Conan the Usurper

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Title Conan the Usurper

Conan the Usurper by Robert E. Howard, Lancer Books, 1967
Author	Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp
Cover artist	Frank Frazetta
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Conan the Barbarian
Genre(s)	Sword and sorcery Fantasy short stories
Publisher	Lancer Books
Released	1967
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	256 pp
ISBN	NA
Preceded by	Conan the Warrior
Followed by	Conan the Conqueror

Conan the Usurper is a 1967 collection of four fantasy short stories written by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories originally appeared in the fantasy magazine Weird Tales in the 1930s. The book has been reprinted a number of times since by various publishers, and has also been translated into German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch.

Contents [hide] 1 Contents 2 Plot summary 3 Trivia 4 References

[edit] Contents

• "Introduction" (L. Sprague de Camp)
• "The Treasure of Tranicos" (Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp)
• "Wolves Beyond the Border" (Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp)
• "The Phoenix on the Sword" (Robert E. Howard)
• "The Scarlet Citadel" (Robert E. Howard)

[edit] Plot summary

Conan, about forty in these stories, embarks on the most desperate gamble of his life — leading a revolution against King Numedides of Aquilonia, with the end of making himself king in his place. From his low point as a treasure-seeking fugitive in the Pictish Wilderness, he is retrieved by allies from his days in the Aquilonian army to lead the revolt. The borderlands suffer grievously during the war, but in the end Conan takes the throne, only to suffer the customary uneasiness of the head that wears the crown, from an attempted assassination involving Stygian sorcerer Thoth-Amon to magical treachery on the battlefield as he strives to defend his hard-won kingship against predatory foreign powers.

Chronologically, the four short stories collected as Conan the Usurper fall between Conan the Warrior and Conan the Conqueror.

[edit] Trivia

The Aquilonian civil war between Conan and Numedides is not actually depicted, but occurs offstage as background to the action of "Wolves Beyond the Border", Howard's only non-Conan tale set in the Hyborian Age. De Camp later made the war itself the subject of his novel Conan the Liberator, co-written with Lin Carter.

"The Phoenix on the Sword", which Howard rewrote from an earlier Kull story, marks his only use of Thoth-Amon as an antagonist, in a somewhat peripheral role — he and Conan never even meet! In later stories de Camp and Carter would later elevate the Stygian sorceror into one of Conan's principle enemies.

Howard later reused the plot of "The Scarlet Citadel" as the basis of his only Conan novel, The Hour of the Dragon (afterwards retitled Conan the Conqueror).

[edit] References

• Laughlin, Charlotte; Daniel J. H. Levack (1983). De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller, 42. 

Conan the Barbarian
Original stories by Robert E. Howard: Beyond the Black River • Black Colossus • The Black Stranger • Cimmeria • The Devil in Iron • Drums of Tombalku • The Frost Giant's Daughter • The God in the Bowl • The Hall of the Dead • The Hand of Nergal • The Hour of the Dragon • Iron Shadows in the Moon • Jewels of Gwahlur • The People of the Black Circle • The Phoenix on the Sword • The Pool of the Black One • Queen of the Black Coast • Red Nails • Rogues in the House • The Scarlet Citadel • Shadows in Zamboula • The Snout in the Dark • The Tower of the Elephant • The Vale of Lost Women • A Witch Shall be Born • Wolves Beyond the Border • Xuthal of the Dusk
Collections: Black Colossus • The Bloody Crown of Conan • The Coming of Conan • The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian • The Complete Chronicles of Conan • Conan • The Conan Chronicles • The Conan Chronicles, 1 • The Conan Chronicles 2 • The Conan Chronicles, 2 • Conan of Aquilonia • Conan of Cimmeria • Conan the Adventurer • Conan the Avenger • Conan the Barbarian • Conan the Freebooter • Conan the Swordsman • Conan the Usurper • Conan the Wanderer • Conan the Warrior • The Conquering Sword of Conan • The Devil in Iron • The Essential Conan • Jewels of Gwahlur • King Conan • The People of the Black Circle • Pool of the Black One • Queen of the Black Coast • Red Nails • Rogues in the House • Sagas of Conan • The Sword of Conan • Tales of Conan • The Tower of the Elephant • The Treasure of Tranicos
Novels: Conan and the Amazon • Conan and the Emerald Lotus • Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza • Conan and the Gods of the Mountain • Conan and The Grim Grey God • Conan and the Manhunters • Conan and the Mists of Doom • Conan and the Shaman's Curse • Conan and the Sorcerer • Conan and the Spider God • Conan and the Treasure of Python • Conan at the Demon's Gate • Conan, Lord of the Black River • Conan of the Isles • Conan of the Red Brotherhood • Conan of Venarium • Conan, Scourge of the Bloody Coast • Conan the Barbarian • Conan the Bold • Conan the Buccaneer • Conan the Champion • Conan the Defender • Conan the Defiant • Conan the Destroyer • Conan the Fearless • Conan the Formidable • Conan the Freelance • Conan the Gladiator • Conan the Great • Conan the Guardian • Conan the Hero • Conan the Hunter • Conan the Indomitable • Conan the Invincible • Conan the Liberator • Conan the Magnificent • Conan the Marauder • Conan the Mercenary • Conan the Outcast • Conan the Raider • Conan the Rebel • Conan the Relentless • Conan the Renegade • Conan the Rogue • Conan the Savage • Conan the Triumphant • Conan the Unconquered • Conan the Valiant • Conan the Valorous • Conan the Victorious • Conan the Warlord • The Hour of the Dragon • The Return of Conan • The Road of Kings • The Sword of Skelos
Scholarship: The Blade of Conan • The Conan Grimoire • The Conan Reader • The Conan Swordbook • The Spell of Conan •
Authors: Poul Anderson • Leonard Carpenter • Lin Carter • L. Sprague de Camp • Roland J. Green • John C. Hocking • Robert E. Howard • Robert Jordan • Sean A. Moore • Björn Nyberg • Andrew J. Offutt • Steve Perry • John Maddox Roberts • Roy Thomas • Harry Turtledove • Karl Edward Wagner
Other media: Conan and the Young Warriors • Conan the Adventurer • Conan (comics) • Conan (Dark Horse comic) • Conan the Barbarian (film) • Conan the Destroyer • Red Sonja (film)
Characters: Bêlit • Conan the Barbarian • Crom • Kulan Gath • Red Sonja • Serpent Men • Serpent people • Set • Thoth-Amon • Thulsa Doom • Valeria • Vammatar • Xaltotun
Other: Conan (books) • Conan Chronologies • Hyborian Age • The Hyborian Age • The Shadow of the Vulture • Aquilonia • Cimmeria • Stygia