The Hour of the Dragon - Robert E. Howard

It was time for a fiction book, and I wanted to give some sci-fi another shot. I went to gutenberg.org and typed in science fiction. After sifting past the more popular (and recognizable) titles, I came across this book. It had an interesting title, but I went in completely blind. There will be spoilers in this review, so just be aware of that.

Four men have found a magic MacGuffin that raises a 3000-year-old wizard to help them conquer the world. The wizard has his own plans, and when one of the enemy kings is saved, it starts a sequence of events that leads to the downfall of them all. 

I think my favorite part of the book had nothing to do with Conan (the king) or the wizard. Right before the final battle, a man appears in the enemy camp offering to betray Conan to them. Instead, he leads them into a foggy area where they are ambushed. They way that chapter was written was really good, and even though Tiberius died, he laughed his way into the grave knowing he'd accomplished his mission.

Now on to my least favorite part of the book. Most of it is dedicated to Conan tracking down the MacGufffin. Sure at times there's action, and him travelling around the countryside builds his army when people realize he's alive, but other than that, the wizard is not a threat. He's a threat at the beginning of the story, and that's about it. Sure, he kills someone here and there in his own camp, but Conan is far away.

This one taught me that I need to do at least a bit of research before I make that final selection of what to read. Since I don't consider this a science fiction book, I didn't accomplish the goal I set for myself. I wouldn't call this a terrible book, but it isn't something I'm sure I would recommend, either. I mean, if you're going to build up a final showdown between the wizard and the warrior, it's kind of a letdown when they don't even see each other.