Gods of the North
Robert E. Howard
Read by Phil Chenevert
"The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is, arguably the earliest chronological story by Robert E. Howard in terms of Conan's life. The brief tale is set somewhere in frozen Nordheim, geographically situated north of Conan's homeland, Cimmeria. Conan is depicted by Howard as a youthful Cimmerian mercenary traveling among the golden-haired Aesir in a war party.
Shortly before the story begins, a hand-to-hand battle has occurred on an icy plain. Eighty men ("four score") have perished in bloody combat, and Conan alone survives the battlefield where Wulfhere's Aesir "reavers" fought the Vanir "wolves" of Bragi, a Vanir chieftain. Thus, the story opens.
Following this fierce battle against the red-haired Vanir, Conan the Cimmerian, lying exhausted on the corpse-strewn battlefield, is visited by a beautiful, condescending and semi-nude woman identifying herself as "Atali." Upon her bodice, she wears a transparent veil: a wisp of gossamer that was not spun by human distaff. The mere sight of her strange nakedness kindles Conan's lust and, when she repeatedly taunts him, he madly chases her for miles across the snows with the intent of raping her. The excitement continues but I won't ruin the story for you by saying more. Can Conan deal with this daughter of a frost-giant? And what when her daddy shows up? (from Wikipedia and Phil Chenevert) (0 hr 24 min)
Reviews
Howard changed the name himself
A LibriVox Listener
Howard was under an exclusive deal for Conan stories, but this was rejected. So, he gave it to a Conan fanzine, but had to make changes to it. (Yes, there were fanzines back then.) Amra was a name used by Conan in the South, and would have been recognized by the readers. The unpublished manuscript is the version most are familiar with. As to the reader, he has an odd cadence, especially at first. It mostly goes away, after a bit, although it slips back in once in a while.
Conan + Chenevert = always great
Justin Wisniewski
Perfect for Phil
Shersbk
Phil made this so much fun and dramatic. Just love his readings
jaybear
Stilted, uneven reading. Good enough effort.
Dave The Barbarian
Read this story in the 1980s and loved it. in modern times we have lost all the male heros that fight, adventure and love across glittering ice plains and dusty deserts. This story wouldn't be allowed today without a strong female character which is a real shame as men like to read stories about such men like Conan.
Thank You Phil!
John P
A wonderful R. Howard story. I remember reading this as a very 12 year old and absorbing each line.
Praveen Sharma
the plot was going good but was cut short
short but this is due to the original story
A LibriVox Listener