Ok, lets get this out of the way.. I'm sick of dealing with it..
Chapters 16-25
After the fight with the villager, Dake is counting his money in his and reflecting on various conundrums. A big one is headed his way in the form of Raseri... Bruised and battered, Conan is resting and thinking of how to escape. He has been frequently informed that such an attempt is futile due to Dake's Magic. But he persists, the last time they attempted to flee there were but three, now their are eight.
Unfortunately the other captives prove to be correct, as their attempt is halted after only a few feet. Patience was not Conan's strength, but a consensus among the others was that a second attempt not be made. Dake's small caravan buy's its way into the midst of a larger Ophiric caravan headed to Shadizar, owned by a Lord Capaya.
Raseri the Giant, and Fosull the Dwarf, meet upon the road. At first they come near to blows but then reason out that it would be best to forge a temporary alliance. They have come to this decision in the nick of time to prevent the depravities that Capeya and Dake have planned for the captives.
Dake, distracted by one of Capeya's slaves momentarily looses control of his magic and the whole collection manages to escape.. Capeya, Kreg and Dake and a large number of caravan guards set out to retrieve them. They are outwitted time and again by Conan and the others. Steadily losing numbers, they opt for a head on confrontation. This does not go well for them as Dake is slain by Conan and the rest are dispatched in other ways.
Conan says his goodbyes and continues on his way to Shadizar.
...ARGHHH....
Locations - Zamora
Towns/Cities -
Characters - Conan The Cimmerian, Jatte: Theyle, Oren, Morja, Raseri. Corinthian Wagoneers, Dake, Kreg, Penz the wolfman, Tro the Catgirl. Vargs: Vilken, Fossul, Brack
Languages Spoken - Cimmerian, Aesir, Hyperborean, Brythunian, Zamoran
Review -
ok, so finally.. after kicking my feet and screaming I've finally made it through the Steve Perry cycle... I don't really even know what to say about this one.. I've already said it all about the last three.. reading this much Steve perry in one lump is hazardous to your health.. You make wonder why I've got 10 chapters covered in the space I normally only cover five in.. well the simple answer is that nothing happened in most of those 10 chapters.. all of Steve Perry's books read as the first part of a trilogy.. which was fine back in Defiant or even Indomitable.. but the fact it continued in Free-lance and Formidable.. It's a standard formula... introduce Conan to some assorted odd creatures, bed at least one of the strange creature's females.. have him go on a long quest, and at the end be a few hundred miles closer to Shadizar.
This started out perfectly reasonable, a travel tale. But I knew already from the cover that wasn't to be. You see the cover's of the Tor books really don't leave much to the imgination, this one features Conan fighting a large four armed Giant.. and so of course he encounters a large four armed giant... in addition to a Cat Girl, a Wolfman, and dwarfish cannibales with mottled green skin known as Vargs. The Giant's and Vargs were created by a wizard (of course) in order that he might more quickly build his castle. This creating creatures to do your bidding thing is a halmark of most of Steve Perry's villians.
So now we are in Shadizar, but what sucks is.. according to Robert Jordan's Timeline (the editor of the Tor Pastiches).. These Steve Perry books would lead into Robert E. Howard's Tower of the Elephant.. But astute readers will remember that Tower of the Elephant .. DOESN'T TAKE PLACE IN SHADIZAR! So .. Steve has just spent about 1200 pages getting Conan to the wrong City.
So needless to say, the way the Chronology is laid out at the moment.. no one has really ever put much thought into it... least of all the Pastiche Writers.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
7. Tor Conan #22 - Conan the Formidable by Steve Perry. Part 3
Sorry everyone for the delay, been recuperating from oral surgery and just haven't felt like inflicting any Steve perry on myself in my weakened condition.
Chapters 11 - 15
Conan however has never had to content with problems as mundane as those.. instead he gets a wagon load of slavers on his way to Shadizar to concern his time. Slavers who enchant and kidnap him, Conan finds the oddest aspect of this is that Thele and her two siblings are here too. He thinks to himself that his plans to reach Shadizar have been thwarted once again.
Both the Jatti and the Varg leaders are hatching plots to retrieve their respective offspring, It is only a matter of planning and information gathering. A task which both set about, one through old fashioned detective work and the other through the dispensation of coinage.
Dake is making his next move, planning to use Conan and set up an all-comers boxing promotion along the road towards Shadizar. Conan is not a perfectly willing member of this plan but as he is currently enchanted.. has little choice in the matter. They first plan to host a match in the village of Elika which is along the Ellitase River.
