Sunday, December 12, 2010

CONAN writer - Sean A. Moore...RIP





Hello, My name is Mike and I am proud to be a part of CROM the Ultimate CONAN fan blog. I've been following CROM since I discovered it in late 2008. I've sent Reis and Cromsblood many items that were used here and there and directed them a time or two to some interesting CONAN stuff which they used. I was thrilled to say I was happy just to be recognized and to have some of my art and comments here on the blog.








This is my first posting and I hope it will be informative and enjoyable or entertaining in some way. I am going to tell you about Sean A. Moore a writer who produced three official CONAN novels.


I was reading an issue of Savage Sword of CONAN and on the inside back cover was an ad for CONAN the HUNTER. I ran out the next day to my local book store and found it in trade size. A good size. Easy to hold and turn the pages. As I read along I got immersed in the story and found Moore's writing style was very similar to REH's. While many people do not care for overly descript writing I find it artful and thought to myself..." Wow Moore is really capturing the spirit of REH in his writing style. " I finished that book and went on to search out other Sean A. Moore CONAN books and at that time could only find that he wrote one prior to The HUNTER. "CONAN and the Shaman's Curse " it was out of stock and nobody could order it for whatever reason. So I went on a used paperback book store search . No luck I never found the book.


Then One day..."CONAN and the GRIM GREY GOD" was staring me in the face at the book store. A third Moore CONAN novel. WOW!! I picked it up bought it and ran home to begin getting lost in the world of CONAN once more. I was immediately taken back to the first time I read an REH story and finished the book in record time..OVERNIGHT.


Sean A. Moore weaved words in his CONAN stories that would make REH proud. STATUES , GARGOYLES , SORCERY , NECROMANCERS , Walking skeletal giants whose flesh grew back with each step across a desert wasteland. I finally recently found "CONAN and the SHAMAN'S CURSE" on EBAY in a lot of CONAN BOOKS and needed to purchase them all in order to get my hands on the book. I have not read it. But soon I will hunker down and rip through that book in one night as I did with The GRIM GREY GOD!


It is terrible to have to tell you that Sean A. Moore died in a car accident. I recommend that you find these books and you read them. By hook or by crook or wheel and deal on EBAY if you must get hold of these books and read them. If you love CONAN as we do here at CROM ( so cool to be able to say that. ) BUY THEM BOOKS.


I looked up Sean A. Moore on the internet and found a Wiki page for him. I have copied and pasted some of his bio here. ( See Below ) Along with some pics of the covers of the books you should get. Read on and enjoy.


"Sean A. Moore (April 20, 1964 - February 23, 1998) was an American fantasy and science fiction writer, and computer programmer. His primary significance as a writer is for his three pastiche novels featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan and for his work on the screenplay of the movie Kull the Conqueror, and novelization of the same film.

Moore was a resident of Boulder, Colorado, where he worked in the field of computer programming in a number of different capacities, including programmer, systerms operations specialist, and writer of computer games. He was employed as a programmer by Aspen Systems, Inc. He was also a designer of board games. His hobbies included paying computer games and fencing.

Moore died in a car crash. He was survived by his wife. Services were held five days after his death.

Moore was active as both a fan and a professional writer in the community of Colorado fantasy and science fiction enthusiasts. Initially writing part-time, he had become a full-time writer at the time of his death, primarily for Tor Books. His last work was an unfinished science fiction horror novel, provisionally titled Diggers. He was a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Among Moore's works are three Conan novels and the novelization of the film Kull the Conqueror, all published by Tor Books. He also contributed in an uncredited capacity to the screenplay of the film, and wrote the novelette "10585," published in the anthology " It Came from the Drive-In ".

Moore has been both praised for his "strengths ... in crafting a clever, dense plot with immense, epic scope, and populating it with an imaginative flood of action and monsters," and criticized for "overwrit[ing] to an incredible degree" and "choppy ... start-and-stop structure."


Long live CONAN .....Long live REH and Long live Sean A. Moore.

5 comments:

  1. I've got all three books, and overall they were pretty good. Conan and the Grim Grey God was also one of the books that the "Age of Conan" MMO PC game developers said was pretty influental in a PC Gamer special released around the launch of the game, in fact there's an adventure in the game called Grim Grey God", google it for details.

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  2. I have the three Conan's by Mr. Moore, but haven't read them yet. I went on a quest a couple of years ago, to collect all the Tor pastiches. I've got about 3/4 of them, but need to get back to hunting up the rest. You've inspired me to read Mr. Moore's Conan's, in the near future. :)

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  3. "The Hunter" is one of the last ones I need to complete my collection of all the pastiches.
    I can't remeber if I read "The Shaman's Curse" yet, (probably means I haven't yet)-but I seem to recall "Grim Grey God" was an enjoyable pastiche.

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  4. Just finished "The Hunter". Fast paced, loved Moore's writing start to finish. Thanks for recommending it Mikey!

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  5. I put down the "Shaman" book about a year ago after having read half of it. ( I was in the middle of moving our bedrooms around and rearranging the house because my stepdaughter moved out ) But I picked it back up last week and finished it. It was a thrill ride...from beginning to end fast paced awesome action...giant Preying mantis' , Evil bloodsucking plant monsters , ancient cities and catacombs...sex.
    It was an amazing read. I miss Sean Moore. He was a great writer.

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