I literally had no idea what I was buying when I picked this slim novel up in a used bookstore a few months back. Basically, the decision was based on three things: The name "Robert E. Howard" on the cover, the fact that I'd never read it, and that it was a four-decade old paperback that had that wonderful old book smell that I can't resist.

I really enjoy Howard's writing, lowbrow as it may be. There's something about a pulp novel that just gets to me, makes me forget the real world as I slip into a world where all the men are lusty, tough, hard drinking and hard loving, and talk with their fists as much as their mouths. In this unenlightened age, women are there to look beautiful, to be saved, sometimes to betray, or to be that silent thing in the corner that the bad guys forget about, but they listen and pass along important details to the men so they can win the day.

Are these books well written? No. Well plotted? No. Misogynistic? Hell yes. Racist? Often, yes. Perfect for these sensitive, woke times we live in? Nope.

But, for all of that, are they fun? Undeniably.

And no, I won't apologize for still loving these books. Just like I don't apologize for enjoying Lovecraft. I can read the books, and heartily disagree with their beliefs, while still reveling in the magic of their storytelling.

So, enough generalities, let's dig into this book.

First of all..."El Borak"? Never heard of him. I thought I was aware of every bronze-thewed manly man Howard had ever created. Apparently not.

Having said that though, while this story does hold all of the pulp elements described above, I think Howard works best when his stories revolve around a lumbering brute who may not be the sharpest tool in the woodshed, but is just stubborn enough not to quit, and just dumb enough to think he'll prevail with just a sword and the strength honed by the experience of previous impossible situations he wriggled free of.

This one is a whole lot of sword and no sorcery. Oh, sure, he introduces a supernatural element, but it turns out to be quite pedestrian.

While the story is almost action porn, broken only a few times by scenes that aren't of a breakneck, violent pace, it almost seemed a bit forced at times.

Overall, it definitely ain't bad, and at times is great. But it doesn't quite stand up to the Conan, Kull, Bran Mak Morn, and Solomon Kane stuff. But still worth the read, because, hey, a different Howard hero is absolutely something to be happy about, and something to check out. ( )