Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian Barbarian

By: Robert E. Howard, Finn J. D. John

Narrated by: Finn J. D. John

Length: 35 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

This collection contains all of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian stories published during his lifetime, contextualized with biographical details of their author.

A full e-book copy of this book in Interactive PDF format is included and can be downloaded by clicking the "PDF" link in your Audible library (it's in the "Title" column). This PDF includes the audiobook chapter numbers, to make navigation easier.

Excerpt from the introduction:

"When the first Conan of Cimmeria story appeared in the pages of Weird Tales magazine in December 1932, nothing quite like it had ever before appeared in print. Author Robert E. Howard had been writing stories broadly similar to it for half a decade; but it was with Conan, and the Hyborian Age storyworld in which he was placed, that Howard finally fully doped out the sub-genre that would become known as "sword and sorcery", of which Howard is today considered the founding father.

"Conan's origins date back to an experiment in 1926 titled "The Shadow Kingdom", featuring the character Kull, exile of Atlantis. The idea - Howard's great innovation - was, at its core, historical fiction set in a pre-historical period. That pre-historical period - being, of course, lost in the mists of time - could contain anything Howard might like to include: evil races of sentient snake-things, sorcerers, undead creatures, demons walking upon the earth, anything.

"In other words, Howard was creating a secular mythology."

©2017 Finn J.D. John (P)2017 Pulp-Lit Productions

Great Reading!

What did you love best about Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian Barbarian?

Evocative reading and great stories. Excellent introduction to Sword and Sorcery as well as Pulp Classics.

What does Finn J. D. John bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Finn J.D. John pours his heart into the Conan mythos.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Listening to 35 hours of Conan would be enjoyable but even a Barbarian needs sleep.

23 of 23 people found this review helpful

Conan

Greatest collection of fantasy stories ever written by the creator of Sword and Sorcery Robert E Howard

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

a great according of Robert Howard's works.

thank you Mr. Finn cometary and narration are appreciated. Sad that Mr Howard isn't here to hear it.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

D&D Fans! You'll love these stories!

If you could sum up Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian Barbarian in three words, what would they be?

Pulp, Fun, Surprising

What other book might you compare Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian Barbarian to and why?

Howard was accused of "stealing" ideas from Lovecraft and simply placing them in a fantasy setting. I did not get that impression at all. The two are quite different - with the notable exception of Howard's frequent use of demonic, "Lovercraftian" monsters that were obviously drawn from those Cthulhu sources. Howard reads more like the works of Fritz Leiber or R. A. Salvatore. Enjoyable and easy-to-read; sometime humorous; with simple, sometimes obvious "twists".

Which scene was your favorite?

This is a collection of mostly short stories. I think "The People of the Black Circle" was most engaging, but really no story was a disappointment.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I wouldn't say I was moved - the book isn't that deep. But prior to each chapter the narrator provides information about the story. It's publication history, what was going on in Howard's life at the time, and historical critical reception. These prefaces provide a great setup for the story and add a lot as you listen.

Any additional comments?

If, like me, you're a fan of Dungeon's & Dragons, I think you'll find another level of enjoyment here. Gary Gygax said in interviews that these stories were a source of inspiration and often direct input for content in the original version of D&D. If you know that game well, it is easy and satisfying to spot those influences. They also offer great ideas for encounters and stories in your own D&D games.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

It's fuckin Conan!

Although a collection of seemingly disjointed stories you still get a vivid picture of the epic character that is Conan. I believe Conan to be the greatest of the anti-heros.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Formulaic but good enough to at least listen.

Finn J. D. Jhon's Narration was decent enough, if not sometimes a tiny bit hard for me to follow. The stories were quite hit or miss, but Finn's parts explaining E. Howard's life situation when the stories were written made me put them into context as regards to the authors Life. I'd recommend the audiobook still, perhaps not as a first purchase as I enjoyed E. Howard's writing style even if the stories, as explained by Finn in the biography parts were extremely formulaic.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

pillar of fantasy

this is where the roots of fantasy are watered. An epic group of tales that helped make fantasy what it is today.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Great Content, in Spite of Poor Voice Acting

The lackluster voice acting is probably the first thing you will notice, and even though you become more accustomed to it over time, you never really forget that it's there.

That being said, I do appreciate the actor's effort, and the one saving grace about his performance is that his narration is decent, but often, his performance is unintentionally comical.

The stories themselves are usually very good, but because the stories are relatively short, almost completely self-contained and because a lot of the plot elements are recycled, listening to them over a long period of time can become repetitive.

Also, if you are easily offended, some of the descriptions and suggestions concerning women and black people will probably not sit well with you. This is partly a reflection of the time period, in addition to the fact that Howard's work is partly designed to shock and awe. While I am not justifying or approving of this kind of content, it is what it is.

if you can overlook the aforementioned flaws, the amount of content that you are getting is an excellent value, and I also really appreciate the insight into the author's life, the details of the publication history and the addition of some of Robert E. Howard's earlier works.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

An Excellent Collection of the Cimmerian

What made the experience of listening to Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian Barbarian the most enjoyable?

The voice acting was great, and complemented the stories very well.

What did you like best about this story?

The influence Conan has on modern fantasy in all its incarnations is seminal.

Which scene was your favorite?

"The Hour of the Dragon" should be considered one of the greatest high fantasy stories ever.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"The tales that inspired generations, of the man who would be barbarian, conqueror, king."

Any additional comments?

This is a great collection.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Needed for fans of Conan

This is the must must have for any fan of sword and sorcery. Finn J.D. John's performance and analysis of the work is superb. John really brings Conan to life and I cannot image Conan in any other voice. This should be required reading for any player of dungeons and dragons!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Not the best narrator

There is a version done by Todd Mclaren which is excellent. I had to have this as i am a very big Conan fan.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

The worst narrator I have ever heard

What an odd narrator. Bizarre intonation. Sounds sarcastic or bored . Ruined this book for me

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Great collection

Great collection for all Conan fans,something I have been waiting for a long time. All the greatest Conan adventures in one place with commentary about Robert E. Howard’s life.
Must listen if you’re true heroic fantasy fan.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Great adventure storytelling, brilliant prose

Enjoyed this tremendously. Although familiar with the character of Conan, I was pleasantly surprised at how good the prose is. Very mature writing for such a young author, moody gothic atmosphere at times, evocative, fluent and efficient storytelling.
The narration is great too (except the female voice imitations perhaps), nice rhythm and timbre, a relatively neutral accent, and love the subtle Schwarzenegger influence on Conan's voice.
Howard displays astute knowledge in the themes of power, politics, the coming and going of civilisations and tribes. At times the ethnocentric worldview shines through in his depiction of "dark" races, but overall it is about tribes in constant conflict with each other. Conan himself as a Barbarian versus the civilised pampered urban people is an embodiment of the "noble savage" and it is unfortunate that Howard's life ended so prematurely, because one can sense that his writing would have matured even further.

All in all an inspiring journey through epic imagination, of the days of sorcery and high adventure.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

fantastic and informative

Great presentation and history of author and genre. still like to know if he was ever paid the $1500 Weird Talks owed him.
Must have loved his mother an awfully lot.

just how I remember them

just how I remember them. Yes most women are treated like object's but it was written in 20s and 30s.. just a good easy read and for 1 credit go for it .

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

Dated view of women

Sorry but the view of women by the author was enough to make me stop listening after only the first dozen stories. I get that it was another time an all that but when you constantly describe women by their "supple physique" and their "fair and voluptuous silhouette", or whatever, it starts to get on my nerves.

0 of 11 people found this review helpful