Gary Romeo writes:
>I don't really remember as I haven't reread it in a
>long time. I do remember recently reading an essay by
>de Camp where he talks about Howard saying the black
>jailer or jailers conversed in a language that was
>like the guttural tongue of an ape. De Camp went on
>to explain how no African language is really anything
>ape-like. And I believe he mentioned he did some
>other rewriting in that sequence. I remember a post
>(by you or Patrice, I think) that mentioned it was
>rewritten in the ACE double also.
Must be referring to this paragraph:
But they attempted no reprisal, nor did they accept Conan's urgent
invitation to approach within reach of the bloody chain in his hand.
Presently, grunting in their ape-like speech, they lifted the senseless black
and bore him out like a sack of wheat, arms and legs dangling. They used his
key to lock the door behind them, but did not remove it from the gold chain
that fastened it to his girdle. They took the torch with them, and as they
moved up the corridor the darkness slunk behind them like an animate thing.
Their soft padding footsteps died away, with the glimmer of their torch, and
darkness and silence remained unchallenged.
>I'm sure those that deny Howard's racism won't feel
>the wording is anything truly offensive.
Well, I don't believe I've ever denied (or accepted, for that matter) the
question of Howard's racism. But no, I don't find the wording particularly
offensive. Especially as a minor passage in a work of over 70,000 words.
--
David Gentzel
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://pobox.com/~gentzel/
