"… Jordan gets it right, some argue better than anyone but REH himself, soundly grasping the first rule of Conan writing: the stories aren't about Conan; Conan is the story. A problematic hero, an almost elemental force, Conan exists beyond good and evil -- the predictable wench-hoisting and head-cleaving of a good Conan tale are just a backdrop for the blue-eyed barbarian, which plays perfectly to Jordan's superlative descriptive skills.
This second Jordan collection is classic Conan:
The Magnificent pits the Cimmerian against belligerent hill people, a golden-eyed fire beast, and bow-toting noble babe Jondra;
in The Triumphant, Conan kicks butt on the evil god Al'Kiir and his sinister (and, of course, hot) servant Lady Synelle;
The Victorious has Conan wounded by a poisoned assassin's blade -- and his search for an antidote leads him to Vendhya and a subterranean crypt guarded by the eight-armed beast Masrok and a host of demons.