The Return of Conan

Infobox Book |
name = The Return of Conan
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = "The Return of Conan" by Björn Nyberg and L. Sprague de Camp, Gnome Press, 1957
author = Björn Nyberg and L. Sprague de Camp
illustrator =
cover_artist = Wallace Wood
country = United States
language = English
series = Conan the Barbarian
genre = Sword and sorcery Fantasy novel
publisher = Gnome Press
release_date = 1957
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages = 191 pp
isbn = NA
preceded_by = Conan the Conqueror
followed_by = Tales of Conan

"The Return of Conan" is a 1957 fantasy novel written by Björn Nyberg and L. Sprague de Camp featuring Robert E. Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in hardcover by Gnome Press and in paperback by Lancer Books as part of the collection "Conan the Avenger" in 1968; in this form it has been reprinted a number of times since by various publishers. It has also been translated into Japanese, German and Spanish.

Plot summary

In the kingdom of Aquilonia, a year of peace for King Conan and his new queen Zenobia is broken when the latter is abducted by a demon. Conan learns from the wizard Pelias of Koth that the eastern sorcerer Yah Chieng of Khitai is responsible, and begins a quest to recover her, little realizing that the fate of the world as well as Aquilonia rests on the outcome of the contest.

Chronologically, "The Return of Conan" falls between Howard's novel "The Hour of the Dragon" (also known as "Conan the Conqueror"), and the four short stories collected as "Conan of Aquilonia".

In the both hardcover Gnome Press edition and the paperback Lancer/Ace edition of the Conan stories, "The Return of Conan" follows Robert E. Howard's novel "Conan the Conqueror"; it is the final volume chronologically in the Gnome edition (though one additional volume, "Tales of Conan", contains stories issued out of sequence), while in the Lancer/Ace edition it is followed by the short stories collected as "Conan of Aquilonia".

Trivia

"The Return of Conan" was only the second Conan novel ever written, the first being Howard's "The Hour of the Dragon". Nyberg, a Swedish fan of Howard's Conan tales, was inspired enough by them to pen the story in a language not even his own. De Camp's contribution was largely to smooth off the rough edges of the resulting text.

References

*cite book | last=Chalker | first=Jack L. | authorlink=Jack L. Chalker | coauthors=Mark Owings | title=The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998 | location=Westminster, MD and Baltimore | publisher=Mirage Press, Ltd.| pages=305 | date=1998
*cite book | last=Laughlin | first=Charlotte | coauthors=Daniel J. H. Levack | title=De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography | location=San Francisco | publisher=Underwood/Miller | pages=85 | date=1983