Judul: Conan The Barbarian
Penulis: L. Sprague de Camp & Lin Carter
Bahasa: INGGRIS
Kulit Muka: Soft Cover (DISAMPUL PLASTIK)
Tebal: x + 182 Halaman
Berat Buku: 100 g
Penerbit: Sphere Books
Tahun: Cetakan ketiga, 1982
Kondisi: BEKAS (BUKU BEKAS/Kondisi fisik sesuai foto)

Harga: Rp. 25.000,-HABIS

Sinopsis

(REVIEW)

This book is a strong 3 star book. I am not giving it a 4 star rating because of the fact that de Camp and Carter swiped a key ingredient from Robert E. Howard's Queen of the Black Coast (as found in Conan of Cimmeria) and placed it at the end of this story. Readers that are unfamiliar with that work will enjoy this book more than I did.

It is not a bad book mind you. It traces Conan's life as a youth in Cimmeria, through his years of bondage, until the point that he gains his freedom and embarks on the book's adventures. The reader will appreciate a fairly authentic Conan. He broods, he berserks, he is reflective, he has wit and sensibility. He is not overly polite. He is not so indomitable that he is inhuman. An intriguing bit of his religious side is revealed as well.

He befriends a thief, Subotai, who provides a hint of comic relief throughout the book without becoming a buffoon. Conan also links up with another thief named Valeria. (A character named Valeria appears in Howard's Red Nails, but they are not the same individual.) She is a very alluring character that infuses the book with an appealing feminine presence. Overall, the characterization of this book is strong. Two of the best characters are Conan's parents, but their presence is brief.

Conan's inevitable clash with the forces of evil is somewhat satisfactory, but the first half of this book is more intriguing than the last half. De Camp and Carter create some moody settings along the way that absorb the reader to some degree. Conan fans who enjoy monstrous creatures will probably not be very satisfied as they are kept to a minimum. The presence of sorcery and sexuality is not overdone. This is actually a well-balanced blend of all of the elements that make Conan stories appealing to his fans.

My main gripe is with the inclusion of elements from other Conan stories that make this book seem like a rerun at times, but I never felt like pitching the book against a wall. This book is based on the screenplay that was used in the Schwarzenegger movie, but I have never seen the movie to know how close it was to this book. If you like other work by de Camp and Carter, you will probably like this.(Michael S. Armstrong/amazon.com)