Complete list of Conan pastiche novels
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With over fifty to choose from, which is your favourite? And which books really count?
Although the venerated Robert E. Howard only wrote 20 original Conan stories, one novel and several fragments or unfinished stories, there have been a slew of other authors writing about the Barbarian from Cimmeria.
Quick side note – if you haven’t read the original Robert E Howard stories yet, here is a great place to start with Conan reading.
Some of those books are great, some are most certainly not.
It also gets quite confusing. There are many books from many publishers available.
I’ve read or listened to the original stories at least four or five times each (and some many more).
Craving more Conan goodness, I decided to make it my mission to make my way through all of the pastiche works.
What is a pastiche?
In case you’ve not heard the term before, a ‘pastiche‘ is a work that imitates another’s style, often as a tribute.
In Conan’s case, it refers to stories by later authors mimicking Howard’s style (or at least attempting to).
Until now, I’ve found no definitive list of purely Conan NOVELS by other authors.
The wiki page lists all Conan books available, and that’s where it gets messy.
Some books look like novels but are in fact collections of short stories.
When were the pastiches written?
Conan pastiches have been being written for over 50 years!
The 80’s and 90’s were a particular golden-time for Conan novels (partly because of the way the comics took off in the 70s and the films in the 80s.).
Thankfully Conan is going through somewhat of a resurgence at the moment, and several new novels have come out recently, with more planned every year for the foreseeable future.
How to get hold of the pastiches
I’ve been slowly collecting the books as they become available on ebay and other places.
But watch out!
A lot are ‘double-dipping’, to steal the term from the comic world.
For example, Conan the Usurper looks like any of the others, but is actually a collection of four short stories by Robert E. Howard and edited or revised by Sprague de Camp.
Those are found in many other collected editions, too.
So Conan the Usurper doesn’t make the list.
Likewise, of the three books pictured below, although they look similar, only one makes this list (Conan the Mercenary).
The Swordsman is another collection of pastiche short stories (a list of which will come soon), and Conan the Warrior is a collection of stories from REH (and therefore cannot be described as pastiches or novels).
So this list will focus purely on the pastiche novels.
To be honest, the quality of the pastiches varies greatly. In another post I will rate the best and worst that I’ve read so far.
Where to start with the Conan pastiche novels
If you’re looking for a good place to start, I highly recommend John Maddox Roberts.
Although I don’t think his Conan is 100% like REH’s Conan (he’s generally more amiable), the books are fast-paced page-turners with a real sense of excitement and urgency (much like REH’s original prose).
The Road of Kings by Karl Edward Wagner is also an excellent read.
I enjoyed it so much and it’s a real shame that he only ever wrote the one Conan novel.
The prose is incredible, almost poetic, (much like REH) and Conan is a brooding killer thinking of ways to ‘take care of’ problematic situations before they even arise.
But it might not be the best place to start, because it’s so hard to top!
So, without further ado: all the pastiches novels to date, in order of publication.
The newest books are all easy to get hold of, some of the older ones are not.
I’ve added eBay or Amazon links for ones that I’ve managed to find so far.
Complete List of Conan pastiche novels
| Author | Title | Publication Year |
|---|---|---|
| Björn Nyberg & L. Sprague de Camp | The Return of Conan | 1957 |
| L. Sprague de Camp & Lin Carter | Conan the Buccaneer | 1971 |
| Andrew J. Offutt | Conan and the Sorcerer | 1978 |
| Karl Edward Wagner | Conan: The Road of Kings | 1979 |
| Andrew J. Offutt | The Sword of Skelos | 1979 |
| L. Sprague de Camp & Lin Carter | Conan the Liberator | 1979 |
| Andrew J. Offutt | Conan the Mercenary | 1981 |
| L. Sprague de Camp | Conan and the Spider God | 1980 |
| Robert Jordan | Conan the Invincible | 1982 |
| L. Sprague de Camp & Lin Carter | Conan the Barbarian (novelization) | 1982 |
| Robert Jordan | Conan the Defender | 1982 |
| Robert Jordan | Conan the Unconquered | 1983 |
| Robert Jordan | Conan the Triumphant | 1983 |
| Robert Jordan | Conan the Magnificent | 1984 |
| Robert Jordan | Conan the Victorious | 1984 |
| Robert Jordan | Conan the Destroyer (novelization) | 1984 |
| John Maddox Roberts | Conan the Valorous | 1985 |
| Leonard Carpenter | Conan the Renegade | 1986 |
| Leonard Carpenter | Conan the Raider | 1986 |
| Steve Perry | Conan the Fearless | 1986 |
| Steve Perry | Conan the Defiant | 1987 |
| John Maddox Roberts | Conan the Champion | 1987 |
| Leonard Carpenter | Conan the Warlord | 1988 |
| Roland Green | Conan the Valiant | 1988 |
| John Maddox Roberts | Conan the Marauder | 1988 |
| Leonard Carpenter | Conan the Hero | 1989 |
| Steve Perry | Conan the Indomitable | 1989 |
| John Maddox Roberts | Conan the Bold | 1989 |
| Leonard Carpenter | Conan the Great | 1990 |
| Steve Perry | Conan the Free Lance | 1990 |
| Steve Perry | Conan the Formidable | 1990 |
| Roland Green | Conan the Guardian | 1991 |
| Leonard Carpenter | Conan the Outcast | 1991 |
| John Maddox Roberts | Conan the Rogue | 1991 |
| Leonard Carpenter | Conan the Savage | 1992 |
| Roland Green | Conan the Relentless | 1992 |
| Leonard Carpenter | Conan of the Red Brotherhood | 1993 |
| John Maddox Roberts | Conan and the Treasure of Python | 1993 |
| Roland Green | Conan and the Gods of the Mountain | 1993 |
| Roland Green | Conan at the Demon’s Gate | 1994 |
| John Maddox Roberts | Conan and the Manhunters | 1994 |
| Sean A. Moore | Conan the Hunter | 1994 |
| Leonard Carpenter | Conan, Lord of the Black River | 1994 |
| Leonard Carpenter | Conan, Scourge of the Bloody Coast | 1994 |
| John Maddox Roberts | Conan and the Amazon | 1995 |
| Roland Green | Conan and the Mists of Doom | 1995 |
| Roland Green | Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza | 1997 |
| Leonard Carpenter | Conan the Gladiator | 1995 |
| John C. Hocking | Conan and the Emerald Lotus | 1995 |
| Sean A. Moore | Conan and the Shaman’s Curse | 1996 |
| Sean A. Moore | Conan and the Grim Grey God | 1996 |
| Harry Turtledove | Conan of Venarium | 2003 |
| Michael A. Stackpole | Conan the Barbarian (novelization) | 2011 |
| S. M. Stirling | Conan: Blood of the Serpent | 2022 |
| John C. Hocking | Conan and the Living Plague | 2024 |
| James Lovegrove | Conan and the Cult of the Obsidian Moon | 2024 |
It was a tough decision but I also decided to only include official pastiches.
So even though books like The Song of Belit by Rodolfo Martinez seem popular, they are currently not considered for this list.
That might change over the next few years as more and more of REH’s work enters the public domain.
Talking of pastiches, here’s a mini-review of Red Sonja: Consumed by Gail Simone.
Thank you for this list.
My pleasure, I’m glad it’s useful!