Conan the Barbarian - Iron Shadows in the Moon

We read Robert E. Howard’s “Iron Shadows in the Moon” and follow Conan from a marshland showdown into cursed ruins, pirate politics, and a moonlit escape. 

Transcript

Welcome And Why Conan Repeats

Michael Kentris 0:06

Hello and welcome back to Brothers Reading Books. We are your hosts. I am Michael Kentris, and I am joined by my brother. Kentris. Will, how are you doing today? I'm doing really well, Michael. How are you? You know, uh we're we're recording this in January 2026, and like we were just talking about before, hitting record. Uh, it's been one of the uh snow apocalypses uh where uh we live, so lots of shoveling in our uh recent rearview mirror. But uh our frost giant episode is behind us uh and we are continuing just like that segue. Uh we're continuing with our uh trek through Conan the Barbarian here. So what do we have in front of us today, Will? So today we're gonna be covering Iron Shadows in the Moon, and to kind of revisit those high-level summaries we were doing in Dune. Yeah. So a brief, brief synopsis of this story is Conan goes for a boat ride, tours a remote island's cultural heritage, and he gains some subordinates. Nice. Yes. Well put, very succinct, very pithy. And uh we were talking a little bit here, we're starting, we're about halfway through this this collection, give or take, and there there's certain patterns and uh tropes, if you will, that are I think becoming very apparent. There is the damsel in distress, there is the uh personal combat aspect, and then usually some sort of uh eldritch mystical horror opponents that is either dealt with directly or indirectly, depending on the level of magic versus brawn uh disparity. Absolutely. But I think there's still a lot of enjoyable things. I can definitely see how kind of thinking back, right, these are published kind of in serialist magazines and things like that, where maybe you get one of these every few months, uh a Conan story, as opposed to kind of mainlining them all in a row like we are. And it's probably a little more nostalgia, kind of like a revisiting of familiar themes and things like that. But yes, so it can get a little formulally formulaic, but uh it's not necessarily a bad thing, I think, in this genre. Uh that'd be kind of my take on it. No, I agree. Especially like you said, since this was kind of being serialized, you I know in a lot of longer epic fantasy stories that I've read, like Robert Jordan, for instance, uh, it would actually benefit, I think, a little more from kind of this repetition that we find in these shorter stories. Because you know, we're we're getting books published like once every other year, and most people aren't rereading them. And so you go back to it, and there's there's the meme of Gandalf in the minds of Moria, whereas like I have no memory of this place. Right. Very true, very true. Yes, like a uh like they do in a lot of uh plays, the uh dramatic cast, the what do they call them? Uh persona dramatis or something like that. Please forgive me, our poetry and play readers. So so yes,

