Blood Thunder the Life Art of Robert E Howard
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Finn is both a Howard fan and a serious scholar of REH'due south life and work, and he brought to this project some pregnant commonalities with his subject that helped in understanding him: they're both creative writers (that shows in Finn's prose, which is as vivid and readable every bit a novel!), both boxers on the side, and in a higher place all both Texans. One thing this bio does extremely well is set REH in his Texas context, and explain the very pregnant influence of his environment on his life and piece of work. The author has done his homework thoroughly, researching the principal sources (including Howard's big torso of letters) extensively, and reading seriously for background; the bibliography here runs to about five pages. (He doesn't apply footnotes, simply attributes his sources in the text wherever it'due south really needed, to facilitate easier reading.) His organization is clear and logical, starting with Howard's antecedents and socio-cultural setting, going through the dissimilar phases of his life and career, and concluding with a affiliate on REH'south posthumous literary fortunes and mythos. Each of the four master "Parts" of the volume are prefaced by curt (about a page) imaginative reconstructions of typical incidents that might have taken identify in Howard's life at that stage, which may use some invented dialogue, etc. simply stick very closely to the basic contours of known facts. (For me, these enhanced the narrative rather than detracting from it, giving a "experience" for the field of study, as they were meant to.) All along the mode, he discusses Howard'south major writings, in the chronological gild they were produced, with insights into their literary qualities, themes, and connections to the writer'south life experiences. Equally Finn makes clear, REH was much more than the creator of Conan or a writer of swords-and-sorcery; his fiction spanned a number of genres, and he left backside a substantial body of poetry besides. (I enjoyed both the discussions of works I've read and the many that I oasis't, and found my appetite to read the latter greatly whetted!) Attention is given to the vexed question of Howard'south racial views (Finn makes a convincing instance that our hero was much less racist than is sometimes supposed, and that his views evolved equally he got older), and of course to the reasons for his suicide. Where at that place are areas of REH'due south life and mindset that nosotros don't actually know most for sure, the author isn't afraid to say then.
Another beau Texan, acclaimed writer Joe R. Lansdale, furnishes a solid introduction which argues convincingly for Howard's place in the broader history of American literature. A serviceable index and excellent black-and-white period photographs as well raise this volume. It may be too shortly to pronounce this volume THE definitive Howard bio for the ages (and I may not be qualified to make that assessment!). But if information technology isn't, it's most definitely in the running.
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Ok, now on to the meat:
This book has a few problems. Some of them are Finn'south fault, others are out of Finn's easily. Buckle in, because here we go:
Offset, you can tell that Finn is a big Howard fan. This is a problem in biography writing because we aren't getting a neutral film of the person. For example, Finn glosses over Howard
Ok, now on to the meat:
This book has a few problems. Some of them are Finn's mistake, others are out of Finn's hands. Buckle in, considering here nosotros become:
Kickoff, you can tell that Finn is a big Howard fan. This is a trouble in biography writing because we aren't getting a neutral picture of the person. For example, Finn glosses over Howard's racism by saying "Hey, it was just the times he was living in" (which might exist a serious argument to make, merely it is an excuse that has been done to expiry so much that information technology doesn't even warrant all the time Finn spends on it).
Also, Finn glosses over Howard'southward compulsive lying by constantly reminding usa that he was just engaging in a scrap of the "tall tale". Nope, he was (along with his female parent) a compulsive liar.
Finn is constantly referring to random Howard stories as "the best" or "the finest" or "the greatest". At 1 point, nosotros are told about three different stories in 3 pages, all of them supposedly "the best" that Howard ever wrote. Can't there be but ane "the all-time" though? Finn is fanboying out a bit here, and it doesn't do the biography any favors.
Finn also gives u.s.a. pointless synopses of several Howard stories. These add zippo to the biography (except to interrupt it) and, if you lot are reading this book, you have likely already read many of those stories anyway.
Finn adds a bit of fiction in about what might take gone on in Howard's life. These are thankfully few and brusk. They are too pointless and skippable.
