The Star of Khorala

This article is about a short story. For the protagonist and principal character, see Conan the Barbarian.

Short story by L. Sprague de Camp and Björn Nyberg

"The Star of Khorala"

Short story by L. Sprague de Camp and Björn Nyberg
Country| United States
Language| English
Genre(s)| Fantasy
Publication
Published in| Conan the Swordsman
Publication type| Collection
Publisher| Bantam Books
Media type| Print (Paperback)
Publication date| 1978
Series| Conan the Barbarian

"The Star of Khorala" is a short story by Björn Nyberg and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. It was first published by Bantam Books in the paperback collection Conan the Swordsman in August 1978. Later paperback editions of the collection were issued by Ace Books (1987 and 1991). The first hardcover edition was published by Tor Books in 2002. The book has also been translated into Italian. It was later gathered together with Conan the Liberator and Conan and the Spider God into the omnibus collection Sagas of Conan (Tor Books, 2004).

## Plot

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During the events of "Shadows in Zamboula" and Conan the Raider, Conan journeys into Ophir with a fabulous jewel called the Star of Khorala, knowing it was formerly owned by Queen Marala of Ophir, who will pay well for its return.

Once in Ophir, Conan learns that Marala has fallen from grace and been imprisoned. Freeing the queen, Conan escorts her west toward Aquilonia, where she has a hereditary fief on which she can begin life anew. However, before they can reach their destination the two are trapped inside a mysterious temple where the gem turns out to be a key in the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy.

In the end, Marala is restored to her ancestral estate in Aquilonia as the Countess Albiona. She will later play a role in the events of the novel Conan the Conqueror.

## Adaptation

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The story was adapted for comics in Savage Sword of Conan #44, September 1979. It was written by Roy Thomas with interior art by Sal Buscema and Tony DeZuniga with cover artwork by Bob Larkin. [1]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The annotated Savage sword of Conan | Classic Comics Forum".

* Laughlin, Charlotte; Daniel J. H. Levack (1983). De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller. p. 243.
* The Star of Khorala title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Preceded by

Conan the Raider

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

Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza

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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
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* 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 (TBA)

|

Television|

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

Comics|

* Conan (comics)
* Conan (Dark Horse Comics)
* Conan (Marvel comics)
* The Savage Sword of Conan

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
* Red Sonja
* 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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