Conan the Defender

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good
Review: I picked up this book as a fan of Jordan's Wheel of Time, and the Schwarzenegger Conan movies. I figure put the two together and we're in business. I gotta tell ya... That wasn't far from the truth.

In "Conan the Defender", our hero arrives in the city of Belverus to, again, find work to fill his gold purse. His plan is to raise his own company of warriors, but Civil war threatens in the Kingdom- and he must choose sides between his friends and the King. But first he must find out who has been trying to kill him and why.

-I can't compare this to R. E. Howard's works, (I haven't read any yet) but this has sure made me open to checking those out in the future. An enjoyable read.

-And sure it's not Wheel of Time, but I can definitely see the seeds of a great author taking root.

Rating:
Summary: Typical Sword and sorcery
Review: Obviously, Jordan was tapped to write a book here for commercial purposes. It's not that good, but it's not too bad either (see the stars). Good for fans of Conan, and of S&S.

Rating:
Summary: Typical Sword and sorcery
Review: Obviously, Jordan was tapped to write a book here for commercial purposes. It's not that good, but it's not too bad either (see the stars). Good for fans of Conan, and of S&S.

Rating:
Summary: A fine Conan adventure from Robert Jordan
Review: Robert Jordan's second Conan novel takes place entirely in the city of Belverus, and it is a welcome change from the many novels that have Conan trekking through wilderness wastes to find lost cities. Jordan digs into the single location and lets the reader savor the personalities and conspiracies of Nemedia, second greatest of the Hyborian Kingdoms. The story follows one of the most ubiquitous of Conan plot archetypes: the "usurp-the-throne" conspiray. Conan's creator, Robert E. Howard utilized this often, and usually the target was King Conan himself, but here a younger Conan becomes ensnared in the coup conspiracy of Lord Albanus to overthrow King Garian using a superhuman "simulacrum" of the King. Conan has friends like the one-eyed smuggler Hordo and the beautiful poetess Arian, but has too many enemies to count. Can he and his Free-Company survive the magical politics of Nemedia?

There is much to enjoy in "Conan the Defender," but the novel has major flaw common to many of non-Robert E. Howard novels. For more than half of this book, Conan has scant reason to be involved in the storyline of Albanus and the scheme against the Nemedian crown. He runs into conflicts and action scenes, but not until late in the book does the novel's hero really find a place in the story. Jordan provides no major "turning point" or "moment of realization" that seals Conan into the plot and gives him a strong direction. Conan is an unusual hero, and getting him worked into a plot often takes ingenuity. Jordan only half-solves this problem here, and it hurts the book. Every other chapter, Hordo begs Conan to forget the mess in Belverus and take off with the Free-Company. Jordan gives Conan weak excuses for deciding to stay, and only in the last third does his choice start to make sense.

Despite this large problem, "Conan the Defender" makes for a good read. Jordan has the writing chops to pull off the story, and he reads easily. The pages fly past, even away from the furious action. Jordan's action set-pieces are clearly described and he comes up with some clever fight ideas. The final battle in the palace really makes for a great climax. The only problem I have with Jordan's writing style is his occasional reliance on archaic English words that feel out of place. For example, he uses `an' as a substitute for `if' too often (and when coming out of Conan's mouth, this sounds silly).

The story bogs down in places where too many characters become involved in the conspiracies, and a few of them never amount to much, such as Sularia and an underused female character named Lady Jelanna. Some parts of the plot are never explained. However, the story moves quickly enough that it is easy to overlook the bumps in the plot. The principal heroine, Ariane, is a refreshing change from the "helpless wench" or "tough warrior woman" cliché and has a realism to her found infrequently in this kind of tale. In the final third, the action really kicks in and rushes toward the exciting finale with the rebellion and the storming of the King's Palace. Jordan even manages to toss in a snappy plot twist that genuinely surprises. Plot twists like this usually do not show up in Conan novels.

Although a lesser novel than Jordan's excellent first venture into the Hyborian age, "Conan the Invincible", I can recommend Conan the Defender as a satisfying if flawed exploit of our favorite barbarian.

