Conan the Savage

Conan the Savage
Cover
Author	Leonard Carpenter
Cover artist	Ken Kelly
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Conan the Barbarian
Genre	Sword and sorcery
Publisher	Tor
Publication date	1992
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	280
ISBN	0-8125-1412-2

Conan the Savage is a fantasy novel by American writer Leonard Carpenter featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in trade paperback by Tor Books in November 1992; a regular paperback edition followed from the same publisher in August 1993, and was reprinted in March 1999.^[1]

Plot synopsis[]

The novel follows two parallel storylines. In the first, Conan is sent to a Brythunian prison mine after he accused his gambling opponent of cheating. Escaping via an underground river, he ends up in a wild region, where he is badly injured in his fight with a bear. He is nursed back to health by Songa, a woman from a local tribe, with whom he eventually settles. Conan finds her tribe's culture and way of life as simplicity rewarding. However, his idyllic life is disrupted when Brythunian soldiers, under orders to locate a magic jewel in possession of the tribe, attack and destroy their village.

The other narrative is the life-story of a sorceress named Tamsin, who, as a child, watched in horror as her mother is raped and killed by mercenaries in the service of Typhas, the king of Brythunia. Tamsin seeks vengeance after she and her doll begin manifesting disturbing magical powers; the doll being possessed by Ninga, a minor deity. Tamsin challenges the kingdom's main cult, in time establishing Ninga's in its place, murders King Typhas, and becomes queen of Brythunia herself. As the fate of Songa's tribe assets, Tamsin's rule proves she is just as corrupt and evil as that of her predecessor.

The two plot threads converge when Conan shows up in Brythunia's capital seeking vengeance. He battles Tamsin, eventually destroying her doll and its powers.

Chronological notes[]

There is no specific age given in Conan the Savage. There is a reference to Conan's time spent with raiding with the Vanir.^[2]

Reception[]

Don D'Ammassa, also observing that "Conan is only present in about half of this novel," notes that while there are "[s]ome goods [sic] parts sprinkled through, ... this [book] doesn't hold together very well."^[3]

Notes[]

^ Conan the Savage title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
^ Carpenter, Leonard. Conan the Savage. p. 29.
^ D'Ammassa, Don. "Conan the Savage" (review on Critical Mass). Aug. 12, 2017.

References[]

Fantastic Fiction entry for Conan the Savage

Preceded by Conan the Relentless	Tor Conan series (publication order)	Succeeded by Conan of the Red Brotherhood
Preceded by Conan the Relentless	Complete Conan Saga (William Galen Gray chronology)	Succeeded by Conan the Defender

