This week, in honor of R.E. Howard's birthday on January 22nd, I wanted to discuss one of my favorite Swords & Sorcery yarns, the classic Conan the Barbarian tale "Beyond the Black River":
Although a ripping Sword & Sorcery tale (with gory action, savage imagery and fell magic), "Beyond the Black River" is also unusual and noteworthy for a Conan story in a number of ways.
Firstly, the viewpoint character for much of this tale is a young man named Balthus (likely the author's self-insert) who has travelled to the very edge of the civilized world to seek his fortune rather than everyone's favorite Cimmerian murder machine. This allows us to see Conan from a somewhat different perspective. Anyway, unfortunately, this is the worst possible time to visit Conajohara, the newest province of the Kingdom of Aquilonia carved out of the lands of the Picts, since an irate sorcerer named Zogar Sag is uniting thousands of Pictish warriors to wreak bloody vengeance!
Taking along his new sidekick, Conan discusses the rapidly deteriorating situation with Governor Valannus, and Valannus decides their own hope is to find the sorcerer in the jungle beyond the Black River and terminate him with extreme prejudice. Accompanied by a dozen handpicked rangers, Conan and Balthus head off on their kill mission into the heart of darkness to prevent an apocalypse now.
As in Francis Ford Coppola's acclaimed retelling of Joseph Conrad's acclaimed novella, the plan quickly goes off the rails for Conan and Co, and young Balthus finds himself fighting for his life!
Much death and mayhem ensues.
“Civilization is unnatural. It is the whim of circumstance. And barbarism must ultimately triumph.”
One of the major themes of Conan's tales, the struggle between civilization and barbarism, is front and center in "Beyond the Black River." Indeed, it drives the action since the two are in actual direct conflict. However, there's a philosophical level as well: This is an unusually moody and reflective Conan story and the normally taciturn barbarian waxes at length about on the topic.
For example, in his opinion, this latest Aquilonian land grab is dangerous and foolhearty and the barbarian explains to Balthus, "you Hyborians have expanded as far as you'll be allowed to expand." There are signs of impending disaster, just like Aquilonia's last attempt to colonize barbarian lands, the southern marches of Cimmerian.
In another unusual move, Conan also reveals something of his past, that he was one of the reavers that sacked the fort-town Venarium, even though he hadn't reached 15 winters. Testosterone practically oozes from the pages.
Another interesting point about "Beyond the Black River" is how much it resembles tale of the Old West, another great love of Messr Howard. In fact, remove sorcerer Zogar Sag and the other supernatural elements and this story reads much like Howard's westerns, with the Picts standing in for Native Americans.
All in all, "Beyond the Black River" is one of Messr Howard's finest works, filled with both classic pulp action and melancholy philosophical ruminations. It provides arguably the clearest picture of Conan, both in thought and in action. Every fan of Swords & Sorcery should take a look!
No comments:
Post a Comment