My friend lent me some of his books as we were chatting about different styles of writing and how I’m exploring them. He’s been reading fantasy since he was a kid. Among his favorites are the Conan stories. I’m loving them. Finished the first book, but it’s honestly a bit of a collection of shorter stories, sort of like Sherlock Holmes. I believe they were written for one of those fantasy/science fiction magazines that used to contain a collection of shorter stories. It means that each story is compact and exciting.

Conan is a fantastic character. Reckless, young, strong and more than a bit self centered he is like an ancient cowboy roaming the world and taking what he wants. It is fun to read them now having watched Conan films staring Arnold Schwarzenegger and even played the recently released video game MMO created around those stories.

As a writer it’s great to read them to get a sense of what worked at the time and get a feel for a different style and purpose. I’m looking forward to reading even more and honing my own skill. Until then, cheers!