The Hour of the Dragon

The Hour of the Dragon is Robert E. Howard’s only full-length novel featuring Conan the Cimmerian, one of the most iconic heroes of fantasy literature.Crowned king of Aquilonia, Conan seems to have won what few barbarians could ever dream of: a throne, a kingdom, and the respect of civilized men. But when ancient sorcery awakens a long-dead evil and his enemies unite against him, Conan is betrayed, defeated, and stripped of his crown. Hunted across kingdoms, imprisoned in darkness, and forced once more to rely on his sword, his instincts, and his indomitable will, he must fight his way back from ruin. From haunted tombs and decadent courts to bloody battlefields and shadowed temples, The Hour of the Dragon is a sweeping tale of black magic, lost empires, treachery, vengeance, and heroic endurance. A masterpiece of sword and sorcery, this novel captures everything that made Conan legendary: savage strength, grim courage, fierce independence, and the relentless struggle of one man against fate, empire, and the dark powers of the ancient world.Robert E. Howard was born on January 22, 1906, in Peaster, Texas. He became one of the most influential American pulp writers of the twentieth century and is best remembered as the creator of Conan the Cimmerian, the legendary hero who helped define the sword and sorcery genre. Howard began writing at a young age and published many of his stories in the famous pulp magazine Weird Tales. His fiction ranged across fantasy, horror, adventure, historical tales, boxing stories, and westerns, always marked by intense action, vivid atmosphere, and powerful, larger-than-life characters.With Conan, Howard created a barbarian hero who embodied strength, independence, courage, and resistance against decadence and corruption. Stories such as The Phoenix on the Sword, The Tower of the Elephant, and The Hour of the Dragon made Conan one of the most enduring figures in modern fantasy.Howard died by suicide on June 11, 1936, at the age of thirty. Despite his tragically short life, his imagination left a lasting legacy. His work influenced generations of writers, artists, filmmakers, and game designers, and his worlds of ancient kingdoms, dark sorcery, and heroic adventure continue to fascinate readers around the world.