Red Sonja – The Howard-verse https://howard-verse.com Wed, 17 Jun 2026 09:16:30 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.4 https://howard-verse.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/cropped-howard-verse-logo-gritty-32x32.webp Red Sonja – The Howard-verse https://howard-verse.com 32 32 By Crom! The Ultimate Conan the Barbarian Quiz https://howard-verse.com/conan-the-barbarian-quiz/ https://howard-verse.com/conan-the-barbarian-quiz/#respond Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:25:12 +0000 https://howard-verse.com/?p=1649 Disclosure: This post is reader-powered and contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

Test your knowledge on Conan the Barbarian!

Includes: Robert E Howard’s original short stories, the expanded comics universe and the Conan pastiches written by other authors.

How much do you know about Conan?

By Crom! — The Ultimate Conan Quiz
⚔ Conan Quiz ⚔
🗡️

Know, O Prince…

120 questions across twelve sections. Choose your difficulty, then pick a section or run the gauntlet.

⚔️
Easy Mode
4 sections · 40 questions
🔥
Hard Mode
4 sections · 40 questions
💀
Savage Mode
4 sections · 40 questions

🏆
Quest Complete, Cimmerian

BREAKDOWN BY SECTION

I hope you enjoyed this Conan quiz! Let me know your scores in the comments at the bottom!

]]> https://howard-verse.com/conan-the-barbarian-quiz/feed/ 0 Red Sonja Novels Return in New Omnibus Edition https://howard-verse.com/red-sonja-omnibus/ https://howard-verse.com/red-sonja-omnibus/#respond Thu, 09 Apr 2026 09:36:22 +0000 https://howard-verse.com/?p=1466 Disclosure: This post is reader-powered and contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

For over four decades, the original Red Sonja novels have been out of print and increasingly difficult to find. That’s about to change – and I couldn’t be happier about it.

I’ve wanted to read these books for years. But try finding them? On eBay in Germany, a single volume regularly sells for €20–50. For six books, you’re easily looking at well over €150 just to read them all – assuming you can even find complete copies in decent condition.

Now, for roughly €30–35, I can read the entire series in one omnibus. This is exactly the kind of reprint the sword and sorcery community has been waiting for.

The Omnibus

Orbit Books (a Hachette imprint) is releasing the Red Sonja Omnibus in January 2027, collecting all six novels by David C. Smith and Richard L. Tierney in a single 1,072-page volume.

According to Hachette’s listing, this marks the first time these books have been collected together. And I don’t remember anything to the contrary.

The trade paperback will retail at $34.99 (USD), with an ebook edition available for $16.99. Amazon already has it up for pre-order as the Red Sonja Omnibus.

The Original Novels

Smith and Tierney wrote six Red Sonja novels for Ace Books between 1981 and 1983, all featuring iconic Boris Vallejo cover art:

  1. The Ring of Ikribu (1981)
  2. Demon Night (1982)
  3. When Hell Laughs (1982)
  4. Endithor’s Daughter (1982)
  5. Against the Prince of Hell (1983)
  6. Star of Doom (1983)

These books have been out of print for decades, with used copies often commanding high prices from collectors. The omnibus finally makes them accessible to a new generation of readers. I cannot wait!

I do hope the covers are included individually in the book as they are awesome – Vallejo is indeed a master!

The Authors

David C. Smith is a prolific sword and sorcery author with 29 novels to his name, including the award-winning Robert E. Howard: A Literary Biography. His connection to Howard scholarship makes him a fitting custodian for Red Sonja’s literary adventures.

Richard L. Tierney (1936–2022) was a poet, scholar, and fiction writer whose work expanded the sword and sorcery genre. His Simon of Gitta stories and his influential essay “The Derleth Mythos” cemented his reputation in fantasy and weird fiction circles. Sadly, Tierney passed away in February 2022, but this omnibus ensures his Red Sonja work will reach new readers.

Red Sonja’s Origins

Red Sonja was created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith for Marvel Comics in 1973, inspired by Robert E. Howard’s Red Sonya of Rogatino from “The Shadow of the Vulture.”

While Howard’s character was a 16th-century swashbuckler, Thomas transplanted the concept to the Hyborian Age, creating the chainmail-bikini-clad warrior we know today.

The character has spawned dozens of comics, multiple films (including the 1985 Brigitte Nielsen version and the 2025 reboot), and these six novels – which remain the most substantial prose adventures Red Sonja has received.

There was also a novel from Red Sonja a couple of years ago – Red Sonja: Consumed. It was…alright. Red Sonja consumed review is here.

There’s also a new Red Sonja film, which was a decent effort. It’s pretty low budget, and only had one day at the cinemas but lets hope it paves the way for more Sword & Sorcery films.

Why This Matters

For fans of Conan and Hyborian Age fiction, the Red Sonja novels occupy a unique space. They’re set in the same world as Conan’s adventures, written by authors steeped in sword and sorcery tradition, and they’ve been effectively lost to time for forty years.

At over 1,000 pages, the omnibus represents serious value – and a chance to experience Red Sonja as a fully developed literary character rather than just a comics icon.

The Red Sonja Omnibus is available for pre-order now, with release scheduled for 19th January 2027.

If you want to explore Red Sonja’s comics adventures while you wait, The Adventures of Red Sonja Omnibus collects the classic Marvel tales from Roy Thomas and Frank Thorne – essential reading for any fan of the She-Devil with a Sword.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Red Sonja novels are there?

