Not Howard's best, but still a fun & adventurous collection of short stories. ( )

"Arrr, me hearties!" is one pirate stereotype that you won't find in this book of three bucaneering tales.

You will, however, find much in the way of the seeking of cursed booty, secret treasure maps, dead men's tales, lost cities, savage tribes-people, villainous Royal Navy captains, treacherous French noblemen and covetous corsairs!

There's actually little time spent ship-board, with most of the action taking place on deserted islands and in dense jungles. The feel is more Indiana Jones than Treasure Island, and, as the stories were written before Disney's adaptation of Stevenson's classic served us up the "hearty" image of piracy, they have a freshness despite their age.

"Black" Terence Vulmea is the hero of the first two stories, Swords of the Red Brotherhood and Black Vulmea's Vengeance. He's cast in Howard's usual mould - a Celtic superman - but he's not simply Conan by another name (despite the fact that Howard adapted the first story into a Conan tale): he's given a distinct (if briefly sketched) background and motivations. I wish Howard had written more than these two stories about his adventures.

The last story, The Isle of Pirates' Doom while written from the viewpoint of a male narrator is more interesting for its female pirate, Helen Tavrel. She could have made a good heroine for a series of Virgin Pirate Queen stories but again, alas, Howard wrote only this one story about her (at least as far as I'm aware). She's beautiful (of course), intelligent and resourceful, and an excellent swordswoman. She seems to be strategically more capable than her male partner, dictating many of their plans, and saves his life more than once (though he does return the favour).

Three excellent examples of escapist fiction by a master of the genre. ( )

http://www.fireandsword.com/Reviews/blackvulmea.html

Robert E. Howard, though best known for his horror and sword & sorcery, was at heart an adventure writer. He buckled anything that swashed. What better subject for swashbuckling adventure than piracy on the high seas?

Black Terence Vulmea is REH’s pirate hero. He is an Irish sea-rover, a survivor of England’s tyrannous rule over the Emerald Isle. We get two Black Vulmea stories: “Blades of the Red Brotherhood” and “Black Vulmea’s Vengeance”. “Blades” should be familiar to many Conan fans. L. Sprague de Camp re-wrote it into a Conan tale, “The Treasure of Tranicos”. It’s a darn fine adventure as Black Vulmea finds himself stranded on a remote shore and involved with an exiled French nobleman, a rival pirate, hostile Indians, and a legendary lost treasure. It’s a festival of sword-play, double-crosses, and thrilling action.