Solomon Kane – The Howard-verse https://howard-verse.com Tue, 02 Jun 2026 20:04:46 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://howard-verse.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/cropped-howard-verse-logo-gritty-32x32.webp Solomon Kane – The Howard-verse https://howard-verse.com 32 32 Conan the Barbarian Quotes: What Is Best in Life? https://howard-verse.com/conan-the-barbarian-quotes/ https://howard-verse.com/conan-the-barbarian-quotes/#respond Thu, 21 May 2026 11:20:32 +0000 https://howard-verse.com/?p=1606 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.

What is best in life? The famous Conan the Barbarian quote

Without a doubt, the most famous Conan quote is this one:

“To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.”

It is Conan’s answer to the question: “What is best in life?”

I was lucky enough to see the 1982 Conan the Barbarian film in the cinema again a few years ago, and the whole crowd absolutely roared at this part. It is brutal, iconic, and somehow perfect.

But did you know it is not actually a Robert E. Howard quote? More on that below, but for now…enough talk! Let the generator choose a quote.

Howard-Verse

Voices from the Hyborian Age

A random line from the works of Robert E. Howard – press the blade for another.

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Read free on Gutenberg Buy on Amazon

Quotes are drawn verbatim from Howard’s published stories. Many of the full tales can be read free at Project Gutenberg, depending on your location.

Random Robert E. Howard quote generator

You can use the generator above to summon a random line from Conan, Kull, Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn, Red Sonya or the wider worlds of Robert E. Howard.

Some quotes are from Howard’s original stories. Others come from the Conan films and related sources. I’ve tried to label the source clearly where possible.

What is best in life?

The line works because it is so simple. Conan is not giving a clever answer, or a civilised answer, or even a particularly sane answer.

He is giving the answer of a man shaped by slavery, violence and revenge.

That’s the 1982 film’s Conan in a nutshell: brutal, mythic, almost elemental.

Howard’s original Conan is broader than that. He is still savage, of course, but he is also witty, suspicious, practical, poetic and much more talkative than the film sometimes suggests.

That is part of the fun of comparing the movie quotes with the original Robert E. Howard stories.

The origin of the “to crush your enemies” quote

The “to crush your enemies” quote was not written by Robert E. Howard.

It appears in John Milius’s 1982 Conan the Barbarian, but its deeper origin seems to be Harold Lamb’s Genghis Khan: The Emperor of All Men. In Lamb’s book, Genghis Khan gives a similar answer about the greatest happiness in life: defeating enemies, taking their goods, and hearing the lamentation of their women.

That connection is actually very fitting. Howard admired fierce historical figures, and Harold Lamb was one of the historical adventure writers he respected.

The film also gives Conan a loyal companion named Subotai, echoing one of Genghis Khan’s greatest generals.

So the famous quote is not straight from Howard, but it still belongs in Conan’s cinematic legend.

Thanks to The Barbarian Keep for this detailed extra information.

Conan book quotes vs Conan movie quotes

One thing worth knowing: the most famous Conan movie quotes are not always the same as the best Robert E. Howard Conan quotes.

The 1982 film gave us lines and images like “What is best in life?”, Conan’s prayer to Crom, the Riddle of Steel, the Wheel of Pain, the Tree of Woe, Thulsa Doom’s speeches, and Valeria’s “Do you want to live forever?”

Howard’s original stories are very different. His Conan is not silent. He is a thief, pirate, mercenary, king, drinker, fighter, wanderer and occasional philosopher. He can be funny, cynical, poetic and surprisingly sharp.

That is why I wanted this page to include both sides – the famous film lines and the stranger, richer quotes from the original stories that make them so great.

A personal favourite Conan quote of mine is: “I know this: if life is an illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content.”

If that doesn’t show the world that Conan isn’t just a stupid brute, I don’t know what will.

The next, another favourite of mine, is from The Tower of the Elephant. “Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing”.

A very fitting quote indeed!

Crom quotes and Conan’s view of the gods

Crom deserves his own mention.

