Thursday, January 05, 2017

Books read in 2017: No. 2 -- Conan the Mercenary

by Andrew J. Offutt

Started: Jan. 2
Finished: Jan. 5

Notes: After just finishing "Red Nails," I felt like reading some more of Conan the Cimmerian. Looking around my to-be-read pile, I stumbled upon this, forgetting I had it (probably for years). While Offutt was rarely a strong writer, he did have a certain lovable goofiness to his prose, and occasionally there were sparks of mild genius; I tend to think he was a better short story writer than novelists, but that's just my opinion.

Mini review: Offutt's writing was more subdued in this one, but it read more like an extended short story than a true novel. In this one, an 18-year-old Conan hires on with a noble and then discovers a plot of treachery within the royal palace. Not a great book, but not awful. Still, only Offutt or Conan fans need apply.

1 comment:

Charles Gramlich said...

I've read this one. Got a copy at home. I'm trying to remember if it was illustrated. There were several of those and they were definitely more novella length. I tend to find Offutt's fantasy stuff pretty readable, although not outstanding.