Review by C.J. Bunce

If you’ve never read the long out-of-print John C. Hocking novel Conan and the Emerald Lotus, get ready for the definitive Conan story.  First published in the 1990s, the novel is back in print in the two-book compilation Conan: City of the Dead, a 500+ page hardcover that includes a previously unpublished second novel, Conan and the Living Plague.  One of the best re-issues of 2024, it’s available now here at Amazon.  It’s such a magnificent fantasy tale with tight writing and perfectly crafted, memorable characters, I bet Conan creator Robert E. Howard would have wished he’d written it.

Robert E. Howard’s fantasy hero Conan has taken many journeys, written by many people–there is the virile Cimmerian of short stories in serialized pulp magazine tales written by Howard himself, Roy Thomas’s hero of even more decades of Conan the Barbarian comic book stories, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s take in two movies, numerous pastiches, and countless art interpretations.  This is not the goofy Conan you may be familiar with, and it’s also not the drunk oaf who can barely speak.  This is Conan the experienced warrior, a survivor with honed skills, and an eye for strategy.  He has a respect for life, for other races, and for women.

In Conan and the Emerald Lotus, two opposing factions want to hire Conan for his impressive skills.  But one finds a way to surprise him with a magical collar that will close if Conan doesn’t do his bidding.  Conan refused to enter into a deal with the Stygian wizard, Ethram-Fal.  But now he’ll die if he doesn’t steal a silver box for him, from the beautiful sorceress Lady Zelandra, and kill her, too.

But the tables turn, and he is able to join forces with Zelandra, her more than able aide, the knife-throwing woman Neesa, and a mute warrior named Heng Shih.  Their journey is detailed and real–the trip comes right off the page.

In a surprise attack Ethram-Fal’s soldiers converge and steal the silver box successfully, and also take Zelandra and Neesa.

The backbone of the second half of the story is a classic trope most memorably delivered in The Adventures of Robin Hood, Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress, and later re-imagined in Star Wars.  Yes, Conan the hero, along with the loyal Heng Shih, must storm the fortress to rescue Zelandra and Neesa.  We’ve seen this done in so many different ways, even in Star Trek via the Next Generation episode “Qpid.”  When the trope is done right, there’s nothing better, and here it’s a perfect delivery.

Conan and Heng Shih, who cannot speak, but doesn’t need to because of Hocking’s Skill with the pen, must climb a dangerous ridge to get to the fortress.  The derring-do is right up there with the excitement of Jonathan Krakauer’s Mount Everest real-life tale Into Thin Air, and is reminiscent of another Hidden Fortress tale: The Guns of Navarone.

But what exactly is the Emerald Lotus?  It’s a plant created by the mad scientist, err, the sorcery of Ethram-Fal.  Only Ethram-Fal allows it to get out of control, to the level of consuming life forms, requiring lives to live itself and continue to grow.  But it, too, has its Achilles Heel–like so many space stories have their aversion to salt or water, this plant doesn’t like smoke or fire so much.

What’s with the silver box?  Lady Zelandra was conned into trying the powder in the box–the powder of the Emerald Lotus–in a scheme to manipulate and control Zelandra.  Now as an addict she will stop at nothing to get her next fix.

The sides are equally balanced, and the one-on-one battles pristinely choreographed.  And Ethram-Fal isn’t the only vile foe Conan and his posse must face.  You’ll find no filler, fluff, or boring sequences padding out this tale.  This is a hero’s journey, a warrior’s quest for revenge, and Conan gets to have some romance–not just your typical Conan brute sex–with Neesa, a great match for him.  When the story is over you will no doubt wish there were dozens more Neesa stories to catch up with.  She is badass and kick-ass, and a stand-out of the fantasy genre.

This is Conan at its best, and it may be the best Conan novel of them all.