Conan (Ace Maroto 1978-1981) Books in Order

The Ace Maroto Conan books are a short, visually distinctive branch of the broader Conan bookshelf.

What sets them apart first is the artwork. These paperbacks were illustrated by Esteban Maroto, and they have a more lush, late-1970s fantasy feel than the older Conan paperbacks. They also sit in an in-between space textually, combining later Conan material with reworked Howard-derived stories.

The line includes books such as The Treasure of Tranicos and The Flame Knife, which trace back to Howard material filtered through later editorial hands, alongside books tied to Andrew J. Offutt's Conan work. So this is not the place to look for untouched Howard. It is a place to see how Conan kept evolving in paperback form after the first big boom.

That makes the series interesting for readers who like publishing history as much as story order. These books show Conan as a shared fantasy property, still drawing energy from Howard's world but no longer limited to Howard's finished originals.

Use this page if you want to sort out that small Ace run, see how the books connect, and decide whether you want Conan as collectible illustrated paperbacks, as later continuation fiction, or as part of the long afterlife of Howard's most famous hero.