This was another great Conan story, more complex than The Phoenix on the Sword. There is a battle described, and the consequences of treachery are explained more. There were more sorcery elements involved than with The Phoenix on the Sword.
The prose was fantastic as well. Some of the writing makes very good writing look stale: ‘As a thunderbolt strikes, Conan struck, hurtling through the ranks by sheer power and velocity’.
I must say, despite my observation that Conan stories tend to follow a predictable formula, they are getting better and are some of my most favourite sword-and-sorcery tales.