People who enjoy sword-and-sorcery novels tend to love to talk about them and their authors. The Conan stories have become the standard by which other sword-and-sorcery tales are measured, and almost any discussion of authors such as Fritz Leiber and L. Sprague de Camp will include comparisons of techniques and subject matter to Red Nails and other Conan adventures. Discussions of the Conan adventures often drift into comparisons with the Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser stories (The Swords of Lankhmar, 1968; Swords Against Wizardry, 1968; Swords in the Mist, 1968; Swords Against Death, 1970; Swords and Deviltry, 1970; Swords and Ice Magic, 1977; The Knight and Knave of Swords, 1988, by Fritz Leiber) and a multitude of other pastiches, send-ups, satires, romances, and raw adventures.

If a general discussion of sword-andsorcery fiction is what is wanted, then the Conan tales are a good place for beginning what will likely become a broad discussion...