The Slithering Shadow - Misplaced Pages

"The Slithering Shadow" is one of the original short stories starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in the September 1933 issue of Weird Tales magazine. "The Slithering Shadow" is the original title, but the story is also known as "Xuthal of the Dusk" in further publications. It is set in the fictional Hyborian Age, and concerns Conan discovering a lost city in a remote desert while encountering a Lovecraftian demon known as Thog.

The story was republished in the collections The Sword of Conan (Gnome Press, 1952) and Conan the Adventurer (Lancer Books, 1966). It has more recently been published in the collections The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle (Gollancz, 2000) as "The Slithering Shadow" and in Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932–1933) (Wandering Star, 2002) and The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian (Del Rey, 2003) as "Xuthal of the Dusk."

Plot summary

Conan and his ally, Natala the Brythunian, are the sole survivors of Prince Almuric's army which swept through the Lands of Shem and the wilderness of Stygia. With a Stygian host on their heels, Almuric's soldiers had cut their way across the kingdom of Kush, only to be annihilated near the edge of Stygia's southern desert.

In the resulting conflict, when the Stygians and Kushites surrounded the trapped remnants, Conan sliced his way through the Stygian militia and fled on a camel, with Natala, into the southern desert. For days, the two pushed on, seeking water, until their camel died. Then, they continued on foot.

When their canteen is empty, Conan prepares to slay Natala in an act of mercy-killing. However, they spy the distant city of Xuthal. Eventually, Conan and Natala enter Xuthal while pursued by an entrance guard. They soon encounter Thalis, a beautiful Stygian mage, who reveals the history of her fabled city and the existence of Thog. Thog is a monstrous demon from the city-states of ancient Valusia, his current form summoned by the sorcerers of Xuthal from the darkness between the stars. For an ageless time, Thog has haunted the depths of Xuthal in search of living flesh to support the continuing manifestation of his body on the physical plane.

Thalis falls in love with Conan and, to eliminate her rival, kidnaps Natala in the hopes of sacrificing her to Thog. Thalis first strips Natala of her tunic and flagellates her with a jewel-handled whip. Thog suddenly appears, snatches Thalis, and devours her. The demon returns for Natala, but Conan intervenes and saves her. Conan fights Thog with all his might, but is scarcely harming the demon's supernatural form, while receiving hideous wounds in the coils of its pseudopods and tentacles. However, Conan manages to pierce what he perceives as the head of the monster and throws it down a well. Conan frees Natala, who sets forth to help him, but he is rapidly dying. Fortunately, the Brythunian girl soon brings him a jade goblet full of golden wine, retrieved from a room with a dreaming woman of Xuthal in it. The beverage proves to be a life-giving elixir briefly mentioned by Thalis in a previous conversation, which miraculously heals all of Conan's wounds. Finally, the couple retrieve enough food and water for their journey through the rest of the desert. The two depart while Natala jokingly blames Conan for having aroused Thalis' lustful nature. He retorts playfully about the jealous nature of women.

Reception

Fritz Leiber rated it as one of three of the worst Conan stories, which he said were "repetitious and childish, a self-vitiating brew of pseudo-science, stage illusions, and the 'genuine' supernatural."

Howard Andrew Jones reviewed the story in 2015 as part of a "Conan Re-Read" series of articles and was more positive. He stated that the story is "short, atmospheric, crammed with mystery and action, and doesn’t overstay its welcome."

Adaptation

The story was adapted by Roy Thomas, John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala in Savage Sword of Conan #20, then by Fred Van Lente and Guiu Vilanova in Conan the Avenger #13-15 (2015).

References

Cover of Weird Tales September 1934, with original tile.
Fritz Leiber, "Fantasy Books", Fantastic, May 1968, p.143
Jones, Howard Andrew (2 October 2015). "The Coming of Conan Re-Read: 'Xuthal of the Dusk'". Howard Andrew Jones. Retrieved 4 May 2023.

External links

Preceded by"Black Colossus"	Original Howard Canon (publication order)	Succeeded by"The Pool of the Black One"
Preceded by"The Snout in the Dark"	Original Howard Canon (Dale Rippke chronology)	Succeeded by"A Witch Shall be Born"
Preceded byConan and the Mists of Doom	Complete Conan Saga (William Galen Gray chronology)	Succeeded by"Drums of Tombalku"

