I didn’t expect much else in the way of literature when I picked up Conan and the Emerald Lotus by John C. Hocking.  Somehow, within the span of a few pages, Hocking had managed to revive that stale of old Hyborean ham and kicked up a pretty good storyline at that. Fast-paced, slightly erotic, musty and on some level even featuring a naked and honest account of drug and power-abuse it kept me turning pages until the very end. Good job, Hocking! I won’t give any of the story away, you can read a very decent synopsis of it here - but rather point to this particular issue of the Conan franchise as a remarkably successful one.

There doesn’t seem to be much else by Hocking in the series, which is a terrible shame if you ask me – but it does rather turn this little story into – you guessed it, a gem.