Finally, Finn is a niggling too over the top sometimes. When Howard sells his starting time story, Finn tells us that (and I'm paraphrasing here) "He knelt downward and when he stood up, Robert E. Howard was born!". Settle down there, Finn.
One of the problems that isn't Finn's error, though, is that we know very little almost Howard'due south life and what we do know is tainted because anything that Howard or his mother said is likely a lie (oh, deplorable Finn. A "tall tale"). Considering of this, the kickoff third of the volume is actually a history of the Texas that helped shape Howard, with the human being himself appearing very little. It took me a long time to get through these get-go parts, because they just aren't the volume that I wanted to read. Once Howard shows up in full, then it gets a chip more than interesting.
Throughout the volume, also, the capacity cover different periods of Howard'southward life and are very short, because we just don't know a whole lot about him. A huge portion is taken up past his letters to Lovecraft (which is off-white plenty, they had quite a long correspondence). But, again, these letters are full of things that either probably aren't true, or accept been literally proven to be untrue.
So why am I giving this book a whopping iv stars? Because, when information technology comes to Howard'southward life, this is probably the best biography you are going to get. At that place take been a few previous attempts (some, like Novalyne Price'southward book, just cover the portion of his life that she knew him. Others, like De Camp's volume, is only pure bunk written to make a buck), but this is probably the all-time of the agglomeration.
From what I got out of this book, here is Robert Eastward. Howard: He was an extremely sensitive person that constantly felt he was being bullied. He couldn't hold downwardly a job because he felt people were mean to him or he would but brand up some health problem-like a heart set on-to get out of it.
He seemed to hate the town he lived in and was a social outcast. He one time referred to it as "hell".
He was socially bad-mannered, and didn't know how to collaborate with others (although he was usually polite). At one indicate he started dressing like a vaquero, complete with drooping mustache, sombrero, and bandana. You know the weird kid you went to school with that had no friends, acted/dressed strange, and kept to himself? That was Howard.
He likely suffered from what we now know as clinical low, and harbored suicidal thoughts for well-nigh of his life. His female parent was a compulsive liar (she started speaking in an Irish accent well into her middle age because she came upwardly with a story about how she was descended from Irish royalty) and was a control freak. She made certain Robert had zero goings on with women then that he would stay with her forever. She likely also pretended she was more sick than she really was and would guilt Robert into staying with her and taking intendance of her. Robert was basically her full-time nurse for most of his life because his dad was sick of her shit.
His male parent was miserable in his marriage and, after Howard'southward death, he hid Robert's volition so that he could have all of Robert's income for himself. Dick move, bro.
So, basically, Robert was born into a world of shit and died in a world of shit. With parents like his and living in an era and role of the country that he did, he didn't stand a chance.
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In the early 1900s, Texas was experiencing an oil boom. Practically overnight, a boondocks would spring up around oil wells, bringing all sorts of people, from roughnecks to work the wells, to barkeepers to prostitutes. Th
This volume explores the life and times of one of the near famous writers e'er to come out of the state of Texas. During his brief writing career in the 1920s and 1930s, Robert E. Howard did a lot more for imaginative literature than only create the graphic symbol of Conan the Cimmerian.In the early 1900s, Texas was experiencing an oil blast. Practically overnight, a town would leap up around oil wells, bringing all sorts of people, from roughnecks to work the wells, to barkeepers to prostitutes. They would stay until the oil ran out, and so move on to the next boom town. Howard grew up in ane boom town afterwards another; Isaac, his father, was a frontier doctor, so they also followed the oil. Howard got to see, upwardly close and personal, the night underside of culture, and information technology disgusted him. Finally settling in Cross Plains, he was a voracious reader who hated the regimentation of school. He lived on pulp magazines, like Weird Tales, available at the local general store. Howard was the shy, tranquility kid in boondocks with no interest in joining the oil boom.
