Product Description: The creator of Conan looks to the stars in one of fantasy's most enduring science fantasy classics! Robert E. Howard's Almuric is a savage planet of crumbling stone ruins and debased, near-human inhabitants. Into this world comes Esau Cairn, Earthman, swordsman, murderer. Only he can overthrow the terrible devils that enslave Almuric, but to do so he must first defeat the inner demons that forced him to abandon Earth. Filled with vile beasts and thrilling adventure in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Almuric is one of Howard's few novels, and an excellent yarn from one of America's most distinct literary voices.
An Entertaining yarn ALMURIC, a novel found after REH's death, while not up to the standard of Conan and Kull is, nonetheless an entertaining yarn. In the ERB/Mars vein it is a typically Howardian hero, i.e., "two stupid to do anything but shoot, slash or slug his way into the clear." (Howard's words) Looking for originality, this ain't it. Looking for a entertaining ligh read and this story should fill the bill.
Like Conan on Mars! Blood and Rain Blood for the Masses
Almuric By Robert E. Howard Reviewed By B.L.Morgan
4.5 out of 5
"This must be like Conan on Mars!" Was the first thing that popped into my head when I spotted Almuric on The Half-Priced Book Store shelf. An interplanetary adventure written by the creator of Conan and other barbarian heros. An interesting experiment to be sure. Howard must have been a bit envious of the huge amounts of money Edgar Rice Burroughs was making at this time from his interplanetary series because the first chapters of Almuric do read like the E.R.B. Pastich's that Otis Adelbert Kline and other others like him were putting out.
Written in the first person Almuric differs from most of Howards work in that he didn't seem to be completely comfortable using first person. There was much more self reflection by Esau Cairn than we're used to getting from Howards main characters. Conan or Kull doesn't spend any time telling you why they do something. They just do it. It's more fun that way too.
Starting Almuric, there was a good set-up. The new world was described in vivid, colorful detail. There was enough action to keep you interested. The natives were not terrribly friendly, and the story was moving along like one of the normal interplanetary adventures that the Burroughs imitators were pumping out. Not bad, just not great. Not what we expect from Robert E. Howard. Then about half way through the novel, Howard seemed to say, to hell with trying to write like someone else. He kicked it into high gear and what had before been an amusing jaunt on another planet became an intensely violent and frequently gruesome fight for survival and war story in a strange barbaric land.
Howard is at his best when describing battles that just observing would scare the crap out of the rest of us. The second half of Almuric is filled with awesome carnage between weird opponents of all kinds. Heads fly in this book, along with hands, feet, bits of flesh and entrails and buckets of blood.
Almuric left me with the feeling that it was a real shame that Robert E. Howard didn't explore interplanetary adventure more. He would of stamped his own mark on that field. I would love to read more books by Howard set on the planet Almuric. Unfortunately, they don't exist.
Maybe the best argument against suicide is that you can never see what the future will bring. Howard never knew that his writng would be so highly regarded later. I doubt Robert E. Howard knew how good a writer he was. What a waste of talent, to have died so young.
ROBERT E. HOWARD = THE BEST OF THE BEST! My sediments are same as Joe R. Lansdale-award-winning author of "Conan and the Songs of the Dead"; "A few pages in and I was as hooked as bass on a handmade fly, right through the gills."
The person that said this story was derivative, meaning not original, is pure conjecture and inference. As far as being average I don't agree. It was outstanding! I took one break to read the 155 pages of Almuric. Joe Lansdale's introduction is fascinating with some surprises. "When Howard was writing Almuric, or the bulk of his tales, I don't doubt that he entered into a kind of trance that put him right where he was writing about. Made those worlds so real to him that they became real to us." I believe this, too. REH was a genius and his writings are etched forever endless in time accumulating vast new readers and fans each and every day.
Highly recommend The Last of the Trunk by Paul Herman of REH Foundation that published the remaining writings of REH. The Last of the trunk transcripts were furnished by Glenn Lord. A few of these untitled stories and manuscripts tell about a man going back in time and one going ahead in time to the year 2000. It's an awesome book and a must have to learn more about REH.
Recommend the following: Blood & Thunder, The Life & Art of REH by Mark Finn, One Who Walked Alone by Novalyne Price who was REH's girlfriend, The Barbaric Triumph and The Dark Barbarian by Don Herron, Two-Gun Bob, Bran Mak Morn, Solomon Kane, Kull, Steve Costigan, The Black Stranger and other american tales which has the scariest story ever called Pigeons From Hell, Dark Horse Conan comics, Marvel 60's Mag of Conan, Weird Tales and Works of REH, Lord of Samarcand, Crimson Shadows Best of REH 1 & 2, and The Star Rover by Jack London which had a huge influence on REH.
Each year around the time REH passed Jun 13 & 14 is REH days at Cross Plains, TX. REH Foundation has more info on the net. Tell others about REH and if you've never read his stories before you're in for a real treat. A few of my favorites are Rogues in the House, Red Nails, Pigeons From Hell, The People of the Black Circle, and Beyond The Black River which would be an awesome movie that I envision Mel Gibson directing.
The action never lets up! The action starts early and about a third of the way through ramps to a fevered pace that never lets up as the hero is thrust into one bone-crushing, head splitting adventure after another. Almuric is a pageturner chock full of well crafted action, which alone makes it worthwhile, but what makes it memorable is the rich detail of the strange world and the powerful themes of life and living. At 155 pages it's a quick read and one you'll find hard to put down. A shame REH didn't live to write more stories from this great universe.
Heroic Pulp Fiction At It's Finest Almuric is the ultimate he-man pulp from Robert Howard in a tale so laden with testosterone that you don't read the story as much as it jumps off the page and gnaws on your leg for awhile.
Esau Cairn is a man who makes Conan the Barbarian look like a pantywaist. Escaping from a charge of murder, Esau finds a scientist who sends him on a one-way trip to a far-flung and primitive planet.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
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