Recommended reading for any Conan fan


 * See also: Guide.

For anyone not familiar with Robert E. Howard's most notable character, Conan the Barbarian, my recommendation would be that you read or listen to the following three books:


 * The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian (book 1)
 * The Bloody Crown of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria Book 2)
 * The Conquering Sword of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 3)



All three of these books are published by Del Rey, and are the original versions of the stories written by Robert E. Howard. All three can be purchased online, and are available in several formats. The audio versions of the books are excellent (Robert E. Howard (Author), Todd McLaren (Narrator), Tantor Audio (Publisher)).

In my opinion, don't bother with the pastiche novels (De Camp; Carter; Jordan, etc.) but you may want to consider the writing of Roy Thomas in the comics Conan the Barbarian; The Savage Sword of Conan; and King Conan to be closest to Howard's original vision and characterization of Conan.

Recommended Reading for Any Conan Fan