In Howard’s stories, Crom is not a comforting god. He gives men strength at birth, then leaves them to use it. Conan does not expect kindness from him, and he certainly does not waste much time praying.

That is why Crom quotes work so well. They sum up something essential about Conan: no begging, no soft promises, no easy rescue. Just strength, fate, steel and the will to survive.

The famous prayer to Crom from the 1982 film is not a direct Howard quote, but it fits the mood of the film perfectly.

It’s quite different from the books however, where Conan does not pray to Crom.

In fact, Conan specifically says “What use to call on him? Little he cares if men live or die. Better to be silent than to call his attention to you; he will send you dooms, not fortune! He is grim and loveless, but at birth he breathes power to strive and slay into a man’s soul. What else shall men ask of the gods?”.

Robert E. Howard quotes beyond Conan

Conan is the giant at the centre of the Howard-Verse, but he is not the whole kingdom.

Robert E. Howard also created Kull, the brooding Atlantean king of Valusia (Kull chronology here); Solomon Kane, the grim Puritan wanderer; Bran Mak Morn, the tragic king of the Picts; and Red Sonya of Rogatino, the original Howard character who later inspired Red Sonja.

Their quotes have a different flavour, but they often circle the same themes: civilisation and barbarism, courage and doom, lost kingdoms, violent justice, strange gods and the thin line between man and myth. I’ve included many of the best in the quote generator above.

Famous Conan quotes often misattributed

A few quick notes, because Conan quotes and Howard characters are often mislabelled online:

  • “What is best in life?” – the question asked to Conan in the 1982 Conan the Barbarian film.
  • “To crush your enemies…” – the answer given by Conan in the 1982 film, likely inspired by Harold Lamb’s Genghis Khan passage.
  • Conan’s prayer to Crom – from the 1982 film. In the books, Conan does not really pray to Crom.
  • “By this axe I rule!” – King Kull, not Conan. It was also the original title of the story that Robert E. Howard later rewrote into The Phoenix on the Sword.
  • Red Sonya – Howard’s original character from The Shadow of the Vulture. Red Sonja came later and was created by Roy Thomas, the writer of Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian comic.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Conan’s most famous quote?

Conan’s most famous quote is probably: “To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.” It comes from the 1982 Conan the Barbarian film.

What is best in life?

In the 1982 film, Conan answers that what is best in life is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women.

Did Robert E. Howard write “to crush your enemies”?

No. The quote is from the 1982 film, not Howard’s original Conan stories. It appears to have been inspired by Harold Lamb’s Genghis Khan: The Emperor of All Men.

What are the best Crom quotes?

The best Crom quotes come from Howard’s stories and the 1982 film. In the stories, Conan describes Crom as grim, distant and unlikely to help men who pray to him.

Is Conan’s prayer to Crom from the books?

No. Conan’s famous prayer to Crom is from the 1982 film. It fits the spirit of Howard’s grim Crom, but it is not a direct quote from the original stories.

Are Conan movie quotes the same as Robert E. Howard quotes?

Not always. Some movie quotes are inspired by Howard’s themes, but many of the most famous film lines are not direct quotes from the original stories.

What are good Conan quotes for a tattoo?

This is down to personal taste of course. Short lines such as “By Crom”, “I live, I burn with life”, and “I was a man before I was a king” might fit better for tattoos than longer Conan quotes. Just check the source first, because many Conan quotes online are misattributed.

]]> https://howard-verse.com/conan-the-barbarian-quotes/feed/ 0 Books Like Conan the Barbarian (What to Read Next) https://howard-verse.com/books-like-conan-the-barbarian-what-to-read-next/ https://howard-verse.com/books-like-conan-the-barbarian-what-to-read-next/#respond Tue, 12 May 2026 15:26:52 +0000 https://howard-verse.com/?p=1561 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.

You’ve read Conan. Possibly all of it (although there are a lot of Conan pastiches!).

Now the next question is harder: what actually comes close?

For me, the honest answer is nothing. Howard was a singular talent, and Conan is a character who transcends his genre.

But there are great books that scratch similar itches – books that deliver the same primal thrill of a lone warrior against impossible odds, the same exotic worlds, the same rush of steel meeting sorcery.