A major influence on Howard's development as a author was the Texas tradition of telling alpine tales. Isaac was an proficient spinner of tales, and in her ain way, Hester, his mother and an Irish gaelic immigrant, was pretty good at it, also. Hester had tuberculosis for most of Robert'due south life, which forced him to stay abode and help take intendance of her, because Isaac was frequently gone for days on his "rounds." After he became a published author, Howard was one of the mainstays at Weird Tales. He sent them all sorts of stories, usually prepare in the distant past, showing civilizations that had already degraded into barbarism (similar Texas of the early 20th Century). In those days, pulp magazines usually paid half a cent to 1 cent per word, payment was usually on publication, which could be several months after credence, and even so, payment was sporadic. Howard spent hours a day at his typewriter, writing boxing stories (a huge interest of his), poesy and westerns, along with tales of Conan, his most famous creation.
Anyone who has ever picked upwards a pulp magazine, or who knows REH as more than than just the creator of Conan, volition honey this volume, as I did. While Howard's books are however in print, Howard's life has fallen into obscurity. This volume does a really good job of remedying that situation.
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Finn does a swell task with this book connecting the dots and proving and disproving much of the mythology that is out at that place nearly Robert E. Howard. A big thing Finn does here, in fact it comprises a practiced bulk of the book, is he talks about Howards Texas environment and how much of an influence it was on his writing. From the twenty-four hours to day violence that he was exposed to in the scoundrel and roughneck infested oil boom towns that he grew upward in, to the local Texas folklore, to the front porch story tellers that held court while Howard gave listen. All of these had a big affect on Howard and his writing. REH fifty-fifty stated that Conan himself was to a large degree a mix of various boxers, oil field workers and cowboys that he knew over the years.
This book also goes into greater depth with Howards non Conan work than annihilation else I accept ever read. In some means this book is as much a literary analysis of Howards writings as much equally it is about Howard himself. Other subjects delved into are his relationship with his just girlfriend, his ups and downs as a lurid fiction author, his physical fitness and boxing obsession, his feelings every bit an outcast in the small boondocks he lived mainly because he earned a living equally a author instead of in the oil field or as a farmer, his legendary correspondses with HP Lovecraft, and peculiarly his strange relationship with his parents (he never moved out of his parents business firm) and Howards suicide.
I practise call up this is a great book. There is so much nifty information in this and Finn is an engrossing writer, I could hardly put this book downwards once I started reading information technology. Simply I do have a few criticisms. 1 he goes into apologetics over Howards attitudes on race. Downplaying and fifty-fifty denying that Howard was a racist besides as making the false statements that Eugenics have been scientificly discredited, the Aryan race does not be and Finn too makes the wacky statement at 1 indicate that what was one time called race are now referred to as "cultures". Huh? We must be living on another planet. Simply anyway while I recollect you could make a solid argument that he wasn't a racist in the stereotypical Nazi mode and he certainly wasn't hateful or abusive to people because they were not white it tin't be denied that Howard was a man who was heavily into and obsessed with his own "nighttime Irish" heritage and other northern European cultures, in particular the Picts and he certainly had no problem portraying other races in less than complimentary ways. Not to mention the multitudes of stories he wrote with "racial memory" themes. It tin't exist denied that Howard was a heavily racially concious man and in my mind it makes him that much more admirable.
Another criticism I have is there is merely one chapter dedicated to the Conan graphic symbol and that chapter weighs in at only 10 pages! I think its great that Howards other work was explored in depth hither but so many people do non empathize the true nature, depth, and greatness of the Conan character simply seeing him as the corny comic book muscleman Arnold Schwarzenegger movie cliché. The Conan stories are oftentimes every bit much horror stories as much equally they are sword and sorcery hazard tales, or at to the lowest degree a fusion of the ii. In that location is also a philosophical side of Conan that is one part might is right style social darwinism, mixed with an Aryan warriors sense of honor and knightly along with a Viking berserkers battle ecstacy. These things, especially the philosophical side of Conan should have been delved into much more.
