BOOK REVIEW: CONAN CITY OF THE DEAD by John C Hocking

Shane | 25 June 2025 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: CONAN CITY OF THE DEAD by John C Hocking
Titan Books, June 2024
Hardcover, rrp AUD$45
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
68%

Considering most of Robert E Howard’s original Conan stories were novellas at most, John C Hocking has made the odd choice of drawing his two Conan novels out to epic proportions – combined in this one new volume Conan And The Emerald Lotus and Conan And The Living Plague number over 500 pages. And to be honest, as a result they drag a little.

Howard’s stories were the pulp fantasy fiction of their time, featuring the titular barbarian warrior thieving and fighting and succeeding through razor sharp instincts, decades of experience in battle, and impressive wits. Occasionally he would come up against magic in one form or another, and both these stories lean heavily into the sorcery side of fantasy, rather than the sword, which for some may detract a little of the focus from our beloved hero and his abilities as a warrior.

These are personal quibbles, to be fair – Hocking is a very good writer, here he has crafted two interesting and intelligent stories, and paints their scenes extremely well. Fans of the Cimmerian warrior are well catered to.

In The Emerald Lotus Conan sets off on an expedition to find the source of the highly addictive Emerald Lotus powder, which derives from a particularly nasty carnivorous plant which is tended by a particularly nasty sorcerer. The powder amplifies magical power in any sorcerer using it, but it also sends them on a particularly nasty spiral downwards, but not so quickly that Conan doesn’t have trial after trial to overcome them.

In The Living Plague he is a mercenary set to raid priceless diamonds from the plague-ridden city of Dulcine, only to find that the Prince leading the expedition is a selfish fool and the sorcerer calling the shots actually brought the plague to life in demi-god-like form. Overcoming said obstacles takes Conan and his compatriots to their limit.