Olivia Flees And Conan Strikes

Michael Kentris 3:12

today we have Iron Shadows in the Moon, and as you said, it it opens on a damsel in distress. So we have a slender girl in sandals and girdled tunic, and she is fleeing. All right, we get a description of basically she's like frantically running away from this man, who is described as a tall, slender man, but hard as steel. And we we find out she she's yelling, stand back, her voice shrilled with terror. Touch me not, Shah Amorath, or I will throw myself into the water and drown. And I I like this, you know, this is just a testament to kind of Howard's language here. His laughter was like the purr of a sword sliding from a silken sheath. You know, it's just uh it's very descriptive. Mm-hmm. No, absolutely. Even that very first line in the story, a swift crashing of horses through the tall reeds, a heavy fall, a despairing cry. I I I very much like that kind of like bump, bump, bump. Very punchy. Yes, very concise, but it tells you exactly like what the scene is, what's happening. Yes. Well, and we find out uh he addresses her as Olivia, daughter of confusion, which I thought that's a very kind of uh epic sounding title as well. Like you might experience or read in classic myth and things like that. Absolutely. So we find out he is he's been chasing her, she she has escaped him, or is trying to escape, rather. Yes. And we find out that basically he's been torturing her. Have I not suffered enough? Is there any humiliation, pain, or degradation you have not heaped on me? How long must my torment last? And then we find out he is a disgusting individual, uh, because he replies, as long as I find pleasure in your whimperings, your pleas, tears, and writhings. Yeah, no, yeah, he seems like a pretty awful person. And in that response to like stand back or I'll throw myself into the water and drown. I I loved his response where he's just like, You'll not drown, Olivia, for the marge is too shallow. Right. Yeah, the face planted that water if you're gonna try to get it. Before you could drown yourself, I just pull you out. Yeah. Yes. So so yes, we find out that uh she she has been his prisoner, and they are from the uh city of Akif. Akif. I don't know how you're going with it. Yeah, I don't know. Where the people are still fetting the conqueror of the miserable Kosaki. So which we find out is him. He's the Shah there. And uh I don't know if this is this is one of those kind of things where you wonder, is it a one-to-one? The Kozaki. You kind of think of like the Cossacks, perhaps. So so we find out yeah, he's basically during this celebration she took the opportunity to try and steal away, and he came back personally to uh to run her down and bring her back. Yeah, along with a group of his soldiers, but she was able to outrun the soldiers, not him. Not him. He's got the fastest horse around. That's right. And so yeah, so he basically goes to grab her, and he releases her with a startled oath and springs back, his saber flashing out as a terrible apparition burst from the reedy jungle, sounding an articulate cry of hate. Yes, I guess either a savage or a madman advancing on Shah Amarath in an attitude of deadly menace. And would you describe this character for us with the case? He was powerfully built, naked but for a girdle of loincloth which was stained with blood encrusted with dried mire. His black mane was matted with mud and clotted blood. There were streaks of dried blood on his chest and limbs, dried blood on the long straight sword he gripped in his right hand, from under the tangle of his locks, bloodshot eyes glared like coals of blue fire. There we go. Who could it be? Who could it be? And uh I like this. Uh you Hyrcanian dog mouthed this apparition in a barbarous accent. The devils of vengeance have brought you here. So so yes, this is our protagonist, Conan, obviously, with his burning blue eyes and shock of black hair. Uh we find out that Conan's got some beef with this guy. Yes. So he was actually part of the Cozaks, actually, this group of mercenaries. And we learn a little more about that, I think, when he's talking about the Libya further down. But more or less, there's that exchange of calling each other dogs. Uh where is it? There's Shamaroth the Great Lord of Akif, oh damn you, how I love the sight of you. You who fed my comrades, the vultures, who tore them between wild horses, blinded and maimed and mutilated them. Aye, you dog, you filthy dog. His voice rose to a maddened scream, and he charged. Yes. So yes, lots of uh dogs here. Yes. I actually kept count of how many times he said well not just he, but how many times dog was used in this. And what is what is our count now? I have it at like well, right here it's at four. We're at four dogs at this point. I think there are more dogs later. There are more dogs in the store. So for those of you playing the drinking game at home, be careful. That's right. So yes, we get uh we get some sword play here between Conan and Shaw Amarath, and uh blades flamed and licked, seeming barely to touch, then the broadsword flashed past the saber and descended terrifically on Shaw Amarath's shoulder. She distinctly heard the snap of the shoulder bone. The Hyrcanian reeled back, suddenly ashen, blood spurting over the links of his Halberk, his saber slipped from his nerveless fingers. Quarter, he gasped. And uh Conan replies, Quarter, quarter such as you gave us, you swine. Not quite dog for close. Olivia closed her eyes. This was no longer battle but butchery. So yes, she basically looks away, and uh to shut out the sight of that dripping sword that rose and fell with the sound of a butcher's cleaver and the gurgling cries that dwindled away and ceased. Rough. That is that is some uh brutal description there. Right? Absolutely. I I love that, yeah. I love it when authors are able to engage multiple senses at the same time. That's one way to put it. Yes, uh yeah, right. She opens her eyes and she sees him turning away from a gory travesteeth that only vaguely resembled a human being. It's just like you kind of have in this mental image of him basically just like smashing with his sword over and over again until it's like just a bloody pulp. Which kind of based on how this character is described, maybe he had it coming. Right. I mean, obviously this sort of death is not a good death, but if anybody deserved it, it might have been him. He doesn't seem like an upstanding fellow. So right, Conan goes and grabs a boat, pulls it out from the reeds, and we get our typical damsel in distress, he's like, wait, don't leave me, take me with you. And he's just like, Who are you? Singular focused. Yeah. Uh and we basically get this back and forth. She introduces herself, I was his captive, I ran away. His warriors aren't be behind well, not far behind. And if they find me near his corpse, I dread what they'll do to me, essentially. He demanded. I am a barbarian, and I know from your looks that you fear me. Yes And she responds, Yes, I fear you. My flesh crawls

Slavery Backstory And Northbound Escape

Michael Kentris 10:35

at the horror of your aspect, but I fear the Hyrcanians more. Oh, let me go with you. They'll put me to the torture if they find me beside their dead lord. Yes. So he's like, Okay, come on. So they get in the boat, he gets behind the oars, and you know, we get this uh yeah, she's basically staring at him during during his rowing exercises here. A wolfish hardness about him that marked the barbarian. Uh and she finds out, you know, we find out some of this backstory as you were saying, that uh he was part of the band of the Kozakh, the Kozaki, as the Hyrcanian dogs called us. And then we find out a little bit about Olivia herself, that she was a daughter of the king of Ofer, which uh is a kingdom we've heard of a few times before in past stories, usually known for kind of their rich fabrics and opulence. And uh we kind of get this back and forth here, right, that uh we find out that initially she was sold to a Shemite chief because she would not marry a prince of Koth. And then we get this back and forth here. It's kind of this recurrent theme, and it was it was mentioned, I think, in the introduction as well, where they kind of have this back and forth about, you know, barbarism versus civilization, and who is, you know, quote unquote the real savage, as it were. And she's like, Aye, civilized men sell their children as slaves to savages sometimes. They call your race barbaric, Conan of Samaria. Uh and he just replies, We do not sell our children, he growled. So she initially she's passed through uh several hands here. The desert men did not misuse me. They used her to buy the goodwill of Shah Amarath, and so she was given as a gift to him. And she kind of uh recalls some of the recent events, basically about the celebration. So in the drunkenness and rejoicing, I found an opportunity to steal out of the city on a stolen horse. So then we get yeah, then we get Conan's backstory in response. So he was lying hid in the reeds. I was one of those dissolute rogues, the free companions who burned and looted along the borders, and there were five thousand of us from a score of Faisus and tribes. And I like this part. So they'd been serving as mercenaries for little prince in eastern Koth, most of us, and when he made peace with his cursed sovereign, we were out of employment. Yes. And so they took up to plundering the outlying dominions of Koth, Zamora, and Turin impartially. Right. And so we learn this uh Akief is part of Turin under uh the Shah Emirath. And so yeah, basically they're they were run down, killed off, and kind of split up. So yeah, he's been hiding in these morasses since then, feasting on musk rats and eating them raw for lack of fire. So it's been rough going recently for Conan. Right. It's funny, I do like uh I think it states here pretty soon, but more or less he's like it was the marshes that almost broke me compared to the empty plains that I grew up on. Right, right. Yeah, because that's what he's used to. So they they find out that uh Vil Villayette, I think, is um this area that they're in, and they're saying it's a Hyrcanian pond, which I assume means some sort of inland sea. I probably should have looked at the map here. And we find out that there are slaves that have escaped from galleys and have become pirates. So there's some pirates on these waters, again, a little foreshadowing here. And as we right, his plan is to go north until hopefully getting past the Hyrcanian lands and make good his escape. So, yeah, he tells her we're gonna go north and then we're gonna go west. And she's like, Suppose we meet pirates or a storm and we shall starve on the steps. Well, he reminded her, I didn't ask you to come with me. Right. And like this pirate storm starvation, all kinder than the people of Turan. So this is something I did look up. Uh Tehran is a real world place. So I know it's uh it's uh it's referring to an area in Central Asia that historically was inhabited by the nomadic Turkic or uh some Iranian tribes, depending on which era of history you're talking about. So that'd be like modern day Iran. I think a little bit more towards like the stands. So a little bit kind of what that be southwest? So kind of like the like Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, uh a little bit into historical Persia, modern day Iran. Aaron Powell Which does make sense with that Shah sort of title. Yes, yes. So so yes, right? Uh once again we have Howard using kind of some real-world tropes as a a shorthand to communicate to his reader kind of the the general vibe and some elements of the characterization of his peoples and places. So but yes, here's that little bit you were talking about. He's at home in the highlands. As for pirates, he just grinned and bent to the oars. So yeah, we we get a rowing montage here as as he's going here, and Olivia falls asleep. He's he's just rowing, like he's some phantasmal oarsman rowing her across the dark lake of death. And so she falls asleep. Then she wakes up, and uh we find that we are coming up to one of the many islands that dot this inland sea.