Conan the Barbarian

Stories, books

Books	Conan (books)
Original works by Robert E. Howard	"Beyond the Black River" "Black Colossus" "The Black Stranger" "The Devil in Iron" "Drums of Tombalku" "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" "The God in the Bowl" "The Hall of the Dead" "The Hand of Nergal" The Hour of the Dragon "Jewels of Gwahlur" "The People of the Black Circle" "The Phoenix on the Sword" "The Pool of the Black One" "Queen of the Black Coast" "Red Nails" "Rogues in the House" "The Scarlet Citadel" "Shadows in the Moonlight" "Shadows in Zamboula" "The Slithering Shadow" "The Snout in the Dark" "The Tower of the Elephant" "The Vale of Lost Women" "A Witch Shall be Born" "Wolves Beyond the Border"
Non-Howard works (some based on non- Conan Howard works)	"Black Sphinx of Nebthu" "Black Tears" The Blood-Stained God "The Castle of Terror" "The City of Skulls" Conan and the Amazon Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza Conan and the Emerald Lotus Conan and the Gods of the Mountain Conan and the Grim Grey God Conan and the Manhunters Conan and the Mists of Doom Conan and the Shaman's Curse Conan and the Sorcerer Conan and the Spider God Conan and the Treasure of Python Conan at the Demon's Gate Conan, Lord of the Black River Conan of the Isles Conan of the Red Brotherhood Conan of Venarium Conan, Scourge of the Bloody Coast Conan the Barbarian (1982) Conan the Barbarian (2011) Conan the Bold Conan the Buccaneer Conan the Champion Conan the Defender Conan the Defiant Conan the Destroyer Conan the Fearless Conan the Formidable Conan the Free Lance Conan the Gladiator Conan the Great Conan the Guardian Conan the Hero Conan the Hunter Conan the Indomitable Conan the Invincible Conan the Liberator Conan the Magnificent Conan the Marauder Conan the Mercenary Conan the Outcast Conan the Raider Conan the Rebel Conan the Relentless Conan the Renegade Conan the Rogue Conan the Savage Conan the Triumphant Conan the Unconquered Conan the Valiant Conan the Valorous Conan the Victorious Conan the Warlord "The Curse of the Monolith" "Death-Song of Conan the Cimmerian" The Flame Knife "The Gem in the Tower" "Hawks over Shem" "The Ivory Goddess" "The Lair of the Ice Worm" "Legions of the Dead" "Moon of Blood" "The People of the Summit" "Red Moon of Zembabwei" The Return of Conan The Road of Kings "The Road of the Eagles" "Shadows in the Dark" "Shadows in the Skull" "The Star of Khorala" The Sword of Skelos "The Thing in the Crypt" "The Witch of the Mists"
Collections	Black Colossus The Bloody Crown of Conan The Coming of Conan The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian The Complete Chronicles of Conan Conan The Conan Chronicles (Howard, et al) The Conan Chronicles (Jordan) The Conan Chronicles, 1 The Conan Chronicles 2 The Conan Chronicles, 2 The Conan Chronicles II Conan of Aquilonia Conan of Cimmeria Conan the Adventurer Conan the Avenger Conan the Barbarian (1954) Conan the Barbarian (2011) Conan the Freebooter Conan the Swordsman Conan the Usurper Conan the Wanderer Conan the Warrior The Conquering Sword of Conan The Devil in Iron The Essential Conan The Further Chronicles of Conan Jewels of Gwahlur King Conan The People of the Black Circle The Pool of the Black One Queen of the Black Coast Red Nails Rogues in the House Sagas of Conan The Sword of Conan Tales of Conan The Tower of the Elephant The Treasure of Tranicos
Scholarship	The Blade of Conan The Conan Grimoire The Conan Reader The Conan Swordbook The Spell of Conan

Authors

Creator	Robert E. Howard
Later authors	Poul Anderson Leonard Carpenter Lin Carter L. Sprague de Camp Roland J. Green John C. Hocking Robert Jordan Sean A. Moore Björn Nyberg Andrew J. Offutt Steve Perry John Maddox Roberts Michael A. Stackpole Roy Thomas Harry Turtledove Karl Edward Wagner

Other media

Film	Conan the Barbarian (1982) Conan the Destroyer (1984) Red Sonja (1985) Kull the Conqueror (1997) Conan the Barbarian (2011)
Television	Conan the Adventurer (1992) Conan and the Young Warriors (1994) Conan the Adventurer (1997)
Comics	Conan (comics) Conan (Dark Horse Comics) Conan the Barbarian The Savage Sword of Conan
Games	Conan Unchained! Conan Against Darkness! Conan: Hall of Volta Conan Role-Playing Game Hyborian War GURPS Conan Conan: The Mysteries of Time Conan (2004) Conan: The Roleplaying Game Conan Collectible Card Game Conan (2007) Age of Conan (Rise of the Godslayer) Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of Conan Exiles

Setting

Characters	Bêlit Conan the Barbarian Kulan Gath Red Sonja Serpent Men Thulsa Doom Valeria
Chronology	Hyborian Age
The Hyborian Age Conan chronologies

Red Sonja	"The Shadow of the Vulture"
References	Cerebus the Aardvark Conan the Librarian