With the recent release of El Borak and Other Desert Adventures, the latest in Del Rey’s series of Robert E. Howard collections, fans of the Cross Plains bard who are primarily familiar only with his fantasy and horror stories, will have a chance to experience a different, but no less compelling, segment of the author’s œuvre — swashbuckling action adventure. Francis Xavier Gordon — “El Borak” — and his literary cousins Kirby O’Donnell and Steve Clarney are figures every bit as compelling and dynamic as Conan or Solomon Kane and they dominate their stories by sheer force of will and grim determination. Some of the settings and even plots elements of these stories may owe much to Rudyard Kipling, Harold Lamb, Talbot Mundy, and H. Rider Haggard, but the fast-paced, action-oriented style, the relentless unforgiving violence, and the larger-than-life protagonists who prevail against all odds by dint of their cunning, martial prowess, and indomitable courage are unmistakably Howardian.

El Borak, the titular character of this collection, appears in eight stories in which he hacks, shoots, and outsmarts his way through a maze of tribal feuds, religious fanaticism, political intrigue, and treacherous colleagues — all of which plays out across the backdrop of The Great Game between Russia and Great Britain as those imperial powers contend for hegemony in Central Asia. Gordon, formerly a gunslinger from Texas, now turned expatriate adventurer, discovers forgotten races and lost cities, rescues kidnapped damsels and hapless diplomats, and battles fierce hill bandits and murderous Assassins. These are some of Howard’s best stories; tightly written, well-paced and well-plotted adventures that, while lacking the supernatural elements of his weird works, still retain a flavor of mystery and exoticism. Gordon is a force of nature that dominates his surroundings and the events that befall him, despite the sense of very real danger and palpable mortality that permeates these gripping tales and threatens to overwhelm both the protagonists and the reader at all times.

Kirby O’Donnell, who appears in three yarns, and Steve Clarney, who appears in the single story “The Fire of Asshurbanipal” are, like Gordon, Irish-American adventurers in the Orient, though their primary motivation is the acquisition of treasure. The first two O’Donnell stories “Gold from Tartary” and “Swords of Shahrazar” are notable in that the latter is a direct sequel to the former. Howard often made references to previous events from other stories, but this is perhaps the only time he linked two stories so closely together. When they first saw print, unfortunately, they were published out of order in two separate pulp magazines. Here their proper sequence is restored and their continuity preserved. “The Fire of Asshurbanipal” also has an interesting history, in that it exists in two versions. The original version which appears here is a straightforward adventure tale of the “lost city” variety, a la Haggard. Howard later rewrote the yarn for Weird Tales, adding a supernatural element at the end (this “weird” version is available in The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard, also published by Del Rey).

No Del Rey collection would be complete without a few extra miscellanea and this volume is no exception. Included here, is an previously unpublished, untitled Kirby O’Donnell fragment and the alternate short version of the El Borak yarn, “Three-Bladed Doom.” The original version of “Three-Bladed Doom” is a 40,000 word novella and it is included in the main part of this volume. This truncated version appearing in the miscellanea is the result of a rewrite by Howard in an (unsuccessful) attempt to get it published.

This excellent collection is bookended by a wonderful introduction by the late, great Steve Tompkins and an informative essay by David Hardy in the appendices. Tompkins’ beautifully written analysis is a bittersweet reminder of what a loss to Howard scholarship and fandom his passing was. A master of chiamus and the metaphorical adjective, his erudite prose is verse-like in quality and provides an insight into Howard’s yarns that is not only informative, but also a pleasure to read. Hardy’s essay is likewise informative, if more straightforward in style. He competently explores Howard’s influences and literary forebears in the “Oriental adventure” genre, helping the reader to place these stories within their proper context, while also noting their sometimes eerie relevance to the international events playing out in Central Asia today.

The Del Rey Howard series has become known as much for its beautiful illustrations as for its well-edited texts and this volume is no exception. Unlike the previous volumes, the artistic duties have been split up, with the cover and full page plates painted by Jim and Ruth Keegan and the pen-and-ink interior illustrations produced by Tim Bradstreet. The Keegans’ work is less stylized than in the two “Best of” volumes, and it is perhaps a matter of taste as whether or not that works better for this material. Personally, I liked the duo-tone technique of their previous work, but I can see that in this volume it likely would have clashed with Bradstreet’s photo-realistic illustrations. And what illustrations they are! This is my first exposure to Bradstreet’s work and I must say it is striking. Certainly one could quibble about minor inaccuracies in the details, but it should be understood that his technique involves the use of photo references and he was no doubt limited by the choice of costumes and props available for his models. His use of the chiaroscuro technique is masterful and would do Milton Caniff proud. The heavy blacks and gritty realism give his images the hard-boiled, pulp-noir quality their subject demands.

Once again, Del Rey and everyone involved with this book — the editors, the artists, and the contributors — have produced a excellent volume that is a must-have for the bookshelf of every Howard aficionado. It was high time that El Borak be given the same lofty treatment in print that Howard’s better-known heroes Conan, Kull, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn have enjoyed in recent years. It is my hope that this volume will expose many new readers to Francis Xavier Gordon and his high adventures on the Roof of the World and perhaps help him attain the well-deserved apotheosis that would place him among those aforementioned heroes in Howard’s literary pantheon.