Spooky Island And Iron Statues

Michael Kentris 15:53

Yeah, Conan explains it's one of the many islands that dot this inland sea, like you just said. They're supposed to be inhabited, uninhabited. I've heard the Hyrcanians seldom visit them. Besides, they generally hug the shores in their galleys, and we've come a long way. Before sunset, we were outside out of sight of the mainland. Again, uh, she woke up hungry. I'm sure Conan's hungry. He's only been eating muskrat, so we're gonna stop at the island and look for some food. Yes. I like that's uh a nice little detail. They say the galleys hug the coast. Uh, because that was that was a very traditional way of sailing up until like more modern navigation methods. Like in in the ancient and classical world, you find that like in the Mediterranean in particular, there's a lot of documentation kind of talking about how to go deeper into the ocean was dangerous. So like there at the end of this paragraph where slipping ashore he reached out a hand to help Olivia, and she took it, went slightly at the blood stains upon it, feeling a hint the dynamic strength that lurked in the barbarian's thews. Don't count the thews out. That's all right, don't discount the thuse. So yeah, as they're walking through there, we get uh there's some forests here, and we see a great parrot. Crom muttered the Sumerian. Here is the grandfather of all parrots. He must be a thousand year old. Look at the evil wisdom of his eyes. What mysteries do you guard, wise devil? And he recites oh, it sounds like an incantation, Yagakulim Yaktha Zuthala, and with a wild screech of horribly human laughter rushed away through the trees to vanish in the opales and shadows. Right. And it's just like I'm just like, did we just step into a Lovecraft story? I know I keep saying this, but I'm just like, it is like Yag Soth. It's just it's just so similar. It's it's very interesting to me. Like I know they were pen pals, but uh yeah, just interesting. Absolutely. I mean, uh you said the pen pals, I'm sure he read his work as it was being published, his who who's chicken or the egg, right? Right, right. What did it say? Human words, I'll swear, answered Conan, but in what tongue I cannot say. Yet it must have learned them from human lips, human or. So yeah, yeah, we get our first little supernatural tidbit here from some sort of spooky parrot. And uh as you said, crumb I'm hungry, I could eat a whole buffalo. And so there uh he goes about he's also, as as they mentioned earlier, covered in mud and blood, and so he goes to do his ablutions to wash himself off. That is a funny term. And uh yeah. You know, she notices his tigerish suppleness of limb. Right. Can't have a code story without some sort of allusion to his cat-like prowess. Right. Cat uh big cats and wolves are the uh the name of the game around these parts. That's right. That's right. So they're walking through these trees and they find these golden and russet globes hanging in clusters among the leaves. So they pull these exotic delicacies and then they they just start eating. Um, like I have since Ilvars I've lived on rats and roots I dug out of the stinking mud. This is sweet to the palate, though not very filling. Still, it will serve if we eat enough. So as he is filling one need, he notices the beauty of his companion, and then she looks up and she notices that his attention, and she changes color, I assume, meaning she blushes. And then they, you know, without comment, he indicates they should continue their explorations. So they they move on, basically. I do have written there in the margin Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Very true, very true. So so yeah, they continue on here, and we suddenly get some action. They step into a clearing, bounding aside, carrying the girl with them, narrowly narrowly saving them from something that rushed through the air and struck a tree trunk with a thunderous impact. So they find it's a huge block of greenish stone whose wood had uh splintered or it had splintered this tree, essentially. So they're like, what uh what could this have been? No living man could throw that. It's a task for siege engines, so they're like something something odd is afoot. Right? Again, like glowing green stone. Well, not glowing, but in my mind it was had a huge. It's like that's never a good side having unnatural rocks. Yeah, like giant building blocks just like flying through the air. Not not natural. Right. So yeah, kinda's trying to investigate where it came from. Because obviously it came from the thicket, but uh as they go and investigate, he is looking at the grass and finding no tracks of like where they went, and then he kind of looks up, and then he starts kind of panicking a little bit and is like out of here quick. It's like, what is it? What do you see? Nothing, he answered guardedly. And it's like, but what is it then? What works in this thicket? Death.

unknown 20:36

Death.

