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Shadows in Zamboula

Robert E. Howard

Book Overview: 

Despite a warning received in the Suq by an elderly desert nomad, Conan stays the night in a cheap tavern in Zamboula, run by Aram Baksh. As night falls, a black Darfarian cannibal enters to drag him away to be eaten. All of the Darfar slaves in the city are cannibals who roam the streets at night. As they only prey on travellers, the people of the city tolerate this and stay locked securely in their homes, while nomads and beggars make sure to spend the night at a comfortable distance from its walls. This night, however, Conan finds a naked woman chasing through the streets after her deranged lover; Conan rescues them from an attack by the cannibals. She tells him that she tried to secure her lover's unending affection via a love potion which instead made a raving lunatic of him. Promising Conan "a reward" in return for his assistance, they attempt to kill the high priest responsible for the man's madness. (Summary by Wikipedia)

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Book Excerpt: 
. . .Zamboula have done for all the centuries its towers and minarets have lifted over the sands of the Kharamun.

Bronze lanterns, carved with leering dragons, had been lighted in the streets before Conan reached the house of Aram Baksh. The tavern was the last occupied house on the street, which ran west. A wide garden, enclosed by a wall, where date-palms grew thick, separated it from the houses farther east. To the west of the inn stood another grove of palms, through which the street, now become a road, wound out into the desert. Across the road from the tavern stood a row of deserted huts, shaded by straggling palm trees, and occupied only by bats and jackals. As Conan came down the road he wondered why the beggars, so plentiful in Zamboula, had not appropriated these empty houses for sleeping quarters. The lights ceased some distance behind him. Here were no lanterns, except the one hanging before the tavern gate: only the stars, the soft dust of the road underf. . . Read More

Community Reviews

Damn, this is a really good story. One of the best so far, love the ending!

This is another Conan story that I've enjoyed with its twists and turns throughout. I've stated before that I personally find dipping in and out of these stories very rewarding. I find it the most rewarding way to enjoy the fantastical and savage world of Conan as written by the greatest pulp fictio

This is a tale I read in the 'Savage Sword of Conan' a good 4 decades ago. It was illustrated by Neal Adams (and his Crusty Bunkers) and inked by Tony Dezuniga. I had an opportunity, a couple years after reading the magazine to buy an original page of the illustrated story. I did so for a tiny price

Fairly average offering with some cringeworthy racial stereotyping. There are much better Conan stories than this one.

A very strong start as Conan spends the night at a cheap and atmospheric tavern, and someone sneaks in while he’s trying to sleep. After that though, there is quite a bit of racism. This is a sign of the times this story was written in, but it does hurt the story since there’s so much of it. It’s a

Good stuff!

So, although I'm mid-thirties, this was the first Conan story I've ever read. Not my fault, really, as I just didn't grow up with this stuff, and was never really interested in fantasy, as a genre. That being said, somehow I became interested in REH a while back, and now, I can't believe

I'm really enjoying these Conan books. Some people think Conan was harsh at the end of this book. I think justice was served. What do you think?

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