History Literature / TheHourOfTheDragon

* PlotIrrelevantVillain: The vampire princess Akivasha is just one obstacle that Conan faces on his adventure, she has no ties with Xatoltun or his conspirators whatsoever. Conan doesn't even kill her, he flees her lair and she isn't even referenced ever again at the end.

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: Valerius turns the Aquilonian court into this after taking over.

* ObfuscatingInsanity: Though Valerius seems to be a completely debauched wastrel, there is a method to his madness. He hates pretty much everyone in both Aquilonia ''and'' Nemedia, especially Amalric, and wants to ruin both kingdoms so thoroughly that Amalric's imperial ambitions will never be realized.

* DistressedDamsel and HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Countess Albiona. One of Conan's fiercely loyal subjects. Very young, innocent, with a "proud, rebellious spirit," so Valerius steals her lands, [[GirlInTheTower locks her up in The Iron Tower]], AndNowYouMustMarryMe. She quite sensibly refuses, so he's about to be [[OffWithHisHead beheaded]]. Fortunately, Conan finds out and rescues her, assisted by the Asura priests. Safe in Count Trocero's palace in Poitain, she verifies what she and Conan found out from the Asura devotees about Xaltotun's longevity and power.

* BurnTheWitch: Happens to Zelata, fortunatly she is saved by Conan.

* DistressedDamsel and HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Countess Albiona. One of Conan's fiercely loyal subjects. Very young, innocent, with a "proud, rebellious spirit," so Valerius steals her lands, [[GirlInTheTower locks her up in The Iron Tower]], AndNowYouMustMarryMe. She quite sensibly refuses, so he's about to have her [[OffWithHisHead beheaded]]. Fortunately, Conan finds out and rescues her, assisted by the Asura priests. Safe in Count Trocero's palace in Poitain, she verifies what she and Conan found out from the Asura devotees about Xaltotun's longevity and power.

* DistressedDamsel and HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Countess Albiona. One of Conan's fiercely loyal subjects. Very young, innocent, with a "proud, rebelliou spirit," so Valerius steals her lands, [[GirlInTheTower locks her up in The Iron Tower]], AndNowYouMustMarryMe. She quite sensibly refuses, so he's about to have her [[OffWithHisHead beheaded]]. Fortunately, Conan finds out and rescues her, assisted by the Asura priests. Safe in Count Trocero's palace in Poitain, she verifies what she and Conan found out from the Asura devotees about Xaltotun's longevity and power.

* FourthDateMarriage: [[spoiler:After Zenobia helps Conan escape from the dungeons of Nemedia's Royal Palace, Conan rewards her by marrying her and making her the queen of Aquilonia. Even in the few pages they're together, some effort is made to show why Conan would like her for queen. She loves him devotedly, but is very sensible, brings him proper weapons, steals a perfect horse for him, and keeps her head in a crisis.]]

* HappilyEverAfter: In the very last sentence of the book, Conan speaks of Zenobia, the slave girl who saved him at great risk to herself: "She was a slave in Nemedia, but I will make a queen in Aquilonia". Howard wrote no Conan adventures set beyond this moment, evidently intending his hero to have some bit of rest in a blissful happy marriage.

* ThereAreNoCoincidences: The first time we see Conan in person, he clearly isn't buying the idea that the recent plague in Nemedia was a natural occurrence.

* GenreSavvy: The first time we see Conan in person, he clearly isn't buying the idea that the recent plague in Nemedia was a natural occurrence.

* ANaziByAnyOtherName: The book was written in late 1933 or early 1934, shortly after Hitler took power in Germany. Looking at the map appearing in every Conan book it is clear that Aquilonia is France and Nemedia is Germany - hereditary enemies. There is a new regime in Nemedia, which initially arouses enthusiasm, immediately starts planning war and conquest, and perpetrates countless atrocities. Xaltotun plans to perpetrate "the greatest bloodbath the world had ever seen" in order to bring back the glories of an ancient empire. Nemedia/Germany occupies Aquilonia/France, puts a collaborator regime in power, brutally oppresses the Aquilonian Resistance. Finally, the Aquilonians are liberated and take grim revenge on those who had collaborated with the occupiers. Howard, who would not live to see the SecondWorldWar, made a fairly accurate prediction.

* ArmorIsUseless: During the final battle, the Bossonian archers take a terrible toll on every wave of the Nemedian assault.
-->''The clothyard shafts found every crevice in their armor and the housings of the steeds.''
** TruthInTelevision: During the Battle of Agincourt, English archers (armed with Welsh longbows) decimated French knights with their bodkin-tipped arrows. Although plate armor at the time could protect knights against arrows, the horses were less protected. The wounded horses ejected knights into the mud and their peers trampled them. The battle sent shockwaves through European nobility that an army of archers could defeat the cream of French Chivalry who outnumbered them.

* TheCaligula: Valerius' reign as false king of Aquilonia is known for such debauchery and decadence that even his own allies tell him that he's overdoing it.

* ThePowerOfFriendship: Many of Conan's triumphs in this story are due to assistance from allies that he helped at some point in the past. The villains, on the other hand, ultimately fail because they have their own conflicting secret agendas, do not trust each other, and cannot work together effectively.

* VillainOpeningScene: With the conspirators.

* VirginSacrifice: Xaltotun attempts this.

* FourthDateMarriage: [[spoiler:After Zenobia helps Conan escape from the dungeons of Nemedia's Royal Palace, Conan rewards her by marrying her and making her the queen of Aquilonia.]]

An ancient wizard named Xaltotun is brought BackFromTheDead by a group of Nemedian conspirators using the Heart of Ahriman. Xaltotun seeks to conquer the world, but first he sets his eyes on Aquilonia, and it's king, Conan. Using his dark magic, he defeats Conan and locks him away, setting his forces to reap the spoils of Conan's fallen kingdom.

''[[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Hour_of_the_Dragon The Hour of the Dragon]]'' is the only Literature/ConanTheBarbarian novel by Creator/RobertEHoward. Published in 5 parts, from December, 1935 to April, 1936.

''[[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Hour_of_the_Dragon The Hour of the Dragon]]'' is the only Literature/ConanTheBarbarian novel by Creator/RobertEHoward. Published in 5 parts, from December, 1935 to April, 1936. The story received a loose adaptation with the 1997's ''[[Literature/{{Kull}} Kull The Conqueror]]'' movie.

* ScarilyCompetentTracker: The Khitan assassins [[spoiler: Valerius]] sics on Conan track him across several kingdoms and an ocean without much trouble. For some of it, they appear to be doing it just by ''smell''.