Michael Kentris 20:36

So watch out for the trees. Something of the trees. Right. And so they continue on, they come to a plateau as the trees thin, and they find a long, broad structure of crumbling greenish stone. And you know, this is something that they are unaware of. There were no legends about this building that they they knew of. Perhaps it had been a town at one point, but now only the long hall-like structure remained. And so they they come up to this, and as they go in, they are startled by these lifelike statues. Evil statues. Indeed. So, yeah, as they described, apparently of iron, black and shining as if continually polished. They were life-sized, depicting tall, lively, powerful men with cool, hawk-like faces. They were naked in every swell depression and contour of joint and sinew was represented with incredible realism, but the most lifelike feature was their proud, intolerant faces. These features were not cast in the same mold. Each face possessed its own individual characteristics, though there was a tribal likeness between them all. There was none of the monotonous uniformity of decorative art in the faces at least. Yes. So Olivia's very uneasy about these. Uh Kraum Conan, by Krom. It's more about like, you know, how'd they make these? Uh by what molds were they cast, and then I like this. Uh he examined them in detail, and Barbarian like trying to big break off their limbs. So just like very sturdy.

SPEAKER_01 22:02

Right. Coat of the art critic.

Michael Kentris 22:06

Right. And they don't recognize like the the background of of these figures. He doesn't recognize what tribe or region they would be from. So Olivia is uneasy. She's like, this is a strange and evil place. We should get out of here. And Conan's like, I think we're safe. Right. As long as we're not under the trees. Right. So so yeah, they they do continue on towards the northern edge of the plateau, and they come to a cliff there. And as they do, they notice Olivia's like, the sea is still. Why shouldn't we take a part journey again? And Conan is staring off and he sees a sail. And she asks, is it Hyrcanians? Who can tell at this distance? And she's like, They'll anchor here and search the island for us. And he's kind of like, he's being very rational about this. Like, I doubt it. They come from the north, so they can't be searching for us. And they can stop for other reasons, but we'll just hide. And if it's a pirate, then they're not likely to anchor here. But basically he's like, we need to wait until they leave.

SPEAKER_01 23:06

Right. So so yeah. Spend the night in the hall.

Michael Kentris 23:12

That's right. And he's like, Sleep, girl, my slumber is light as a wolf's drink. Nothing can enter this hall without awaking me. Uh that's essentially what happens. You get a little more reflection on her about his his barbaric nature, and you know, barbaric yet had not harmed her, blah blah blah. So again, like all this juxtaposition of civilization versus savagery, etc. And that is how we end part one of this story. Yes.

Moonlit Horror And Pirates Approach

Michael Kentris 23:40

And then we start off part two with another kind of reoccurring thing that happens in a decent number of these stories. Yes. Where we have a dream. The exposition through dreams, yeah. That's right, exposition through dream. I like that. Reading too much critical analysis stuff lately. But uh um but yeah, it's a uh it's it's a well-used trope. I think we've had Conan experience it. We've had several of our other damsels also experience it in past stories as well. So it definitely is a plot device that uh Howard likes to use. So yes. Olivia has this dream in this particular instance. Fragmentary and colorful exotic shards of a broken unknown pattern until they crystallize into a scene of horror and madness etched against a background of cyclopean stones and pillars. Yes. Right, so we we find these kinds of warriors before they were statuized, perhaps, and they didn't wear garments or weapons that resembled anything that she was familiar with, and they were around one bound to a pillar, a slender, white-skinned youth with a cluster of golden curls about his alabastered brow. His beauty was not altogether human, like the dream of a god chiseled out of living marble. So the the black warriors laughed at him, jeered, taunted in a strange tongue, and they there's you know blood dripping down his legs, and he lifts his head to the ceiling, cries out a name in an awful voice, and we find a dagger cuts short his cry, and his head rolls on his breast. So then we get this rolling thunder, and a figure stood as if materialized out of empty air. So they say the form was of a man, but no mortal man ever wore such an aspect of inhuman beauty. There was a resemblance between this figure and the other one, as if he may have been related. And so all the figure all the warriors shrink back, and then we get this uh terrible invocation and command. Yagkulin Yakhtha Zuthala. That sounds familiar. It sounds familiar, you know, the parrot apprentice. So then we see that they have a curious rigidity and unnatural petrification, and this figure he picks up the corpse, turns away, and he points to the moon which gleamed in through the casements, and they understood those tense waiting statues that had been men. So kind of some sort of moon-related curse here.

SPEAKER_01 26:12

The inverse werewolf.

