34 replies to this topic

[yimsha]

Just go straight for The People of the Black Circle. If he aint liking that, he aint liking Howard.

[xardoz]

I talked to him last night (went over for "chili"), and he did see CTB, but it didn't leave much of an impression on him, other than it was the movie that really launched Ah-nold's film career. I just picked up "The Coming of Conan" for myself last night, too, so I'll loan it to him when I'm done.

[Ironhand]

Hi Xardoz, good to see you here.

Hey, everybody, Xardoz is my co-author; we did the Young Conan screenplays together.

Funny thing about loaning The Coming of Conan. I just loaned CoC to my chiropractor, of all people. He is one of those people whose brain is wired differently from normal people: he can't read for pleasure! He can watch movies for pleasure. He can read technical literature. He can read outlines. But he can't read fiction; he just can't get into it. So I loaned him CoC. If anyone can pull him into a story, it's REH. He's read a couple of stories so far; his wife has finished the book.

[El Borak's Li'l Brother]

So the brother who introduced me to Robert E. Howard dropped by with his two daughters for a visit the week before thr New Year. So I bought him The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian just for kicks. Well, it'd been years -- decades since he'd read the Lancer/Ace 12, and at 59 he's moved on toward straight fiction, but he looked interested. I decided to up the ante and surprised him with The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane...

He'd never heard of or read a Solomon Kane! (Well, he had in Shadow Kingdoms, but apparently forgot...)

I couldn't believe it. I'd always been under the impression he'd read everything Robert E. Howard of the 60's and 70's, and apparently my impression was 100% wrong. We talked Westerns, Boxing, Oriental Adventure et al and he looked blank. Needless to say, I was surprised. Stunned! So I'm hoping he might get the Howard bug from what I got him and read more Howard.

And I'm left wondering how I could be so wrong.

Edited by El Borak's Li'l Brother, 14 January 2008 - 06:57 PM.

[Sermon Bath]

perhaps hes not really your bro....an impersonator, a cleverly constructed android, or even a shape shifting serpent man!!!!!!!!!

[Strom]

When you look at the total volume of Howard's work, it's not something you can read without some serious effort and time! Which always takes a backseat to life in many cases.

I think it's great that you can have those discussions with your brother. I'm very close to my brother and Howard is one of our favorite things to talk about, but he mostly only likes the fantasy/Solomon Kane stories from Bob. I don't blame him - they are some of his best stories.

[El Borak's Li'l Brother]

perhaps hes not really your bro....an impersonator, a cleverly constructed android, or even a shape shifting serpent man!!!!!!!!!

Yes, mayhap I am involved in my own Shadow Kingdom...

[El Borak's Li'l Brother]

When you look at the total volume of Howard's work, it's not something you can read without some serious effort and time! Which always takes a backseat to life in many cases.

I think it's great that you can have those discussions with your brother. I'm very close to my brother and Howard is one of our favorite things to talk about, but he mostly only likes the fantasy/Solomon Kane stories from Bob. I don't blame him - they are some of his best stories.

Yes, it is great to have a brother who enjoyed Howard like I do. But I think in my brother's case it's simply after the Lancer/Ace Conan he missed out on all the rest of Howard's reprints and thought by reading it he was up to speed, so to speak. Maybe. Anyway, it was a surprise -- and just might explain why he thought/thinks Red Sonja is really a Hyborian character created by Howard.

[deuce]

Considering the other "starter" thread, this one seemed to need a bumpin'.

Just about all of my friends are Howard fans (most due to my urging). Of my family, my mom has expressed interest in the Costigan and Western yarns (she attended HD '10). Nobody else. Not even my two Texan cousins (pretty typical, really; REH is not a prophet honored in his homeland).

Having had more girlfriends than I could count on fingers and toes, none of them have been/became true REH fans. He's a masculine writer. Doesn't rule out women loving his stuff, but it sure knocks down the percentage.

[deuce]

Just go straight for The People of the Black Circle. If he aint liking that, he aint liking Howard.

Are you serious? It's a good yarn, but making a titanically sweeping statement like that is just silly, IMO. In fact, out of the 20+ people I've "converted" to REH, not ONE has even commented about PotBC. Overall, in my experience, it seems that REH's horror yarns work best with readers of ALL persuasions. Fantasy/non-fantasy? Male/female? About 60-75%. If that doesn't work, then I go with the humorous stuff. THAT is where Mark Finn's Costigan cd comes in handy.

[Mark Finn]

Thankfully, there are now a whole host of choices to consider when introducing people to REH's work. Many a time, I've had to deal with a friend's scrunched up face, asking me doubtfully, "Is there anything of his that you think I'll like?" And by that they usually mean, "you know, other than Conan, which I've already made up my mind about...?"