This guide is organised by what you might be looking for. Whether you want more Howard, the opposite of Conan, or something modern that captures the same spirit, there’s something here for you.

Quick Picks

If you’re in a hurry, here’s where to go based on what you loved about Conan:

If you want…Read this
Closest to ConanKull of Atlantis (Robert E. Howard)
Darker and more tragicElric of Melniboné (Michael Moorcock)
Best modern (ish) equivalentLegend (David Gemmell)
Best duo adventuresFafhrd and the Gray Mouser (Fritz Leiber)
Best savage worldImaro (Charles R. Saunders)
Near-perfect modern S&SThe Witcher short stories (Andrzej Sapkowski)

Each of these is covered in detail below.

Tier 1: Must Reads

These are essential. If you loved Conan, you need these books.

Kull of Atlantis (Robert E. Howard)

Same creator. Closest DNA to Conan.

Kull is Howard’s other great barbarian king – an Atlantean savage who seizes the throne of Valusia thousands of years before Conan’s time. Where Conan is a wanderer who becomes king almost by accident, Kull is a philosopher-king tormented by questions of reality and illusion.

The famous story “The Shadow Kingdom” arguably invented sword and sorcery as a genre and is one of my favourite S&S stories of all time.

If you’ve only read Conan, Kull is the obvious next step. Same raw energy, same vivid prose, but with a more introspective edge. Kull reading order is here.

Best place to start: Kull: Exile of Atlantis (Del Rey) collects all the Kull stories in their original versions.

Elric of Melniboné (Michael Moorcock)

The opposite of Conan. Still essential.

Elric is everything Conan isn’t: a sickly albino emperor, dependent on drugs to survive, wielding Stormbringer – a demon sword that drinks souls and will eventually destroy everything he loves. Where Conan embodies primal vitality and freedom, Elric represents tragic fate and doom.

Moorcock deliberately created Elric as an inversion of Howard’s hero, and the result is one of fantasy’s most compelling antiheroes. The prose is more literary than Howard’s, the themes more philosophical, but the action is still relentless.

Best place to start: Elric of Melniboné (Titan/Gollancz editions) – the first novel in chronological order.

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (Fritz Leiber)

The definitive duo. Foundational sword and sorcery.

A giant Northern barbarian and a small, clever thief. Fafhrd is the brawn, the Mouser is the cunning – though both are deadly swordsmen. Their adventures in the city of Lankhmar and beyond are funnier and more sophisticated than most sword and sorcery, but still packed with danger and dark magic.

Leiber actually coined the term “sword and sorcery” and his work defines the genre as much as Howard’s. If you want the buddy-adventure version of Conan – two rogues against the world – this is it.

Best place to start: Swords and Deviltry – the origin stories of both characters and their first meeting.

The Drenai Saga – David Gemmell

The best bridge between classic sword and sorcery and modern heroic fantasy.

David Gemmell wrote characters who feel like Conan’s descendants: lone warriors facing impossible odds, brutal combat, moral clarity mixed with grit.

His most famous character, Druss the Legend, is an aging axeman called out of retirement to defend a fortress against overwhelming hordes. Sound familiar?

Gemmell’s prose is more modern than Howard’s – longer novels rather than short stories, more developed character arcs – but the spirit is the same. His heroes are men of action who solve problems with steel and willpower. They fight because it’s right, even when winning seems impossible.

The Drenai saga spans eleven novels across different time periods, but you don’t need to read them in order. Each stands alone.

Along with Robert E Howard, Terry Pratchett and Joe Abercrombie, David Gemmell is one of my favourite authors.

Best place to start: Legend – Gemmell’s debut and most celebrated novel. Druss at his peak, defending the fortress of Dros Delnoch against the Nadir hordes. This is the fantasy equivalent of the Alamo, and it’s magnificent.

Also recommended: My favourite Gemmell series overall is the Rigante series, and it certainly contains S&S aspects (mixed with epic fantasy).Waylander (assassin seeking redemption), The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend (Druss’s origin story) and the Skilgannon stories are all more than just worth reading.

