The Conan books are sword and sorcery fantasies featuring the character of Conan the Cimmerian originally created by Robert E. Howard. Written by numerous authors and issued by numerous publishers, they include both novels and short stories, the latter assembled in various combinations over the years by the several publishers. The character has proven durably popular, resulting in Conan stories being produced after Howard's death by such later writers as 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, Harry Turtledove, and Karl Edward Wagner. Some of these writers finished incomplete Conan manuscripts by Howard, or rewrote Howard stories which originally featured different characters. Most post-Howard Conan stories, however, are completely original works. In total, more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories featuring the Conan character have been written by authors other than Howard. This article describes and discusses notable book editions of the Conan stories.
Gnome Press series, 1950-1957
The Gnome Press edition of Conan was the first hardcover collection of Howard's Conan stories, including all the original Howard material known to exist at the time, some left unpublished in his lifetime. Not published in order of previous publication, Gnome's volumes were organized to present the stories in order of their internal chronology, the sole exception being Tales of Conan, which skipped around to present random episodes from various points in the protagonist's career. Some stories in two of the later volumes (The Coming of Conan and King Conan) were completed or revised by L. Sprague de Camp; another (Tales of Conan) consisted of non-Conan Howard stories that de Camp rewrote as Conan yarns. The last published volume of the Gnome edition was the first Conan story by an author other than Howard, namely Björn Nyberg, and was revised by de Camp.
The Coming of Conan (1953) Conan the Barbarian (1954) The Sword of Conan (1952) King Conan (1953) Conan the Conqueror (also known as The Hour of the Dragon; 1950) The Return of Conan (1957; by Björn Nyberg and L. Sprague de Camp) Tales of Conan (1955; originally non-Conan Howard stories rewritten as Conan stories by L. Sprague de Camp)
Lancer/Ace paperback series, 1966-1977
This was the first comprehensive paperback edition, which compiled the existing Howard and non-Howard stories together with new non-Howard stories in order of internal chronology, to form a complete account of Conan's life. Lancer Books initially numbered its volumes in order of publication, switching to a chronological numbering for volumes published later and reprints of the earlier volumes. Lancer went out of business before bringing out the entire series, and publication was completed by Ace Books.
This edition of the stories was the one that introduced Conan into popular culture. Undertaken under the direction of de Camp and Carter, it includes all the original Howard material, including that left unpublished in his lifetime and fragments and outlines. De Camp edited much of the material and he and Carter completed the stories that were not in finished form. New stories written entirely by themselves were added as well. In the following list, volumes 6 and 11–12 do not contain any material by Howard. Of the thirty-five stories in the other eight volumes, nineteen were published or completed by Howard during his lifetime, ten are rewritten or completed from his manuscripts, fragments or synopses, and six are the sole work of de Camp and Carter. Eight of the eventual twelve volumes published in this series featured cover paintings by Frank Frazetta.
Conan (1967, by Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp, and Lin Carter) Conan of Cimmeria (1969, by Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp, and Lin Carter) Conan the Freebooter (1968, by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp) Conan the Wanderer (1968, by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp) Conan the Adventurer (1966, by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp) Conan the Buccaneer (1971, by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter) Conan the Warrior (1967, by Robert E. Howard) Conan the Usurper (1967, by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp) Conan the Conqueror (also known as The Hour of the Dragon; 1967, by Robert E. Howard) Conan the Avenger (also known as The Return of Conan; 1968, by Björn Nyberg, L. Sprague de Camp, and Robert E. Howard) Conan of Aquilonia (1977, by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter) Conan of the Isles (1968, by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter)