Conan the Gladiator

Rating:
Summary: Russell Crowe...the Barbarian!
Review: If you leave out wars, battles, skirmishes, raids, self-defense and defending the weak and helpless, what need is there for sword fighting? Well, how about entertainment? That's right. In the Hyborian Age they didn't have Monday Night Football to watch. But what they did have was the next best thing -- Gladiators! Conan must be having a slow day (which resembles the starting pace of this book) when he decides to join a traveling circus troupe. Of course it's his code of honor dictating that, because he busted up the show's strongman, Conan should become the newest attraction. The troupe heads south to the newly renovated city of Luxur where they encounter one gladiatorial episode after another in the big Arena, trying to survive and hopefully, make a big enough profit to retire from show business. Would the Conan we all love and admire really stoop to killing for entertainment? The book is a decent read, and actually has some interesting character development but, nevertheless, is definitely NOT one of Carpenter's better efforts.

Rating:
Summary: Conan goes to the Circus
Review: If you leave out wars, battles, skirmishes, raids, self-defense and defending the weak and helpless, what need is there for sword fighting? Well, how about entertainment? That's right. In the Hyborian Age they didn't have Monday Night Football to watch. But what they did have was the next best thing -- Gladiators! Conan must be having a slow day (which resembles the starting pace of this book) when he decides to join a traveling circus troupe. Of course it's his code of honor dictating that, because he busted up the show's strongman, Conan should become the newest attraction. The troupe heads south to the newly renovated city of Luxur where they encounter one gladiatorial episode after another in the big Arena, trying to survive and hopefully, make a big enough profit to retire from show business. Would the Conan we all love and admire really stoop to killing for entertainment? The book is a decent read, and actually has some interesting character development but, nevertheless, is definitely NOT one of Carpenter's better efforts.

Rating:
Summary: Russell Crowe...the Barbarian!
Review: Well,....what can I say. The book is pretty weak. The plot would've been better suited to the Conan cartoon series (remember it?),seriously folks. I honestly can't see Conan staying that long in a city being a gladiator, no less. Also, he strikes me as too intelligent throughout the book. For example, in the arena, he orders them to form a phalanx! He's a barbarian from Cimmeria! How's he gonna know what a phalanx is? I thought the priests of Set might be cool,too, but they were more like Renaissance scientists or something. I only read this book because I want to read all of the Conan books. The end battle was cool, but that's about it. This wasn't one of the better books.