Thursday, December 1, 2011

Conan and Cthulhu

The preparation going on out in the Hill Cantons for a game in the Hyborian Age got me to thinking about a couple of works of nonfiction of that should appeal to the fans of the "Weird Tales Triumvirate" and anyone looking for pulpy inspirations.

Dale E. Rippke used to have a great website devoted to several prominent characters of Sword & Sorcery.  That's gone, alas, but you can still get a hardcopy collection of Rippke's speculations on mysteries of Conan's world in The Hyborian Heresies.  If you've ever pondered just what happened in the Great Cataclysm or wondered who built those green stone cities that Conan occasional happens upon, Rippke's got some guesses.  It also includes his "Dark Storm Chronology" which radically rethinks Conan's career and was utilized as the backbone of the new Dark Horse series.

Several of Howard's stories touched on Lovecraft's mythos.  The third edition of Daniel Harms's The Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia not only covers the contributions of the gent from Providence and the man from Cross Plains, but also stuff from Thomas Ligotti, T.E.D. Klein and Stephen King.  Its entries from Abbith to Zylac also includes material from Chaosium and Delta Green.

6 comments:

The Angry Lurker said...

This is certainly revealing to me and opens up the Conan saga more.

garrisonjames said...

The Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia has been updated a wee-bit from the older edition I still use, so it's probably time to get the new edition. The Hyborian Heresies sounds very interesting -- thanks for pointing that out, it could be a tremendously useful reference...

Has anyone done anything similar to the Hyborian book for John Carter?

Trey said...

@Jim - Not exactly the same thing, but The Guide to Barsoom by JOhn Flint Roy does touch on some of the mysterious elements of Barsoom, as I recall. There may be a niche there...

Sean Robson said...

Reading your blog always costs me a lot of money as I discover things I never knew I needed. digs out credit card

Chris Kutalik said...

It's lucky that I just got a couple hundred bucks worth of Amazon gift certificates as I seem to be acquiring a hell of a reading list thanks to you and the other stooped sages. Thanks yet again.

While I have been plowing through mostly the primary sources to try and keep it as REH "real" as I can, I am finding a wealth in the better, more careful analysis. Definitely interested in his takes on some of the more cryptic bits.

Trey said...

Glad I could help you guys spend your money on worthwhile things. ;)