The Lost Valley of Iskander

Three tales of El Borak collected with illustrations by Michael William Kaluta. First out is ‘The Daughter of Erlik Khan’ which was originally published in the December 1934 issue of the pulp magazine Top-Notch. The second story presented here is ‘The Lost Valley of Iskander’, and was not published within Howard’s lifetime, the first publication was in this Collector’s Editions hardcover book. Its original title was ‘Swords of the Hills’. The last story here is ‘Hawk of the Hills’. It was originally published in the June 1935 issue of the pulp magazine Top-Notch

Contents

  • The Lost Valley of Iskander • (1974) • interior artwork by Michael Kaluta [as by Michael William Kaluta]
  • bp • Introduction (The Lost Valley of Iskander) • (1974) • essay by Darrell C. Richardson
  • 3 • The Daughter of Erlik Khan • [El Borak] • (1934) • novella by Robert E. Howard
  • 86 • The Lost Valley of Iskander • [El Borak] • (1974) • novelette by Robert E. Howard
  • 126 • Hawk of the Hills • [El Borak] • (1935) • novelette by Robert E. Howard
Publisher :Orbit
Year :1976
Book No.:ISBN: 0-86007-880-9 [978-0-86007-880-7]
Format :Paperback
Pages :194
Cover :Christos Achilleos
Illustrations :Michael William Kaluta

Notes

First published in Great Britain in 1976 by Futura Publications Limited.
Assumed 1st printing but no other printing information.
Cover/artist match from “Beauty and the Beast” by Chris Achilleos, page 30. Dated September 1975 (probable commission date); signed ‘Achilleos’

Includes only the interior B&W illustrations from the 1974 FAX first edition. Illustrated by Michael William Kaluta.

The Lost Valley of Iskander

The first publication of these stories in book format. Three colorful adventure stories. Kirby O’Donnell is a fictional character created by Robert E. Howard. He is an American treasure hunter in early-twentieth century Afghanistan disguised as a Kurdish merchant, “Ali el Ghazi”. Howard only wrote three stories about O’Donnell, one of which was not published within his lifetime.

O’Donnell has, like many Howard characters, the stereotypical “Black Irish” combination of black hair and blue eyes. He has a lithe but powerful physique, relying more on agility and wits than strength. Kirby O’Donnell is similar to another of Howard’s characters, El Borak, in many ways. However, O’Donnell seeks hidden treasures in all of his stories while El Borak is more concerned with his own form of justice and stability in Afghanistan. O’Donnell carries a set of distinctive weapons, a scimitar with a bronze hawk-head on the pommel and a “kindhjal” [sic].

Tags: Darrell C. Richardson / El Borak / Michael William Kaluta / Robert E. Howard