Title: Two Plot Lines: One Boring; The Other So-So
Product review: Carpenter is not one of my favorite Conan authors, but the way this tale started off I thought I might have a different opinion of him in the end. But not so. In one story arch, Conan is living off the land, drawing on all his survival skills in the wilderness, sort of like Les Stroud in "Survivorman" on Discovery Channel. This, I thought, is a great idea for a story setting. It fizzles when Conan meets a forest maiden and basically settles down and gets married! Conan's relationship with this maiden is not keeping in character with the Conan created by Robert E. Howard. The other story arch is about a girl, her god-possessed doll and her rise to queen of Brythunia. It is pretty dull, cliche in many ways. The archs intersect in the last few pages. It's not an anticlimax, but it's not a terrific climax either. It just sort of happens. Then it's over. You won't hate this book, you won't love it either.
Would you say this review depicts the product in a flattering or unflattering light?