The Troy trilogy is also exceptional. The list goes on…

Imaro (Charles R. Saunders)

Conan’s spiritual brother. African sword and sorcery.

Saunders coined the term “sword and soul” to describe his work – sword and sorcery set in a fantasy Africa rather than a fantasy Europe. Imaro is an outcast from his tribe, born to a banished mother, who grows into the greatest warrior in a land famous for great warriors. The parallels to Conan are deliberate and acknowledged.

What makes Imaro special is the setting. The world is as vividly realised as Howard’s Hyborian Age, but drawn from African mythology and culture rather than European. If you’ve exhausted the usual pseudo-medieval settings, this is a refreshing change.

Best place to start: Imaro – the first novel, collecting and expanding Saunders’ original stories.

Tier 2: Strong Recommendations

Not quite essential, but excellent choices depending on your tastes.

Kane (Karl Edward Wagner)

Darker than Conan. Cult favourite.

Kane is an immortal warrior cursed by a mad god – essentially the biblical Cain, wandering a savage fantasy world for eternity. Wagner was a horror writer as much as a fantasy writer, and it shows. These stories are bleak, violent, and atmospheric.

Wagner also edited and restored Howard’s Conan stories to their original forms, so he understood the source material intimately. Kane isn’t a Conan clone – he’s something stranger and darker.

Best place to start: Really hard to get hold of! Bloodstone or the short story collections Death Angel’s Shadow and Night Winds. Ebay is probably your best bet here.

Solomon Kane (Robert E. Howard)

More Howard. Darker and more religious.

Kane is a dour Puritan avenger, wandering sixteenth-century Europe and Africa with sword and pistol, hunting evil wherever he finds it. The tone is gothic horror as much as adventure – vengeful ghosts, bloodthirsty demons, fanatic devotion.

If you want more Howard but something tonally different from Conan, Kane is perfect.

Best place to start: The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane (Del Rey) – the complete collection.

Thongor (Lin Carter)

Direct Conan-style writing. More pulp, less depth.

Lin Carter was a Howard devotee who edited much of Howard’s posthumous work. His Thongor of Lemuria series is essentially Conan with the serial numbers filed off – a barbarian wandering a prehistoric world of sorcery and lost civilisations.

These books don’t have Howard’s depth, but they deliver pure pulp adventure. If you want more of the same rather than something different, Thongor scratches that itch.

Best place to start: Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria.

Jirel of Joiry (C.L. Moore)

Early female sword and sorcery. Weird Tales connection.

Moore was one of Howard’s contemporaries at Weird Tales, and Jirel is one of the earliest female sword and sorcery protagonists. A fierce warrior-woman ruling a medieval French duchy, Jirel battles sorcerers, demons, and dark dimensions.

The prose is more atmospheric than Howard’s – Moore was closer to Lovecraft in style – but the action is still present. Essential reading for anyone interested in the genre’s history.

Best place to start: The collected Jirel stories.

The Witcher – Short Stories (Andrzej Sapkowski)

Near-perfect modern sword and sorcery – in short bursts.

Geralt of Rivia is a monster hunter for hire – mutated, morally grey, operating on the fringes of society. The original short story collections, The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, are episodic adventures with personal stakes and dark moral choices. This is exactly what sword and sorcery is supposed to be.

The later novels shift towards darker epic fantasy as the scope expands and Ciri’s destiny takes over. Still good, but a different beast. The short stories are the pure S&S hit.

I’m not really a fan of the TV show, though I’ve watched it all. I absolutely love all three video games.

Best place to start: The Last Wish – the first short story collection and the best introduction to Geralt.

Tier 3: Broader Crossover

These aren’t pure sword and sorcery, but they appeal to the same readers.

John Carter of Mars (Edgar Rice Burroughs)

Sword and planet. Same feel, different setting.

Burroughs was one of Howard’s major influences. His John Carter – a Civil War soldier transported to Mars, fighting four-armed green Martians with sword in hand – established the template that Howard would later adapt for fantasy.

Technically science fiction, but the vibe is pure pulp adventure. If you want to understand where Conan came from, start here.

