Conan the Marauder is a fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 novel written by John Maddox Roberts

John Maddox Roberts

John Maddox Roberts is an author who has written many science fiction and fantasy novels, including his successful historical fiction, such as the SPQR series and Hannibal's Children....

 featuring Robert E. Howard

Robert E. Howard

Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....

's seminal sword and sorcery

Sword and sorcery

Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...

 hero Conan the Barbarian

Conan the Barbarian

Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...

. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books

Tor Books

Tor Books is one of two imprints of Tom Doherty Associates LLC, based in New York City. It is noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles. Tom Doherty Associates also publishes mainstream fiction, mystery, and occasional military history titles under its Forge imprint. The company was founded...

 in January 1988, and reprinted in 1992. The first Birith edition was published in paperback by Orbit Books

Orbit Books

Orbit Books is an international publisher that specialises in science fiction and fantasy books. It was founded in 1974 as part of the Macdonald Futura publishing company...

in February 1991.

Plot

The warlord Bartatua is uniting the Hyrkanian tribes east of the Vilayet Sea into a force for world conquest, beginning with the resistive city of Sogaria. Meanwhile, the exiled Turanian wizard Khondemir schemes to sorcerously control Bartatua's armies in pursuite of his own ends. Caught in the middle are Princess Ishkala of Sogaria, the seductive spy Lakhme, and the enslaved Conan, who must prove himself to the warlord to escape his fate. Everything comes to a head in the ancient Hyrkanian necropolis known as the City of Mounds.

Reception

Writing of some other Tor Conan novels, reviewer Harvey Ryan called Roberts "the most consistently successful of its stable of authors," and "the most consistently entertaining" of them, showing "deft ability with storytelling and action scenes, and a thankful tendency not to overplay his hand and try to ape Robert E. Howard's style."

Reference

• Fantastic Fiction entry for Conan the Marauder