Recently, Balladeer’s Blog examined Robert E. Howard’s trilogy of tales featuring one of his neglected characters, James Allison. This time around we’ll take a look at another overlooked creation of Howard – the Irish warrior Turlogh Dubh of Clan O’Brien.
THE GREY GOD PASSES – This was technically the first appearance of Turlogh Dubh but the story was not published until long after Robert E. Howard’s suicide in 1936. That publication came in 1962’s Dark Mind, Dark Heart. The other two Turlogh stories were published in 1931.
Turlogh is just one of many characters – both real and fictional – in this historical adventure about the real-life Battle of Clontarf on April 23rd, 1014 – Good Friday. The battle supposedly lasted from sunrise to sunset.
Robert E. Howard’s approach in this tale could be likened to those big-budget, all-star war movies like The Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far, Midway, etc. Like the other characters, the fictional Turlogh comes in and out of the narrative as we read the lead-up, the battle and a bit of the aftermath. He is, however, the main character of the next two tales in which he appears. Continue reading
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