For more, see my John Carter guide.

Best place to start: A Princess of Mars – the first novel, and one of the foundational texts of science fiction.

The First Law (Joe Abercrombie)

Not pure sword and sorcery. But Conan readers often love it. Myself included. This series is truly phenomenal.

Abercrombie’s trilogy features Logen Ninefingers – an infamous Northern barbarian with a bloody past, trying (and failing) to escape his violent nature. Sound familiar? Logen has clear Conan DNA, though the world around him is darker, more political, and more cynical.

The First Law is grimdark epic fantasy rather than classic S&S – the scope is larger, the structure novelistic, the tone bleaker. But Logen’s chapters read like sword and sorcery dropped into a different genre, and the action is brutal and very well-written.

I’d see this as “where to go next” rather than “more of the same.”

Best place to start: The Blade Itself – the first book of the trilogy.

The Black Company (Glen Cook)

Military dark fantasy with sword and sorcery DNA.

Cook’s series follows a mercenary company through decades of brutal warfare, serving morally ambiguous employers against equally ambiguous enemies. It’s not classic S&S – the scope is too large, the protagonists too numerous – but it inherits the genre’s grit, cynicism, and focus on survival over heroism.

If you want something grittier and more modern but still recognisably in the lineage, this is it.

Best place to start: The Black Company – the first novel.

Gotrek and Felix (William King and others)

I read most of these when I was just a young whippersnapper. I remember enjoying them a lot, and not realising the main characters were based on Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser.

After the first few they got a little repetitive, but the Warhammer world is rich and interesting, and there’s plenty to enjoy here.

Best place to start: the first omnibus is great, see what you think!

If You Like Conan, Try This

A quick reference based on what specifically draws you to Howard:

What you love about ConanTry this
The lone barbarian wandererKull, Imaro, Thongor
Dark sorcery as the enemyElric, Kane, Solomon Kane
Episodic short story formatFafhrd & Mouser, Witcher short stories, Jirel
Brutal combatGemmell, First Law
Exotic settingsJohn Carter, Imaro
Morally grey heroElric, Kane, First Law
Pulp energy and paceThongor, Burroughs
Modern equivalentGemmell, Witcher, First Law

Where to Buy

Most of these are in print and readily available:

Del Rey editions (for Howard’s work) are the definitive versions – properly edited, restored to original texts. Worth paying extra for.

Gollancz/Titan editions for Moorcock’s Elric are comprehensive and well-produced.

Gemmell is widely available in paperback and ebook from Del Rey/Orbit.

For out-of-print material (some Kane, some older editions), try:

  • eBay
  • AbeBooks
  • ThriftBooks

What About Comics?

If you prefer visuals, I’ve written a separate guide to the best sword and sorcery comics (to be published soon!) – covering everything from Marvel’s classic Conan omnibuses to obscure 1970s DC titles.

For Conan specifically, see my Conan comics reading guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the closest book to Conan?

Kull of Atlantis – same author, same energy, similar setting. It’s more Howard, which is exactly what you want.

Is Elric like Conan?

Deliberately opposite. Moorcock created Elric as an inversion of Conan – sickly where Conan is vital, doomed where Conan is triumphant. But both are essential sword and sorcery, and many readers love both.

What’s the best modern book like Conan?

David Gemmell’s Legend or the Witcher short stories, depending on whether you want heroic last stands or monster-hunting episodic adventures.

Is Game of Thrones like Conan?

No – different genre entirely. Game of Thrones is epic/dark fantasy with political focus. Conan is sword and sorcery with personal stakes. Some readers love both, but they’re not scratching the same itch.

Where should I start with David Gemmell?

Legend. It’s his most famous book, features his most iconic character (Druss), and captures everything that makes Gemmell special.

]]> https://howard-verse.com/books-like-conan-the-barbarian-what-to-read-next/feed/ 0 I Read All of Scourge of the Serpent (and you should too) https://howard-verse.com/scourge-of-the-serpent-review/ https://howard-verse.com/scourge-of-the-serpent-review/#comments Sat, 25 Apr 2026 07:02:48 +0000 https://howard-verse.com/?p=1460 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.