I've turned a LOT of people on to the boxing stories. The westerns, funny and otherwise, are nice starting points for folks, too. Usually people are delighted to learn that he wrote stuff other than Conan. The funny stories, across the board, play much better with the ladies than Conan does. Hmmm, I wonder why THAT is...? Just kidding. I know why.

I've found that Solomon Kane is a good jumping on point, the Historical Crusades stories, El Borak, and last but certainly not least, Howard's Horror work. All of the above are easily explained, sound really interesting when you do so, and contain some of Howard's best work. After they are hooked on one or two story types on the list, I just turn 'em loose with an offhand, "Well, if you like X and Y, you'll probably like everything else, too."

Last but not least: never underestimate the power of REH's poetry, especially when you are trying to hook your girlfriend or wife.

[deuce]

Last but not least: never underestimate the power of REH's poetry, especially when you are trying to hook your girlfriend or wife.

Right on.

[mario]

here's a weird one: while my brother stayed over during the holidays, we watched 2011's conan and...he liked it! so he asked me about some stories to read but strictly conan at the moment. I recommended to him actually the hyborian age essay(on reasons that he gets into the backstory and myhtology aspect of it). the two tales of conan I recommended to him were frost giants daughter and tower of the elephant for their mythical aspects, and I thought you'd get a good sense that there is more to the world than boobs and loincloth.If I had to recommend non conan, i might actually go with almuric.Not a definite though. I only read it for the first time fairly recently it had this very fire and ice/heavy metal feel to it, if I had to equate to something in film/animation , but i liked it a bit more. To me it is a very easy quick read, a page turner and has alot of elements people like in things like john carter, tarzan, flash gordon etc.mind you im no critic justmho

[THE KID]

All of my family know about REH by me and so do my friends. It's everyone else I'm targeting!

I mention Blood and Thunder, The Life and Art of REH Mark Finn's best of the best book on Bob and Vol 2 just came out, the REH Foundation books, One Who Walked Alone, Beyond The Black River and Red Nails and to cover a lot of categories The Best of REH Volumes 1 & 2. I also mention that if you have a KINDLE try for FREE RED NAILS and then for only $1.99 The REH Ominibus Collection which is a great buy of 99 of Bob's best stories.

It all depends on the person I'm sharing with and demographics. Is it in person or online? I meet many an old folk at my mom's nursing home and some of them have Alzheimer's and dementia but a few don't. It's not the best place to spread the word but you never know. Look at Norris Chambers who is 94 years old and Bob's last known living friend. He's still got a great mind but his body is slowly deteriorating. I hope he lasts the rest of the year. He'd love to hear from you; http://www.norrisc.com/

If it's younger folks like teenagers I give them free Conan, Kull, Red Sonja, or Solomon Kane comics and a paperback too. If I'm in a library or a book store or see someone reading a book somewhere it's a great opportunity to ask them what they're reading and who their favoriite author is. I'm never pushy and look for good body language. I listen and then mention REH. It's amazing because some folks know but more don't until I mention Conan.

I have two Conan paperbacks in the back seat of my car to give away or read while my car's in the shop. I never leave home without one and have only taken my Kindle out of the house once; I don't want to drop or lose it. I love my Kindle but still love REH Foundation books and all REH books in general. It's great to have both and be able to discuss these things in person and online. You can target millions of people online such as Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, BAM, Facebook, Twitter, etc. or target a few in person. I like to do many things at different times. I really like the online interaction seeing the instantaneous results!

You can reach millions of people by placing a review. Yes reviews are super helpful to folks that are borderline or never heard of REH. At Amazon you can LOOK INSIDE the book or ebook and view the Table of Contents and more! It's a nice sample. If I read inside and like the ebook I download it.

I went to the local library and they didn't have any REH books. Only two Conan's by other authors and that was in the downtown library. Can you believe it! Two Conan books in the entire city!! I went to the library and filled out the request for for REH BEst of volumes 1 & 2 Grimm Lands and guess what? in about two weeks they were added to the library! To get the word out I set goals and try all kinds of marketing ideas: online, in person, library, freebies, at automotive store - the sales guy saw my Conan and told me he was a fan, Amazon, as many REH Book reviews as possible - Time consuming but enjoyable spreading the word.

Everytime I go into my mom and pop used book store Steve always says, "There's Conan." Nothing new except regular paperbacks." He knows what I'm looking for. Or sometimes he says, "I have something to show you!"

Everyone has special skills and talents so find what you're really good at and like doing to spread the word of REH and go for it. Let everyone know here how'd it go. Thank you.

Edited by Richard, 30 January 2012 - 10:34 PM.

[THE KID]

If you tell others they will come.