The scheme begins and Conan is pitted against the local Champion, this is not as easy as it at first appears and takes Conan some considerable effort to subdue to man. But subdue he does, and with the wagers collected Dake goes inside the wagon to rest up for the next days journey. Conan is left with only one thought, escape.
Chapters 11 - 15
Conan however has never had to content with problems as mundane as those.. instead he gets a wagon load of slavers on his way to Shadizar to concern his time. Slavers who enchant and kidnap him, Conan finds the oddest aspect of this is that Thele and her two siblings are here too. He thinks to himself that his plans to reach Shadizar have been thwarted once again.
Both the Jatti and the Varg leaders are hatching plots to retrieve their respective offspring, It is only a matter of planning and information gathering. A task which both set about, one through old fashioned detective work and the other through the dispensation of coinage.
Dake is making his next move, planning to use Conan and set up an all-comers boxing promotion along the road towards Shadizar. Conan is not a perfectly willing member of this plan but as he is currently enchanted.. has little choice in the matter. They first plan to host a match in the village of Elika which is along the Ellitase River.
The scheme begins and Conan is pitted against the local Champion, this is not as easy as it at first appears and takes Conan some considerable effort to subdue to man. But subdue he does, and with the wagers collected Dake goes inside the wagon to rest up for the next days journey. Conan is left with only one thought, escape.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
7. Tor Conan #22 - Conan the Formidable by Steve Perry. Part 2
Chapters 6-10
Theyle is begining to have second thoughts when it comes to what she is increasingly viewing as Torture of small animals. While Dake and their newly acquired dwarf Vilken make their attack on the village of giants. They capture Theyle and some of the children giants, and burn a large bit of the village. The screams and roar of the flames receed behind them as they head down the trail, Giants to confused to offer chase.
During this confusion Conan succeeds in escapeing from his cage, upon his way out of the village he has an encounter with several other dwarves who have come to find Dake, and perhaps vilken too if they can. Giants, and then Dwarves. Plenty of odditiy in the Hyborian realm of Conan. Theyle is made to lead the children behind the cart at least to a spot where, deemed safe from pursuit, they may rest.
Reseri and the jatte finish subdueing the flames and then during a period of calm first realizes that Conan is missing and then that Theyle and the children are missing. He has the jatte summon the Hellhounds, bulldog like creatures with thick red mattes of fur. The release of this frightens off the Varg scouts who want nothing whatsoever to do with these creatures. Conan too can hear the call of the hellhounds afar off in the distance and it would bode ill were they to be on his trail.
The Hellhounds are hot on the trail of Conan, he makes his stand and slays them all. This is met with much satisfaction on behalf of the Varg. Deciding rightly that any warrior who can slay the hellhounds is one best left to his own devices. This is met with far less amusement by Reseri, almost as little as the cracked Cart wheel with which Dake must contend.
Theyle is begining to have second thoughts when it comes to what she is increasingly viewing as Torture of small animals. While Dake and their newly acquired dwarf Vilken make their attack on the village of giants. They capture Theyle and some of the children giants, and burn a large bit of the village. The screams and roar of the flames receed behind them as they head down the trail, Giants to confused to offer chase.
During this confusion Conan succeeds in escapeing from his cage, upon his way out of the village he has an encounter with several other dwarves who have come to find Dake, and perhaps vilken too if they can. Giants, and then Dwarves. Plenty of odditiy in the Hyborian realm of Conan. Theyle is made to lead the children behind the cart at least to a spot where, deemed safe from pursuit, they may rest.
Reseri and the jatte finish subdueing the flames and then during a period of calm first realizes that Conan is missing and then that Theyle and the children are missing. He has the jatte summon the Hellhounds, bulldog like creatures with thick red mattes of fur. The release of this frightens off the Varg scouts who want nothing whatsoever to do with these creatures. Conan too can hear the call of the hellhounds afar off in the distance and it would bode ill were they to be on his trail.
The Hellhounds are hot on the trail of Conan, he makes his stand and slays them all. This is met with much satisfaction on behalf of the Varg. Deciding rightly that any warrior who can slay the hellhounds is one best left to his own devices. This is met with far less amusement by Reseri, almost as little as the cracked Cart wheel with which Dake must contend.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
7. Tor Conan #22 - Conan the Formidable by Steve Perry. Part 1
Chapters 1-5
After encountering all manner of men and beasts, sorcerers, sages, monks and madmen, and a veritable menagerie of non human characters, the resourceful Cimmerian at last steps foot onto the Zamoran Plateau. He reflects on what an odd journey it has been thus far, the road level, his sandals in good shape, he hopes to make up for lost time on his road to Shadizar. But Alas, a peaceful journey is not in the cards for Conan.
