Conan the Barbarian: The Official Motion Picture Adaptation

By: L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter

Narrated by: Bradford Hastings

Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Two of the most famous contributors to the Conan legend present the official novel of Conan the Barbarian, the seminal fantasy film written by John Milius and Oliver Stone.

In the novel by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, the Cimmerian youth Conan witnesses the death of his parents at the hands of Thulsa Doom, a priest of Set. Enslaved, he is trained as a gladiator. Gaining his freedom he allies with Subotai, a Hyrkanian archer, and a skilled swordswoman thief named Valeria. Together they raid the Tower of the Serpent, and then Conan breaks away to seek the cult of Doom—and revenge on the sorcerer who leads it.

©2023 Lin Carter and L. Sprague de Camp (P)2023 Blackstone Publishing

By Crom, this narration is incredible!

Any Conan fan who has been around even a little while has seen the classic Arnold film. This book does it Justice and then some. If you love the film you’ll love this book. If you love Conan you’ll love this book. I have been a fan of both the film and Conan and all his adventures for years. By Crom I love this book!

Great Conan Addition

Let me start by saying that I am very pleased they brought back the narrarator from Conan, Blood of the Serpent. His ability to capture a gruffness in the voice of Conan is awesome. Although I did notice that he mispronounced some words that he had gotten correct in Blood of the Serpent (Vilayet for example) - it wasn't jarring or anything so it was no big deal.

The story just works. It works in the movie and of course it works in the novel. They brought back the OGs to adapt this one - Lin Carter and L Sprauge De Camp. These guys are legends in the sword and sorcery genre for their work on the Conan pastiches. I was not disappointed by their work on this novel.

I'm glad the authors gave us a version of the actual Conan instead of Arnold.

Whatever company it is nowadays pushing these Conan novels (especially in audiobook format) you guys are heros.

And in the meantime - how about getting this great narrarator to do some of the past DeCamp/Carter novels? The pastiches don't get the love they deserve because for some reason it's cool to be seen as a Howard purist.

Great work all around for everyone involved in this - I thoroughly enjoyed every minute and I'll be giving it another listen for sure!

One of my favorite movies came to life.

I have been a fantasy nerd for most of my life, and Conan had a lot to do with my introduction to this genre. I found that the story was satisfying in a way that it gave you the story of Conan (with additional fantasy aspects throughout that you did not experience with the movie), yet the authors give you a Conan more in tune with Robert E. Howard's version of the iconic warrior. Conan seemed more intelligent, with more dialog that was absent from the movie, as opposed to the somber and brooding character that was portrayed. The only disappointment I felt was with the action sequences, which felt somewhat underwhelming. That being said, some things were explained better than what was portrayed in the movie. A must for true Conan fans.

What is best in life…

This book was everything I wanted it to be. I’m going to listen to it again back to back.

Thoroughly enjoyable!

Based on John Milius' screenplay, this has recently returned to print and audio. It's fun! A Lot of fun. There are slight differences from the movie but nothing that takes away its gusto. I think it's my favorite Conan novel outside of Howard's original stories.

so...

satisfying, really fired on all cylinders, just wish it was longer. the performance was awesome, 10/10

Reforging a Classic Storyline!

I was hesitant at first. Conan the movie has been a friend since childhood. My own father used it to impart the riddle of steel. He was a Vietnam vet and agreed steel was the only trustworthy partner in life. This version of the movie’s story was an upgrade to the usual presentation of a Conan Saga. The magic, explanations, and the other worldly monsters. The beast men made more sense. The loss of some of the famous phrases was a let down. However, This book will be played in an effort to reach the hundreds of times I have played the movie. The Conan the Barbarian movie was complete for me until this new audio version. Now it is complete in line with the other Conan stories. Well Done!

Nice expanded story!

Overall I enjoyed the book. I liked the expansive storyline to the film. Only a couple things that I kind of disliked. The narrator is good, however, he makes Valeria sound kinda strange when he changes up his voice for a female character, and makes Conan sound like Optimus Prime. Lol. Also they changed some famous lines in the film we all know and enjoy, which was kind of a bummer. But at the end it was enjoyable.

Doesn’t feel like Howard or Milius

As a lifelong fan of both R.E. Howard’s short stories and John Milius’ sword and sorcery classic movie, this adaption failed to capture the essence of either Conan. Add in a subpar audio performance (“Conan” voice is nothing short of irritating, and the narrator uses the same voice for Thulsa Doom for unknown reasons) and we have a full disappointment. The sparse dialogue of the movie is irrationally bloated with prose that seems to have been written by a teenager. Characters are inexplicably added and subtracted (we trade Thorgrim for…Thulsa Doom 2?).
I was completely checked out by the Battle of the Mounds.