Rächer der Verdammten by Robert E. Howard

Through his exhaustive research into the history and world religions, Robert came to be influenced by elements of Eastern mysticism. However, Robert’s short stories and voluminous correspondence do contain some clues about his religious beliefs, which, perhaps unsurprisingly, seem to have been unconventional. The Howard family were not regular churchgoers and it may be impossible to say whether or not Robert considered himself a Christian. Even the recent scholarly biography Blood and Thunder, mentions Robert’s religious sensibilities only in passing. Very little seems to be known for certain about Robert Howard’s faith. Many details of Robert’s life have been obscured by a wall of confusion and conflicting accounts, due in part to his own propensity for embellishment, as well as the speculative psychoanalysis indulged in by his early biographers. After years of writing, he finally broke into the pulp magazines, such as Weird Tales, where his work thrived. Robert often spent up to twelve hours a day at his typewriter, battling against constant discouragement and rejection. Determined to work for no one but himself, he built a career as a professional writer through sheer grit, self-discipline, and tireless effort. Robert was a sensitive and stubborn man who chafed under the oppressive atmosphere of the few menial jobs available in town. He also collected folklore, tall tales, and oral histories from the older generations of Texans. Although Cross Plains did not have a library, Robert managed to acquire books wherever and whenever he could. Robert escaped the anxieties of this hardscrabble life through a voracious passion for reading and storytelling.

When Robert was thirteen, the Howards settled in Cross Plains, Texas, an oil boomtown where violence and crime were endemic. His father’s wanderlust caused the family to move often, and his mother was chronically ill due to tuberculosis. 15)īorn in 1906, Robert had a hard-knock childhood that served as fuel for his innate creative talent.

Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings saga.” ( Blood and Thunder, p. In fact, his stories have been hailed as “some of the most influential fantasy writing of the twentieth century, second only to J. Howard is renowned among fantasy fans as the creator of such memorable “Sword and Sorcery” characters as Conan the Cimmerian, Kull of Atlantis, and Solomon Kane.

Rächer der Verdammten by Robert E. Howard