It is always good when a new job provides the opportunity to go back to a character we love. Right now, I am struggling with doctor John Watson’s voice as I try and finish my first Sherlock Holmes pastiche (the editor’s waiting), but in the meantime, I’ve had to dug out a few books about my old friend Conan the Cimmerian.

Of the various books, none is as thorough as GURPS Conan, but certainly none is as gorgeous as Roy Thomas’ huge Conan – The Ultimate Guide to the World’s Most Savage Barbarian (classy title, uh?), that has been sitting here on my shelf for ages, waiting for the right moment to be something more than a private pleasure, and turn into a research item.

The volume is a beauty to behold and serves as a one-stop overview of Conan’s world and career. The GURPS book is more detailed, and I have a stack of essays on Howard’s writing that go in deep into a lot of specific elements of the Conan stories, but Thomas’ book is a good start, because it’s granted to stoke ,y enthusiasm for the hard work that’s coming.

The next two after-dinner evenings will go this way, exploring the Hyborian world and taking notes.
What’s to come?
Ah, rest assured I’ll let you know as soon as I am at liberty to do so.