Almuric : A Classic Pulp Novel

By Robert E. Howard

Book Overview

Almuric by Robert E. Howard. Almuric is a science fiction novel by Robert E. Howard. It was originally serialized in three parts in the magazine Weird Tales beginning in May 1939. The novel was first published in book form in 1964 by Ace Books. The novel features a muscular hero known on earth as Esau Cairn. He is transported through space to a world known as Almuric by unspecified scientific methods. While there he battles with frightening monsters and beautiful women. Cairn becomes known as the Iron Hand due to his powerful punches and boxing skills. The novel shares similar elements with the John Carter of Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The novel is a planetary romance which stars Esau Cairn, an Earth-man of great physical strength and prowess. The novel begins narrated by scientist Professor Hildebrand, who describes Cairn's life on Earth prior to traveling to Almuric. Cairn is described as an honorable man who was "born out of his time" in terms of his temperament and physical abilities. He attempted brief careers in college football and boxing, but had to abandon both due to severely injuring opponents due to his incredible strength. From then, he became a wanderer, seeking his place in the world but unable to find one. After an altercation with a corrupt political official that left the official dead, Cairn became a wanted fugitive of the law. In an effort to hide Cairn from a confrontation with the law, Professor Hildebrand used an experimental teleporter to send Cairn to the planet Almuric. Upon arriving on Almuric, Cairn battles a Gura, ape-like humanoids that inhabit the planet. Despite the Gura possessing greater physical strength, Cairn was able to defeat him using his boxing skills. After taking the Gura's sword, he then lives off the land for a long period of time, taking his already incredible physical abilities to new heights and learning to hunt and fend off the wild beasts of Almuric. After attempting to save another Gura from an attack by a "sabretooth leopard," Cairn decides he needs human companionship and decides to seek civilization. He comes to the city of Koth and is taken prisoner by the inhabitants. There, he learns that despite the males being very hairy and ape-like, the women are have hairless bodies and are beautiful by human standards. The explanation for this is that the male Guras endure all hardships and evolved to be powerful and animalistic, while female Guras are shielded from hardship and evolved to be soft and beautiful.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 150013659X
• ISBN13: 9781500136598
• Release Date: June 2014
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 126 Pages
• Weight: 0.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 7.0" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

The action never lets up!

The action starts early and about a third of the way through ramps to a fevered pace that never lets up as the hero is thrust into one bone-crushing, head splitting adventure after another. Almuric is a pageturner chock full of well crafted action, which alone makes it worthwhile, but what makes it memorable is the rich detail of the strange world and the powerful themes of life and living. At 155 pages it's a quick read and one you'll find hard to put down. A shame REH didn't live to write more stories from this great universe.

Refreshing and fun

After many years of neglecting my decades old pulp addiction, Almuric arrived on my doorstep. I was halfway through a different book, but I put it down to read this one in two days. What a refreshment! Howard's visions are just a blast to read. Mighty thews, lopping of the heads of your depraved enemies while seducing the ivory skinned fair maidens of an alien planet....this book is just plain FUN!

Great Book

This is a great story. The plot is excellent and the climax is really gripping. The imagery REH uses is really awesome. He has a lot of good stories and this one is one of his finest.

Quickest read I ever had!

Almuric is one of the best fantasy stories ever written by Robert E. Howard. It is also one of the few full length fantasy novels he wrote, most of his stories were shorts for pulp magazines of his time.The story is set on a distant world, Almuric, where a human from earth takes refuge. He braves the hardships of this new world and has many dealings with its peoples and races. At around 250 pages, I recommend all lovers of fantasy to pick this one up!