I finally finished everything. The Free Comic Book Day prelude. The Savage Sword tie-in. The build up/continuation/aftermath in CtB. All four issues of the mini-series. The Tim Waggoner novel. The Solomon Kane spin-off. Even the Fang & Spear story in Savage Sword #10.

See here for the complete Scourge of the Serpent reading order, there are various moving parts to it!

Conan and Solomon Kane comic collection with variant covers displayed together

So, back to the task at hand: is Scourge of the Serpent worth your time and money? Short answer: yes. Long answer: it depends which parts you’re asking about (but still yes).

Here’s my full breakdown – part by part – with ratings, honest criticisms, and whether you should bother with the optional stuff. And little to no spoilers!

The Overall Verdict: 8/10

Scourge of the Serpent is the most ambitious thing Titan has done with the Conan licence. It spans three time periods, adapts three classic Robert E. Howard stories, and weaves them into a single narrative about Set’s influence across the ages.

It mostly works. Jim Zub is a great writer and clearly understands Howard’s world, and the core mini-series delivers exactly what it promises: epic serpent-cult action with Conan at the centre.

Let me break it down piece by piece.

Conan Scourge of the Serpent comic cover with Conan fighting monstrous creatures

A Note on My Bias

I should be upfront: I’m predisposed to love anything set in or around Stygia.

I studied Ancient History, and Egypt has fascinated me since I was a wee nipper. Howard’s Stygia – a sinister, sorcery-steeped civilisation built on serpent worship really hits the spot.

The temples, the priests, the Set iconography – it’s ancient Egypt through a dark fantasy lens, and I love it. Robert E Howard’s Hour of the Dragon is a masterpiece, and I wish we had more original Conan stories set in Stygia!

So when a Conan event centres entirely on Set and his cult? I was always going to be interested. Take my enthusiasm with that grain of salt.

The Core Mini-Series: 8/10

Conan: Scourge of the Serpent #1–4 is the heart of the event. Written by Jim Zub with art by Ivan Gil, it tells three interconnected stories across different ages:

  • Conan in the Hyborian Age, facing the serpent cult directly
  • King Kull in the ancient Thurian Age, confronting the original serpent men
  • John Kirowan in the modern era, dealing with the cult’s lingering influence

Each thread adapts a classic Howard tale. The Conan sections draw heavily from “The God in the Bowl” – one of Howard’s best short stories. There’s a prequel to it that starts in the Free Comic Book Day 2025.

The Kull material is essentially based around “The Shadow Kingdom,” the tale that introduced the serpent men to fiction. It’s one of the best sword and sorcery stories ever written. Check out the King Kull guide if you haven’t already and get reading!

The Kirowan story adapts “The Haunter of the Ring,” which I hadn’t actually read before this event and was pleasantly surprised by.

The genius is how Zub weaves them together. The serpent god Set exists outside of time, so events in one era ripple into others. It’s ambitious, and it largely pays off.

What works: The pacing is tight. The art captures the horror of the serpent cult without becoming silly. And the climax delivers – it feels like a genuine epic confrontation, not just another fight.

What doesn’t: Jumping between three time periods can be disorienting if you’re not familiar with all three characters. Kull fans will be delighted; readers who don’t know him might feel lost.

Is it good? Yes. It’s one of the strongest Conan events Titan has produced.

Is it worth it? Absolutely. The trade paperback collecting all four issues comes out in May 2026 – that’s the best way to read it.

If you’re in Europe like me, then I highly recommend Comics Bugle. They offer free delivery and have the DM editions, even the glow in the dark version! In the UK, Forbidden Planet are very reliable and have a wide range. Amazon was the joint best price I found in the US.

Solomon Kane The Serpent Ring comic cover with Kane riding a horse in the rain

Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring: 8/10

This four-issue mini-series by Patrick Zircher is technically optional. It shares thematic DNA with Scourge of the Serpent but stands alone as its own story.

And it’s excellent.

