Grim Lands

"[Behind Howard‘s stories] lurks a dark poetry and the timeless truth of dreams.” -Robert Bloch "Howard‘s writing seems so highly charged with energy that it nearly gives off sparks.” -Stephen King The classic pulp magazines of the early twentieth century are long gone, but their action-packed tales live on through the work of legendary storyteller Robert E. Howard. From his fecund imagination sprang an army of larger-than-life heroes-including the iconic Conan the Cimmerian, King Kull of Atlantis, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn-as well as adventures that would define a genre for generations. Now comes the second volume of this author‘s breathtaking short fiction, which runs the gamut from sword and sorcery, historical epic, and seafaring pirate adventure to two-fisted crime and intrigue, ghoulish horror, and rip-roaring western. Kull reigns supreme in "By This Axe I Rule!” and "The Mirrors of Tuzan Thune”; Conan conquers in one of his most popular exploits, "The Tower of the Elephant”; Solomon Kane battles demons deep in Africa in "Wings in the Night”; and itinerant boxer Steve Costigan puts up his dukes of steel inside and outside the ring in "The Bulldog Breed.” In between, warrior kings, daring knights, sinister masterminds, grizzled frontiersmen-even Howard‘s stunning heroine, Red Sonya-tear up the pages in stories built to thrill by their masterly creator. And in such epic poems as "Echoes from an Anvil;” "Black Harps in the Hills;” and "The Grim Land;” the author blends his classic characters and visceral imagery with a lyricism as haunting as traditional folk balladry. Lavishly illustrated by Jim and Ruth Keegan, here is a Robert E. Howard collection as indispensable as it is unforgettable. "Howard had a gritty, vibrant style-broadsword writing that cut its way to the heart, with heroes who are truly larger than life.” -David Gemmell "For stark, living fear . . . What other writer is even in the running with Robert E. Howard?” -H. P. Lovecraft