Shadows in Zamboula

About the book

Warned that travelers disappear from the inn of Aram Baksh, Conan nevertheless takes a room there. The warning proves more than local superstition, and his escape into the city brings him into contact with a woman who wants help for her apparently deranged lover. Her appeal draws him toward a powerful priest and a struggle whose participants conceal more than they admit. The story packs an inn mystery, nocturnal pursuit, physical combat, and political deception into a compact adventure. Its city is also constructed through conspicuous racial stereotypes, particularly in its portrayal of cannibalism and enslaved people. Those elements are part of the tale's historical texture, alongside its suspense and sharply opportunistic hero.

• Deception and survival
• Urban danger
• Power and exploitation

Why read it

Read a tightly compressed Conan adventure driven by warnings, concealed identities, and competing schemes.

English story from Weird Tales, November 1935