The Road of Kings
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![]() Cover of the first edition | |
Author | Karl Edward Wagner |
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Cover artist | Bob Larkin |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Conan the Barbarian |
Genre | Sword and sorcery |
Publisher | Bantam Books |
Publication date | 1979 |
Media type | Print (Paperback) |
Pages | 209 pp. |
ISBN | 0-553-12026-3 |
OCLC | 79406374 |
The Road of Kings is a fantasy novel by Karl Edward Wagner, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Bantam Books in October 1979. Later paperback editions were issued by Ace Books (1987) and Tor Books 2001. The first trade paperback edition was published by Warner Books in 1989. The first British edition was published by Sphere Books (1986, reissued 1989). Aside from the Bantam and Tor editions all other editions were issued under the variant title Conan: The Road of Kings.[1]
Plot[]
The novel features Conan during his buccaneering days. After being sentenced to death for a duel in the turbulent kingdom of Zingara, he escapes and joins a group of rebels who plan to overthrow their tyrannical king. When the divided leadership foolishly turns to a wizard for aid, their cause becomes complicated by sorcery rooted in the lost kingdom of Acheron, and the result is not freedom but despotism. Conan helps in overthrowing the new regime. However, when he's given an opportunity to take the throne for himself, Conan uncharacteristically turns down the offer.
Reception[]
Reviewer Don D'Ammassa calls the book "[q]uite good."[2]
Adaptation[]
Roy Thomas' Conan: Road of Kings (2010) is not an adaptation of Wagner's novel.
Notes[]
- ^ The Road of Kings title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- ^ D'Ammassa, Don. "The Road of Kings" (review on Critical Mass). Nov. 20, 2017.
References[]
- 1979 American novels
- 1979 fantasy novels
- Conan the Barbarian novels
- Karl Edward Wagner
- American fantasy novels
- Bantam Books books
- Fantasy novel stubs
- 1970s speculative fiction novel stubs