Zircher writes and draws the entire thing, and you can feel his love for the character on every page. A young Kane follows the Serpent Ring of Set from the Barbary Coast through Southern Europe to Venice – a travelogue of early modern Europe with swords, sorcery, and Puritan righteousness.

The art: It’s stunning. Some of the best work in the entire Titan line. Zircher’s Kane is gaunt, grim, and utterly convincing. His work in Savage Sword of Conan is also incredible. Zircher’s line work is astounding, even more so in black and white!

The story: A solid adventure that stands on its own merits. You don’t need to read Scourge of the Serpent to enjoy it, and vice versa. It made me like Kane even more as a character.

Is it good? Very good. If you’ve never read Solomon Kane, this is an accessible starting point.

Is it worth it? Yes – especially if you want a break from Conan while staying in Howard’s world.

Spawn of the Serpent God (Novel): 7/10

Tim Waggoner’s tie-in novel sits in interesting territory. It’s officially part of the Scourge of the Serpent event – there’s a byline on the cover – but in practice, it’s almost standalone.

The story follows Conan and a thief named Valja as they’re recruited by Mitra’s priestesses to stop a sorcerer named Uzzeran, who’s creating human-serpent hybrids at a corrupted monastery. It’s dark, it’s pulpy, and it has some genuinely unsettling moments.

I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator did a good job.

What works:

The characters are strong. Valja is a compelling companion – far more interesting than the generic sidekicks you often get in Conan pastiches. The Red Sonja: Consumed novel (not part of this event) felt flat by comparison; this book has actual personality.

The villains are surprisingly nuanced. Shengis, a low-caste Stygian slave who ends up merged with the spirit of a serpent man, is a standout. He’s not cartoonishly evil – you understand his motivations, even sympathise with him.

He’s trapped in his circumstances as much as anyone else, serving masters he didn’t choose. The internal conflict between his human and serpent natures is compelling. That moral complexity elevates the book beyond standard Conan villainy.

There’s a temple robbery sequence early on that’s wonderfully evocative of the 1982 film – naked orgy, forbidden treasure, the whole aesthetic. There’s also a nice callback to “Rogues in the House” with the appearance of Thak’s people, the mountain apes. Waggoner clearly knows his Conan.

The fight scenes are solid. And the climax escalates into something genuinely epic, with multiple gods intervening in the final battle – Mitra, Ishtar, and even Zath the spider god join forces against Set. Snakes versus spiders, ancient rivalries playing out through mortal champions. It’s more “epic fantasy” than lean Howard-style sword and sorcery – but I don’t think that’s a bad thing overall. More on that below.

What doesn’t work:

The novel spends too long away from Conan. Extended sections follow Valja, Shengis (the Stygian slave), and other secondary characters. It’s not badly written, but when I pick up a Conan novel, I want Conan.

The connection to the main Scourge event feels tenuous. Is the Eye of Set gem found in Numidia the only link? The novel works as a standalone adventure in a serpent-themed year of Conan content, but don’t expect it to be essential reading for understanding the Scourge comics.

Is it sword & sorcery or epic fantasy?

This is an interesting question I’ve been thinking about. Howard’s Conan stories are lean and punchy – but don’t mistake brevity for simplicity. Howard was a master of worldbuilding, conjuring entire civilisations in a few paragraphs. The Hyborian Age feels vast and lived-in precisely because Howard knew when to suggest rather than explain.

Novels naturally expand that. Perhaps they have to. Or maybe not. Waggoner’s book involves multiple gods, large-scale battles, and sprawling casts. It reads more like epic fantasy than traditional sword and sorcery – the scope is bigger, the stakes more cosmic.

Can they coexist? I think so. The short story and the novel serve different purposes. Howard’s originals are perfect for dipping in; novels like this offer deeper immersion. The lean intensity of sword and sorcery and the broader canvas of epic fantasy aren’t mutually exclusive – they’re different tools for different stories.

Is it good? Yes – with reservations about pacing.

Is it worth it? If you’re a completist or you enjoy Conan novels, definitely. If you only want the essential Scourge experience, it’s optional.