Not more than a few days along his road, he is accosted by a group of bandits who wish any coin or valuables he has, and that the Six of them will be enough to force his hand. Conan reckons that they are six now, but that things change. And the fight is on, quickly becoming a route. When at the last, a huge spear buries itself in one of the bandits, and Conan looks up astounded to see, GIANTS!, Three of them.
These are friendly giants however, and one named Theyle promptly invites him back to her village, conveniently located along the road to Shadizar. Conan reckons Shadizar has waited this long.. surely another day or two wouldn't hurt. Teyle explains to Conan about their enemies, the Varg, and about their history as a people. Upon arriving in the Giant's village Conan begins to worry however due to some curious usage of language. Just as he is become convinced of something untoward, he is decked and knocked unconscious by Theyle.
Trouble unlooked for is also on its way to the giant's village. Dake and Kreg's traveling oddities are looking to acquire a Giant and a Varg or two. They need them for interbreeding purposes, since they already have a Wolfman and a Catgirl. This traveling menagerie enters the southern reaches of the swamp and finds its way to a Varg Village and succeeds in capturing one of the stunty mottled green creatures.
Raseri wakes Conan up, apologizes for the treatment, explains that no they do not plan to eat him. But they fancy themselves to be natural philosophers, and wish to know more about Conan. Theyle apologizes again for her trickery, but Conan isn't really in the mood to listen at the moment. Once left alone, he sets himself to the task of gaining his freedom. However, the hope of escape turns out to be nothing more than an illusion, a test of Conan's resourcefulness administered by Raseri.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
L. Sprague DeCamp Conan on Kindle
For those who need their Pastiche Fix but don't want to have to dive into used bookstores or amazon market place. Conan the Liberator and Conan and the Spider God are coming to Amazon's Kindle in December of 2010. I can't really see the alure or starting with these two tales as they are both pretty grotty. But its what Tor has chosen to make available, so as they say Like it or Lump it.
Conan and the Spider-God
Conan the Liberator
Conan and the Spider-God
Conan the Liberator
6. Tor Conan #21, Conan the Free lance - Part 5
Chapters 21-25
Kleg is nearly home free, but hes got some pretty ticked off Treefolk and one really ticked off Cimmerian hot on his heels. And they have some pretty perturbed Pili after them. All this is headed for a conflagration at Dimma's Fortress. The men of conan's group are enchanted by the Screeches singing, this nearly proves disastrous but quick thinking saves the day. While all of this is going on the dutiful, single minded Kralix is still hunting for Kleg. Which is now bringing it back to the fortress, as at this same time Kleg has made the western gate.
Kleg sends a small creature known as a Vund to find Dimma and alert him of his return. Just after his dispatch of the Vund, the Selkie castle guards engage in a battle with Conan and the tree folk. When suddenly the Kralix appears and begins to eat a hole through the wall of the fortress as the treefolk and Pili look on. The Vund has found Dimma and he goes to meet Kleg and retrieve the talisman and complete his re-incorporation into flesh.
A particular odor alerts Kleg as to his predicament... The Kralix is still after him! Thayla is plotting against her husband, Conan and the Treefolk are making their way through the labyrinthine corridors of the fortress and battling Selkies all the way. All of this commotion disrupts Dimma's concentration on his spell, with Pili, Selkies, Treefolk, a Bellowing Barbarian and a horrible lake monster all fighting outside your parlor door He has every right to be distracted.
Rayk, king of the Pili is slain by Thaylas Treachery, Kleg is devoured by the Kralix, Conan and the treefolk slaughter many more Selkies. Thayla maddened by Conan's presence slips and falls onto her own knife, and once more Dimma is distracted from completing his spell by the lumbering Kralix which in his anger he dispatches. With just Conan and the Tree-folk remaining of the multitudinous pursuers, the confrontation with Dimma is at hand. They interrupt him again, and with a cry of "Is there no end to this?!" he wraps the heroes in magic bonds. His concentration returned, he completes the spell and regains his fleshy form. But in doing so his magic bonds on Conan weaken and he is almost immediately slain. Bad guy slain, Treefolk talisman returned, Conan once more turns his sandled feet towards the road to his penultimate goal, Shadizar.