I would have besides liked to accept heard more (they are covered but only not as much or every bit in depth as I would have liked) about Howards barbarism vs civilisation fence that went on through mail service with HP Lovecraft as well every bit REH being a hardcore Celtophile.
But those criticisms bated I really thought this was a great volume. I can't help simply call back while gazing at a photo of REH at the end of this book where he has a huge virtually viking like beer drinking glass raised to his lips in an almost salutatory manner that Howard is one of the great divínely inspired Odinic writers who were given a drinkable of Odins mead of inspiration. I hope to have a beverage in Valhalla with you some twenty-four hour period Bob.
iv.5 out of 5 stars
...more than Dissimilar de Camp, Finn is actually a Howard fan--he knows and loves Howard's works, and indeed, if yous cease this biography y'all'll likely want to read some Howard for yourself. de Military camp, on the o
I came across this fairly recent Robert Due east. Howard biography while looking instead for the earlier biography past 50. Sprague de Army camp, and it's just too that I did, because Finn makes a good case that de Camp performed every bit much of a hatchet job on Howard every bit he did on H. P. Lovecraft in an earlier biography.Unlike de Camp, Finn is actually a Howard fan--he knows and loves Howard'due south works, and indeed, if you stop this biography you lot'll likely desire to read some Howard for yourself. de Camp, on the other hand, was a character assassin who idea nothing of devoting hundreds of pages to explaining why he thought popular writers were junior to him both personally and professionally.
Finn is at his best in describing and critiquing Howard'southward works, in debunking a lot of the lies that accept built up effectually Howard, and also in putting Howard into the context of the Texas environment from which he sprung--something that other biographers accept apparently failed to do. Also, I can adjure that Finn'due south analysis of Howard'southward psychological country is spot-on, because my mental problems and family and social dynamics are very similar to those of Howard in a few particulars.
All that said, though, this is a flawed volume. While Finn possibly did a good deal of research--he certainly gives the impression that he did--not all of his data is correct.
For instance, at one point he writes, "Pancho Villa had just been assassinated at his villa." That's cute wordplay, but it's also not true. Villa was assassinated while driving his motorcar through the Mexican village of Parral. And though Finn cites a Villa biography in his list of works consulted, I guess he didn't read the book all the fashion through.
At 1 point Howard is said to have written to someone named "Talman," but information technology's not until later in the book that this person is given another proper name. In fact, he's given ii. He's referred to equally "Wilfred Talman" in one place and "Wilford B. Talman"--his correct proper noun--in another.
The chapter devoted to Howard'southward girlfriend Novalyne Price starts with a group photo of her co-workers at Cross Plains Loftier School--a photo in which Toll doesn't even announced! Why is the photo even in the book, and so?
The book is filled with typos and other errors of style, spelling, grammar, and content, which could hands take been fixed had the text been given fifty-fifty a brief test by a proofreader.
Just the main problem with the text is Finn's bad habit of repeating himself. I'grand not sure whether this was due to Finn beingness careless, or wishing to pad out the book, or a little of both. Information technology's bad enough to come up across a restated point that had been perfectly made dozens of pages before, but it's inexcusable to run into a bespeak made twice in one paragraph.
And strangely enough, Joe R. Lansdale, in his painfully bad introduction to the book, makes the aforementioned mistake, though his repetitions tend to be more than noticeable in the two-and-a-half pages he takes upward, than those of Finn, which appear scattered throughout the unabridged book.
Still, if you're not every bit anal-retentive nigh mode every bit I am, "Claret and Thunder" will provide y'all with as practiced an introduction to Robert Due east. Howard's world every bit you're currently likely to find.
Note: This is a review to the 2006 first edition of "Claret & Thunder." I only learned that Finn updated the book in 2011.
http://rehtwogunraconteur.com/?p=15787
I quote from Finn from the higher up link:
..."Oh, well, it's no secret amongst the movers and shakers of Howard studies and Howard fandom that there are some errors, both technical and factual, in the first edition. All unintentional, of course, but remember, I had to write information technology while the Centennial loomed virtually. So, I went fast, and Monkeybrain went fast, and we all pulled together and got it out in time for the World Fantasy Convention, which was in October of that yr. Whatever later and we would have missed the deadline. And so, unintentionally, some errors crept in from earlier drafts, and some wonky sentences didn't get stock-still.
