{"id":13148,"date":"2014-09-15T06:41:10","date_gmt":"2014-09-15T03:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tentaclii.wordpress.com\/?p=13148"},"modified":"2023-08-24T19:03:48","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T19:03:48","slug":"r-e-howard-audio-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/tentaclii\/index.php\/2014\/09\/15\/r-e-howard-audio-books\/","title":{"rendered":"R.E. Howard audio books"},"content":{"rendered":"

Update: link-rot repaired, August 2023.<\/em>
\nUpdate: added mention of a book of Conan tales by Lin Carter \/ de Camp, October 2018.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you can’t afford the excellent Tantor audio books of Conan, there are now some free<\/strong> R.E. Howard unabridged audio stories with semi-pro and listenable narrators…<\/p>\n

Howard’s Conan stories in free audio, ordered in story-world chronology:<\/strong><\/p>\n

* “The Frost Giant’s Daughter”<\/a><\/p>\n

* “The Tower of the Elephant”<\/a> (abridged, semi-dramatised)<\/p>\n

* “The Tower Of The Elephant”<\/a> (unabridged, narrated)<\/p>\n

* “The God in the Bowl” (unpublished during his lifetime)<\/p>\n

* “Rogues in the House”<\/a><\/p>\n

* “Black Colossus”<\/a> (the story text at Project Gutenberg<\/a>)<\/p>\n

* “Queen of the Black Coast”<\/a> (also on YouTube<\/a>)<\/p>\n

* “Shadows in the Moonlight”<\/a> (and part 2<\/a>)<\/p>\n

* “A Witch Shall Be Born”<\/a><\/p>\n

* “Shadows in Zamboula”<\/a><\/p>\n

* “The Slithering Shadow” (aka “Xuthal of the Dusk”<\/a>)<\/p>\n

* “The Devil in Iron”<\/a><\/p>\n

* “The People of the Black Circle”<\/a><\/p>\n

* “The Vale of Lost Women”<\/a> (unpublished during his lifetime)<\/p>\n

* “The Pool Of The Black One” (no longer online as free quality audio, see the full text at Project Gutenberg<\/a>)<\/p>\n

* “Red Nails”<\/a><\/p>\n

* “The Jewels of Gwahlur”<\/a> (aka “The Servants Of Bit-Yakin”)<\/p>\n

* “Beyond the Black River”<\/a><\/p>\n

* “The Black Stranger” (unpublished during his lifetime, aka “Treasure of Tranicos” after re-working by de Camp, to have it fit better between “Beyond the Black River” and “The Phoenix on the Sword”)<\/p>\n

* “The Phoenix on the Sword”<\/a><\/p>\n

* “The Scarlet Citadel”<\/a> (and part 2<\/a> 3<\/a> 4<\/a> 5<\/a> 6<\/a> and 7<\/a>) <\/p>\n

* The Hour of the Dragon<\/em><\/a> (aka Conan the Conqueror, a novel<\/em>)<\/p>\n

\n

“The God in the Bowl” and “The Vale of Lost Women” — unpublished during his lifetime — don’t show Howard writing at his best. And “The Slithering Shadow” and “The Devil In Iron” are said to be far from the best of the Conan stories.<\/p>\n

There is also a Books for the Blind audiobook of the collection of stories Conan the Swordsman<\/a><\/em> (1978). This collection of briskly-plotted gap-fillers for the Conan chronology is from Nyberg \/ Lin Carter \/ de Camp. Their stories successfully mimic Howard, only lacking some of the small telling details that he carefully wove into his stories. Their book has, in the book-order:<\/p>\n

~ “The People of the Summit” (after “Rogues in the House”) (begins at 1 hour 12 minutes into the book reading) (good)
\n~ “Shadows in the Dark” (after “Black Colossus”) (good)
\n~ “The Star of Khorala” (after “Shadows in Zamboula”) (a long story, but a lesser one – very skippable)
\n~ “The Gem in the Tower” (between “The People of the Black Circle” and “The Pool of the Black One”) (excellent)
\n~ “The Ivory Goddess” (before “Beyond the Black River”) (mediocre)
\n~ “Moon of Blood” (after “Beyond the Black River”) (excellent)<\/p>\n

\n
\n

For those who can afford them, Tantor’s audio book collections of R.E. Howard’s original Conan<\/em> and others use the modern Del Ray texts and are read with excellence:<\/p>\n

The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian.
\nThe Bloody Crown of Conan.
\nThe Conquering Sword of Conan (full free-sample story<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Also from Tantor:<\/p>\n

The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane.
\nKull: Exile of Atlantis.
\nBran Mak Morn: the Last King.<\/p>\n

The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard.<\/p>\n

Sadly it seems Tantor can’t sell into the UK, and nor are downloads available through Audible.co.uk. So Brits will have to go to eBay and pay a premium (the days of bargains on eBay are long gone, as are the days of cheap trans-Atlantic shipping), or have an American friend buy them for you and send them over.<\/p>\n

\n

Also by Howard in audio…<\/p>\n

The collection Solomon Kane: Red Shadows<\/a> and three Solomon Kane poems<\/a> read by a Shakespearean actor.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Update: link-rot repaired, August 2023. Update: added mention of a book of Conan tales by Lin Carter \/ de Camp, …<\/p>\n

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