Review
This volume has extensive references to the previous two Steve Perry books and "The Thing in the Crypt" which makes for a nice bit of continuity, Unfortunately it suffers from the same problems I had with the other Steve Perry books.. too many creatures which some how can talk..not to mention another obscenely large cast, at least a dozen characters and four story lines were running concurrently by chapter 3.. It's simply too busy for such a short novel.. It is however despite these problems a better book than Indomitable.. though that's not hard to achieve. This one seems to serve a purpose, where as Indomitable only purpose was to clutter up Conan's route to Zamora.. and roughly provide a way to mostly get through the mountains. This also roughly follows the same storyline as the other two perry books, Magical object on the lose, multitude of different interested parties, huge cluster of competing story lines which all comes to a frothing spitting boil-over in the last 2 chapters. This one has an especially ironic ending however.. so that's at least a plus.
I don't really want to use the word Naive to describe Perry's Conan, but he does come across as being very much like a 15 year old.. He's game for just about whatever comes his way and is not yet cynical enough to not want to help those who ask it of him. A Marked contract from some of the Conan stories... However, the scenes in which Thayla extorts sex out of the Barbarian, and then Rapes him when he is under the power of a drug are extremely revolting to me. Had it been a role reversal, It no doubt would have engendered no small amount of animosity towards Steve Perry and I wonder if Tor would even have published it.
I will give this one, *
Locations - Corinthia/Zamoran Border, Mount Turio, Crater Lake, The Pili Desert, Sargasso Sea, the magic forest,
Towns/cities - Dimmas Castle, The Treefolk Village, The Village of Karatas.
Characters - Dimma The Mist Mage, Kleg the Selkie, Seg the Witchwoman, Conan The Cimmerian, Cheen the Medicine Woman, Tree Folk: Vares, Tair, Hok, Pili: Rayk and Theyla, King and Queen of the Pili And Stal the Border Warden. Karatas the Nightwatch, Seihman the swineherd.
Languages Spoken - Cimmerian, Aesir, Hyperborean, Brythunian, Zamoran
Kleg is nearly home free, but hes got some pretty ticked off Treefolk and one really ticked off Cimmerian hot on his heels. And they have some pretty perturbed Pili after them. All this is headed for a conflagration at Dimma's Fortress. The men of conan's group are enchanted by the Screeches singing, this nearly proves disastrous but quick thinking saves the day. While all of this is going on the dutiful, single minded Kralix is still hunting for Kleg. Which is now bringing it back to the fortress, as at this same time Kleg has made the western gate.
Kleg sends a small creature known as a Vund to find Dimma and alert him of his return. Just after his dispatch of the Vund, the Selkie castle guards engage in a battle with Conan and the tree folk. When suddenly the Kralix appears and begins to eat a hole through the wall of the fortress as the treefolk and Pili look on. The Vund has found Dimma and he goes to meet Kleg and retrieve the talisman and complete his re-incorporation into flesh.
A particular odor alerts Kleg as to his predicament... The Kralix is still after him! Thayla is plotting against her husband, Conan and the Treefolk are making their way through the labyrinthine corridors of the fortress and battling Selkies all the way. All of this commotion disrupts Dimma's concentration on his spell, with Pili, Selkies, Treefolk, a Bellowing Barbarian and a horrible lake monster all fighting outside your parlor door He has every right to be distracted.
Rayk, king of the Pili is slain by Thaylas Treachery, Kleg is devoured by the Kralix, Conan and the treefolk slaughter many more Selkies. Thayla maddened by Conan's presence slips and falls onto her own knife, and once more Dimma is distracted from completing his spell by the lumbering Kralix which in his anger he dispatches. With just Conan and the Tree-folk remaining of the multitudinous pursuers, the confrontation with Dimma is at hand. They interrupt him again, and with a cry of "Is there no end to this?!" he wraps the heroes in magic bonds. His concentration returned, he completes the spell and regains his fleshy form. But in doing so his magic bonds on Conan weaken and he is almost immediately slain. Bad guy slain, Treefolk talisman returned, Conan once more turns his sandled feet towards the road to his penultimate goal, Shadizar.