"And and then, in 2006, Don Herron rediscovered Doc Howard's medical books. So Rob Roehm started uncovering tidbits here and there (and he'south notwithstanding doing it). And so in 2007 or 2008, I forget which, Patrice Louinet managed to pinpoint when Howard and his family unit were in New Orleans, and the serendipitous discovery that led to, and oh, hell, at that place's new stuff at present! And then, I was already keeping an error file, for fixing, and I kept my slush pile and my notes for some things I either decided not to include for space or time purposes, and all at in one case, it occurred to me: a second edition! That would set everything!"...
This, to me is skillful news. I hope to get a chance to read the new edition at some point and come across if it fixes the bug from the first edition that stuck so badly in my craw.
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P.S. Kniha není moc dlouhá. Ale to Howardův život bohužel také nebyl...
P.P.Due south. Strčím sem ještě jednu básničku, prý Howardovu oblíbenou. Jedná se o „Richarda Coryho" z pera Edwina Arlingtona Robinsona – a je (vzhledem k okolnostem) velice vypovídající...
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was ever quietly arrayed,
And he was ever homo when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Adept-morning," and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich – yes, richer than a male monarch –
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on nosotros worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, ane calm summertime night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.
The last affiliate is particularly interesting, as it deals with Howard's mail service-mortem legacy. While it's painful to read most the atrocious copyright mess that stifled the publication of Howard'southward stories in their unedited course for decades, information technology'due south a pleasance to read gimmicky authors' elitist accept-down of Howard'south talent knowing that in time nobody would learn these authors' names except through their association with the human they had so petty regard for.
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Mark Finn is from Texas himself, and as they say: it takes one to know one. ...more than
Blood and Thunder is a magnificent biography of one of my favorite authors. The insight into Howard's life and creative process is every bit complete equally any fan I am a purist fan of Robert E. Howard. This means that I am only interested in the stories that he wrote earlier they were edited or added to by the likes of L. Sprague de Camp. Luckily my interest and discovery of Howard'due south work corresponded with the release of the Del Rey illustrated trade-backs that were published with fans like myself in mind.
Claret and Thunder is a magnificent biography of one of my favorite authors. The insight into Howard's life and creative process is every bit consummate equally whatsoever fan could promise for and it was a pure joy to read. My thank you to Mark Finn for his scholarly work and giving this book to fans. ...more
I beginning read Howard when I was child in the grade of those butchered paperbac
I went to Providence, R.I. for Necronomicon 2015, the convention devoted to Weird Fiction. To be honest, I went to feel the works of H.P.Lovecraft, just got a pleasant surprise running into the Robert E. Howard Foundation whose table at the vendors' room was a groovy identify to buy a copy of Blood and Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert East. Howard, because the man who sold it to me, Marking Finn, was the author of the book.I beginning read Howard when I was kid in the grade of those butchered paperbacks of Conan stories out out by Ace paperbacks. In recent years, the literary legacy of Howard and his prime number cosmos Conan has been shedding its baggage, more specifically its association with those Arnold Schwarzenegger and the tampered-with L. Sprague de Camp edits that has rankled the fans of pulpdom for half a century. This is the best fourth dimension in history to be discovering Robert East. Howard, since his massive output of fiction only contains less than xx Conan stories, and new readers tin can observe his other characters and writing styles.
