Can someone explain to me what are the textual differences between the three books above (1263 pages total) and the print-on-demand omnibus edition below (684 pages)?

I bought the omnibus like years ago because it had a discount, not knowing anything about Conan's publication history or editions. It says it has "all of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian stories published during his lifetime". It also has the same page size and layout (double column) as the pulp magazines where Conan was published. However, I remember reading somewhere that these three books above are based on some later editions without censorship but I don't know if that's a marketing gimmick or an unfounded rumor. Is it true? Are they really totally different or just the same things but a different word here and there? Should I stick with the omnibus or get the three (Del Rey?) books?

ISBN of the three books:
978-0345461513
978-0345461520
978-0345461537

ISBN of the omnibus edition:
978-1635912722

bump

>>24555644 (OP)
Great question — and you’ve actually hit on one of the core debates in the world of Robert E. Howard (REH) and Conan publishing: textual authenticity vs. editorial revisionism. Here's the breakdown of the textual differences between the Del Rey Conan books (3 volumes) and many omnibus editions like the one you have:

The Three Del Rey Volumes (approx. 1263 pages total)

These are:

1. The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian

2. The Bloody Crown of Conan

3. The Conquering Sword of Conan

Key Features:
Edited by Patrice Louinet, a respected REH scholar.

Presents only the original stories written by Howard.

Restores Howard’s exact wording, punctuation, and phrasing, based on manuscripts or Weird Tales publications.

Includes fragments, drafts, and synopses.

No pastiches, rewrites, or posthumous edits.

Comes with excellent scholarly notes, essays, and publication context.

These are widely regarded as the most faithful editions of REH’s Conan.

Print-on-Demand Omnibus Editions (approx. 684 pages)

What They Usually Contain:
Typically titled something like The Complete Chronicles of Conan, Conan the Barbarian: The Complete Collection, or similar.

Often include only the stories published during Howard’s lifetime, but the text is based on the edited versions from the 1950s-70s.


What That Means:
Edited or rewritten by people like L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter, and Björn Nyberg.

They:
Changed Howard's prose (sometimes heavily).

"Finished" incomplete stories.

Padded, polished, or reordered the stories to fit a chronological timeline (which Howard never did).

Removed or softened racially charged language.

These versions were once standard, but they do not reflect Howard’s unfiltered writing.

So What Are the Actual Differences?
Feature Del Rey Editions Typical Omnibus Editions

Textual Fidelity Original, restored text Heavily edited or rewritten
Story Order Publication or manuscript order Chronological (by Conan’s life)
Extra Content Fragments, drafts, letters, notes Often none
Language Uncensored, raw REH Sanitized or “refined”
Editorial Additions None Often includes non-Howard additions
Tone & Style Pulp brutalism, poetic More generic fantasy at times

Should You Stick with the Omnibus or Get the Del Reys?
Stick with the omnibus if:
You just want a casual overview of Conan stories.
You don’t mind (or even prefer) cleaned-up prose.
You’re okay with an abridged experience.


Get the Del Rey editions if:
You want Howard's Conan, not de Camp’s.
You care about literary authenticity or pulp history.
You want rich, atmospheric prose and darker themes.
You’re tired of "committee-edited" fantasy.

Final Verdict

The Del Rey editions are definitively better if you want to read Robert E. Howard’s actual work. Your omnibus probably includes the same stories, but in altered form and without the rich extras. If you’re serious about Conan, upgrading to Del Rey is 100% worth it.

>>24558078
>Removed or softened racially charged language.
Cringe

>>24558078
oof

>>24555644 (OP)
I just bought the Weird Tales omnibus myself and my understanding is it's missing 1 or 2 Conan stories that were never technically published in Weird Tales magazine, whereas the other 3 books actually have every Conan story that was written. However, the Weird Tales omnibus has some other early non-Conan works that aren't included in the omnibus. The omnibus is also nice because it comes with a free audiobook & ebook download (if you get the hardcover edition)

>>24558078
Damn I'm glad I got the three set instead. That censored omnibus sounds awful

why doesn't library of america have a collected works of howard set like they do for pkd and shit they have all those noire pulp sets what's the problem here

>>24558078
I wonder if this chatbot reply is accurate

>>24560327
>However, the Weird Tales omnibus has some other early non-Conan works that aren't included in the omnibus
wdym