Howard has been described by H.P. Lovecraft as a master of "description of vast megalithic cities of the elder world, around whose dark towers and labyrinthine nether vaults cling an aura of pre-human fear and necromancy which no other writer could duplicate."

Apart from the full-length novel Skull-Face, perhaps the best Howard ever wrote, this magnificent selection contains twenty-one stories, the rare article The Hyborian Age, two poems and appreciations by E. Hoffmann Price and Lovecraft. Here are such well-known stories as Worms of the Earth, The Black Stone, Wolfshead, Kings of the Night and Valley of the Worm. There are also lesser-known tales such as Rattle of Bones, The Cairn on the Headland and A Man-Eating Jeopard. What August Derleth described as Howard's "faculty for telling stories ... equalled by few of his contemporaries" is amply demonstrated.

Contents:

• Foreward by August Derleth
• Which Will Scarcely Be Understood (poem)
• Robert Ervin Howard: A Memoriam by H.P. Lovecraft
• A Memory of R.E. Howard by E. Hoffman Price
• Wolfshead
• The Black Stone
• The Horror from the Mound
• The Cairn on the Headland
• Black Canaan
• The Fire of Asshurbanipal
• A Man-Eating Jeopard
• Skull-Face
• The Hyborian Age (article)
• Worms of the Earth
• The Valley of the Worm
• Skulls in the Stars
• Rattle of Bones
• The Hills of the Dead
• Wings in the Night
• The Shadow Kingdom
• The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune
• Kings of the Night
• The Phoenix on the Sword
• The Scarlet Citadel
• The Tower of the Elephant
• Rogues in the House
• Shadows in Zamboula
• Lines Written in Realization That I Must Die (poem)