Rating:
Summary: A fine Conan adventure from Robert Jordan
Review: Robert Jordan's second Conan novel takes place entirely in the city of Belverus, and it is a welcome change from the many novels that have Conan trekking through wilderness wastes to find lost cities. Jordan digs into the single location and lets the reader savor the personalities and conspiracies of Nemedia, second greatest of the Hyborian Kingdoms. The story follows one of the most ubiquitous of Conan plot archetypes: the "usurp-the-throne" conspiray. Conan's creator, Robert E. Howard utilized this often, and usually the target was King Conan himself, but here a younger Conan becomes ensnared in the coup conspiracy of Lord Albanus to overthrow King Garian using a superhuman "simulacrum" of the King. Conan has friends like the one-eyed smuggler Hordo and the beautiful poetess Arian, but has too many enemies to count. Can he and his Free-Company survive the magical politics of Nemedia?

There is much to enjoy in "Conan the Defender," but the novel has major flaw common to many of non-Robert E. Howard novels. For more than half of this book, Conan has scant reason to be involved in the storyline of Albanus and the scheme against the Nemedian crown. He runs into conflicts and action scenes, but not until late in the book does the novel's hero really find a place in the story. Jordan provides no major "turning point" or "moment of realization" that seals Conan into the plot and gives him a strong direction. Conan is an unusual hero, and getting him worked into a plot often takes ingenuity. Jordan only half-solves this problem here, and it hurts the book. Every other chapter, Hordo begs Conan to forget the mess in Belverus and take off with the Free-Company. Jordan gives Conan weak excuses for deciding to stay, and only in the last third does his choice start to make sense.

Despite this large problem, "Conan the Defender" makes for a good read. Jordan has the writing chops to pull off the story, and he reads easily. The pages fly past, even away from the furious action. Jordan's action set-pieces are clearly described and he comes up with some clever fight ideas. The final battle in the palace really makes for a great climax. The only problem I have with Jordan's writing style is his occasional reliance on archaic English words that feel out of place. For example, he uses 'an' as a substitute for 'if' too often (and when coming out of Conan's mouth, this sounds silly).

The story bogs down in places where too many characters become involved in the conspiracies, and a few of them never amount to much, such as Sularia and an underused female character named Lady Jelanna. Some parts of the plot are never explained. However, the story moves quickly enough that it is easy to overlook the bumps in the plot. The principal heroine, Ariane, is a refreshing change from the "helpless wench" or "tough warrior woman" cliché and has a realism to her found infrequently in this kind of tale. In the final third, the action really kicks in and rushes toward the exciting finale with the rebellion and the storming of the King's Palace. Jordan even manages to toss in a snappy plot twist that genuinely surprises. Plot twists like this usually do not show up in Conan novels.

Although a lesser novel than Jordan's excellent first venture into the Hyborian age, "Conan the Invincible", I can recommend Conan the Defender as a satisfying if flawed exploit of our favorite barbarian.

Rating:
Summary: You Might Have Missed the Boat...
Review: This book, and Robert Jordan's other Conan novels, are from the early 80's. I assure you that he was not "tapped" to write them for his WoT work, and sent back in time to do the job. Jordan's Conan novels are his early forays into writing fantasy. They are not the work of a polished writer at the top of his game, do not have the maturity of his current work, and should not be read with the expectation of material similarity to the WoT novels.

That said, "Conan the Defender" and the lot were fun reads that the average human being should be able to get through in a single evening. Readers should approach them like a Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance novel, and enjoy the simplicity of it all.

Rating:
Summary: You Might Have Missed the Boat...
Review: This book, and Robert Jordan's other Conan novels, are from the early 80's. I assure you that he was not "tapped" to write them for his WoT work, and sent back in time to do the job. Jordan's Conan novels are his early forays into writing fantasy. They are not the work of a polished writer at the top of his game, do not have the maturity of his current work, and should not be read with the expectation of material similarity to the WoT novels.

That said, "Conan the Defender" and the lot were fun reads that the average human being should be able to get through in a single evening. Readers should approach them like a Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance novel, and enjoy the simplicity of it all.