Michael Kentris 26:15

Right, like yeah, inverse world werewolf. So again, she was already kind of spooked about being in these ruins, and now she's had this dream, which to any normal situation be like, oh thank goodness that was just a dream, but no, it's just like, oh, I know now the true nature of these statues, and there is the moon. Right. It's creeping in. Yeah. What was that? A tremor among the shadows where the moonlight fell? Paralysis of horror gripped her for where there should have been the mo in mobility of death there was movement, a slow twitching, a flexing and writhing of ebbing limbs. So yes, she screams, like the statues, the statues, oh my god, the statues are coming to life. And uh basically she runs madly out of the building, and uh eventually, you know, Conan catches her and he's like, What in Crom's name, girl? Did you have a nightmare? So, you know, Conan's a little more dismissive in the initial stages of this story than he normally is. Right? And she's like, Did they follow us? Where are they? It's like nobody followed us. And again, she's trying to they're like, Do you not see the statues, the statues moving, lifting their hands, their eyes glaring in the shadows? It's like I saw nothing. I slept more silently than usual because it had been so long since I was slumbered the night through, yet I don't think anything could have entered the hall without waking me. Nothing entered. It was something there already. Ah, Mitch lay down to sleep among them like sheep making their bed in the shambles. Yes. So so she she tells him the story of her dream, and he listens attentively. I like this. The natural skepticism of the sophisticated man was not his. His mythology contained ghouls, goblins, and necromancers. And uh so I like it's uh it's one of the more annoying things that we see like in like in TV series and modern works of fiction where like somebody has a vision or an intuition and everyone else like ignores them. I always think of like Star Trek, especially kind of like original series, next generation, that kind of stuff, where someone says something that just sounds totally insane. And everyone's like, well, you know, they're a reliable person. I trust them, so I'm gonna investigate this and take their complaints seriously. As opposed to like, oh you stop, you know, stop worrying so much, right? You barely ever see that in those those shows where it's people who have a strong relationship based on mutual respect and trust. So I like that we see that here, as opposed to, like they said, the the natural skepticism of the sophisticated man. Right. And to that point, I do feel like at this point in Conan's life, he has experienced some level of supernatural, so it's like, okay, I'm not going to just dismiss this out of hand. Yeah, yeah. And so we we find out the gods of old times matted sometimes with mortal women, our legends tell us. And he's like, what gods? he muttered. And she's like, who knows? Nameless for gods. That's on board right now. Right. So she's you know explaining about the moon and how she thinks that's going to lead to something. So basically she's so frantic about it that Conan was impressed. And so foes of flesh and blood, he did not fear, however great the odds, but any hint of the supernatural roused all the dim, monstrous instincts of fear that are the heritage of the barbarian. So yes, he he does not dismiss superstitions and myths. So they basically they find a another place to bed down for the evening. And then as they go to leave in the morning, they find that the boat that they had arrived on has been smashed and shattered into ruin, half submerged in the shallow water, which very inconvenient. Does not bode well for Olivia's state of mind. No, no. She uh is she's on edge, let's say. So so yeah. They basically you know he's thinking of other options, so like could I make a raft?

The Red Brotherhood Tests Conan

Michael Kentris 30:12

And then they start hearing voices and pirates, whispered Conan, a grim smile. It's a Hyrcanian galley they've captured. Here, crawl among these rocks, and so he's I'm going to meet these dogs. If I succeed, all will be well. If I don't, well hide yourself until they're gone, for no devils on this island are as cruel as these sea wolves. So we get a little description of these pirates here. Uh basically they're made up of many nations, you know, Cothians, Zamorians, Brithunians, Corinthians, Shimites, and many bore scars of the lash with a branding iron, cropped ears, slit noses, gaping eyes, sockets, stumps of wrists, marks of the hangman, as well as scars of battle. And some of them half naked, but the garments they wore were fine. Jewels glittering, nose rings, earrings, daggers, and so uh Conan steps out in front of this motley crew. Who are you? They roared. Conan the Sumerian, one of the free companions. I mean to try my luck with the Red Brotherhood. Who's your chief? And we get uh this big fellow, this bulllike voice, a huge figure swaggered forward, a giant naked to the waist where his capacious belly was girdled by a wide sash that upheld voluminous silken pantaloons. And we get yeah, more description about how he looks, which isn't too important, because uh we learned his name is Sergius of Crocia, by Crom. Bykrom. And uh basically he and Conan know each other from a previous incident. Not uh not a not a friendly one, yes. I by Ishtar, did you think I had forgot? Ha! Sergius never forgets an enemy. Now I'll hang you up by the heels and skin you alive at him, lads. Conan basically is like, wait, wait, wait, wait. Send your dogs at me, big belly. You're always a coward, you Cothic Ker. And basically taunts them into a one-on-one duel. I'm gonna include Kerr as a dog reference. I have it listed as half. Half what point five? Yeah, so we're gonna have to on guard, you northern dog, I'll cut out your heart. Yeah, so yes. Lots of lots of dog insults, this this uh story. So they kind of go back and forth here, the quick scuff of feet, um you know, Sergus giving back, and we hear a sliding rasp, a choking cry, a fierce yell from the pirate horde, as Conan's sword plunged through their captain's massive body. And uh Conan wheels towards the gaping corsairs, well you dogs, sent your chief to hell. What says the law of the Red Brotherhood? So and as that is happening, we get this rat-faced Brithunian slings a stone and basically knocks Conan unconscious. And we get some uh dissent here amongst the pirates. So some of them apparently like Sergius, others did not. Right. And so there's one who's like, What erratus? Would you break the law of the brotherhood, you dog? No law's broken. No law, why you dog? This man you have just struck down is by just rights our captain. Yes. Like, well he's dead, it's like he's not dead. And so they they bind him up and carry him away to further argue about what to do with Conan. Right. So they'll vote later, apparently. So Olivia is stunned by this turn of events up in the rocks, and so she is just watching the pirates, and then she sees them come back carrying casks of liquor and sacks of food, heading for the ruins, cursing lustily under their burdens. So so yes, she is kind of reflecting on her woe is me type situation. Escaped, and I had this protector, and now he's been incapacitated, and what what am I to do? So yes, uh and then we end this section with as the full horror of her situation swept over her, she fell forward in a swoon. So a a literal fainting damsel in distress. Right. Which I mean, I get. She has not had an easy go of it. Let's we'll allow her that, of course, but uh you know, swo swooning is uh not going to be helping anybody right now. Right. So she wakes up later and she hears a ribald song, and she sees the pirates about a great fire near the ruins, and she sees Conan propped against the wall, bound fast, and she resolves that as night falls she will steal in and attempt to free him.

