CONAN, created by Robert E. Howard, made his first appearance in 1932 for a story called The Phoenix on the Sword. An instant hit upon publication in the pulp magazine Weird Tales , demand for more Conan stories quickly spawned a whole series of fantastical adventures -- 17 to be exact -- with the Cimmerian's final quest taking place in Red Nails.

Written in 1936, shortly before Howard's untimely death, not only is Red Nails the final Conan tale, it is arguably one of the greatest.

Inspired by tales of the Trojan War, Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew , and his earlier Conan story, Xuthal of the Dusk , the story makes a final, bold statement about many of the grand themes running through all of Howard's writing:

--A savage hero confronts a lost, decadent civilization struggling in its death throes and puts it down to a grisly end;

--An immortal witch or wizard so terrified of aging and their own mortality, they will sacrifice anything, including their humanity, just to survive;

--And finally, in the creation of XUCHOTL , the fabulous, lost, jeweled city, Howard has given physical manifestation to black, unspeakable, soul-devouring evil and has put a closing exclamation point on his lifelong disdain for civilization and modern living.

Simply put, this is a fitting last yarn.

First Publishing of RED NAILS in "Weird Tales" Magazine