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By Robert Jordan
Tor 1982
Well, here we go again, with what is becoming a monthly journey of mine into the crowded world of pastiche Conan. This time, one of the earliest of the Tor novels, and the second from Robert Jordan.
Plot Capsule
Twenty-two year-old Conan arrives in Belverus, the Nemedian capital, in search of employment. The city is in decline and unrest grows against King Garian. A secret conspiracy lead by Lord Cantaro Albanus plots to overthrow the King using magical items uncovered from a tomb of ancient Acheron. Conan finds a former companion, Hordo the smuggler, and joins forces with him to hire their own Free-Company. They take residence in an inn of poets and rebels against the King, where Conan becomes the lover of beautiful poetess Ariane. Ariane and her fellow idealistic rebels ask for Conan and his Free-Company’s help in a popular uprising. Conan feels unsure about the rebellion, but promises he will protect Ariane. After a number of attempts to murder him, Conan realizes that someone is using Ariane and her rebels as tools in a greater conspiracy. Tired of the deceptions, Conan offers his Free-Company into the service of King Garian, who gladly accepts. Serving in the palace, Conan becomes intrigued by the veiled Lady Tiana and the seductress Sularia, and becomes enemies with Commander Vegentius, a secret conspirator with Albanus. Rebellions and sorceries brew, a face from Conan’s past makes a sudden reappearance, and Albanus prepares to unleash his ultimate magical weapon in his quest to overthrow Garian: an invincible simulacrum of the King.
Review
Robert Jordan’s second Conan novel takes place entirely in the city of Belverus, and it is a welcome change from the many novels that have Conan trekking through wilderness wastes (usually in Brythunia—the pastiche authors love this country) to find lost cities. Jordan digs into the single location and lets the reader savor the personalities and conspiracies of Nemedia, second greatest of the Hyborian Kingdoms. The story follows one of the most ubiquitous of Conan plot archetypes: the “usurp-the-throne” conspiracy. Howard utilized this often, most famously in “The Phoenix on the Sword,” “The Scarlet Citadel,” and The Hour of the Dragon. In each of those stories, the target was King Conan himself, but in the pastiches, a younger Conan becomes ensnared in the coup conspiracy, which usually has a sorcerous power leading it.
There is much to enjoy in Conan the Defender, but before listing Jordan’s strengths, I want to point out the novel’s major flaw because it is symptomatic of many pastiches and demonstrates the greatest difficulty a Conan author faces. For more than half of this book, Conan has scant reason to be involved in the storyline of Albanus and the scheme against the Nemedian crown. He runs into conflicts and action scenes, but not until late in the book does the novel’s hero really find a place in the story. Jordan provides no major “turning point” or “moment of realization” that seals Conan into the plot and gives him a strong direction. John C. Hocking once told me that one of the great obstacles he found in writing Conan and the Emerald Lotus was trying to find a way to get Conan into the story in the first place! Conan is an unusual hero, and getting him worked into a plot often takes ingenuity. For other heroes, it is a simple task to motivate them and start their adventures: James Bond’s superiors send him out on assignments; Superman, Solomon Kane, and Doc Savage are driven to right wrongs and protect innocents as part of their ethical code; clients hire Sherlock Holmes and Philip Marlowe. Conan, on the other hand, while possessing admirable traits and a code of honor, is a self-interested character with no singular motivation that easily gets him into the next adventure; a new rationale must be created for each story (common ones are revenge, treasure, survival, chivalry, etc.). Through Howard’s typewriter, Conan’s very drive hurled him into each story, but other writers often have to scramble rather obviously to insert Conan into a new novel so he has a reasonable motivation. Jordan only half-solves this problem here, and it hurts the book. Every other chapter, Hordo begs Conan to forget the mess in Belverus and take off with the Free-Company. Jordan gives Conan weak excuses for deciding to stay, and only in the last third does his choice start to make sense.
Despite this large problem with the book, Conan the Defender makes for a good read. Jordan has the writing chops to pull off the story, and he reads easily. The pages fly past, even away from the furious action. Jordan’s action set-pieces are some of the best and most clearly described from any pastiche author, and he comes up with some clever fight ideas. The final battle in the palace really makes for a great climax. The only problem I have with Jordan’s writing style is his occasional reliance on archaic English words that feel out of place. For example, he uses ‘an’ as a substitute for ‘if’ too often (and when coming out of Conan’s mouth, this sounds silly). He also tries to get as much mileage as he can out of ‘barbar,’ a shortened version of ‘barbarian.’ Come on Robert, just type the last ‘-ian’! It looks much better.
The story bogs down in places where too many characters become involved in the conspiracies, and a few of them never amount to much, such as Sularia and an underused female character named Lady Jelanna. (In general, Jordan overstuffs the novel with gorgeous women, and it starts to sound like a Roger Moore James Bond film.) Some parts of the plot are never explained, such as what Albanus actually needs with the idealistic rebels. However, the story moves quickly enough that it is easy to overlook the bumps in the plot. The principal heroine, Ariane, is a refreshing change from the “helpless wench” or “tough warrior woman” cliché and has a realism to her found infrequently in this kind of tale. In the final third, the action really kicks in and rushes toward the exciting finale with the rebellion and the storming of the King’s Palace. Jordan even manages to toss in a snappy plot twist that genuinely surprises. Plot twists like this usually do not show up in Conan novels.
In another unusual move, Jordan directly sets up the next novel, Conan the Triumphant, a rare case of a connection between two Conan adventures. The return of one-eyed Hordo, a character who appears in some of Jordan’s other Conan novels, helps create a sense of continuity that the pastiches normally lack.
Although a lesser novel than Jordan’s excellent first venture into the Hyborian age, Conan the Invincible, I can recommend Conan the Defender as a satisfying if flawed exploit of our favorite ‘barbar.’ (Maybe I should have said ‘a satisfying an flawed exploit,’ but I think that is too archaic for this review.)
Rating: Three out of five stars.
MultiQuote
Its a superb series!
