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The Complete Cossack Adventures #3
Riders of the Steppes
A master of driving pace, exotic setting, and complex plotting, Harold Lamb was one of Robert E. Howard's favorite writers. Here at last is every pulse-pounding, action-packed story of Lamb's greatest hero, Khlit the Cossack, the “wolf of the steppes.â€� Journey with the unsung grandfather of sword and sorcery in search of ancient tombs, gleaming treasure, and thrilling landscapes.Ìý Match wits with deadly swordsmen, scheming priests, and evil cults. Rescue lovely damsels, ride with bold comrades, and hazard everything on your brains, skill, and a little luck.
This four-volume set collects for the first time the complete Cossack stories of Harold every adventure of Khlit the Cossack and those of his friends, allies, and fellow Cossacks, many of which have never appeared between book covers. Compiled and edited by the Harold Lamb scholar Howard Andrew Jones, each volume features essays Lamb wrote about his stories, an informative introduction by a popular author, and a wealth of rare, exciting, swashbuckling fiction.
In this third volume, the wily old Cossack Khlit may have aged but he's lost none of his guile. He shepherds his dashing grandson Kirdy into one adventure after another, finally uniting with his allies Ayub and Demid in the climactic story White Falcon —out of print since the 1920s. Here too are the exploits of Ayub and Demid, risking all to safeguard the perilous Russian border from marauding Turks, Tatars, and even bloodthirsty Russian nobles.
This four-volume set collects for the first time the complete Cossack stories of Harold every adventure of Khlit the Cossack and those of his friends, allies, and fellow Cossacks, many of which have never appeared between book covers. Compiled and edited by the Harold Lamb scholar Howard Andrew Jones, each volume features essays Lamb wrote about his stories, an informative introduction by a popular author, and a wealth of rare, exciting, swashbuckling fiction.
In this third volume, the wily old Cossack Khlit may have aged but he's lost none of his guile. He shepherds his dashing grandson Kirdy into one adventure after another, finally uniting with his allies Ayub and Demid in the climactic story White Falcon —out of print since the 1920s. Here too are the exploits of Ayub and Demid, risking all to safeguard the perilous Russian border from marauding Turks, Tatars, and even bloodthirsty Russian nobles.
548 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
7 people are currently reading
147 people want to read
About the author
Harold Lamb
136Ìýbooks157ÌýfollowersHarold Albert Lamb was an American historian, screenwriter, short story writer, and novelist.
Born in Alpine, New Jersey, he attended Columbia University, where his interest in the peoples and history of Asia began. Lamb built a career with his writing from an early age. He got his start in the pulp magazines, quickly moving to the prestigious Adventure magazine, his primary fiction outlet for nineteen years. In 1927 he wrote a biography of Genghis Khan, and following on its success turned more and more to the writing of non-fiction, penning numerous biographies and popular history books until his death in 1962. The success of Lamb's two volume history of the Crusades led to his discovery by Cecil B. DeMille, who employed Lamb as a technical advisor on a related movie, The Crusades, and used him as a screenwriter on many other DeMille movies thereafter. Lamb spoke French, Latin, Persian, and Arabic, and, by his own account, a smattering of Manchu-Tartar.
From Wikipedia
Born in Alpine, New Jersey, he attended Columbia University, where his interest in the peoples and history of Asia began. Lamb built a career with his writing from an early age. He got his start in the pulp magazines, quickly moving to the prestigious Adventure magazine, his primary fiction outlet for nineteen years. In 1927 he wrote a biography of Genghis Khan, and following on its success turned more and more to the writing of non-fiction, penning numerous biographies and popular history books until his death in 1962. The success of Lamb's two volume history of the Crusades led to his discovery by Cecil B. DeMille, who employed Lamb as a technical advisor on a related movie, The Crusades, and used him as a screenwriter on many other DeMille movies thereafter. Lamb spoke French, Latin, Persian, and Arabic, and, by his own account, a smattering of Manchu-Tartar.
From Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 27, 2015
More epic adventure on the steppes of Asia circa 1600 AD. The focus this time moves from Khlit (who was already old when he first rode onto the page) to Ayub, who's a really big guy, and Khlit's grandson Kirdy, but Khlit himself does make an appearance in some of the stories.
As always, Lamb excels not just at writing adventure, but at imbuing his fiction with a remarkable sense of place through use of well-chosen detail.
The highlight of the book is probably "The White Falcon", which follows a group of 500 Cossacks sent from Moscow down south across the desert to sack a treasure-city -- it packs a staggering amount of action into just over 100 pages.
As always, Lamb excels not just at writing adventure, but at imbuing his fiction with a remarkable sense of place through use of well-chosen detail.
The highlight of the book is probably "The White Falcon", which follows a group of 500 Cossacks sent from Moscow down south across the desert to sack a treasure-city -- it packs a staggering amount of action into just over 100 pages.
April 21, 2025
This is the third volume I've read. They are great stories, but even so they have some immersion curve (the time it takes to become immersed in the story and feel like the reading is effortless). Still, they are worth the effort.
April 30, 2017
All the old thrill of swashbuckling and rip roaring tales from the age of pulp fiction. Four volumes by Lamb set in the Cossack lands of the southern Russian Steppes. Not all in order but you take what you can get from inter-library loan when you get them. Other three came next day but was already into this volume of the collected tales. All dated and not politically correct but fun to re read after many years now in a full set where you fill in all the gaps from only catching a few years ago.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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