Set in Egypt, the story begins with the Allison family, specifically the feminine members, touring the country. Steve, the younger son, decides to see Khartoum on his own, leaving his family behind in Alexandria. He plans to reunite with them later in Assuan.
One of Howard’s spicy stories was published with the name Sam Walser. “Desert Blood” is a vivid narrative, encapsulating the adventurous and tumultuous escapades of Wild Bill Clanton, an American in Tebessa, and his encounters with various individuals across the Barbary region. The story weaves through themes of love, betrayal, courage, and cultural clashes, reflecting the pulpy, exotic, and often politically incorrect ethos of its time.
Alternative title: Iron-Jaw.
Part three of an article written by Rick Lai about the Legend of El Borak.
An article written by Rick Lai about the Legend of El Borak. Best known for his tales of heroic fantasy, Robert E. Howard (1906-36) also wrote contemporary tales of adventure for the pulps. Howard was influenced by Talbot Mundy, a major writer for Adventure in the 1920’s. Mundy’s heroes were American and British adventurers roving around India and the Middle East. Utilizing Mundy’s settings, Howard fashioned his own band of protagonists. Among Howard’s soldiers of fortune, the most famous is Francis Xavier Gordon.
THE HOT ARIZONA SUN. Originally untitled. Set in The Rio Grande. A fragment by Robert E. Howard featuring The Sonora Kid, Steve Allison, and his sister Helen. 950 words.
The story sets the stage for an adventure in the Arizona desert, hinting at potential encounters and explorations, but being unfinished, it leaves the narrative and the characters’ journeys unresolved.
The story, set in the deserts of Sudan, features Frank Gordon, known to the Arabs as El Borak, an American with deep knowledge of and strong feelings about various tribes in the Orient. As Gordon travels alone in the desert, he encounters hostile Tauregs—a tribe he dislikes—and utilizes his exceptional combat skills and a superior Bikanir camel to navigate and survive the threats posed by this fierce tribe.
UNTITLED STORY (Gordon, the American whom the Arabs call El Borak, . . .). 850 words, unfinished.
“The Slithering Shadow” is one of the original short stories starring Conan. First published in the September 1933 issue of Weird Tales magazine. “The Slithering Shadow” is the original title, but the story is also known as “Xuthal of the Dusk” in further publications. It is set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age, and concerns Conan discovering a lost city in a remote desert while encountering a Lovecraftian demon known as Thog.
A WITCH SHALL BE BORN is one of the original sword and sorcery novellas by Robert E. Howard about Conan the Cimmerian. It was written in only a few days in the spring of 1934 and first published in Weird Tales in December 1934.
Queen Taramis of Khauran awakens one day to find her identical twin sister, Salome, staring her in the face. As an infant, Salome was deemed a witch due to a crescent-shaped birthmark on her chest. This birthmark was believed to be a sign of evil, so she was left in the desert to die. However, a magician from Khitai (China) found Salome, brought her up, and instructed her in the art of sorcery.
“The Slithering Shadow” is one of the original short stories starring Conan. First published in the September 1933 issue of Weird Tales magazine. “The Slithering Shadow” is the original title, but the story is also known as “Xuthal of the Dusk” in further publications. It is set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age, and concerns Conan discovering a lost city in a remote desert while encountering a Lovecraftian demon known as Thog.
