Robert E. Howard – Page 23

LibriVox: The Devil In Iron by Robert E. Howard

Tuesday, March 19, 2013Tuesday, March 19, 2013 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

The Devil In Iron by Robert E. Howard

The Devil In Iron - illustration by John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala

Considered by some to be the worst Conan story written by Howard, The Devil In Iron isn’t my favourite either.

In it the “gay clad” barbarian visits an island fortress, wrestles a giant green snake, fights an unstabable demon, and saves a sleepy-headed and scantily dressed beauty.

The plot, which is rather intricate, doesn’t do much for me – but several scenes have that Howard writing magic I love.

The Devil In Iron
By Robert E. Howard; Read by Phil Chevernet
6 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 1 Hour 35 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: March 16, 2013
Alone on the strange enchanted island of Xapur, Conan must face Khostaral Khel, a fearsome monster made of living metal! First published in Weird Tales, August 1934.

Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/rss/7606

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|
The Devil In Iron - illustration by John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala

Weird Tales, August 1934

Posted by Jesse Willis

The Pre-Cataclysmic Age by Robert E. Howard (King Kull’s era)

Tuesday, March 5, 2013 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio News

Here’s the description, from Robert E. Howard himself, of what the time of King Kull looked like, and the map derived from it.

The Pre-Cataclysmic Age (circa 20,000 BC) by Robert E. Howard

Of that epoch known by the Nemedian Chronicles as the Pre-Cataclysmic Age, little is known except the latter part, and that is veiled in the mists of legend.
Valusia was the westernmost kingdom of the Thurian continent: her capital, the City of Wonders, was the marvel of her age.

Known history begins with the waning of the civilization of the main, or Thurian continent… a civilization dominated by the kingdoms of Ramelia, Valusia, Verulia, Grondar, Thule and Commoria. These people spoke a similar language, suggesting a common origin. Though they don’t seem to be in agreement. The barbarians of the age were the Picts, who lived on islands far out on the Western Ocean, the Atlanteans, who dwelt on a small continent between the Pictish islands and the Thurian continent, and the Lemurians, who inhabited a chain of large islands in the Eastern Hemisphere. There were vast regions of unexplored land, the civilized kingdoms, though enormous, occupied a relatively small portion of the whole planet. Valusia was the westernmost kingdom of the Thurian continent: her capital, the City of Wonders, was the marvel of her age. Grondar, whose people were less highly cultured than those of the other kingdoms, was the easternmost land. Among the less arid stretches of desert East of Grondar, in the serpent-infested jungles and among the snow-perched mountains, there lived scattered clans and tribes of primitive savages.

On the Far Eastern shores of the Thurian continent lived another race… human, but mysterious and non-Thurian, with which the Lemurians from time to time came in contact. They apparently came from a shadowy and nameless continent lying somewhere east of the Lemurian islands. Far to the South, there was a second mysterious civilization, unconnected with the Thurian culture and apparently pre-human in its nature.

The Thurian civilization was crumbling, their armies were composed largely of barbarian mercenaries. Picts, Atlanteans and Lemurians were their generals, their statesmen and often, their kings. Of the bickering of the kingdoms and wars between Valusia and Commoria, as well as the conquests by which the Atlanteans founded a kingdom on the mainland… there are more legends than accurate history.

Posted by Jesse Willis

The SFFaudio Podcast #202 – AUDIOBOOK/READALONG: The Shadow Kingdom by Robert E. Howard

Podcast

The SFFaudio Podcast #202 –The Shadow Kingdom by Robert E. Howard, narrated by Todd McLaren (from Tantor Media’s Kull: Exile Of Atlantis). This is a complete and unabridged reading of the novelette (1 hour 25 minutes) followed by a discussion of it. Participants in the discussion include Jesse, Tamahome, Jim Moon.