Review
This volume has extensive references to the previous two Steve Perry books and "The Thing in the Crypt" which makes for a nice bit of continuity, Unfortunately it suffers from the same problems I had with the other Steve Perry books.. too many creatures which some how can talk..not to mention another obscenely large cast, at least a dozen characters and four story lines were running concurrently by chapter 3.. It's simply too busy for such a short novel.. It is however despite these problems a better book than Indomitable.. though that's not hard to achieve. This one seems to serve a purpose, where as Indomitable only purpose was to clutter up Conan's route to Zamora.. and roughly provide a way to mostly get through the mountains. This also roughly follows the same storyline as the other two perry books, Magical object on the lose, multitude of different interested parties, huge cluster of competing story lines which all comes to a frothing spitting boil-over in the last 2 chapters. This one has an especially ironic ending however.. so that's at least a plus.
I don't really want to use the word Naive to describe Perry's Conan, but he does come across as being very much like a 15 year old.. He's game for just about whatever comes his way and is not yet cynical enough to not want to help those who ask it of him. A Marked contract from some of the Conan stories... However, the scenes in which Thayla extorts sex out of the Barbarian, and then Rapes him when he is under the power of a drug are extremely revolting to me. Had it been a role reversal, It no doubt would have engendered no small amount of animosity towards Steve Perry and I wonder if Tor would even have published it.
I will give this one, *
Locations - Corinthia/Zamoran Border, Mount Turio, Crater Lake, The Pili Desert, Sargasso Sea, the magic forest,
Towns/cities - Dimmas Castle, The Treefolk Village, The Village of Karatas.
Characters - Dimma The Mist Mage, Kleg the Selkie, Seg the Witchwoman, Conan The Cimmerian, Cheen the Medicine Woman, Tree Folk: Vares, Tair, Hok, Pili: Rayk and Theyla, King and Queen of the Pili And Stal the Border Warden. Karatas the Nightwatch, Seihman the swineherd.
Languages Spoken - Cimmerian, Aesir, Hyperborean, Brythunian, Zamoran
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
6. Tor Conan #21, Conan the Free lance - Part 4
Chapters 16-20
The Tree-folk and Conan climb the walls of the village, and interrogate a few curious bystanders. They learn that the Selkies had been their, but hadn't been seen since a large creature attacked. During their entrance into the village over a side palisade, they are observed by Thayla and her cohort. She feels it necessary to dispatch Conan lest he should run into her husband. Both sides however are too late as Kleg and the swineherd are hiding in the village, Kleg bargains with the man who had found the seed over the location of it. The man of course does not know, but before Kleg can dispatch him it becomes apparent that the village is on fire. All of the parties, Tree-folk and Pili and Selkies make a run for it to avoid the burning.
Dimma, observing this conflagration from his tower shows some concern in regards his servant Kleg. Not however for his well being in so much as if he is going to manage to bring the seed back unharmed. The two fleeing groups commandeer boats to get across the lake and away from the flames, while Kleg along with the recently recovered talisman begins to swim his way across the selfsame lake.
While on the lake, Conan expresses sympathy that the Tree-folk's talisman couldn't have survived the conflagration. But Cheen expresses her knowledge that it hasn't, but is in fact below them in the lake. The Hunt still on, Conan rows towards the further shore. Thayla stumbles upon Rayk and embrace, then set out to find the selkie who has the talisman. Likewise do Conan and the tree-folk set about their journey to Dimma's Castle.
The Tree-folk and Conan climb the walls of the village, and interrogate a few curious bystanders. They learn that the Selkies had been their, but hadn't been seen since a large creature attacked. During their entrance into the village over a side palisade, they are observed by Thayla and her cohort. She feels it necessary to dispatch Conan lest he should run into her husband. Both sides however are too late as Kleg and the swineherd are hiding in the village, Kleg bargains with the man who had found the seed over the location of it. The man of course does not know, but before Kleg can dispatch him it becomes apparent that the village is on fire. All of the parties, Tree-folk and Pili and Selkies make a run for it to avoid the burning.
Dimma, observing this conflagration from his tower shows some concern in regards his servant Kleg. Not however for his well being in so much as if he is going to manage to bring the seed back unharmed. The two fleeing groups commandeer boats to get across the lake and away from the flames, while Kleg along with the recently recovered talisman begins to swim his way across the selfsame lake.
While on the lake, Conan expresses sympathy that the Tree-folk's talisman couldn't have survived the conflagration. But Cheen expresses her knowledge that it hasn't, but is in fact below them in the lake. The Hunt still on, Conan rows towards the further shore. Thayla stumbles upon Rayk and embrace, then set out to find the selkie who has the talisman. Likewise do Conan and the tree-folk set about their journey to Dimma's Castle.
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