Conan the Barbarian

Stories, books

Books	Conan (books)
Original works by Robert E. Howard	"Beyond the Black River" "Black Colossus" "The Black Stranger" "The Devil in Iron" "Drums of Tombalku" "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" "The God in the Bowl" "The Hall of the Dead" "The Hand of Nergal" The Hour of the Dragon "Jewels of Gwahlur" "The People of the Black Circle" "The Phoenix on the Sword" "The Pool of the Black One" "Queen of the Black Coast" "Red Nails" "Rogues in the House" "The Scarlet Citadel" "Shadows in the Moonlight" "Shadows in Zamboula" "The Slithering Shadow" "The Snout in the Dark" "The Tower of the Elephant" "The Vale of Lost Women" "A Witch Shall be Born" "Wolves Beyond the Border"
Non-Howard works (some based on non- Conan Howard works)	"Black Sphinx of Nebthu" "Black Tears" The Blood-Stained God "The Castle of Terror" "The City of Skulls" Conan and the Amazon Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza Conan and the Emerald Lotus Conan and the Gods of the Mountain Conan and the Grim Grey God Conan and the Manhunters Conan and the Mists of Doom Conan and the Shaman's Curse Conan and the Sorcerer Conan and the Spider God Conan and the Treasure of Python Conan at the Demon's Gate Conan, Lord of the Black River Conan of the Isles Conan of the Red Brotherhood Conan of Venarium Conan, Scourge of the Bloody Coast Conan the Barbarian (1982) Conan the Barbarian (2011) Conan the Bold Conan the Buccaneer Conan the Champion Conan the Defender Conan the Defiant Conan the Destroyer Conan the Fearless Conan the Formidable Conan the Free Lance Conan the Gladiator Conan the Great Conan the Guardian Conan the Hero Conan the Hunter Conan the Indomitable Conan the Invincible Conan the Liberator Conan the Magnificent Conan the Marauder Conan the Mercenary Conan the Outcast Conan the Raider Conan the Rebel Conan the Relentless Conan the Renegade Conan the Rogue Conan the Savage Conan the Triumphant Conan the Unconquered Conan the Valiant Conan the Valorous Conan the Victorious Conan the Warlord "The Curse of the Monolith" "Death-Song of Conan the Cimmerian" The Flame Knife "The Gem in the Tower" "Hawks over Shem" "The Ivory Goddess" "The Lair of the Ice Worm" "Legions of the Dead" "Moon of Blood" "The People of the Summit" "Red Moon of Zembabwei" The Return of Conan The Road of Kings "The Road of the Eagles" "Shadows in the Dark" "Shadows in the Skull" "The Star of Khorala" The Sword of Skelos "The Thing in the Crypt" "The Witch of the Mists"
Collections	Black Colossus The Bloody Crown of Conan The Coming of Conan The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian The Complete Chronicles of Conan Conan The Conan Chronicles (Howard, et al) The Conan Chronicles (Jordan) The Conan Chronicles, 1 The Conan Chronicles 2 The Conan Chronicles, 2 The Conan Chronicles II Conan of Aquilonia Conan of Cimmeria Conan the Adventurer Conan the Avenger Conan the Barbarian (1954) Conan the Barbarian (2011) Conan the Freebooter Conan the Swordsman Conan the Usurper Conan the Wanderer Conan the Warrior The Conquering Sword of Conan The Devil in Iron The Essential Conan The Further Chronicles of Conan Jewels of Gwahlur King Conan The People of the Black Circle The Pool of the Black One Queen of the Black Coast Red Nails Rogues in the House Sagas of Conan The Sword of Conan Tales of Conan The Tower of the Elephant The Treasure of Tranicos
Scholarship	The Blade of Conan The Conan Grimoire The Conan Reader The Conan Swordbook The Spell of Conan

Authors

Creator	Robert E. Howard
Later authors	Poul Anderson Leonard Carpenter Lin Carter L. Sprague de Camp Roland J. Green John C. Hocking Robert Jordan Sean A. Moore Björn Nyberg Andrew J. Offutt Steve Perry John Maddox Roberts Michael A. Stackpole Roy Thomas Harry Turtledove Karl Edward Wagner

Other media

Films

Related films	Red Sonja (1985) Kull the Conqueror (1997) Red Sonja (TBA)

Television

Comics

Games

Tabletop	Unchained! Against Darkness! Role-Playing Game (1985) GURPS The Roleplaying Game (2004) Collectible Card Game Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of
Video	Hall of Volta The Mysteries of Time The Cimmerian Conan (2004) Conan (2007) Age of Conan Rise of the Godslayer Exiles Mortal Kombat 1
Other	Hyborian War

Setting

Characters	Bêlit Conan the Barbarian Kulan Gath Red Sonja Serpent Men Thulsa Doom Valeria
Chronology	Hyborian Age
The Hyborian Age Conan chronologies

Related articles
"The Shadow of the Vulture" Red Sonja Cerebus the Aardvark Conan the Librarian The Adventures of Conan: A Sword and Sorcery Spectacular She Is Conann

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