In considering making a list of Howard’s best works I was baffled until the criteria was narrowed down to their appeal to the masculine mind. Each listing will end with a bracketed number to indicate how racial charged the story was, with 0 indicating that there is no racial element worthy of note, and 10 indicating that race is the most noteworthy aspect of the story. For the record, I believe that selections 7 through 1 are the seven best Howard stories, no matter the criteria, and in the order indicated.

10. The Frost Giant’s Daughter, Conan the Barbarian, short story, 1932, unsold by Howard, [6]

9. The Black Stranger, Conan the Barbarian, novella, 1935, unsold by Howard, [7]

8. By This Axe I Rule!, Kull, novelette, 1929, unsold by Howard, [5]

7. People of the Black Circle, Conan the Barbarian, novella, 1934, [6]

6. The Scarlet Citadel, Conan the Barbarian, novella, 1933, [8]

5. Red Shadows, Solomon Kane, novella, 1928, [9]

4. Black Canaan, Kirby Buckner, novelette, 1936, [10]

3. The Tower of the Elephant, Conan the Barbarian, short story, 1933, [3]

2. Queen of the Black Coast, Conan the Barbarian, novella, 1934, [9]

1. Worms of the Earth, Bran Mak Morn, novelette, 1932, [10]

Note: Because Howard did not care to complete his novel Almuric, it is often not included in his canon by critics. Howard thought, that with that tale, he was treading too closely on Edgar Rice Burroughs' heels. Seen from a pure plot-artifice standpoint he was correct, as the novel was essentially Howard doing Burroughs' cosmic traveler theme. However, Howard wrote the story at a psychotic level of masculine intensity that made it the most masculine piece of literature since the Iliad.