Conan the Gladiator

Novel by Leonard Carpenter

Conan the Gladiator

Cover of first edition

Author| Leonard Carpenter
Cover artist| Ken Kelly
Language| English
Series| Conan the Barbarian
Genre| Sword and sorcery
Publisher| Tor Books

Publication date

| 1995
Publication place| United States
Media type| Print (Paperback)
Pages| 278
ISBN| 0-812-52492-6

Conan the Gladiator is a fantasy novel by American writer Leonard Carpenter, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in January 1995 and was reprinted in August 1999.[1] Carpenter dedicated the book to L. Sprague de Camp.

## Plot

[edit]

In the city of Thujara in Shem, Conan becomes involved in a street brawl and injures Roganthus, the strong man of a traveling circus troupe. A combination of regret over the troupe's loss and attraction for another member, the beautiful panther-trainer Sathilda, leads Conan to offer his own services as a stand-in for Roganthus. Joining the troupe, he accompanies them first to the town of Senjaj and then across the river Styx to Stygia, where they hope to become wealthy performing in the capital of Luxor. Stygia is usually depicted as a realm of decadent evil, crawling with sinister priests and sorcerers; in this novel, however, the local priests of Set are portrayed more as a fraternity of knowledge-seekers. Luxor is ruled by a tyrannical emperor, Commodorus, who forces Conan's troupe to fight for their lives in his arena against exotic warriors and wild beasts. Conan is disturbed at having to kill opponents with whom he feels some affinity, such as rebel Stygians and the Kushite Muzudaya. Soon, he's temporarily converted by a priest and fellow captive into an uncharacteristic pacifist. Exercising his military knowledge, he forms his fellow gladiators into a defensive phalanx at one point. The plot, seemingly building to a climactic final battle, is instead resolved by a catastrophic natural disaster, in the course of which Commodorus meets a fitting fate and much of Luxor is devastated. Everyone in Conan's troupe escapes from Luxor with the aid of a rebellious priest. In the wake of this event, Conan returns to Shem seeing different employment.

## Reception

[edit]

Critic Don D'Ammassa writes "The closing chapters are quite good but there are some dull sections beforehand."[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Conan the Gladiator title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
2. ^ D'Ammassa, Don. "Conan the Gladiator" (review on Critical Mass). Sep. 2, 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* Page at Fantastic Fiction

Preceded by

Conan at the Demon's Gate

|  Tor Conan series
(publication order) | Succeeded by

Conan and the Amazon

|
|

Preceded by

Conan the Barbarian (2011 novel)
(Part 2)

|  Complete Conan Saga
(William Galen Gray chronology) | Succeeded by

Conan and the Emerald Lotus

* v
* t
* e

Conan the Barbarian

Stories, books

| Books|

* Conan (books)

|

Original works by
Robert E. Howard|

* "Beyond the Black River"
* "Black Colossus"
* "The Black Stranger"
* "The Devil in Iron"
* "Drums of Tombalku"
* "The Frost-Giant's Daughter"
* "The God in the Bowl"
* "The Hall of the Dead"
* "The Hand of Nergal"
* The Hour of the Dragon
* "Jewels of Gwahlur"
* "The People of the Black Circle"
* "The Phoenix on the Sword"
* "The Pool of the Black One"
* "Queen of the Black Coast"
* "Red Nails"
* "Rogues in the House"
* "The Scarlet Citadel"
* "Shadows in the Moonlight"
* "Shadows in Zamboula"
* "The Slithering Shadow"
* "The Snout in the Dark"
* "The Tower of the Elephant"
* "The Vale of Lost Women"
* "A Witch Shall be Born"
* "Wolves Beyond the Border"