Six novels were written by David C. Smith and Richard L. Tierney, published by Ace Books between 1981 and 1983. The new omnibus collects all six.

When does the Red Sonja Omnibus come out?

The omnibus releases on 19th January 2027 from Orbit Books.

How much does the Red Sonja Omnibus cost?

The trade paperback is $34.99 (USD) and the ebook is $16.99.

Are the Red Sonja novels connected to Conan?

Yes. Red Sonja exists in the same Hyborian Age setting as Conan, and the character was originally introduced in Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian comics in 1973.

Who created Red Sonja?

Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith created Red Sonja for Marvel Comics, basing her loosely on Robert E. Howard’s character Red Sonya from “The Shadow of the Vulture.”

]]> https://howard-verse.com/red-sonja-omnibus/feed/ 0 Red Sonja Consumed: A mini no-spoiler review https://howard-verse.com/red-sonja-consumed-book-review/ https://howard-verse.com/red-sonja-consumed-book-review/#comments Wed, 05 Feb 2025 21:30:21 +0000 https://howard-verse.com/43/hello-world-2/ Disclosure: This post is reader-powered and contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

Can a more mature Red Sonja cope with her fame?

A screen showing Audible and a finished title

Well, not entirely.

There are so many versions of Sonja it’s hard to know where to start.

Conan and Sonja in a bar room swordight

Sonya or Sonja?

Red Sonya of Rogatino first appeared as the O.G in Robert E. Howard’s The Shadow of the Vulture back in 1934. And what a story it is.

She was a no-nonsense, gun-wielding warrior from the 16th century, fighting against the Ottoman Empire with sheer grit and skill.

Fast forward to the 1970s, and writer Roy Thomas, along with artist Barry Windsor-Smith, took inspiration from her (and a few other Howard heroines) to create Red Sonja – but this time, as a sword-swinging warrior in Conan’s Hyborian Age.

Unlike the original, this Sonja had a mystical backstory involving a goddess and a famous vow, plus her now-iconic chain mail bikini. Over the years, she’s become a legendary figure in comics in her own right, standing alongside Conan as one of fantasy’s most badass warriors.

I bought the Red Sonja humble bundle a couple of years ago and there are a LOT of comics about her. Nearly every writer seems to have a different version of Sonja in mind, and her backstory has changed multiple times, too.

So where does she go next?

As always, this review will strive to be spoiler-free and leave the (hopefully) best moments for you to uncover yourself. Any plot points mentioned will be very generalised or happen early in the book.

For this particular book I am reviewing the audio version of Red Sonja: Consumed which I got on Amazon Audible.

Introduction

Red Sonja: Consumed is the latest Red Sonja novel to be released. In fact, it’s the only Red Sonja novel since the 1980s series from David C. Smith and Richard L. Tierney. It’s published by Orbit Books and is Gail Simone’s debut novel.

The audio book is narrated by Felicia Day.

Overview


The book follows a guilt-ridden Red Sonja dealing with recent actions while fighting her own inner demons and the weight of her legendary status.

It’s very much the Gail Simone comic version of Red Sonja. Hard-drinking, bisexual, indecisive. How you feel about her will make a huge difference.

The Good

  • The backstory was well-paced and well-done
  • The chapter introductions with historical-style points of view added interesting layers
  • Some of the ‘horror elements’ were solid and pretty grim
  • Call me naive but I didn’t see the twist coming

The Bad

  • The character development was somewhat shallow
  • Character motivations were incredibly inconsistent for the most part
  • Some sections seemed forced and quick, others were too slow to build up
  • Most characters were surprisingly annoying, and by the end I didn’t care for any of them
  • Sonja is a legendary fighter but she’s constantly caught unawares by just about everyone, including kids/teenagers

The Middling

  • Not the original backstory, so a lot will depend on how you feel about that

Overall Impression

The book probably falls into the ‘romantasy’ genre, or ‘swords and soulmates’ as I’ve reliably heard it called, rather than straight up ‘sword and sorcery’.

While the action scenes are decent, they’re too short and far between. A gladiator bout takes place halfway through and shows what the She-devil with a sword can do when her back is against the wall (literally). If there were more scenes like this, the book would be better for it.

The sex scenes start well but but don’t go very deep and end too quickly (make your own puns up from that). The love-stories are ok-ish, but again, with annoying, inconsistent characters who I didn’t care about.

Overall, the book was semi-entertaining, but also forgettable, mostly because I didn’t care about a single character.

rating: 5/10.

Audio Notes

Felicia Day’s audio book narration gets a solid 7/10, though her pronunciation of Sonja hurt my poor British ears.

Hearing a constantly drawn-out ‘Sown-yuh’ really grated on me, but I realise that’s a personal pet peeve and I can’t hold too much against her for that.

Otherwise, she read well, though struggled with some of the male voices (as most narrators do when voicing the opposite sex). Stephen Pacey is just about the only narrator I’ve found who’s truly mastered this.

I think a lot of the enjoyment of this will come down to which version of Sonja you want to read about.

Is red sonja: Consumed good and is it Worth reading?

If you can’t get enough of Red Sonja and have exhausted all other flame-haired media then the book will probably worth your time. If you’re looking for more action-oriented sword and sorcery there is far better out there.


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