Midnight Breakout And Island Chaos

Michael Kentris 34:38

So as she's waiting, she feels a sensation of being watched. Right. So she's near the cliffs at this point, and so she yeah, felt distinctly the glare of hidden eyes, and that something animate and sentient was aware of her presence and her hiding place. And again, just there's there's something out in the woods. There's something in the ruins. Something. There's something. That's from the ruins. Right, right. So yeah, she kind of struggles her way across the rocky terrain, getting up there, and this strenuous physical action dissipated her blind terror somewhat. So as she she gets there, she's kind of sneaking around, and she's waiting until the revelers sink down into their drunken slumber, and she hesitates, but then she sees the glow of the moon coming, and she knows that she has to make her move. So she sees Conan, he's wide awake, bound to a pillar, and so she she gets up there, grasps him to her breast, and then she starts trying to fight his his hands and such free, so working on his wrists, and yeah, basically she she cuts him loose until um he's able to start working on himself for loosening the bonds. Yeah, they are able to sneak out. Uh so like you said before, they're all kind of drunken revelry, not really paying attention. So uh they're able to escape. And again, we have another description here, a kodamute for the abruptness of a jungle cat. So he grabs his sword from what lays in a stack of weapons, and as they exit, uh she warns him that something climbed the cliffs. I heard it scrambling behind me as I came down, and he compliments her, so she's like, I'm not afraid now. He's like, You were not afraid when you came to free me either. Crom, what a day it has been. Such haggling and wrangling I've never heard. I'm nearly deaf. Arotus wished to cut out my heart, and Ivanos refused to smite Arotus, whom he hates. All day long they snarled and spat at one another, and the crew quickly grew too drunk to vote either way. Yes, those drunken SOBs. So uh so they make good their escape, and they don't get very far before out of the shadows of the cliffs moved a monstrous shambling bulk in anthropomorphic horror, a grotesque travesty of creation. Man. It's a heck of a way to uh say somebody's ugly. You know, next time you're on the other insult rap battle with somebody. Right. Oh my grotesque travesty of creation. Shamble monstrous shambling bulk. Right. So we get yeah, like it's in an entire long paragraph describing this creature. So close set ears, flaring nostrils, great flabby lipped mouth with white tusk like fangs, covered in shaggy greyish hair, shot with silver which shone in the moonlight, and its great misshapen paws hung nearly to the earth. Its bulk was tremendous. As it stood on its short, bowed legs, its bullet head rose above that of the man who faced it, the sweep of the hairy breast and giant shoulders was breathtaking. The huge arms were like knotted trees. So begin fight scene. So we uh I like this. This was less a struggle between man and beast than a conflict between two creatures of the wild, equally merciless and ferocious. So so yeah, we get uh you know, Conan quickly slices off one of the arms between the shoulder and elbow, but as the sword bit through the other malformed hand locked in Conan's black mane. And I like this. Only the iron neck muscles of the Sumerians saved him from a broken neck at that instant. Never skip neck deck. Don't skip neck day. I was gonna say that. You beat me to the punch. That's too good. Then began a terrific struggle which lasted only seconds, but which seemed like ages to the paralyzed girl. And I like this. So like the the creature is trying to pull him by the hair to his tusks, and as Kun is resisting with his left arm rigid as iron, while the sword in his right hand, wielded like a butcher knife, sank again and again into the groin, breast, and bell. So he's just like keeping like one arm just straight out to keep himself from getting gored while he just keeps stabbing again and again and again into this creature. It's just crazy sounding. It is truly insane how many of these fights are so close to death for Coden. Right. Like these uh to be fair, I feel like the fights where he easily wins aren't going to be the ones he recounts at the tavern to listening folk. So gotta make it dramatic for the audience. Yes. And I mean, like it does sound like a lot of times, like when he was fighting against uh the pirate earlier, that didn't seem like a very big struggle for him, right? He kind of like it lasted maybe a minute and he was completely unharmed until he got sucker punched by a slingshot.

SPEAKER_01 39:43

Yes.

Michael Kentris 39:44

So But yes, uh that does seem to be the case a lot of times if it's just like a regular, quote unquote, like uh not boss character situation. He does seem to dis dispatch them pretty easily, generally speaking. So he's thrown loose by the death throes of this creature, essentially, and uh eventually it quivers and lays still. I like this crumb. I feel as if I'd been racked. I'd rather fight a dozen men. Blast him, he's torn a handful of my hair out by the roots. So yeah. Conan happy to be alive. Right. And so yeah, it sounds like it was basically just a gray ape. Just a regular ape. So apparently this is a known creature, at least known to Conan. Dumb and man eating. They dwell in hills to the eastern shore of the sea. Maybe he floated here on driftwood. He's not sure how he got here essentially. So they think it was him who probably threw that stone earlier in the story. Alright, gotta tie up that loose end. Yeah, so they find out they always lurk in the deep woods, seldom emerge. Um and he says I'd have had no chance with him among the trees. So they're he's happy that uh he ventured out. Well, I happy might be too true strong of a word, but uh um he gets on the little unscended. His lust for you must have been great to have driven him to attack us finally in the open. You so anyway, as as they're reflecting on this encounter, there is a awful scream from the ruins. Right, followed a mad medley of yells, shrieks, and cries of blasphemous agony. So although accompanied by ringing of steel, the sounds were of massacre rather than battle. Right. And so essentially they do not go back this time, but they continue onwards, and uh we hear the the yells of slaughter dwindling behind them, and somewhere a parrot calls the invocation once again, Yagulan Yaktha Zuthala, and they eventually come to the galley line at anchor. And that is the end of section three. As we have learned from the Queen of the Black Coast, I think these pirates should have also kept somebody on watch at the galley. Life lessons. Don't leave your ship unguarded. That's right. Right? It seems like they're always getting staved in or sabotaged or captured.

