Robert E. Howard

Robert E. Howard, in full Robert Ervin Howard, was a writer of pulp fiction who was born in 1906 and died in 1936. The Open Library record groups his work under fantasy fiction, westerns, short stories and action and adventure, and it ties his name above all to Conan, the fictitious character of the imaginary land of Cimmeria. Beyond the Black River is the work the catalogue lists first among his books. His fantasy of barbarian heroes in invented ancient worlds helped to shape the sword and sorcery form, and his stories have been reprinted in a very large number of editions that the catalogue counts in the hundreds of works. The record also notes the many spellings under which his name was catalogued, and the English-language fantasy shelves keep his Conan tales in print.