Dark Valley Destiny: The Life Of Robert E. Howard (1983) - Plot & Excerpts
This is, quite frankly, a terrible biography. After you wade through all the psychoanalysis, and silly gossip, rumors, and tall-tales about Howard, what do you have left? Not much. Unfortunately, since around 1962 to about the middle of the 90s, the ideas from de Camp's works (including this biography) on Howard was so pervasive many unwitting readers fell prey to a completely false Howard.The only redeeming quality about this biography is REH's family history. Apart from that, de Camp pretty much does everything wrong. The research is prefaced with the thought that Howard needs to be analyzed. Moreover, where there is no evidence for various "facts" about Howard, de Camp is more than willing to speculate as if he has facts. This is, at best, dishonest scholarship.Robert E. Howard was one of, if not the, greatest pulp fiction writer of all-time. To have de Camp deface REH so readily, like a kindergarten schoolgirl gossiping about a peer, is, well, childish and stupid. But that's what de Camp has done in this work.For a far better biography than this one, read Mark Finn's work titled Blood & Thunder. You can simply Google the Robert E. Howard Foundation website and find a copy there. Finn's work is far better, much more honest in it's research and presentation, and is a nice counter-work to this de Camp debauchery.
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