Book excerpt: When Conan puts Roganthus the Strongman out of commission in a street brawl he soon finds himself drawn in by the slender Sathilda and her pet panther as part of a travelling troupe. What starts as an innocent pastime turns into a deadly game when the circus is called to the Arena of the Stygian capital of Luxor. There they are forced to fight for their lives against exotic warriors and all manner of wild beasts. no one has yet survived the whims of the tyrannical Emperor Commodorus. And then there are the foul sorceries of the black-robed priests of the snake-god Set...