tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post4380783519463739399..comments2024-03-29T00:32:33.920-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Spinner Rack MemoriesJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-39323230174193069522021-03-15T14:01:44.733-04:002021-03-15T14:01:44.733-04:00Just recently read this when I got a complete REH ...Just recently read this when I got a complete REH collection for my Kindle for 49p, brilliant stuff and instantly transported back to being 13 again when I first read it.Andromhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11676842057897482010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-27542474063078524682020-12-03T14:11:12.634-05:002020-12-03T14:11:12.634-05:00The "Conan Boom" which, in many ways, le...The "Conan Boom" which, in many ways, led to D&D<br />I started D&D in 1977 or 1978, of the group of 10 or so of use, only 2 had read Conan; and they had read a ton of other stuff. None of us were brought to fantasy generally or D&D specifically by Conan. I don't think the hobbies founders were either.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11656554193044378009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-54624241206478283342020-11-14T08:05:59.247-05:002020-11-14T08:05:59.247-05:00Lord's biggest contribution was, as I understa...Lord's biggest contribution was, as I understand it, locating REH's storage trunk, in which he had kept thousands of pages of notes, drafts, and unpublished material. This discovery led to a better understanding of Howard's development as a writer and his original intent for many of his stories, which in turn led to new published versions of many tales, free of the changes De Camp and Carter had made.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-86535891399084544182020-11-14T00:16:26.793-05:002020-11-14T00:16:26.793-05:00like what? (no sarcasm, I cannot think of anything...like what? (no sarcasm, I cannot think of anything GL was doing, really, but would love to see it.)<br /><br />this makes me want to dig out my Hardcover from BlackBartRickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09872338936249305301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-62828173853971350922020-11-13T16:37:18.201-05:002020-11-13T16:37:18.201-05:00It's certainly true that the Lancers contribut...It's certainly true that the Lancers contributed to a wider appreciation of Howard and Conan at the time, though I'm not sure that a "Conan boom" would never have happened without De Camp and Carter. Glen Lord and Karl Edward Wagner, among others, were doing a lot to bring Howard to the public eye once more and I suspect their efforts would have borne fruit in time.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-11499765072322861592020-11-13T16:34:30.242-05:002020-11-13T16:34:30.242-05:00My issue with De Camp is twofold: first, his rewri...My issue with De Camp is twofold: first, his rewriting of Howard's stories to suit his own preferences; second, his biography of REH, which paints him in an unflattering light.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-83952163478475817412020-11-13T12:56:46.363-05:002020-11-13T12:56:46.363-05:00I know everyone likes to trash the lancer Conans, ...I know everyone likes to trash the lancer Conans, and with them LSDC and Lin Carter, but without them, no Conan. other than the frightfully rare Gnome Press from the 50s, also pastiches. <br /><br />Those Lancers set off the "Conan Boom" which, in many ways, led to D&D. and they were cheap enough to be widespread. everyone read them.<br /><br />and, they were early enough that people still had the old weird tales to compare them to. Without them, not only no original REH prose, but no conan at all. he would be forgotten, like so many other old literature.<br />RickRickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09872338936249305301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-87894925039368959712020-11-13T00:32:34.767-05:002020-11-13T00:32:34.767-05:00Great post. I'm from suburban Maryland too, a...Great post. I'm from suburban Maryland too, and I can relate. As a kid, it's all about what you happen to encounter. <br /><br />I've never read the "edited" versions of Conan as an adult. Why does DeCamp particularly stand out for you? I have a strong sense of Lin Carter being full of himself and generally full of crap -- somewhere he criticizes REH for the sound of his names, and of "Conan" in particular, even though his own barbarian is named "Thongor."Alec Semicognitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06507482266305964982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-29747502294082269442020-11-12T12:22:58.350-05:002020-11-12T12:22:58.350-05:00"Shocked, repelled, and allured" is very..."Shocked, repelled, and allured" is very well put. That's exactly what I felt too. Thanks for this comment.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-58698707515505200662020-11-12T11:00:32.788-05:002020-11-12T11:00:32.788-05:00I found the Lancer paperbacks in my hometown used ...I found the Lancer paperbacks in my hometown used bookstore in Idaho, ca. 1984. Their covers shocked, repelled, and allured me all at once. I bought a couple and read them. I still like some of the stories to this day: “The Tower of the Elephant“ stands out as a really good one. THOMAShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11813124910386890089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-80676982294786654702020-11-11T16:13:42.318-05:002020-11-11T16:13:42.318-05:00Great post. In my early teens I was a weekly visi...Great post. In my early teens I was a weekly visitor to the town's library outpost, a side room in the Institute Hall (a common product of worker education movement in the late 1800's). There were the spinners, there were the Conan books, and there was I. My love of REH and those same covers came about then. I found out later that the volunteer librarian, old Emmy Voss, was in her late eighties at the time and the only reason she kept the show going was to cater to me. She stopped and the library closed when I left for the big smoke. I thank her whenever I remember this part of my origin tale.Adelaide Gamerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052999343460635401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-23870697164585383392020-11-11T15:51:02.685-05:002020-11-11T15:51:02.685-05:00I was 12ish or so and saw them on the shelf at a u...I was 12ish or so and saw them on the shelf at a used book store. I remember some of the stories vividly. Others not so much. They've disappeared over the decades and I'd like to get good copies again so I could refresh my memory.Narmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-4324885950637807122020-11-11T15:48:29.973-05:002020-11-11T15:48:29.973-05:00For whatever reason, the bookstores and gift shops...For whatever reason, the bookstores and gift shops in my small town in the 70s stocked the black cover Sphere versions of these books from the UK. The have a superb paperback binding that holds like a hardback. These were my first REH books.Man of the Atomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15936961988929608221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-43286572560834821972020-11-11T15:33:27.029-05:002020-11-11T15:33:27.029-05:00My first encounter with Conan paperbacks was also ...My first encounter with Conan paperbacks was also on a spinner rack the only such rack in a small bookstore about a block away from where I lived in Venice Beach. I was maybe around 14 or 15 and my memory has me thinking these were fairly new editions. I don’t think it was a used bookstore it was more of a glorified newsstand really. But these paperbacks were fairly cheap which was a good thing for a young teenager. Kevin Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14122665488285424578noreply@blogger.com