3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unique additon to the Conan Saga, Aug 22 2005
By W. Keith Bell - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Age Of Conan Blood Of Wolves (Mass Market Paperback)
I have been reading Robert E. Howard for 23yrs now and own every book he wrote including the pastiches. This is a unique addition to the Hyborian Kingdom. The characters, (esp. Kern), have enough of the characteristics of Robert E. Howards style to be familiar yet are not just rip-offs. Loren Coleman maintains his own style yet still carries the flavour over from the Conan adventures. His use of unique paragraph breaks create suspense within the story without leaving you hanging. I have never seen this way of writing and I have read many, many books. The paragraph ends with an uncertain outcome or one with several possibilities and the next begins as if it was present after a comma, so there is no pause in the action just that, as indicated by a paragraph break. A good read and I look forward to more in this series.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not a bad read after all..., Jun 19 2005
By D. Benson - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Age Of Conan Blood Of Wolves (Mass Market Paperback)
I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. I came into it expecting writing on the level of, say, a bad D&D novel. The writing was actually very good and the story even better. The only knock I have is that it did not "feel" like an accurate portrayal of Cimmerians as written by REH. I don't know, but they seemed too "soft and caring" to be kin of Conan. Still, a fun read and I'll be picking up the sequel.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This series is an excellent addition to any fantasy collection!, Dec 27 2005
By J. Quam "Rational Operator" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Age Of Conan Blood Of Wolves (Mass Market Paperback)
Non-traditional structure ... but FANTASTIC story telling!!!
You can get a synopsis anywhere so I'll cut to the chase... BUY THIS BOOK NOW! Kern is the most interesting character to wander Cimmeria since Conan himself. Take a little John Carter then add a dash of Tarzan, a pinch of Elric and a hardy handful of Conan (If he doesn't cut your hand off first) and you have Kern. I am already looking forward to more of Coleman and Kern in the future and, being a long-suffering Wheel of Time Fan, I hope it is sooner than later!
I have to agree with others who have reviewed this work - I was thrown off by the grammar and usage for the first chapter or two... most of the previous Conan authors wrote pieces which tried to mimic REH in style. Coleman trades, at times, grammar for a feeling of urgent action. I almost put the book down after the first 30 pages or so but kept with it to see where the story led and quickly became a fan of Kern; I bought the other two books in the series within days and read them eagerly.
I have the good fortune to own and to have read (at least twice) all of the Conan novels and collected editions published in the last 34 years (yeah, that's almost scary in and of itself) and I found myself caught up in a different but just as excited way reading Coleman as I ever have been reading Howard, DeCamp, Jordan or Carpenter. Not exactly textbook writing but darn ggod writing nonetheless.