SuperHeroBooks - Conan the Invincible
![Conan the Invincible]()
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Manufacturer: Tor Books
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780812542257
ISBN: 0812542258
Label: Tor Books
Manufacturer: Tor Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 288
Publication Date: 1998-02
Publisher: Tor Books
Studio: Tor Books
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Super Reader
Comment: Conan's reputation as a thief in Shadizar has grown so much it is starting to cause him problems.
As such, he takes a job that offers the possibility of a big score, and ends up saving Karela the Red Hawk a couple of times, and mixed up with sorcerers, necromancers, soldiers, lizard men and more.
For a pastiche, a pretty good one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Shallow but fun.
Comment: Robert Jordan wrote this first Conan book in 1982, and it is a far cry from his later work on the Wheel of Time. That being said, I do think Jordan does a fair job of portraying the most famous sword and sorcery hero of all time. Conan represents an almost unstoppable force with a unique moral outlook, best described as an honorable thief. Jordan's battle scenes are bloody and quick, men are greedy and dirty, wizards are dark and sinister, and (best of all) women are sexy and usually naked.
'Conan the Invincible' tells of Conan accepting a job that turns out to be more than he expected. A strange wizard pays him to steal some jewels from the king of Zamora, but somebody beats him to it. As he tracks the thieves, he encounters a number of interesting characters that'll show up in following novels, including Kerala. Evil wizards and snake men pose quite a challenge to the young Conan, but nothing he can't handle.
Don't expect anything too deep or complicated here and you'll be pleased.
Customer Rating:
Summary: One of the better Conan's by Jordan
Comment: Jordan is not the best writer of Conan tales since Howard, in my opinion. I think he's maybe the most popular writer of Conan tales next to REH, but that's something else entirely. I typically find Jordan's writings of Conan rather diluted and perhaps too heavy on magic and socery. Nothing against socery, it belongs in Conan novels, but the way Jordan does it reminds me of cheesy '80s made-for-television sci-fi shlock, with green lighting and smoke effects. I think you can make a strong case that the cavalry leader pursuing Conan and the bandits somewhat steals the show in this novel, at least that's the feeling I remember walking away with after finishing this book a few months ago. Despite the terrible cover art, this is a solid piece of story telling with a fast pace and high action uncharacteristic of Robert Jordan.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Classic Conan
Comment: Aside from the creator of Conan (Robert E. Howard), Jordan is the best Conan author I've read to date. He did his Conan work in the 80's before he began on his epic Wheel of Time, and they are pretty much the antithesis of each other. Jordan's Conan books are clear, concise, and to the point. Plot and background is provided (e.g. where the Necromancer in The Invincible comes from), but only enough to support the action of the novels. Fights are savage and bloody (as Conan novels should be), women are scantily clad and promiscuous, and wizards are almost always the bad guys, opposed to the muscular Cimmerian. Jordan's writing is the closest to the raw energy you can see in Howard's original stories.
Conan The Invincible is my favorite of Jordan's. It's a quick, easy read, but for all that it's really well written in a classic Conan style. Plus this is the novel where we first meet Karela, The Red Hawk, a woman bandit/warrior who appears in several other of Jordan's novels. She serves as a great counterpart for Conan. I've read this book numerous times by this point, and it always satisfies my sword and sorcery hunger.
Customer Rating:
Summary: classic Conan
Comment: This is not an ambitious novel. Yet it perfectly fulfills the mandates of the sword & sorcery novel: plently of bloodshed, beautiful women, exotic warriors, and soulless necromancy. Jordan wrote it before his sprawling Wheel of Time books, and it offers the quick-pacing, thrill-a-minute style that his current series now lacks (for better or worse). I heartily recommend it; it was one of the original books that hooked me onto reading when I was a kid, and I've read it again a few times since.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Conan is ensnared by the charms of the wily and beautiful Karela, who is secretly the Red Hawk, fearless leader of a crew of brigands. She leads Conan to face the awesome challenge of the serpentinely evil necromancer Amanar.
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