← Back to publications
REH Publications 1.3.14
Share
Cover of El Borak and Other Desert Adventures
Publication
REH World editorial overlay

El Borak and Other Desert Adventures

Ballantine Books / Del Rey

2010
Edition format
EbookPaperback
Contains
Stories

Publication date: February 2010

Introduction

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.

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.

 

Edition and production details

Language
English
Edition format
Trade paperback
Publication date
February 2010
Identifiers
978-034550545-3
Pages
xxviii plus 559
Publisher / imprint
Ballantine Books / Del Rey
Cover art
Jim & Ruth Keegan
Illustrations
Jim & Ruth Keegan

16 linked Howard works

39 contents entries

  1. "Artists' Forward" by Tim Bradstreet
  2. El Borak and Other Desert Adventures • (2010) • interior artwork by Tim Bradstreet artwork
  3. "Artists' Forward" by Jim & Ruth Keegan
  4. El Borak and Other Desert Adventures • interior artwork by Jim Keegan and Ruth Keegan artwork
  5. "Introduction" by Steve Tompkins
  6. Artists' Forewords (El Borak and Other Desert Adventures) • (2010) • essay by Tim Bradstreet and Jim Keegan and Ruth Keegan xv · essay
  7. "Swords of the Hills"
  8. Introduction (El Borak and Other Desert Adventures) • (2010) • essay by Steve Tompkins xvii · introduction
  9. "The Daughter of Erlik Khan"
  10. Swords of the Hills • [El Borak] • (1974) • novelette by Robert E. Howard (variant of The Lost Valley of Iskander) 3 · novelette
  11. "Three-Bladed Doom" (Long version)
  12. The Daughter of Erlik Khan • [El Borak] • (1934) • novella by Robert E. Howard 29 · novelette
  13. "Hawk of the Hills"
  14. Three-Bladed Doom • [El Borak] • (1977) • novella by Robert E. Howard 87 · novelette
  15. "Blood of the Gods"
  16. Hawk of the Hills • [El Borak] • (1935) • novelette by Robert E. Howard 183 · novelette
  17. "Sons of the Hawk"
  18. Blood of the Gods • [El Borak] • (1935) • novelette by Robert E. Howard 231 · novelette
  19. "Son of the White Wolf"
  20. Sons of the Hawk • [El Borak] • (1936) • novelette by Robert E. Howard (variant of The Country of the Knife) 275 · novelette
  21. "Gold from Tartary" (as "Gold from Tatary")
  22. Son of the White Wolf • [El Borak] • (1936) • novelette by Robert E. Howard 335 · novelette
  23. "Swords of Shahrazar"
  24. Gold from Tatary • [Kirby O'Donnell] • (2010) • novelette by Robert E. Howard (variant of The Treasures of Tartary 1935) 365 · novelette
  25. "The Trail of the Blood-Stained God"
  26. Swords of Shahrazar • [Kirby O'Donnell] • (1934) • novella by Robert E. Howard 385 · novelette
  27. "The Fire of Asshurbanipal" (2)
  28. 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) 425 · novelette
  29. Miscellanea
  30. The Fire of Asshurbanipal (alternative version) • (1972) • novelette by Robert E. Howard 449 · novelette
  31. "Three-Bladed Doom" (Short version)
  32. Three-Bladed Doom (short version) • [El Borak] • (1976) • novelette by Robert E. Howard 471 · novelette
  33. Untitled Fragment "Feel the edge, dog, and move not!"
  34. Untitled Fragment ("Feel the edge, dog...") • [Kirby O'Donnell] • (2010) • short fiction by Robert E. Howard 523 · story
  35. Appendices
  36. Gunfighters of the Wild East • (2010) • essay by David A. Hardy (I) 529 · essay
  37. "Gunfighters of the Wild East" by David A. Hardy
  38. Notes on the Original Howard Texts (El Borak and Other Desert Adventures) • (2010) • essay by uncredited 555 · essay
  39. Notes on the Original Howard Texts

Contributors

Steve Tompkins
Introduction author
Jim Keegan
Cover artist, Illustrator, Foreword author
Ruth Keegan
Cover artist, Illustrator, Foreword author
Tim Bradstreet
Foreword author

Characters / Featuring

El BorakKirby O'Donnell

Additional related terms

Preserved from the former REH World tagging system; these terms have not yet been assigned as contributors, characters or subjects.

Jim & Ruth KeeganRobert E. Howard

Bibliographic and editorial layers

Bibliographic source layer

Title
El Borak and Other Desert Adventures
Publisher
Ballantine Books - Del Rey
Date
February 2010
Source file
elborakandotherdesertadventures.html

REH World editorial layer

Title
El Borak and Other Desert Adventures
Publisher
Ballantine Books / Del Rey
Date
February 2010
Source provenance

This record combines the preserved source bibliography with a reviewed REH World editorial overlay. Editorial values are displayed when present; the imported bibliography remains the source fallback.