Queen of the Black Coast (1978) by Robert E. Howard, illustrated by Michael Hague, is a pulpy, swashbuckling gem from the golden age of sword-and-sorcery, featuring Conan the Cimmerian at his most iconic. This edition, pairing Howard’s original 1934 Weird Tales novella with Hague’s rich, moody illustrations, brings to life Conan’s fateful alliance with Bêlit, the fierce pirate queen who rules the Black Coast’s jungles and waves.
The story—a bloody romance on the high seas—sees Conan and Bêlit plunder ancient temples, battle monstrous apes, and defy cursed treasures, all while Howard’s visceral prose (“He was a man born to wield a sword”) thrums with primal energy. Hague’s ink-and-watercolor art captures the tale’s savage beauty: Bêlit’s leopard-skin garb, the ghostly Tigress ship, and the Lovecraftian horror of the forgotten city they despoil.
A must-have for collectors of classic fantasy, this edition immortalizes Howard’s most tragic love story—where even Conan’s strength can’t cheat fate.
