Conan the Rogue

Conan the Rogue
cover of Conan the Rogue
Author	John Maddox Roberts
Cover artist	Ken Kelly
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Conan the Barbarian
Genre	Sword and sorcery Fantasy
Publisher	Tor Books
Publication date	1991
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	304 pp
ISBN	0-8125-1411-4

Conan the Rogue is a fantasy novel written by John Maddox Roberts featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in trade paperback by Tor Books in November 1991; a regular paperback edition followed from the same publisher in August 1992, and was reprinted in January 1999.^[1]

Plot

After a stint as a mercenary quelling a revolt in Nemedia, Conan loses everything but his sword gambling with cronies. A man follows him from the tavern and hires the Cimmerian to obtain a mysterious but valuable item. Outfitting himself with the initial payment, Conan proceeds to the city of Sicas in Aquilonia. Once renowned for its silver mines but now a den of iniquity, more people are said to leave Sicas 'by the river, floating', than through the gates. On the way he rescues a woman in quest of her missing sister, said to have gone to the same place. Sicas turns out to be in the midst of a conflict between numerous contenders for control and loot, most notably the king's corrupt reeve, five different gangs and a religious cult. Conan feels right at home, and plunges into the struggle. Various intrigues and betrayals follow in rapid succession, centering on the object he has been commissioned to recover, which is revealed as a potent magical artifact. The rising tension in Sicas results in an all out major brawl in the middle of town between the gangs and various power players. In contrast to most of the players, Conan emerges from Sicas ahead of the game, passing by royal forces en route to the town to restore order. Questioned as to how he did it, he responds "That was a town of rogues, my friend, and I am the greatest rogue of all." At the end, with some new comrades, Conan heads toward Tarantia as he hears news of civil war brewing in Aquilonia.

Reception

Don D'Ammassa, writing of Roberts' Conan novels, noted that "[a]lthough Roberts did not recreate Howard's character exactly, making him more intellectual and less inclined to solve every problem by hitting it with a sword, his evocation of the barbaric setting is superior to that of most of the other writers contributing to the series. Conan the Marauder (1987) and Conan the Rogue (1991) are the best of the set."^[2]

Writing of some other Tor Conan novels, reviewer Harvey Ryan called Roberts "the most consistently successful of its stable of authors,"^[3] 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."^[4]

Notes

↑ Conan the Rogue title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
↑ D'Ammassa, Don (February 2006). Encyclopedia of fantasy and horror fiction. Infobase Publishing. p. 292. ISBN 978-0-8160-6192-1. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
↑ Harvey, Ryan. "Pastiches 'R' Us: Conan and the Treasure of Python" (Review), Mar. 24, 2009.
↑ Harvey, Ryan. "Pastiches 'R' Us: Conan and the Amazon" (Review), Sep. 21, 2010.

References

Fantastic Fiction entry for Conan the Rogue

Preceded by Conan the Outcast	Tor Conan series (publication order)	Succeeded by Conan the Relentless
Preceded by Conan, Lord of the Black River	Complete Conan Saga (William Galen Gray chronology)	Succeeded by "Beyond the Black River"

