MrT

Well, I was rather hoping that the "actual work and its comparable qualities" might be something that could be presented here, thus potentially leading to an interesting discussion. It was roughly to this concept that I directed my comment re "one may hate..." as a reminder that the question Blade! had asked related to the content of the original REH work as compared to the content of the pastiche writers' work, not a question about the respective authors' personalities. I certainly intended no mischaracterisation of your personal view of deCamp.

And so your final comment that...

In this case though , "Conan" was not Sprague's character , but somebody else's , which he borrowed and essentially weakened in pastiche .

...is presisely the sort of appraisal that I suspect will be of interest to Blade! and particularly if that thesis were to be expanded upon - and potentially discussed/debated - in this thread.

All very well, Isaacson, however I don't see that one must necessarily discount deCamp's pastiches on the grounds of his personality.

The question was:

Do you think that the Howard works by themselves are best, or as presented in the softbacks with the different authors supplementing him, a better overall experience?

Whether deCamp spent his life praising REH or trashing him has no real bearing on whether his pastiches are worthwhile reading. One may hate the man for his character while still appreciating - even enjoying - his work.

Welcome aboard.

Wow! Impressive darkness in "Which Scarcely Will Be Understood". Those last four stanzas, in particular, are absolutely gripping and the final line...

The Fiend be praised, we'll pen the perfect rime.

...is deliciously masterful.

Thanks for posting these, Kane. I'm hooked.

Yep...that was great!

When did REH write that one...early or late in his "career"?