In “The Hand of the Black Goddess,” a seemingly ordinary setting is thrust into a web of danger and mystery as Kirby, a private investigator, encounters a series of cryptic and menacing events. Starting with a puzzling warning from a dark, imposing stranger, Kirby’s world spirals into a treacherous adventure involving a dead body in his office and a deepening international intrigue.
Red Blades of Black Cathay was written as a collaboration between Robert E. Howard and Tevis Clyde Smith. It was first published in Oriental Stories in the February/March issue of 1931.
In “Names in the Black Book,” Steve Harrison, a tough detective, finds himself embroiled in a sinister plot involving a list of doomed individuals in a dangerous and mysterious quarter of the city. The story intertwines fear, intrigue, and dark forces as Harrison confronts a familiar enemy thought long dead.
“The Jade God” is an unfinished, originally untitled story by Robert E. Howard, set against a backdrop typical of his dark and mysterious narratives. Written in the 1930s, the story remains a fascinating example of Howard’s ability to blend elements of horror and suspense with vividly rendered settings. The narrative plunges the reader into an eerie night of murder and mystery involving a small group of characters and a peculiar artifact—the titular jade god.
First published in Weird Tales in October 1931. Featuring Turlogh Dubh O’Brien.
“The God in the Bowl” is one of the original short stories featuring the sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard but not published during his lifetime. Set during the fictional Hyborian Age, the plot sees Conan robbing a temple museum only to become the prime suspect in a murder mystery. The story first saw publication in September 1952 in Space Science Fiction and has been reprinted many times since.
In the Nemedian municipality of Numalia, the second largest city of Nemedia, Conan enters a museum and antique house called the Temple of Kallian Publico.
While robbing the museum, Conan becomes embroiled in a murder investigation. The strangled corpse of the temple’s owner and curator, Kallian Publico, is found by a night watchman. Though the Cimmerian is the prime suspect, the investigating magistrate, Demetrio, and the prefect of police, Dionus, show forbearance. The two allow Conan to remain free and keep his unsheathed sword while their men search the premises. A combination of Conan’s physique, his glare, and his insistence that he’ll disembowel the first person who tried to apprehend him keeps the guards at bay.
An unfinished fragment featuring Solomon Kane. It is set in a forest, rather than the African jungle, but where and when (in Kane’s lifetime) is hard to say.
The Curse of the crimson God. Originally a Kirby O’Donnell story titled ‘The Trail of the Blood-Stained God’. It was re-written by L. Sprague de Camp into a Conan story titled ‘The Bloodstained God’.
Originally a Kirby O’Donnell story titled ‘The Trail of the Blood-Stained God’. It was re-written by L. Sprague de Camp into a Conan story titled ‘The Bloodstained God’. De Camp changed the names of the characters, added the sorcery elements, and recast the setting into Howard’s Hyborian Age. The story was first published in the hardbound collection Tales of Conan (Gnome Press, 1955), and subsequently appeared in the paperback collection Conan of Cimmeria (Lancer Books, 1969), as part of which it has been translated into German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, and Italian. The stories elements were used on the 1976 Peter Pan Records audio drama record: Conan the Barbarian, entitled The Jewel of the Ages.
“Blood of the Gods” is an El Borak short story by Robert E. Howard. It was originally published in the July 1935 issue of the pulp magazine Top-Notch. Text from Project Gutenberg.
