"Marchers of Valhalla" is the longest, and possibly the best, of the James Allison tales. It is a thrilling story where one can enjoy the exquisite and ferocious way in which REH narrates the adventures of Hialmar, the far-roving warrior of Nordheim.
Read MoreToday marks the ninetieth anniversary of Robert E. Howard’s death. It also marks the (official) fortieth anniversary of Howard Days. I have a few things to say about that and also some thoughts regarding Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith.
Read MoreThe Lemurian, Kelkor—also known as ‘Kelka’—was a major figure in the court of King Kull. He became the commander of the Red Slayers and, quite likely, saved Kull’s life. Read on to find out more about this neglected Thurian Age bad-ass.
Read MoreToday marks the seventy-fifth birthday of the wildly talented artist, John Bolton. While he is, perhaps, more famous for his Kull covers for Marvel Comics, I want to focus on his Dark Horse Cormac Mac Art and Bran Mak Morn covers.
Read MoreCormac FitzGeoffrey is perhaps the most notable of all the protagonists that Robert E. Howard created in his ‘Crusader’ stories; tales written with a significant element of historical realism. Cormac is reminiscent of Conan: tall stature, tigerish strength, fierce blue eyes, jet-black hair…and a force of nature on the battlefield.
Read MoreFantasy literature can give you new sensations and images. Most of the stories mentioned here have a hallucinatory weirdness and a brooding atmosphere. This comes from not only the description of these buildings but their nature.
Read MoreRobert E. Howard wrote a great deal about the rise and fall of empires. John Glubb, a formidable soldier and historian, wrote a book called The Fate of Empires which aligns with many of Howard’s themes and attitudes.
Read MoreLee Breakiron, on top of being a great guy with the coolest name ever, was also one of the finest Howardian scholars out there. His contributions to the Robert E. Howard United Press Association and to the Robert E. Howard Foundation were invaluable. He died on March 29, 2026.
Read MoreIn honor of the eighty-ninth anniversary of H.P. Lovecraft’s departure from this mortal coil, I decided to quote all the mentions in his official/bylined tales which referenced the creations of Robert E. Howard. In doing so, HPL formally brought them into the Cthulhu Mythos.
Read MoreToday marks the one hundred and fifteenth birthday of Catherine Lucille “C.L.” Moore. Hailed as a ‘Grandmaster of Fantasy’ and also ‘The Queen of Sword and Sorcery’ by some, Moore contributed mightily to Weird Tales in the 1930s and then blazed trails in the sci-fi realm with her husband, Henry Kuttner.
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