Talked about on today’s show:
Hypnogoria and Hypnobobs, King Kull, Kaa Nama Ka Lajerma, the magic phrase, snake men, shibboleth, the Book Of Judges, the letter after “G” in the alphabet, Z, Jay-Zed, Isaac Asimov’s test unionized, a gloomier and more brooding hero, a more philosophical CONAN, a more fantastical Howard story, wolf-men, a talking cat, animal people, Picts, Atlanteans, the Thurian Age, Mu, Lemuria, Atlantis, the final cataclysm, H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Plato, Man from Atlantis, sea-barbarians, Brule the Spear-Slayer, “What, you would have me come alone?”, the Tower of Splendor, kingdom vs. empire, the Empire of The Seven Kingdoms, “squatting and living in the remnants of an older civilization”, secret passages and secret chambers, it’s like a mall, “I am Kull!”, in light of later events, King Kull’s identity crisis, I’m King, stop trying to depose me, Mel Brooks, Jared Diamond’s The World Until Yesterday, barbarians vs. traditional societies, constant talking, “a more purple depth of language”, the Shakespearean soliloquy, manly men, Hulk will smash, Weird Tales, By This Axe I Rule, King Conan vs. regular CONAN, Kull as a practice run for CONAN, Exile Of Atlantis, a sort of Science Fiction idea, Philip K. Dick, Robert Sheckley, The Thing (aka Who Goes There?), Eight O’clock In The Morning by Ray Nelson, They Live, waking to the full reality of the world, “the owners of the Earth”, a human mask over an alien face, “are you a snake man?”, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney, alien replicants, The Hanging Stranger by Philip K. Dick, identity, Howard isn’t only a purple prose action man, Kull’s philosophical bent, the speaking of the hooves, ruling an alien land, deep time, geologic time, reptoid conspiracy phenomenon, Congress as aliens, V, David Icke, Howard as a message man, there’s something metaphorical happening, a paranoia of trust, the old regime vs. the new regime, a Yes, Minister situation, new broom vs. old guard, a superhero story, the nameless serpent god, Set, Yig, Worms Of The Earth by Robert E. Howard, Thulsa Doom, Conan The Barbarian (1982), the Kull movie (Kull the Conqueror) with Kevin Sorbo, there’s no Brule, big hair and heavy metal guitar, a good farce, Valka’s face, it’s not god-awful.

The Shadow Kingdom illustrated by Hugh Rankin

TANTOR MEDIA - Kull: Exile Of Atlantis by Robert E. Howard

Conan's Brethren - Shadow Kingdom - illustrated by Les Edwards

Marvel Comics adaptation of The Shadow Kingdom

The Shadow Kingdom by Robert E. Howard - illustration by Roy Krenkel

The Shadow Kingdom - illustration by John and Marie Severin

The Shadow Kingdom illustrated by Severin

Posted by Jesse Willis

The SFFaudio Podcast #197 – AUDIOBOOK/READALONG: Dig Me No Grave by Robert E. Howard

Podcast

The SFFaudio Podcast #197 – Dig Me No Grave by Robert E. Howard, read by Robertson Dean (from Tantor Media’s The Horror Stories Of Robert E. Howard). This is a complete and unabridged reading of the short story (37 Minutes) followed by a discussion of it by Jesse, Tamahome, Jim Moon.

Talked about on today’s show:
No CONAN, Cthulhu The Mythos And Kindred Horrors, H.P. Lovecraft, a Lovecraftian story in the Howard style, dressing up the scenery, Howard did research on the cheap, if Robert E. Howard were a movie maker…, Malak Tus, a mish-mash, demon elder gods you know nothing about, a Satanic pact story, immortality, Mr Jim Moon is most like the dead man on the table, revering books like a Lovecraft character, bibliophilia, “the lure of the old books”, Howard doing Dickens, Grimlin was dead…, is this a Christmasy story?, Victorian lesson, nothing happens in this story, Conrad is shocked by candles and a robe, a giant peacock in the sky, the will, yellow peril, disturbing eyes that burn like yellow coals, the demon/god’s avatar, Nyarlathotep, The King In Yellow, the emissary of the god, John Grimlin, off to a demon’s larder, the demon possesses his mortal remains (and therefore his soul?), the weird scream, the lost city of Koth, Shintoism is particularly bad?, noxious winds, this is madness heaped on madness, eight brazen towers, Turkey, “his demon worshipping devotees”, should we make much of there being no wine?, Jacob Marley, was it an accident?, what would a demon do with a county estate?, “your ancestors need money!”, burnt offerings, burn a cheque, are peacocks particularly scary?, Satan as the peacock angel, the peacock as a symbol of pride, Howard’s magpie salt and pepper approach to research, love it for what it is (the momentum of the story), Howard’s weird tales, what would Conan do?, Howard’s studies (were business), boxing stories and boxing ghost stories, the Kirowan and Conrad stories, Old Garfield’s Heart, The Thing On The Roof, the Marvel Comics adaptation of Dig Me No Grave, Mr Jim Moon’s new collection of weird stories M.R. James, Bram Stoker, E. Nesbit, every story has an illustration, introductions, afterwords, and footnotes, The Seven Of Spectres, “photoshoppery”, The Horla by Guy de Maupassant, Hypnobobs, there’s a Horla there, it’s hard to illustrate an invisible monster, a hidden skull, once you see it you’ll never unsee it, haunted pictures, an animated gif?, moving paintings (in Harry Potter), J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter books grow with the audience, what tradition is Rowling coming out of?, what makes Rowling’s writing work?, J.R.R. Tolkien, Rowling was aware of all of the traditions of fantasy, E. Nesbit, C.S. Lewis, family adventure stories, Michael Moorcock, school stories, jolly japes, the Rupert books, anthropomorphic animals, cozy humour, three layered storytelling, Voldemort, “the flight of death”, Harry Potter is structured around scenes or sets, drawing on the old traditions, the serialized page turning aspect, unique writing voices, a timeless feel, The Causal Vacancy, Hot Fuzz, what if Lethal Weapon happened here?, Shaun of the Dead, shall we go to the pub and wait it out?

