The People of the Black Circle

This article is about a short story. For the protagonist and principal character, see Conan the Barbarian. For the collection that uses this title as its subtitle, see The Conan Chronicles, 1.

"The People of the Black Circle"
The cover of Weird Tales magazine, Vol. 24 #3, September 1934
Author	Robert E. Howard
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Conan the Cimmerian
Genre(s)	Fantasy
Publication type	Pulp magazine
Publisher	Weird Tales
Publication date	1934

The People of the Black Circle

Cover of the first stand-alone book publication of the novella
Author	Robert E. Howard
Illustrator	David Ireland
Cover artist	David Ireland
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Donald M. Grant Conan
Genre	Fantasy novella
Publisher	Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc.
Publication date	1974
Media type	Print (Hardback)
Pages	149 pp

"The People of the Black Circle" is one of the original novellas about Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in Weird Tales magazine in three parts over the September, October and November 1934 issues. Howard earned $250 for the publication of this story.

It is set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age and concerns Conan kidnapping a regal princess of Vendhya (pre-historical India) and foiling a nefarious plot of world domination by the Black Seers of Yimsha. Due to its epic scope and atypical Hindustan flavor, the story is considered an undisputed classic of Conan lore and is often cited by Howard scholars as one of his best tales. It is also one of the few Howard stories where the reader is treated a deeper insight on magic and magicians beyond the stereotypical Hyborian depiction as demon conjurer-illusionist-priests.

Plot summary

This Conan story is set in mythical Hyborian versions of India–Pakistan (then united) and Afghanistan (Vendhya and Ghulistan respectively).

The death of Bunda Chand, King of Vendhya, via a curse channeled to his soul through a lock of his hair leads to the ascension of his sister, Devi Yasmina, who vows to get revenge on his killers, the Black Seers of Yimsha. Conan, meanwhile, has become chief of a tribe of Afghuli hillmen. Seven of his men have been captured by the Vendhyans and Yasmina intends to use them as collateral to force Conan to kill the Seers. However, Conan infiltrates the border fort where they are held and kidnaps the Devi instead (with the intent of exchanging her for the seven men). The problems are complicated by Kerim Shah, an agent of King Yezdigerd of Turan, who arranged Bunda Chand's death in order to lead an army through the mountains and invade in the subsequent confusion and turmoil. His contact with the Black Seers, Khemsa, has fallen in love with the Devi's maid Gitara. They decide to strike out on their own, kill the seven hillmen and pursue Conan and Yasmina to kill them both as well.

Conan escapes into the Afghuli villages of the Zaibar Pass and Himelian Mountains (Hyborian equivalents of the Khyber pass and Himalayas). Yar Afzal, chief of the Wazuli village, is killed by Khemsa and the people turn against Conan, yet he manages to escape again with Yasmina. Khemsa again catches up with the pair but his attack is interrupted by four Rakhshas from Yimsha. His original masters kill Khemsa and Gitara, stun Conan and kidnap Yasmina. Khemsa survives a fall from the mountain-side long enough to give Conan a warning and a magic girdle. Shortly after, Kerim Shah and a group of Irakzai (Iraqis), also intent on capturing the Devi for King Yezdigerd, encounter Conan. They join together to rescue Yasmina, both open about their private reasons for doing so, and approach the mountain of Yimsha. Most of the men are killed in the attempt but, following Khemsa's warnings, Conan succeeds in killing the Black Seers and rescuing Yasmina.

As they escape they encounter the Turanian army of King Yezdigerd in conflict with Conan's former hillmen (who blame him for the death of the seven captives). Despite their attitude, Conan feels obliged to assist but cannot abandon the Devi. This problem is resolved when a Vendhyan army, invading the mountains to rescue their Queen, arrives. Together, Conan with his Afghulis and Yasmina with her cavalry, they destroy the Turanian army. Conan leaves with the hillmen and the Devi returns to her country.

Reception

Everett F. Bleiler noted the story's "Much spectacular magic and interesting characters." Fritz Leiber praised the story lavishly, comparing it to "the melodramas of [Christopher] Marlowe and declaring "It has stirring language, strong motives, awesome sorcerers, brilliant magical devices, sympathetic hero-villains, and a Conan subdued enough to make the outcome interesting."

Republishing history

The story was republished in the collections The Sword of Conan (Gnome Press, 1952) and Conan the Adventurer (Lancer Books, 1966). It was first published by itself in book form by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. in 1974. It has most recently been republished in the collections The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle (Gollancz, 2000) and The Bloody Crown of Conan (Del Rey, 2005).

Adaptation

The story was adapted by Roy Thomas, John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala in Savage Sword of Conan #16-19 (Reprinted in 2008 by Dark Horse Comics in Savage Sword of Conan, Volume Two – ISBN 1-59307-894-3).

External links

• Conan the Barbarian at AmratheLion.com
• Conan.com: The official website
• The People of the Black Circle public domain audiobook at LibriVox

Preceded by "The Devil in Iron"	Original Howard Canon (publication order)	Succeeded by "A Witch Shall be Born"
Preceded by "The Devil in Iron"	Original Howard Canon (Dale Rippke chronology)	Succeeded by "Shadows in Zamboula"
Preceded by none	Grant Conan series (publication order)	Succeeded by A Witch Shall be Born
Preceded by Conan and the Shaman's Curse	Complete Conan Saga (William Galen Gray chronology)	Succeeded by Conan the Marauder