Robert E. Howard
Eons of the Night (C) (1996)
The Robert E. Howard Library Vol. V
Reviewed: 1997-12-20

This volume collects several mostly unconnected stories by Howard with all his favorite themes and clichés: A blond barbarian fights a were-woman and treason in ancient Sumeria; a Proto-Aryan barbarian takes on the last survivor of the winged man and his garden of blood-drinking plants; the Irish drive the Danish invaders from their island in a battle between Christianity and the old Norse gods; Cro-Magnon men wage war against the beast-like Neandertals; a Vandal fleet sails on Rome, their king aided by the ghost of Rome's most legendary foe; Nordic warriors fight their way eastward through Asia to make a final stand at a sunken city in modern day Texas; in the little fishing village of Faring town two sailors draw a fatal curse on them; again in Faring town, a murderous being returns in the shape of a dead man from the sea; a werewolf roams a French forest; an invitation from a landholder to his European friends brings the werewolf to Africa.

There are many glaring flaws and often a certain awkwardness to Howard's writing, but there is also an unparalleled vigor in his words that feels like the energy coursing through the veins of his blood-thirsty, savage, and ravenous giants who stalk previous, often mythical ages.

Table of Contents:

• Robert E. Howard, by S.M. Stirling
• Introduction
• "The House of Arabu"
• "The Garden of Fear"
• "The Twilight of the Grey Gods"
• "Spear And Fang"
• "Marchers of Valhalla"
• "Sea Curse"
• "Out of the Deep"
• "In the Forest of Villefère"
• "Wolfshead"

Home Page | Review Index | Latest Reviews

Generated: 2006-04-26