209 replies to this topic

[Sermon Bath]

please include Howard's outlines for the fragments....that would be nice

[Mikey_C]

I'm looking forward to this collection already. Are there likely to be any rare / unpublished surprises in it?

[Taranaich]

Well guys, I guess there's no harm in speculation on what stories will be included.

So far, I guess it's safe to assume that all the Cormacs and Agnes tales will be in:

"Sword Woman"
"Blades for France"
"Mistress of Death" fragment & synopsis
"Hawks of Outremer"
"The Blood of Belshazzar"
"The Slave Princess" fragment & synopsis
"The Sowers of the Thunder" (since it mentions Fitz)

Following the historical footsteps of ?El Borak and Other Desert Adventures?, which takes us to Arabia at the turn of the 20th century, ?Dark Agnes? will take readers further back in time, from the time of the Crusades up to 16th century France.

It seems reasonable to suppose that this means the historical adventures dealing with the Medieval and Renaissance time period will be included:

"Gates of Empire"
"Hawks Over Egypt" long/short version
"The King's Service"
"The Lion of Tiberias"
"Lord of Samarcand
"Spears of the East"
"Red Blades of Black Cathay"
"The Road of Azrael"
"The Shadow of the Vulture"
"The Way of the Swords"/"The Road of the Eagles"

"The Track of Bohemund" unfinished draft
"Two Against Tyre" unfinished draft
"The Shadow of the Hun" unfinished draft

Untitled Fragment ("He knew De Bracy...")
Untitled Draft ("The Persians Had All Fled")
Untitled Fragment ("The Wind from the Mediterranean...")

"Lord of Samarcand" and "The Shadow of the Vulture" have already been published in Grim Lands, and most have already been printed in Lord of Samarcand and Other Adventures, but there's still plenty of scope. I'd especially like to see "Spears of Clontarf" to accompany "The Grey God Passes" from Crimson Shadows, poems like "Timur-Lang" and any other stories like "Under the Great Tiger" that might be worth a mention.

I notice that the time period in the blurb does not include the Dark Ages, which is the time of Cormac Mac Art and Howard's other Dark/Viking age tales. I wonder if Deuce's idea for a "Celtic" collection for Cormac, Turlogh, Conan of the Reavers and other such heroes is a possibility...

[MaxTheSilent]

Joy!!

I can't wait to read the original material for 'Mistress of Death'. See if it really was Howard who wanted to turn the Dark Agnes yarns supernatural.

[crossplain pilgrim]

I notice that the time period in the blurb does not include the Dark Ages, which is the time of Cormac Mac Art and Howard's other Dark/Viking age tales. I wonder if Deuce's idea for a "Celtic" collection for Cormac, Turlogh, Conan of the Reavers and other such heroes is a possibility...

That is a collection I would dearly love to see.

[Taranaich]

Joy!!

I can't wait to read the original material for 'Mistress of Death'. See if it really was Howard who wanted to turn the Dark Agnes yarns supernatural.

It's very likely that it was. According to Robert M. Price, Page's additions start with the paragraph beginning "Stuart led the way", working from Howard's synopsis. I haven't read the synopsis myself, but if the first part of "Mistress of Death" is accurate Howard, then it's pretty obvious that the explanation for why Agnes was ambushed by a group of men who were hanged earlier that day is some sort of sorcerous mischief.

I'd very much like to compare the synopsis to the fragment though, which I'm sure Del Rey will deliver (unless the synopsis has been lost).

That is a collection I would dearly love to see.

Me too! There are certainly enough "Celtic" stories to justify such a collection, and enough that aren't in the other volumes. I just want to see CMA get the Del Rey treatment, and a collection of all the Celt stories would be the most economical way to do it.

[Haemogoblin]

I can't wait for this. REH's historical stories are some of my favorites.

[Carcosa]

It great to see Del Rey still commited to the series. It certainly has grown beyond the simple Wandering Star limiteds. I just wish the schedule was stepped up a bit. At this rate it may be many years until we see a weird menace volume....

[drush9999]

That is a collection I would dearly love to see.

Me too! There are certainly enough "Celtic" stories to justify such a collection, and enough that aren't in the other volumes. I just want to see CMA get the Del Rey treatment, and a collection of all the Celt stories would be the most economical way to do it.

Put me down for Cormac Mac Art / Turlough Dubh O' Brien / Celtic / Viking collection too.
Definitely my most wanted Howard volume right now, the Turlough tales have never been collected in one place before.

[Jay@Paradox]

With the signature on the contract barely having dried, I am glad to announce that the artist for the upcoming Dark Agnes book is John Watkiss.

Watkiss is no stranger to REH and has previously illustrated Conan in Savage Sword of Conan and Conan the Adventurer for Marvel. Other work in comics include Batman and Sandman for DC Comics. He also has a long history of doing film work, having worked on Disney?s Tarzan, Atlantis, and Treasure Planet, storyboarding the Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and creating several paintings for a proposed trilogy of films based on Sandman. Apart from Conan, below you can also see an illustration in a series used to pitch the upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie starring Robert Downey Jr.

The team is now complete and work can begin on "Dark Agnes and Other Historical Adventures"!

[Aaront596]

What is this one from? Is it conan and what was it made for? I really like it!

[deuce]

I've written up the available info about Dark Agnes and Other Historical Adventures, tossed in a couple of guesses and posted it all here:

http://www.thecimmerian.com/?p=6113

2011 can't come soon enough.

[MilkManX]

Great News!!

[daniel]

that is indeed excellent news, especially since lord of samarcand as well as gates of empire are unavailable through amazon until further notice. hopefully the content of both volumes will reappear in this new one by del rey.

[bthom]

The Sword Woman and Other Historical Adventures - Coming January 25th!
Jim & Ruth Keegan (Illustrators)
Paperback: 544 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN-10: 0345505468
ISBN-13: 978-0345505460
http://www.randomhou...n=9780345505460
http://www.amazon.co...73269022&sr=1-1



Bill Thom
Coming Attractions
http://members.cox.n...ingattractions/
Pulp Series Character Reprint Index
http://members.cox.n...lpreprintindex/
The Works of Robert E. Howard
http://howardworks.com/

[amster]

KICK. ASS!

[Fierro]

Right on. I always liked Dark Agnes. My kinda gal...

[MaxTheSilent]

Very nice!

I'll be picking this up for sure.

[Taranaich]

So it's no longer Dark Agnes and other Historical Adventures then? Truth be told, I like this one better since it's the name of an actual story rather than a character, so it's more appropriate.

Huzzah for the Keegans getting more work! I wonder if they'll have any tasters at Howard Days...

[Libaax]

Really i dont care about the title at all even if Dark Agnes sounded cooler.

To me its another great Del Rey with REH stories i havent read