There are more covers of Robert E. Howard's
Red Nails than I can possibly use here. I had thought that I might find more to say about this Conan story when I had finished reading it but there is not much really. Howard's imagination and plot-twists have a unique bizarreness maybe partly similar to those of his contemporary, HP Lovecraft. Poul Anderson and SM Stirling wrote rational Conan stories especially when contrasted with this one by the character's creator. All the bad guys wind up dead, killed by Conan, by Valeria or by each other. We envy the two central characters as they prepare to leave the literally accursed and claustrophobic place but that is right at the end of the story. They need to get out into some fresh air. I return to other reading as indicated in recent posts.
2 comments:
Well, Conan's -profession- for most of his life was violence. If there wasn't violence, he was unemployed!
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
And bored stiff! A bit like Flandry, who preferred risking his neck over and over as a field agent to a safe administrative job at Admiralty Center.
Ad astra! Sean
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