Saturday, June 05, 2021

Books read in 2021: No. 23 -- El Borak and Other Desert Adventures

by Robert E. Howard

Started: May 8
Finished: June 5

Notes: Yesterday I finished an excellent book on the history of sword and sorcery, and that put me in the mood for some Robert E. Howard tales. Also, a few of the tales in this collection are the only prose of Howard's which I've not read, so once I'm done with this I can honestly say I've read all of Howard's stories. I suppose then I'll have to read all of his poetry.

Mini review: Of all the stories presented here, I found the ones actually featuring the El Borak character to be the best. For one thing, El Borak is the most likable character here and the one most like other Howard protagonists. The few other protagonists in other stories here are not bad, but they lack the full individualism and almost philosophical nobility of many Howard characters. That being said, I'm not sure any of these tales are Howard's strongest, though the novella "Three-Bladed Doom" might have been the best here. And now it's kind of sad that I've read all Howard's prose. Not that that means I can't read him again!

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