When a novel's cover features the protagonist standing bare-chested atop a mountain of skulls, sword in hand, you have a pretty good idea of what it's going to deliver, and Michael A. Stackpole's adaptation of the screenplay for the upcoming Conan the Barbarian film lives up to its promise. The story--which has broad similarities to the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, but is not a remake--begins with young Conan receiving his first training in the ways of the warrior from his father, until the day an evil warlord, Khalar Zym, comes to their village to steal an ancient artifact and kills his father. Years pass, and the young Cimmerian's desire for vengeance never cools; finally, an opportunity presents itself--along with a young woman who must be protected to thwart Khalar Zym's sorcerous schemes.
Stackpole works off the film's storyline and uses the descriptive passages to add tonal gradations to the characters, emphasizing elements like the young Conan's impatience to become a fighter or the perverse motivations of Khalar Zym's daughter, Marique. His version of the barbarian resonates well with Robert E. Howard's original conception of a cannily intelligent adventurer who could be grimly determined when pressed by circumstance. At the same time, his own voice has been well honed by years of writing epic fantasies (as well as media tie-ins for BattleTech and Star Wars), so this is no slavish imitation of Howard. If you didn't know there was a movie coming out, you could even welcome Stackpole's novel as a literary rebooting of the Conan franchise. (And who's to say we won't see some print-only sequels, at that?) --Ron Hogan, founder of Beatrice.com