Conan at the Demon's Gate

Rating:
Summary: Swashbuckling Sword&Sorcery
Review: A fast-moving Sword&Sorcery adventure that, chronologically, falls between "Queen of the Black Coast" and "The Vale of Lost Women" (both from "Conan of Cimmeria"). The plot, not being bogged down with either gorgeous or gory detail, and also interspersed with subtle humor, almost made this a Conan "Lite". The ease with which the Cimmerian extricates himself from one impossible situation after another makes the story line somewhat simplistic, although the flash-backs and flash-forwards do add some otherwise-needed depth. This is escapist fun nearly at its best!

Rating:
Summary: Swashbuckling Sword&Sorcery
Review: A fast-moving Sword&Sorcery adventure that, chronologically, falls between "Queen of the Black Coast" and "The Vale of Lost Women" (both from "Conan of Cimmeria"). The plot, not being bogged down with either gorgeous or gory detail, and also interspersed with subtle humor, almost made this a Conan "Lite". The ease with which the Cimmerian extricates himself from one impossible situation after another makes the story line somewhat simplistic, although the flash-backs and flash-forwards do add some otherwise-needed depth. This is escapist fun nearly at its best!

Rating:
Summary: An Odd Conan Interlude
Review: So Conan is out in the jungle, just crushed over the death of Belit, living solo off the land. He runs into a band of Bamula, rises to a tenuous position of prominence in the tribe via their ongoing conflict with a rival tribe, and suddenly weird animals start getting teleported into his front yard. He kills a dragon, then a polar bear, then he and a gaggle of his adopted tribe get teleported to the Pictish wilderness. There he encounters an exiled sorcerer who's using The Demon's Gate to wormhole things around the world to his own nefarious ends. Enter the Picts and things get ugly quick. Conan fights, slays, suffers a setback or three, but ultimately calls on deep reserves of barbarian tenacity and subtle craftiness to win the day.
This is an odd one, but good. It moves really fast, but is not stretched thin. Conan makes a few friends here and there, does a big-brother bit with a young tribesman, gets a couple of girls, and is generally The Man. If you like Conan, but want something off the beaten path, give it a shot. Three stars for originality, plot and chracter development. It does get a little hectic and could have been edited a bit better, but all in all a good homage...enjoy.