Conan and the Emerald Lotus

By John C. Hocking

Tor, 1995

Reviewed by Ryan Harvey

Stygian sorcerer Ethram-fal, who has revived the carnivorous Emerald Lotus plant created by the ancient wizard Cetriss. Ehtram-fal uses the addictive, magic-increasing powder of the lotus to enslave other sorcerers. Conan becomes involved the machinations of two of these enslaved mages, the Keshian Shakar and the beautiful Zelandra, when Shakar forces the Cimmerian to steal Zelandra's supply of the lotus using an amulet that will kill Conan if he fails. But when Conan reveals to Zelandra that he knows the location of Ethram-fal's hideout in Eastern Stygia, the sorceress frees Conan and hires him to lead her on a quest for vengeance against the dealer of the Emerald Lotus. Along on the journey goes Neesa, Zelandra's gorgeous scribe (and mean knife-thrower), and the mute Khitan warrior Heng Shih. But the adventurers will have to face the dangers of desert raiders, Ethram-fal's deathtraps, a relentless zombie, Zelandra's growing addiction to the dwindling lotus, and a certain plant that is growing out of control.

Comments

This is excellent pastiche Conan, as good as many of Robert Jordan's early novels and easily the best Conan from Tor's later period. The later Conan pastiches often suffer from lackadaisical writing where it seems that the author put most of his effort into the opening, and then took a vacation to let the plot and characters wander around aimless until the boring conclusion. Frequently, Conan has nothing to do with the climax except to act as a spectator and swing his sword and few times. Not so with Conan and the Emerald Lotus, which John C. Hocking wrote with a sense of fannish delight for the material. The highest praise I can give his Conan adventure (really, the highest praise I can give any sword-and-sorcery) is that is exciting. After a slightly slow beginning that establishes the addictive scheme of the wizard Ethram-fal and uses the often-seen device of Conan forced through a magic curse to fulfill a task (see Offut's novels and Jordan's Conan the Victorious), the narrative rockets into a real Howardian roller-coaster ride. It's clear the author had a blast writing it, and the reader consequently feels the same enthusiasm.

Instead of hurling countless subplot and nemeses at the reader and then dropping them all before the ending, allowing the whole thing the dribble to a real yawner conclusion like many other pastiche authors, Hocking gives us one heck of an apocalyptic curtain closer. It more than satisfies the reader's expectations. In general, the gradual build of action is perfectly pitched. After page 85 or so, I guarantee you'll be reading compulsively. The only plot element that doesn't pay-off as well as I would hope is a zombie character, but Hocking still gives this subplot a decent finale.

There are plenty of other treats, such as a true human heartbeat to the story when dealing with Zelandra's addiction to the lotus. Hocking writes a believable decline and desperation in the character (and, to a lesser extent, in Ethram-fal). It's rare to see a modern Conan author find an emotional core to the story, the same way the Robert E. Howard did in his best work, and I applaud Hocking for this bit of attractive gloss to his adventure story.

For fans of Robert E. Howard's compatriots in Weird Tales, there are many 'bonus features' peppered throughout the book. In many ways, Conan and the Emerald Lotus is less Howard than it is an homage to all of the Weird Tales authors, such as Clark Ashton Smith, August Derleth, H. P. Lovecraft, and most particularly Robert Bloch. Bloch's Egyptian horror tales hover over most of the action, and it adds an enjoyable change to the usual Robert E. Howard setting. Hocking remembers that Conan originally appeared in a magazine of the weird, unusual, and often horrific, and he appropriately layers his story with shivery dark fantasy and terror. The Emerald Lotus, inspired from the sensational Clark Ashton Smith story "The Seed from the Sepulcher," is a particularly gruesome nasty. The author also crafts a good vision of the wilderness of Stygia, where ancient temples lie in wait and long dead sorcerers can still stalk benighted halls in ghoul-form before the sphinx of Nyarlathotep. But just to make sure the story doesn't delve too deep in the dark fantasy, the writer also pays homage to Howard's "swords in the desert" genre and delivers some el-Borak action with Conan at his tactical best. There are even some touches of Lankhmar from Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories.

Conan himself is in fine form. He's in his thirties, a hardened veteran, and he uses his skills in tactics, stealth, and tracking at every point. He's still a softer character than Howard's, but at least he's smart and wry and tough as hell. His relationship with Neesa is a bit routine (although certainly erotic, and you gotta love the way the girl hurls a dagger!), but his bond with mute Heng Shih is one of the better male-buddy relationship I've read in a non-Howard work. Too many pastiche writers take for granted Conan's male relationships and focus on the female ones, but the example that Hocking sets here shows how effectively an honest alliance between two male warriors who understand what each other are about can work to help the story.

Altogether, this is excellent sword-and-sorcery and dark fantasy adventure, and a must for all Howard fans. Even fans who claim they hate pastiches should read it, because John C. Hocking wrote this book with their complaints specifically in mind. I want to read more from Hocking, so I hope to see more people reading his novel.