stone

[RJMooreII]

From The Scarlet Citadel

"The sun was rising over the eastern towers. Out of the crimson dawn came a flying speck that grew to a bat, then to an eagle. Then all who saw screamed in amazement, for over the walls of Tamar swooped a shape such as men knew only in half-forgotten legends, and from between its titan-wings sprang a human form as it roared over the great tower. Then with a deafening thunder of wings it was gone, and the folk blinked, wondering if they dreamed. But on the turret stood a wild barbaric figure, half naked, blood-stained, brandishing a great sword. And from the multitude rose a roar that rocked the towers, "The king! It is the king!"

Arpello stood transfixed; then with a cry he drew and leaped at Conan. With a lion-like roar the Cimmerian parried the whistling blade, then dropping his own sword, gripped the prince and heaved him high above his head by crotch and neck.

"Take your plots to hell with you!" he roared, and like a sack of salt, he hurled the prince of Pellia far out, to fall through empty space for a hundred and fifty feet. The people gave back as the body came hurtling down, to smash on the marble pave, spattering blood and brains, and lie crushed in its splintered armor, like a mangled beetle."

That's just SUCH a Conan way to shut down an attempted usurpation: show up naked during a speech and toss the guy off a wall. U Mad Bro?
Also 'crushed in its splintered armor, like a mangled beetle" is a brilliant description of a broken armored body.

Edited by RJMooreII, 16 April 2012 - 11:03 AM.