Fang and Spear prehistoric tale comic artwork with cavemen fighting a giant serpent

Fang & Spear (Savage Sword #10): 8/10

This short story in Savage Sword of Conan #10, written by Jim Zub with art by Mike Rooth, sent me down a rabbit hole I didn’t expect.

The title is a deliberate inversion of “Spear and Fang” – Robert E. Howard’s first ever published story. Not his first Conan story – his first story ever published, period. It appeared in Weird Tales in July 1925, seven years before Conan debuted. It’s a prehistoric tale about a caveman named Ga-nor and his beloved A-aea.

I’d never actually read the original. So after finishing Fang & Spear, I tracked down Howard’s debut and read it for the first time.

What a start to a career! You can see Howard’s raw talent even in that early work – the propulsive action, the primal energy, the sense of a world that’s brutal but vivid. It ends slightly abruptly, but you can see why Weird Tales bought it. The potential is obvious on every page.

Zub’s Fang & Spear returns to Howard’s prehistoric world a hundred years after its original publication. It’s a fitting tribute that rewards readers who know their Howard history – and gets the rest of us started!

I highly recommend tracking down Savage Sword of Conan #10 if you haven’t already.

This combined with REH scholar Jeff Shank’s recommendation in his Spear and Fang video also got me to buy Son of the Red God by Paul L Anderson which turned out to be truly excellent!

He’s an early story writer who gave inspiration to Robert E Howard, and I can absolutely see why. I enjoyed it far more than I expected!

Talking of Jeff Shanks, a special mention must be made here. His essays, thoughts and notes can be found throughout the Scourge of the Serpent. He explains things clearly and concisely, and even when I think I know a lot about Conan and the wider Howard-verse, I realise there is still much more to learn! His writings certainly add the snake saga as a whole!

Is Scourge of the Serpent good? Yes, it’s really good– a satisfying epic that rewards Howard readers.

Is Scourge of the Serpent worth it? Definitely, and I’d recommend the side quests, too.

Collection of Conan Scourge of the Serpent comic covers arranged on carpet

Final Ratings Summary

ComponentRatingEssential?
Scourge of the Serpent #1–48/10Yes
Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring8/10Optional but excellent
Spawn of the Serpent God (novel)7/10Optional
Fang & Spear (SSOC #10)8/10Optional
Overall Event8/10Yes

Should You Read It?

Yes, if:

  • You enjoy Conan comics and want Titan’s most ambitious event yet
  • You’re interested in Set, Stygia, and serpent cults
  • You want to see how Howard’s different characters connect across time
  • You’re curious about Solomon Kane but haven’t read him before
  • Want to experience characters from REH’s very first story

Maybe not, if:

  • You only want standalone Conan stories with no event complexity
  • You’re new to Conan – start with the ongoing Conan series or the omnibuses instead
  • You dislike multi-part crossovers and world-jumping

Where to Start

If you want to read everything, check out my full Scourge reading order for the complete sequence.

If you just want the essentials: grab the Scourge of the Serpent trade paperback when it releases in May 2026. That’s the core experience.

And if you’re looking for more Conan after this, my guide to the current Conan Titan Comics line covers everything else in print.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Scourge of the Serpent good?

Yes. It’s an 8/10 overall – Titan’s strongest crossover event so far. The core mini-series delivers epic serpent-cult action, the Solomon Kane tie-in is beautiful, and the novel expands the lore nicely.

Is Scourge of the Serpent worth reading?

If you’re already following Titan’s Conan line, absolutely. If you’re new, consider starting with the ongoing series first – this event rewards familiarity with Howard’s world.

Do I need to read the Tim Waggoner novel?

No. It’s optional but enjoyable. It adds depth to the serpent cult storyline but isn’t required to understand the comics.

What Robert E. Howard stories does Scourge adapt?

Three: “The God in the Bowl” (Conan), “The Shadow Kingdom” (Kull), and “The Haunter of the Ring” (John Kirowan). All three are among Howard’s best serpent-themed tales.

Is there a collected edition?

Yes – the Scourge of the Serpent trade paperback collecting issues #1–4 releases in May 2026.

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