Conan Claims The Captaincy

Michael Kentris 42:10

So we get the scene of the pirates returning, 44, cowed and demoralized. And as they're heading towards a ship, Conan is in the bow, sword in hand, and he's like, Come no nearer. What would you have, dogs? And so uh they're like, let us come aboard, we'd be gone from this devil's island. And Conan's basically, I'll whoever comes first, I'll split his skull. So they're like basically begging to like be led on board at this point. And uh they're like, Where are those, you know, where's that dog, Aratus? God, so many dogs. What was your count for this book? So at the end of this story, I have it at fourteen and a half. Nice, nice. That that definitely seems like a winner so far, just uh from my subjective perspective here. Absolutely. So we find out Aratus is dead with the others. Devils fell on us, they were rending us to pieces before we could awake. The ruins were full of flame-eyed shadows with tearing fangs and sharp talons. And let us come in peace, or we must come sword in hand, and though we be so weary, you'll doubtless slay many of us, yet you cannot prevail against us many. Then I'll knock a hole in the planks and sink her, answered Conan grimly. And yes, again, dogs, must I aid my enemies? Shall I let you come aboard and cut out my heart? And uh he's like, Then if I am one of the brotherhood, the laws of the trade apply to me, and since I killed your chief in fair fight, then I am your captain. And uh basically he sees Ivanos, who is the Corinthian who challenged Aratus earlier when they were deciding what to do with Conan, asks if he will uphold his claims again, and he's basically like, Yes. So they tell them to swear by the hilt, and they do so swear, and uh Olivia, you know, he turns to her and he's like, What now what of me? I was like, What would you? He countered, watching her narrowly, just like just like squinting at her. I don't know. To sail a road of Blood and slaughter, the skiel will stain the blue waves crimson wherever it ploughs. And she's like, I to sail with you on blue seas are red, you are a barbarian, and I am an outcast, denied by my people. We are both pariahs, wanderers of the earth. Oh take me with you. And uh like this we get a gusty laugh, and he lifted her to his fierce lips, and he says, I'll make you queen of the blue sea. Cast off their dogs, will scorch King Yildiz's pantaloons yet by Krom. And so there we there we end,

