Conan Pastiches

The Game Table
#1

So I’m a huge REH fan, short stories, novels, comics, rpgs, any and all things. Like most Conan is my favorite and in my youth I’ve read a ton of stuff, but for the past 20 or so years I’ve been a REH purist. I read a lot of Conan pastiches as a young man and would like to revisit some of those b/c I would like to read more Conan and I’m tired of reading my same stuff over and over.

So who are your recommendation as the best of the Conan pastiche authors, and we can leave de Camp off that list. Lest said about him the better.

Thanks,
Terry

#2

Most of the non-Howard Conan that I’ve read has been in comic book form.

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#3

I don’t know about best, but the only other author who wrote in Howard’s world besides de Camp that I’m aware of is Lin Carter. But he mostly wrote those with de Camp, so that’s probably not what you’re looking for. Carter also edited a lot of swords & sorcery anthologies that may be interesting, depending on how willing you are to go from pastiche to merely being in the same genre.

#4

I read non-Howardian Conan material very slowly, much preferring “pastiche” (defined, in my view, as any Sword & Sorcery derivative of Conan but not actually featuring “Conan” as the hero) in other constructions. John Maddox Roberts is mentioned favorably in the linked article, and I so much have enjoyed his King of the Wood that I have been hunting down his other works.

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Among Conan fans, it is a nearly unanimous opinion that Conan and the Emerald Lotus, by John Chris Hocking, is the best and perfect pastiche. I have not read it, because it is incredibly difficult to find and, whenever available, costing more than I want to pay.

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#5

I think Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time series) wrote 3 or 4 Conan novels. I’ve got one of them and I vaguely remember enjoying it, It’s been a long time since I read it. I do think they are difficult to track down.

#6

I read some of the Jordan and I think Offut stuff years ago as well as stuff by that guy we don’t speak of. I remember some it not being that bad, and a lot of the Jordan stuff is quoted in the mongoose Conan rpg. I would like to check out that emerald lotus book but it’s crazy expensive.

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