Robert E. Howard is famous for creating such immortal heroes as Conan the Cimmerian, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn. Less well-known but equally extraordinary are his non-fantasy adventure stories set in the Middle East and featuring such two-fisted heroes as Francis Xavier Gordon—known as “El Borak”—Kirby O’Donnell, and Steve Clarney. This trio of hard-fighting Americans, civilized men with more than a touch of the primordial in their veins, marked a new direction for Howard’s writing, and new territory for his genius to conquer.

The wily Texan El Borak, a hardened fighter who stalks the sandscapes of Afghanistan like a vengeful wolf, is rivaled among Howard’s creations only by Conan himself. In such classic tales as “The Daughter of Erlik Khan,” “Three-Bladed Doom,” and “Sons of the Hawk,” Howard proves himself once again a master of action, and with plenty of eerie atmosphere his plotting becomes tighter and twistier than ever, resulting in stories worthy of comparison to Jack London and Rudyard Kipling. Every fan of Robert E. Howard and aficionados of great adventure writing will want to own this collection of the best of Howard’s desert tales, lavishly illustrated by award-winning artists Tim Bradstreet and Jim & Ruth Keegan.

Contents

• El Borak and Other Desert Adventures • (2010) • interior artwork by Tim Bradstreet
• El Borak and Other Desert Adventures • interior artwork by Jim Keegan and Ruth Keegan
• xv • Artists’ Forewords (El Borak and Other Desert Adventures) • (2010) • essay by Tim Bradstreet and Jim Keegan and Ruth Keegan
• xvii • Introduction (El Borak and Other Desert Adventures) • (2010) • essay by Steve Tompkins
• 3 • Swords of the Hills • [El Borak] • (1974) • novelette by Robert E. Howard (variant of The Lost Valley of Iskander)
• 29 • The Daughter of Erlik Khan • [El Borak] • (1934) • novella by Robert E. Howard
• 87 • Three-Bladed Doom • [El Borak] • (1977) • novella by Robert E. Howard
• 183 • Hawk of the Hills • [El Borak] • (1935) • novelette by Robert E. Howard
• 231 • Blood of the Gods • [El Borak] • (1935) • novelette by Robert E. Howard
• 275 • Sons of the Hawk • [El Borak] • (1936) • novelette by Robert E. Howard (variant of The Country of the Knife)
• 335 • Son of the White Wolf • [El Borak] • (1936) • novelette by Robert E. Howard
• 365 • Gold from Tatary • [Kirby O’Donnell] • (2010) • novelette by Robert E. Howard (variant of The Treasures of Tartary 1935)
• 385 • Swords of Shahrazar • [Kirby O’Donnell] • (1934) • novella by Robert E. Howard
• 425 • The Trail of the Blood-Stained God • [Kirby O’Donnell] • (2010) • novelette by Robert E. Howard (variant of The Curse of the Crimson God 1976)
• 449 • The Fire of Asshurbanipal (alternative version) • (1972) • novelette by Robert E. Howard
• 471 • Three-Bladed Doom (short version) • [El Borak] • (1976) • novelette by Robert E. Howard
• 523 • Untitled Fragment (“Feel the edge, dog…”) • [Kirby O’Donnell] • (2010) • short fiction by Robert E. Howard
• 529 • Gunfighters of the Wild East • (2010) • essay by David A. Hardy (I)
• 555 • Notes on the Original Howard Texts (El Borak and Other Desert Adventures) • (2010) • essay by uncredited

Notes

Edited by Rusty Burke
Art Director: Jim & Ruth Keegan
Typographer: Stuart Williams
The texts for this edition were based on Howard’s original typescripts or the first published appearance if a typescript was unavailable.

Complete number line on copyright page indicates first printing.
“A Del Rey Trade Paperback Original” on copyright page.
Cover artists credited on back cover; interior art credited on front cover and title page.