Let u.s. non exist deceived, Howard is no Shakespeare, and he remains the undisputed king of Pulp Fiction. He wrote nether enormous pressure level for money, but never failed to produce a solid, two-fisted tale of tremendous energy and action. In that location is no better author for a difficult boiled detective, occult, boxing, weird western or ancient civilization tale. He spun yarns like they were coming out of his lungs with his every breath. Only recently, I began reading his Bear Creek western tales and institute them as funny as P.G. Wodehouse. Same with his Steve Costigan boxing stories. The human being was hilarious. His western and boxing stories are in many means the superior literature to the Conan tales because they hold up under every criteria for great story telling and bold characterization. Breckinridge Elkins and Steve Costigan are, in my opinion, the literary equal to Bertie Wooster or Jeeves the Butler. Instead of upper class English twits, Howard portrays working class American idiots to great effect.
And don't underestimate the Conan stories either. Mod day fantasy like Game of Thrones owes a tremendous debt to Howard and his globe-edifice works.
Mark Finn'southward biography is as tough as its subject. Information technology takes yous dorsum to the pre-oil strike Texas to examine the roots of Howard'south family and walks y'all in the homo'south mighty footsteps every bit he burns with pure discussion passion until his tragic and untimely suicide at age thirty.
Subsequently fifty years of reading Howard, I finally stepped back and said with awe: "Yep! Robert E. Howard!" Hopefully, this American writer's finest days in the limelight are ahead of us. And don't forget to check out the Robert Eastward. Howard Foundations great reprints of nigh of Howard's more obscure series.
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All thank you notes bated, this volume is a must-read for any serious Howard fan out there. This book has deepened my appreciation for Howard's work and made me even more of a fan than I already was. Having read this, my next stop is going to be Novalyne Price'south One Who Walked Solitary: Robert Due east. Howard - The Last Years.
Gauge I'd better clear a shelf for my growing REH collection.
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This is a short review, but make no mistake, this is an engrossing book that will bring the reader a whole new appreciation for How
A magnificent exam of the life and works of Texas fantasy author Robert East. Howard, Finn dispels myths and delves deep into the human's troubled personal life through all-encompassing enquiry. Howard's life in the tiny, Due west Texas town of Cross Plains come to vivid life under Finn's steady hand--Finn's passion for the bailiwick affair is almost physical in its intensity.This is a short review, merely make no fault, this is an engrossing book that will bring the reader a whole new appreciation for Howard and his wide range of works. Had Julie Phillips non published "James Tiptree Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon" in the aforementioned year, "Blood & Thunder: The Life & Fine art of Robert E. Howard" would have swept the genre's not-fiction awards. It's that good.
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The constriction of Howard's circumstances and inevitability of his suicide ride the narrative throughout the book, but there is joy and humor to be plant in his life. Finn places Howard and the reader firmly in Texas and though the state is vast, in that location was a globe beyond that Howard yearned to see and never would. He made his own world through a passion for history, a trigger-happy imagination, and great tal
I read a later edition of this volume which I don't meet hither that includes additional material.The constriction of Howard's circumstances and inevitability of his suicide ride the narrative throughout the book, only at that place is joy and humor to be found in his life. Finn places Howard and the reader firmly in Texas and though the country is vast, there was a world beyond that Howard yearned to run into and never would. He made his own earth through a passion for history, a fierce imagination, and smashing talent for telling ripping yarns. Finn fills in the details of Howard's life while dispelling pop myths. If you're a fan of Howard, y'all must read this book.
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Finn also writes comics and novels, as well every bit articles, essays, reviews, short stories and function playing games for Playboy.com, RevolutionSF.com, Night Horse Comics, DC/Vertigo Comics, Monkeybrain Books, Sky Warrior Books, F.A.C.T. Publications, Tachyon Press, Modiphius Press, and others. Finn'due south fiction tin can be found in Ray Guns Over Texas, Road Trip, Tails From the Pack, Empty Hearts, Heroika: Dragon Eaters, Barbaric Crowns, Asian Pulp, and Fight Menu: The Adventures of Sailor Tom Sharkey, and elsewhere.
He is a managing editor for Skelos Press, and he podcasts for The Gentlemen Nerds. When he is not waxing eloquent about popular civilisation, he writes comics and fiction, dabbles in magic, and produces and performs customs theater. He lives in North Texas atop an old picture palace with far likewise many books and an affable pit bull named Sonya.
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