Dig Me No Grave by Robert E. Howard

Dig Me No Grave - from Journey Into Mystery

Dig Me No Grave by Robert E. Howard - Weird Tales, February 1937

Posted by Jesse Willis

The SFFaudio Podcast #195 – AUDIOBOOK/READALONG: Polaris by H.P. Lovecraft

Podcast

The SFFaudio Podcast #195 – Polaris by H.P. Lovecraft, read by Jim Moon. This is a complete and unabridged reading of the short story (11 Minutes) followed by a discussion of it by Jesse, Tamahome, Jim Moon.

Talked about on today’s show:
The Philosopher (an amateur magazine), is this a Christmas story?, The Festival, Lord Dunsany, The Necronomicon, Lovecraft’s Christianity, religion vs. Tradition, Lovecraft’s relationship to his characters, WWI, eldritch gibbering, fainting fits, Lovecraft loved his snoozing, reincarnation vs. mind transfer, time travel, alternate realities?, neanderthal in North America?, what is the setting?, The Horror Of The Museum, The H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast, swamps vs. bogs vs. fens, “Eskimos” vs. “Inutos”, dishonorable dirty fighting, The Shadow Out Of Time, Dagon, The Call of Cthulhu, The Tomb, it’s The Outsider in reverse, Atlantis, Athens, Lemuria, the Land of Lomar, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Hyperborea, King Kull, Mu, the Dream Lands, atavism, The Rats In The Walls, “a penchant for strange foods”, Jack London, Carl Jung, race memory, the evolutionary path, dishonorable yellow hordes, the yellow peril, “line up and die”, startings and endings, repeated phraseology, a dunsany-esque story, the Dunsany mode, Edgar Allan Poe, its like an extended prose poem, Silence: A Fable, Shadow: A Parable, Ligea is labyrinthine, “battered by adjectives”, The Highwayman by Lord Dunsany, poetic stories, accessible Dunsany stories, In The Fields We Live, “sinister, whimsical, and beautifully odd”, Victorian magazines, The King Of Elfland’s Daughter, C.S. Lewis, Michael Moorcock, world-building, a consistency of reality, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, lost epochs, “the wisdom of the Zobnarrian Fathers”, “bubble and blaspheme”, the alien outer gods, Lovecraft’s interest in astronomy, Charles Wain (aka the plow, aka the big dipper), mapping the skies, messages and impressions, Arcturus, Cassiopeia, Aldebaran, Philip K. Dick, “the world is alive”, a leering star, astrological time, if the seeing is good…, Lovecraft’s desire to be an astronomer, Lovecraft’s formal education.

Polaris by H.P. Lovecraft

Posted by Jesse Willis

R.E.H. by R.H. Barlow

Wednesday, November 28, 2012 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Robert Hayward Barlow, a friend of both H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, wrote this poem after the suicide of the author of the Conan yarns.

R.E.H. by R.H. Barlow

First published in Weird Tales, October 1936.

Barlow, “apparently fearing the exposure of his homosexuality“, would also kill himself in 1951.

And here is John Feaster’s reading of the poem: |MP3|

R.E.H.
Died June 11, 1936

By R.H.BARLOW

Conan, the warrior king, lies stricken dead
Beneath a sky of cryptic stars; the lute
That was his laughter stilled, and sadly mute
Upon the chilling earth his youthful head.
There sounds for him no more the clamorous fray.
But dirges now, where once the trumpet loud:
About him press old memories for shroud,
And ended is the conflict of the day.

Death spilled the blood of him who loved the fight
As men love mistresses, and fought it well—
His fair young flesh is marble where he fell
With broken sword that vanquished all but Night;
And as of mythic kings our words must speak
Of Conan now, who roves where dreamers seek.

[Thanks John]

Posted by Jesse Willis