Conan the Barbarian

Stories, books

Books	Conan (books)
Original works by Robert E. Howard	"Beyond the Black River" "Black Colossus" "The Black Stranger" "Cimmeria" "The Devil in Iron" "Drums of Tombalku" "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" "The God in the Bowl" "The Hall of the Dead" "The Hand of Nergal" The Hour of the Dragon "Jewels of Gwahlur" "The People of the Black Circle" "The Phoenix on the Sword" "The Pool of the Black One" "Queen of the Black Coast" "Red Nails" "Rogues in the House" "The Scarlet Citadel" "Shadows in the Moonlight" "Shadows in Zamboula" "The Slithering Shadow" "The Snout in the Dark" "The Tower of the Elephant" "The Vale of Lost Women" "A Witch Shall be Born" "Wolves Beyond the Border"
Non-Howard works (some based on non- Conan Howard works)	"Black Sphinx of Nebthu" "Black Tears" "The Blood-Stained God" "The Castle of Terror" "The City of Skulls" Conan and the Amazon Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza Conan and the Emerald Lotus Conan and the Gods of the Mountain Conan and the Grim Grey God Conan and the Manhunters Conan and the Mists of Doom Conan and the Shaman's Curse Conan and the Sorcerer Conan and the Spider God Conan and the Treasure of Python Conan at the Demon's Gate Conan, Lord of the Black River Conan of the Isles Conan of the Red Brotherhood Conan of Venarium Conan, Scourge of the Bloody Coast Conan the Barbarian (1982) Conan the Barbarian (2011) Conan the Bold Conan the Buccaneer Conan the Champion Conan the Defender Conan the Defiant Conan the Destroyer Conan the Fearless Conan the Formidable Conan the Free Lance Conan the Gladiator Conan the Great Conan the Guardian Conan the Hero Conan the Hunter Conan the Indomitable Conan the Invincible Conan the Liberator Conan the Magnificent Conan the Marauder Conan the Mercenary Conan the Outcast Conan the Raider Conan the Rebel Conan the Relentless Conan the Renegade Conan the Rogue Conan the Savage Conan the Triumphant Conan the Unconquered Conan the Valiant Conan the Valorous Conan the Victorious Conan the Warlord "The Curse of the Monolith" "Death-Song of Conan the Cimmerian" "The Flame Knife" "The Gem in the Tower" "Hawks over Shem" "The Ivory Goddess" "The Lair of the Ice Worm" "Legions of the Dead" "Moon of Blood" "The People of the Summit" "Red Moon of Zembabwei" The Return of Conan The Road of Kings "The Road of the Eagles" "Shadows in the Dark" "Shadows in the Skull" "The Star of Khorala" The Sword of Skelos "The Thing in the Crypt" "The Witch of the Mists"
Collections	Black Colossus The Bloody Crown of Conan The Coming of Conan The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian The Complete Chronicles of Conan Conan The Conan Chronicles (Howard et al) The Conan Chronicles (Jordan) The Conan Chronicles, 1 The Conan Chronicles 2 The Conan Chronicles, 2 The Conan Chronicles II Conan of Aquilonia Conan of Cimmeria Conan the Adventurer Conan the Avenger Conan the Barbarian (1954) Conan the Barbarian (2011) Conan the Freebooter Conan the Swordsman Conan the Usurper Conan the Wanderer Conan the Warrior The Conquering Sword of Conan The Devil in Iron The Essential Conan The Further Chronicles of Conan Jewels of Gwahlur King Conan The People of the Black Circle The Pool of the Black One Queen of the Black Coast Red Nails Rogues in the House Sagas of Conan The Sword of Conan Tales of Conan The Tower of the Elephant The Treasure of Tranicos
Scholarship	The Blade of Conan The Conan Grimoire The Conan Reader The Conan Swordbook The Spell of Conan

Authors

Creator	Robert E. Howard
Later authors	Poul Anderson Leonard Carpenter Lin Carter L. Sprague de Camp Roland J. Green John C. Hocking Robert Jordan Sean A. Moore Björn Nyberg Andrew J. Offutt Steve Perry John Maddox Roberts Michael A. Stackpole Roy Thomas Harry Turtledove Karl Edward Wagner

Other media

Television	Conan the Adventurer (animated series) Conan and the Young Warriors Conan the Adventurer (TV series)
Film	Conan the Barbarian (1982) Conan the Destroyer (1984) Kull the Conqueror (1997) Conan the Barbarian (2011)
Comics	Conan (comics) Conan (Marvel Comics) Conan (Dark Horse Comics) Conan the Barbarian Savage Sword of Conan
Games	Age of Conan (Rise of the Godslayer) Conan (2004) Conan (2007) Conan: Hall of Volta Conan: The Mysteries of Time Conan Against Darkness! Conan Collectible Card Game Conan Role-Playing Game Conan: The Roleplaying Game Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of Conan the Buccaneer Conan the Mercenary Conan Triumphant Conan Unchained!

Setting

Characters	Bêlit Conan the Barbarian Kulan Gath Queen Taramis Red Sonja Serpent Men Thoth-Amon Thulsa Doom Valeria Vammatar Xaltotun Zenobia
Deities	Crom Mitra Set
World	Hyborian Age Aquilonia Cimmeria Acheron Empire
Chronology	The Hyborian Age Conan Chronologies

Kull	Thurian Age
Red Sonja	"The Shadow of the Vulture"
References	Cohen the Barbarian Conan the Librarian

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