where the writers are FILM REVIEW: Conan the Barbarian, directed
by Marcus Nispel  Robert E. Howard is credited with single
handedly creating the genre of sword & sorcery, so, thankfully,
he wrote well before it became a genre, IE, a watered down
rehashing of old ideas by folks cashing in on an addiction, with
little feeling or knowledge for their material. Howard was a
successful popular writer during his all too short ten year
career, wrote as many westerns as he did S&S pieces.    While
most remembered for his Conan stories these days, he also
created such memorable, if less successful, heroes as King Kull,
Bran Mak Morn, Red Sonja, and Solomon Kane, and championed
“feminist” heroines long before the concept of feminism needed a
name. His work had sensitivity, sparkle and a sense of
historical accuracy missing from his many imitators. He wrote
exceptional dialogue and narrative, given that he wrote
“popular” adventure fiction. So why, when films are made about
Howard’s Conan, do the makers merely borrow th