I've never read much by Robert E Howard. I think I read a Cormac Mac Art novel, and then a short story collection of his mostly Lovecraftian horror. And I've read some of Lovecraft's letters to him and about him (my M.A. thesis was on the Necronomicon). And of course Charles Stross gave him a nod by making the main protagonist of his Laundry Files series "Bob Howard." I'll have to check out some of those other things.
I betcha the Lovecraftian book you read was probably Cthulhu, The Mythos and Kindred Horrors. It's a good collection of his mythos stories. Coming from the HPL/Mythos angle, I think you might like Solomon Kane as a starting place. It's arguably the birthplace of Sword and Sorcery, and it's got cool "monster hunter" vibes all through it. There are two Solomon Kane stories, one each, in the "Best of" volumes. I'm pretty sure "Red Shadows" is in the first one. It's the first SK story, and the first Sword and Sorcery story, and it's got all of the things in it that make those stories great.
You're right about the short story collection. I'll probably just start with what's in Project Gutenberg since many (if not all) of his stories are public domain now. I can be surprised.
As usual, beautifully put, Mark. A lot of us might have wound up at that StrideRite working beside you were it not for Mr. and Mrs. Howard's genius son.
I've never read much by Robert E Howard. I think I read a Cormac Mac Art novel, and then a short story collection of his mostly Lovecraftian horror. And I've read some of Lovecraft's letters to him and about him (my M.A. thesis was on the Necronomicon). And of course Charles Stross gave him a nod by making the main protagonist of his Laundry Files series "Bob Howard." I'll have to check out some of those other things.
I betcha the Lovecraftian book you read was probably Cthulhu, The Mythos and Kindred Horrors. It's a good collection of his mythos stories. Coming from the HPL/Mythos angle, I think you might like Solomon Kane as a starting place. It's arguably the birthplace of Sword and Sorcery, and it's got cool "monster hunter" vibes all through it. There are two Solomon Kane stories, one each, in the "Best of" volumes. I'm pretty sure "Red Shadows" is in the first one. It's the first SK story, and the first Sword and Sorcery story, and it's got all of the things in it that make those stories great.
You're right about the short story collection. I'll probably just start with what's in Project Gutenberg since many (if not all) of his stories are public domain now. I can be surprised.
As usual, beautifully put, Mark. A lot of us might have wound up at that StrideRite working beside you were it not for Mr. and Mrs. Howard's genius son.
I’ve read, and enjoyed, a number of REH books. He left us too soo!