Conan is the barbarian hero to end all barbarian heroes; his later imitations seem pallid by comparison

Conan is the barbarian hero to end all barbarian heroes; his later imitations seem pallid by comparison. In “A Witch Shall Be Born,” Conan is captured and crucified. As he hangs on the cross, a vulture flies down to peck his eyes out. Conan bites the vulture’s head off. You just can’t have a hero tougher than that.

L. Sprague deCamp, Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers (1976), loc. 2,896

They were not about to sit down and master the techniques of dry farming when murder and robbery were so much more fu

A reason for the ferocity of Howard’s barbarians is that the barbarians he knew the most about, the Comanche Indians of Texas, were one of the most warlike peoples on earth. Having just been promoted from food-gathering savagery by acquiring horses, they were not about to sit down and master the techniques of dry farming when murder and robbery were so much more fun.

L. Sprague deCamp, Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers (1976), loc. 672