25 replies to this topic

[tofu]

I donot remember reading alot on Sex in Conan either.Implied yes, but nothing hardcore

[Fierro]

It's been a long, long time since I read Jordan's pastiches, but I do remember them being more explicit certainly than REH. Different times.

The main problem with sex scenes is that it's really hard to write them well. I had an editor once tell me to give him as few words as possible about a rodeo I was covering and let the pix do the talking. His point was "It's about the riding, not the writing." Same applies to sex scenes (and I'll just let that bad pun hang there with a sheepish expression on its face).

Actually writing about the act breaks all the erotic tension and I think you have to be gifted in a particular way to make it come off (not again
!) in an erotic as opposed to pornographic way. It's like describing music. It's really hard to do and almost always falls short of the mark.

[Kortoso]

I seem to recall reading in one of Howard's many letters that he felt somewhat embarrassed about having to write "spicy" scenes, while another suggested that he was ready to add violence by the boatload, but the public couldn't handle it.

[Jery]

Well to write good about sex is not to write much about sex (just to give food for imagination)... REH was also a master in describing of sex scenes


You have great imagination, LordZamora

[PainBrush]

I don't think Howard kept the 'prurient' stuff & sex to a minimum in his stories because he himself had little experience to draw from , the bits he did include , or imply were plenty knowledgeable enough . The way his characters interacted with the women in the stories comes across as solid & not lacking in any knowledge or confidence . I think he aspired for his work to be a slightly higher quality than the 'typical' cheesy sleezy pulp stuff of which there was no shortage of in 'all' the pulp magazines . As far as being a Casanova , or overly romantic , - I think Howard was a bit lacking in that department because of what seemed a 'little' bit of a ' failure to communicate ' , or more likely intimacy issues despite him boasting about being such a 'verbose' guy . A strong sense of that comes through in the way Novalynne described him , & in things between the lines that she 'didn't' say . Like he was definitely interested in & cared for her a lot , but he was somewhat reserved & maybe kept things at arms length until he was more comfortable but things fell apart between them first . - That's just talking about 'Romance' , 'Love' , the deeper things of matters of the heart , as far as just sex , I seem to recall some mention of him & friends taking little trips down to Mexico (?) & whatever that might imply , but who knows ?

There's also the ugly incident ( though I don't recall 'all' of the exact details offhand ) - when his 2 buddies were going to have one of their girlfriends flirt with Howard to see if he would remain a gentleman . He got word of the scurvy prank first & they didn't know , so he beat them to the punchline & made a pass at the girl first & ended up making out with her in the backseat while they all drove around . Or at least getting a smooch or 2 & doing some cuddling . But those were different days so making out in a car , or in front of other people was pract. unheard of & not like 'making out ' would be defined nowadays . & that's with a 'presumably' decent girl , not some south of the border senorita selling touch . Anyhow there was a bit of an ugly arguement or harsh feelings afterwards & Howard felt bad for acting that way with the girl he knew his friend really cared for , he wrote some sincere apology letters & stuff later .

I get the strong impression he regarded chasing skirt just like any other guy - but as far as sweet-heart lovey-dovey stuff , he seemed reserved , or at least not pre-occupied with the idea of love & marriage . Mark Finn had some stuff about all of that in Blood & Thunder that I just glanced at . He's got a lot of info in that book that I don't recall reading about before & I have all the biographies & stuff , so I'd dare say mr. Finn did a 'lot' of digging & research , & he is now 'THE' Howard expert . So far I only finished the first couple dozen or so pages though & skimmed over a little here & there , so I don't know about all of Howards love-life except for whatever small details were common knowledge among fans already , or if there's any more of it even mentioned in the book .

-------------------------------------------------------------
& As far as sex in his stories - here's a 'really' strange one , - how about in Scarlet Citadel the wizard trapped in the dungeon with his soul-sucking lover-plant ?!? CREEPY !!! - Definitely lived up to the name 'Weird Tale' !!