Red Nails

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

32759

Title

Red Nails

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

In the shadow of an impenetrable forest, pirate Valeria and barbarian Conan stumble upon the walled city of Xuchotl, a place of ancient magic and deadly dragons. As they seek escape, they uncover a dark history of necromancy and civil war within the city's catacombs. When a cursed princess attempts to steal Valeria's life force, the ghost of a mad wizard emerges from the dead to unleash hellish fire. A brutal battle ensues, ending the city's feud and freeing the...

Summary up to 500 words

In Robert E. Howard's *Red Nails*, Valeria of the Red Brotherhood, a formidable pirate from the Stygian frontier, finds herself stranded in a silent, impenetrable forest after fleeing mercenaries. Her journey leads her to Xuchotl, a walled city rising abruptly from a plain, where she is joined by Conan, the Cimmerian, who has been tracking her. Welcomed by Prince Olmec and his sister, Princess Tascela, the pair soon discover they are trapped by the city's ancient necromantic magic. The city's history reveals that its founders, fleeing dragons, built Xuchotl protected by spells that kept monsters in the surrounding forest. However, centuries ago, a slave named Tolkemec opened the gates to invaders, sparking a bloody civil war that divided the city into warring factions. The magic eventually failed, allowing dragons to attack nightly. Tolkemec, now a mad, half-dead creature living in the city's catacombs for twelve years, emerges to exact vengeance. He wields a wand that shoots beams of hellish fire, killing anyone caught between him and a metal door or altar. Chaos erupts as Tolkemec slaughters the city's inhabitants. Conan's leg is trapped in an iron floor mechanism, but Valeria frees him. Tolkemec corners them, but Conan kills the ancient slave with a knife, breaking the cycle of vengeance. Valeria then kills Tascela, who attempted to drain Valeria's life force to regain youth, to protect her own honor. With the city's leaders dead and the magic broken, Conan and Valeria escape Xuchotl at dawn, leaving the cursed city to its fate. The story blends Conan's brute strength with Valeria's cunning, exploring themes of ancient curses, racial conflict, and the destructive power of unchecked vengeance.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

Download URL

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32759.epub.noimages

Local file path

data/epubs/pg32759.epub

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Categories

• Adventure
• Fiction