Sword & Sorcery - your resource for fiction, interviews, articles, information and more

Imagine my pleasant surprise when John Maddox Roberts popped up at the Conan forums last month. In addition to answering various Conan fan queries, John was kind enough to grant SwordAndSorcery.org an interview as well. In sword-and-sorcery circles, John is perhaps best known for his eight Conan novels for Tor. But he is a proven writer who has worked in historical fiction (Falcon), historical mysteries (SPQR), alternate history (King of the Wood), science fiction and probably other titles in other sub-genres of heroic fiction that I failed to find in my research! I'm sure if you have a nagging question we didn't cover, John would be more than happy to give you an answer over in Conan land. Or, maybe we can all convince him to come over here sometime, too!

Paul McNamee (with Andy Beau and Ryan Harvey)

What are you currently working on -- anything aside from your SPQR (ancient Rome historical mysteries) series?

A whole bunch of things. I always have several projects working at any time. I have some SF books, a pirate novel, another alternate history, all sorts of stuff. When I get tired working on one, I do some work on another.

Did you write any other stories similar to the Falcon series - relatively short, fast-paced, historical fiction-- as opposed to alternate history (Hannibal's Children) or historical mystery (SPQR)?

One of my first novels was set during the Hundred Years' War, about a pack of mercenary English longbowmen. Nobody bought it, but Signet was impressed enough to ask me to do a series set during the Crusades, hence the Falcon series.

You were only the second writer in the Conan series at Tor (after Robert Jordan). How did you first get involved with writing Conan officially? Did it have anything to do with your Falcon series being a calling card?

I was at a World Fantasy Convention in Chicago and got into a conversation with the de Camps, who had just brought out their Howard biography, Dark Valley Destiny. We talked about Howard for a while. A month or two later they contacted my agent and asked if I'd like to lead off Tor's new line of Conan books. It was a surprise to me. I agreed to do four and ended up doing eight.

What kind of process did you go through with Tor and Conan Properties when writing a new Conan novel? What kind of input did you have from "the interested parties"?

It was pretty rocky, and I had very little input at all except that I made it plain that I wouldn't try to imitate Howard's style and I didn't want to have to follow the events in the other pastiches.

You've mentioned borrowing from Dashiell Hammet (Conan the Bold) and it seems, perhaps, H. Rider Haggard (Conan and the Treasure of Python) for plots elements. Any other hidden tributes we should be aware of in your writings? Do you find that happening unconsciously, anyway, depending on what you are writing?

Conan and the Manhunters borrows a bit from The Wild Bunch, my favorite movie of all time. I'm always influenced by other writers, movies, etc. Everyone is. I can look at some of my early writing and tell you what I was reading that week.

How did you develop your first Conan novel, Conan the Valorous?

My early training was as an anthropologist and I just loved constructing the Cimmerian tribal and clan structures, since I knew how these things actually work. Howard left a huge opportunity here since he wrote only a few words about Conan's people.

As a Conan writer, following in the footsteps of Robert E. Howard, did you have any particular philosophy or approach to the character or the material? And what is it really like to be an official author of one of the most archetypal characters in fantasy literature?

As above, I determined not to try to imitate Howard's style. Howard was a self-taught, eccentric writer and if you try to imitate such a writer you look like you're trying to parody him instead. As to what it's like, some people love my stuff, some hate my stuff. Some just hate me for trying to take on the master's work, most have no idea who Conan is.

When Tor wanted the sex and violence toned down, was that specifically for the Conan line? (Your Tor novel, The Islander, had a couple of steamy lovemaking scenes)

It was just for Conan. I had no problem with toning down the sex since Howard was writing for the 30s pulps and there was little sex anyway. The violence was different. I felt that Howard wanted this one series of his to be extremely, graphically violent and I wanted to treat it the same way. Tor, intent on getting the books into junior high libraries, felt otherwise.

While we're mentioning The Islander, what brought you to try your hand at a post-apocalyptic milieu with your Stormlands series?

As above, I was trained as an anthropologist/archaeologist. I was fascinated by the idea of a far-future world where almost all the metals had perished, iron and ferrous metals in particular, and what kind of cultures might develop as a result.

From an online photo, it appears you are left-handed. Did you ever write a story about a left-handed swordsman and the advantages/disadvantages of fighting left-handed?

I'm half-assed ambidextrous. I write and draw left-handed, but I shoot and throw things and use a sword right-handed. I can use a sword or knife left-handed, just not as well as with the right. My right eye is the master eye. It gives me an insight into the difficulties of fighting a left-hander, though.

What is your opinion on the cause of the near disappearance of straight-ahead sword-and-sorcery tales in the early 1980s?

Okay, here I tread on dangerous territory. In the early days sf, including the s&s subcategory, were the province of males, usually young males. In the late 60s the female contingent became prominent and they were less interested in hard sf or s&s, but were more into soft sf and high fantasy (fairies, dragons and elves). Hence, the drop in Conan-style lit.

What is your writing style - do you tend to hit the ground running, partially outline, or are you a detailed outliner?

I dive in with a minimal outline, which I don't feel obliged to follow if I think of something better. Publishers never seem to notice anyway.

Do you believe there is always room for more sword-and-sorcery tales (let's say that includes swashbuckling historicals and sword-and-planet)? Can we still go to the well and come up with fresh tales?

There's always room for good writing of any kind. Good writers will always come up with fresh ideas or fresh treatment, some of them truly mind-boggling. Look at what Cormac McCarthy did with the western with his novel Blood Meridian. It was a formula western that was unlike anything that had ever been written.

To read more interviews with writers and publishers
working in sword and sorcery and its related genres, go to the
Sword and Sorcery Interview Page .

Sponsors

Tolkien Town

SFReader

Purchase
Lords of Swords
Sword and sorcery at its finest!

Support S&S.org

Prism Quarterly
Fantasy Poets and Writers Needed

PitchBlack's
Cynosure Store

Contact the Editor