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About this book

What use is a sharp blade in a lonely place where old magic stirs beneath the moon?

In Robert E. Howard’s Shadows in the Moonlight, Conan is a wanderer and fighter far from any city he knows. A strange stretch of land draws him into danger, where moonlight and old magic make appearances uncertain. Survival calls for more than strength: he needs wit as well as steel.

The ancient Hyborian world is a place of fallen kingdoms, scattered ruins and threats that muscle cannot easily overcome. Conan meets it on his own terms, guided by his own rules. This short, headlong adventure brings the barbarian’s fierce appetite for life against the uncanny, with survival at its heart.

What you’ll discover

  • A fighter beyond familiar ground Follow Conan into a strange place far from the cities he knows.
  • Moonlight and old magic Enter a lonely landscape where what you see may not be what it seems.
  • More than raw strength Discover an adventure that puts wit beside steel when danger closes in.
  • A world beneath ruins Explore an imagined age where traces of older times lie scattered across the wilds.
  • Survival without soft edges Feel the urgency of a violent, fast-moving tale built around staying alive.

Who will love it

This is for readers who love sword fights, haunted ruins, and heroes of few words. It suits anyone who enjoys sea adventure, pirate crews, and eerie moonlit mysteries.

What’s inside

The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary

  1. A runaway meets a madman at the water
  2. Two outcasts row into the open sea
  3. An island of fruit, stone, and parrots
  4. A dream of the moon wakes real terror
  5. Conan challenges the pirates and a sling stone drops him
  6. Olivia chooses courage and frees her protector
  7. Civilized cruelty, barbarian loyalty, and the old moon
  8. Moonlight, parrots, and the art of dread

Who’s who

  • ConanA Cimmerian barbarian and survivor of a slaughtered raiding band, he fights fiercely, speaks plainly, and wants vengeance, food, and a ship under his command.
  • OliviaA daughter of the King of Ophir, sold into slavery and then on the run, she wants safety and freedom from the men who use her.
  • Shah AmurathThe Hyrkanian lord of Akif, cultured and cruel, he hunts down the runaway Olivia and wants to keep her as his captive.
  • Sergius of KhroshaA huge, shaved-headed Kothian pirate chief who holds a grudge against Conan and wants to skin him alive.
  • AratusA rat-faced Brythunian pirate who invokes the Brotherhood's rules to deny Conan the captaincy, quarrels with Ivanos, and wants Conan dead.
  • IvanosA lean Corinthian pirate who stands up for Conan mainly out of spite for Aratus, and who bends with the wind.

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Science Fiction

Ombre al chiaro di luna

by Robert E. Howard · 1934

A runaway princess and a mud-caked Cimmerian share an island where black iron statues wait for the moon.

Medium levelUnder 2 hours to readItaliano

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In short

What would you do if the only man who could protect you were the kind of man you had been taught to fear? That is the question facing Olivia, a king's daughter, in the opening pages of Shadows in the Moonlight.

Ombre al chiaro di luna by Robert E. Howard, the cover

From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1

A runaway meets a madman at the water

The story opens in motion. Horses crash through tall reeds beside the Vilayet Sea, and a slender girl falls from a dying mount. She is Olivia, and she has fled the palace of Shah Amurath, the Hyrkanian lord of Akif. He rides after her on a desert stallion and catches her around midday.

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Which edition is right for me
15-minute summary
The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
First published
1934
Language
Italiano
Reading time
50 min
Level
Medium level

Cite this edition

Howard, Robert E. Shadows in the Moonlight. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/shadows-in-the-moonlight.

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What is Shadows in the Moonlight about?

It follows Conan the Cimmerian and Olivia, a runaway princess, as they escape a Hyrkanian lord by boat and land on a Vilayet Sea island. There they meet pirates, an unseen thrower of stones, and a ruined hall of iron statues.

Who is Olivia in the Conan story?

Olivia is the daughter of the King of Ophir. Her father sold her to a Shemite chief after she refused a prince of Koth, and she ends up in the palace of Shah Amurath before escaping with Conan.

What do the iron statues in the ruins mean?

Olivia dreams that they were once living black warriors turned to metal by a godlike figure, and that the moon wakes them. The pirates' account of flame-eyed attackers confirms the danger, and the statues become the story's main source of supernatural dread.

The author

Robert E. Howard

1906–1936 · American fantasy writer

Robert E. Howard was an American author born in Peaster, Texas, in 1906. He lived much of his life in Cross Plains, Texas, where he died in 1936. He wrote fantasy, horror, adventure stories, and poetry. His stories featuring Conan appeared in the magazine Weird Tales during the 1930s.

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