Non-Howard works
(some based on non-
Conan Howard works)|

* "Black Sphinx of Nebthu"
* "Black Tears"
* The Blood-Stained God
* "The Castle of Terror"
* "The City of Skulls"
* Conan and the Amazon
* Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza
* Conan and the Emerald Lotus
* Conan and the Gods of the Mountain
* Conan and the Grim Grey God
* Conan and the Manhunters
* Conan and the Mists of Doom
* Conan and the Shaman's Curse
* Conan and the Sorcerer
* Conan and the Spider God
* Conan and the Treasure of Python
* Conan at the Demon's Gate
* Conan, Lord of the Black River
* Conan of the Isles
* Conan of the Red Brotherhood
* Conan of Venarium
* Conan, Scourge of the Bloody Coast
* Conan the Barbarian (1982)
* Conan the Barbarian (2011)
* Conan the Bold
* Conan the Buccaneer
* Conan the Champion
* Conan the Defender
* Conan the Defiant
* Conan the Destroyer
* Conan the Fearless
* Conan the Formidable
* Conan the Free Lance
* Conan the Gladiator
* Conan the Great
* Conan the Guardian
* Conan the Hero
* Conan the Hunter
* Conan the Indomitable
* Conan the Invincible
* Conan the Liberator
* Conan the Magnificent
* Conan the Marauder
* Conan the Mercenary
* Conan the Outcast
* Conan the Raider
* Conan the Rebel
* Conan the Relentless
* Conan the Renegade
* Conan the Rogue
* Conan the Savage
* Conan the Triumphant
* Conan the Unconquered
* Conan the Valiant
* Conan the Valorous
* Conan the Victorious
* Conan the Warlord
* "The Curse of the Monolith"
* "Death-Song of Conan the Cimmerian"
* The Flame Knife
* "The Gem in the Tower"
* "Hawks over Shem"
* "The Ivory Goddess"
* "The Lair of the Ice Worm"
* "Legions of the Dead"
* "Moon of Blood"
* "The People of the Summit"
* "Red Moon of Zembabwei"
* The Return of Conan
* The Road of Kings
* "The Road of the Eagles"
* "Shadows in the Dark"
* "Shadows in the Skull"
* "The Star of Khorala"
* The Sword of Skelos
* "The Thing in the Crypt"
* "The Witch of the Mists"

Collections|

* Black Colossus
* The Bloody Crown of Conan
* The Coming of Conan
* The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian
* The Complete Chronicles of Conan
* Conan
* The Conan Chronicles (Howard, et al)
* The Conan Chronicles (Jordan)
* The Conan Chronicles, 1
* The Conan Chronicles 2
* The Conan Chronicles, 2
* The Conan Chronicles II
* Conan of Aquilonia
* Conan of Cimmeria
* Conan the Adventurer
* Conan the Avenger
* Conan the Barbarian (1954)
* Conan the Barbarian (2011)
* Conan the Freebooter
* Conan the Swordsman
* Conan the Usurper
* Conan the Wanderer
* Conan the Warrior
* The Conquering Sword of Conan
* The Devil in Iron
* The Essential Conan
* The Further Chronicles of Conan
* Jewels of Gwahlur
* King Conan
* The People of the Black Circle
* The Pool of the Black One
* Queen of the Black Coast
* Red Nails
* Rogues in the House
* Sagas of Conan
* The Sword of Conan
* Tales of Conan
* The Tower of the Elephant
* The Treasure of Tranicos

Scholarship|

* The Blade of Conan
* The Conan Grimoire
* The Conan Reader
* The Conan Swordbook
* The Spell of Conan

Authors

| Creator|

* Robert E. Howard

|

Later
authors|

* Poul Anderson
* Leonard Carpenter
* Lin Carter
* L. Sprague de Camp
* Roland J. Green
* John C. Hocking
* Robert Jordan
* Sean A. Moore
* Björn Nyberg
* Andrew J. Offutt
* Steve Perry
* John Maddox Roberts
* Michael A. Stackpole
* Roy Thomas
* Harry Turtledove
* Karl Edward Wagner

Other media

| Films|

* Conan the Barbarian (1982)
* Conan the Destroyer (1984)
* Conan the Barbarian (2011)

| Related films|

* Red Sonja (1985)
* Kull the Conqueror (1997)
* Red Sonja (2025)

|

Television|

* Conan the Adventurer (1992)
* Conan and the Young Warriors (1994)
* Conan the Adventurer (1997)

Comics|

* Conan the Barbarian (Marvel)
* The Savage Sword of Conan
* Savage Tales
* Savage Avengers
* Red Sonja
* Conan (Dark Horse)
* Conan (Titan)

Games|

| Tabletop|

* Unchained!
* Against Darkness!
* Role-Playing Game (1985)
* GURPS
* The Roleplaying Game (2004)
* Collectible Card Game
* Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of

|

Video|

* Hall of Volta
* The Mysteries of Time
* The Cimmerian
* Conan (2004)
* Conan (2007)
* Age of Conan
* Rise of the Godslayer
* Exiles
* Mortal Kombat 1

Other|

* Hyborian War

Setting

| Characters|

* Bêlit
* Conan the Barbarian
* Kulan Gath
* Serpent Men
* Thulsa Doom
* Valeria

|

Chronology|

* Hyborian Age

* The Hyborian Age
* Conan chronologies

Related articles

* "The Shadow of the Vulture"
* Red Sonja
* Cerebus the Aardvark
* Conan the Librarian
* The Adventures of Conan: A Sword and Sorcery Spectacular
* She Is Conann

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