Wrap-Up Reads And Contact Info

Michael Kentris 44:34

yes. So yeah, not uh not the most like uh unique story, but uh I would say like a pretty classic kind of adventure story from that time period. I don't know. What are your thoughts on this one, Will? Right, no, it was a lot of fun. I honestly thought there was gonna be a little more where they were interacting with the sort of cursed statues, since that was the name of the story, but Right. We only only saw them in passing. They they spent the night in the ruins, and then Olivia was like, we don't want to mess with them, and Connell was like, Okay, we won't mess with them. Right, right. It's a a surprising moment of uh well-executed judgment there, I suppose. Yeah. Like, hey, there's these terrible uh supernatural monsters. Uh let's not go there. Right. But I did like it's kind of like the opposite of the story. It's like uh what was it, the uh the hero's journey where it's like call to adventure is like, nah, I'm good, I'm good. Happy with where I am. Right. So so yeah, uh I would say uh yeah, it seems like a pretty pretty classic adventure story, you know, that sword and sorcery prototype. Um yeah, like we said at the beginning, it strikes all the the typical boxes. We've got our our damsel in distress, we've got our heroic warrior, uh, we've got some weird supernatural threats, and then some more mundane threats. We've got the struggle. You know, it's uh it's a pretty complete, encapsulated little story. So yeah, it was fine. You know, fun. Nothing too profound in it, but yeah, fun. Yeah, I agree. So, other than our current reads, what's uh what is in your pipeline, Will? What other media have you been consuming lately? So I finished The Devils by Joe Abercrombie this past year. How was that? It was really good. I don't think I liked it as much as some of his other stuff, but it was fun. It was a fun time. And I know you mentioned that some of his work can be a little emotionally draining, and I don't think this was one of those. Oh, really? Well, that's interesting. Yeah. No, it was it was a lot more kind of like upbeat and fun. See, Joe Abergramby and upbeat are not like two phrases that I put together in my mind traditionally. And then um, and then I started reading This Is How You Lose the Time War by I don't remember the author's name. It's like Al Mohotar, El Mohotar, something like that. Uh-huh. And Max Goodwell. Okay. How is it so far? It's good. I'm only about well, it's not a very long book, but I'm only about like 40 or so pages in. And it's interesting. It seems to be told from the perspective of like these two agents working for opposing sides. And it's it's much more about how they like establish a correspondence with each other. Like as they like kind of like mess up the other's plans, be like, oh, it was so good of you to do such and such, and just it's very like a pistolary format. Kind of. No, I wouldn't necessarily say that. Like they there is obviously like the letters that they leave to each other that they're reading, but it's it's kind of like a blend of yeah, these letters and the perspective of the agents. So nice, nice. Amal El Motar. That was the other author's okay. Yes. Gotcha. Interesting. Max Gladstone. Yeah. So yeah, it's it's shorter, which I appreciate. Yes. Yeah, it's good to mix it up a little bit. How about you? What are what are you got in the pipeline? So I picked up the most recent one in a series called Starbreaker by Luke, I might massacre this pronunciation, uh, Chimolinko. And uh I've I've read several of his, or I should say a couple of his series. He's got a few that are ongoing. Uh so Starbreaker is, I've got to become a stereotype of myself. It's a science fantasy genre, and it it very much is like, what about magic in space? So it very well could be and I guess I should say spoilers, but uh it's like the first maybe 50 pages of the first book, where you think it's gonna be kind of like a bog standard fantasy novel, and then it's not. So it is a little bit of a reveal there, so you know, skip ahead of this part, I guess. But uh but I'm on uh book four in the series, which is I think there's another one out already. He's a very prolific writer. And uh I I enjoy his style of things. It's kind of like it's edging into that lit RPG kind of thing, where it's it's kind of got an interesting magic system and some interesting twists and turns to uh the characters and things like that. So it's been good. So so yeah, I've been reading, I just started that uh this last week. But they're they're usually pretty quick reads also. So a little fun, just a little kind of adventure romp uh sort of thing. The yeah, kind of that sci-fi kind of into maybe space opera sort of genre. Nice. It's it's nice to uh have fun, fun things to read where a little escapism, but yes, as we said in our first episode, dear listeners, so if you skipped it, go back and listen. But uh yeah, well let's see. If we take a look at our schedule here, we have one, two, three, four, five. Five Conan stories remaining in front of us. So are you enjoying going through the Conan stories like this? I am, I am. Yeah, me too. It's it's definitely giving me some perspective on the the origins of this, and I I've been in I've been enjoying it, and I am looking forward to finishing out. There's a couple ones that I've heard are very good, and then I think one that is kind of notoriously less good. So I'll let our listeners decide. They can't all be winners, Michael. That's right. Right? If everything's great, then what's what's our benchmark here? But this hasn't been fun. It's definitely something I feel like I should have read when I was like a teenager, just from a style thing. Because I I think when I was like in middle school, high school, I read like the the Faff Herd and the Grey Mouser stuff, but I hadn't read any of the other Sword and Storcery things, which I think we talked about in our beginning, includes like I would say like Jack Vance's Dying Earth and Michael Moorcock's The Elric, the Forever Hero type stuff, which I've only read a little bit of Moorcock and a little bit of the Jack Vance stuff as well. I read a fair amount of the Fritz Lieber, you know, Fafford and the Great Mauser stuff, which is which is very fun. It very much um because I know you and I have both read a fair amount of Discworld. Yes. And you can definitely see some of the elements from these stories in some of those things as well, which has been really fun. There's like an explicit, like Conan-esque character uh in Discworld. And um there's definitely like um Ankh Morpork in Discworld is very much based off of like the Fritz Lieber city that they have in there. So it's it's very interesting to seek a source for the satire you're reading. It's one of those things where it's it's weird that you see the kind of the thing that is lampooning being more popular and more well known than the source material that it was borrowing from or, you know, kind of like riffing off of. So just kind of an interesting thing, I think. No, absolutely. And I do agree, just in general, having the context of what the references are supposed to be alluding to, I do feel enhances the experience as far as like I get why this scene is funny because of X, Y, and Z. Yes. And although it Yes. And then yeah, to go back to your own comment. It is surprising that Conan like escaped our radar when we were younger, because yeah, this seems like it'd be right up our alley. Right. Yeah. I would say like a lot of young men would probably find these stories like pretty action-packed. I remember like kind of in a similar vein to this story, well, ish, you know, like uh Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. Did you read a lot of Jules Verne uh when you were growing up, Will? Not that I can remember. If I have, it's it's been way too long. Aaron Powell I read a fair amount, strangely. I never read The Time Machine, but uh but I did read like you know Around the World in Eighty Days and Journey to the Center of the Earth and Master of the World, and a lot of the other kind of more high-profile ones. I never read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea either. I think you did, though, right? If I did, I don't remember. It's that might have been one of those uh AR AR books that I did back in elementary school. Could be, could be. But uh yeah, it's it's all these things where they're they're all in this kind of milieu with one another and you know, who had access to what. And that's an interesting thing kind of in the the earlier pre-internet days, where it's like who, when they were writing, had access to what works that could have influenced them. But um it's just kind of interesting to see, like, you know, I wonder, I wonder if uh this person read that person and you know how it influenced them. It's kind of interesting to like kind of create those mental bridges between different works, you know, throughout history and different time periods and all. So yes, I think Conan is part of that conversation, especially in the genre of science fiction fantasy. And uh yeah, that's what we're doing on this podcast, right? We're we're working through these fundamental things here and seeing, like, oh, you know, when I read my my more modern works, I'm like, I can see elements of that there. And yeah, it's just it's just kind of interesting to to see the evolution of the genre over time. 100%. Uh it's it's kind of like the one idea where there are no unique stories just because everybody's been so influenced by what they've read and what's already been written. So it's it's hard to come up with like a truly unique idea. Yes. I think it was the Shakespeare, right? Nothing new under the sun. Sounds right. Who I believe was paraphrasing the Bible. So anyway, it is true, right? There isn't any. Everything's been done before, if not by classic literature, then by The Simpsons. So uh thank you again for listening, dear listener, to our ramblings here. And we will continue on with Conor the Barbarian in our next story, which will be Zoothowl of the Dusk. And if you want to find us, we are on X at Brothers Reading. You can find our website, brothersReadingbooks.com, and you can email us at brothersreadingbooks at gmail.com. If you have show suggestions, things that you think we totally missed, got raw, suggestions for future works, comments, questions, criticisms, etc., please direct them in one of our many directions. Will, any final thoughts? Forward to finishing up Conan here over the next few weeks. Yeah, uh this has been fun, and it is But I am looking forward to our next work, and we'll we'll reveal that later on. But uh I'm looking forward to continuing to explore these together. Absolutely. Same. All right. Thank you everybody, and we will talk to you next week.