by Gary Romeo
“The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune” was first published in Weird Tales, September 1929. It was reprinted in Skull-Face and Others, Arkham House, 1946. It was reprinted again in Avon Fantasy Reader #2, 1947. It also appeared in The Coming of Conan, Gnome Press, 1953. The first paperback appearance was in King Kull, Lancer Books, 1967.
Along with some minor punctuation changes, I noticed a textual change in the first paragraph.
Lancer: The gems in the diadem sparkle drearily like the ice of the white seas …
Del Rey: The gems in the diadem and upon the fingers of the women sparkle drearily like the ice of the white seas …
My guess in that Glenn Lord made the change due to Kull’s asexuality. Mentioning jewels upon the fingers of women could be seen as implying Kull keeps concubines. And, of course, even in this story the reader knows female “beauty meant little to Kull.”
Marvel Comics adapted the story within a Conan adventure in Conan the Barbarian #25. The script was by Roy Thomas and Barry Smith and art by John Buscema and Sal Buscema. Gil Kane and Ralph Reese illustrated the cover. Kull appears in a flashback sequence illustrated by John Severin.
Marvel Comics adapted the story a second time in The Savage Sword of Conan #34. Roy Thomas provided the script and Mike Ploog did the art.
Below are some unpublished notes L. Sprague de Camp made on this story when preparing Dark Valley Destiny, Bluejay Books, 1983. The notes are very astute.
This story and “The Tower of the Elephant” are my favorites REH stories. I can’t recommend these stories enough as a gateway to REH fandom. Both are perfect. I’ve discussed “The Tower of the Elephant” several times before; both on this blog and in various fanzines. But nailing down the wonderment of “The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune” is a bit harder.
The story starts with great pessimistic prose poetry, “There comes, even to kings, the time of great weariness.” The Conan the Barbarian movie put this dialogue in the mouth of King Osric and Max Von Sydow spoke it wonderfully. The Conan movie borrowed even more dialogue from the Kull stories and, of course, Kull’s foe, Thulsa Doom, became Conan’s nemesis. The success of the movie suggests that Conan is the better realized character but the Kull stories had the best atmosphere and dialogue.
After Brule fails to cheer Kull up, a girl approaches the king. “Great king, seek Tuzun Thune, the wizard. The secrets of life and death are his, and the stars in the sky and the lands beneath the seas.”
When an unknown beautiful woman approaches me I suspect she is out to steal my kidney but Kull doesn’t suspect foul play. “Kull looked at the girl. Fine gold was her hair and her violet eyes were slanted strangely; she was beautiful, but her beauty meant little to Kull.”
Kull goes to see Tuzun Thune and after some great dialogue (also borrowed for the Conan the Barbarian movie) gazes into the Mirrors of Tuzun Thune. Kull starts tripping with more introspective thinking than even eating a whole Delta 8 CBD Chocolate Bar can induce.
“I come before this mirror,” mused Kull, chin on fist, “and bring this man to life. This is beyond my understanding, since first I saw him in the still waters of the lakes of Atlantis, till I saw him again in the gold-rimmed mirrors of Valusia. He is I, a shadow of myself, part of myself – I can bring him into being or slay him at my will; yet – he halted, strange thoughts whispering through the vast dim recesses of his mind like shadowy bats flying through a great cavern – “yet where is he when I stand not in front of a mirror? May it be in man’s power thus lightly to form and destroy a shadow of life and existence? How do I know that when I step back from the mirror he vanishes into the void of Naught?”
Kull continues on like this and spends hours contemplating his reflection. Addicted, Kull ignores his day to day duties and returns again and again to gaze into the Mirrors.
As Kull fades, Brule enters, shatters the mirror, and slays Tuzun Thune. Although Tuzun Thune is dead and the house of mirrors desolate, Kull’s memories linger:
“… Kull upon his throne meditates often upon the strange wisdom and untold secrets hidden there and wonders … For there are worlds beyond worlds, as Kull knows, and whether the wizard bewitched him by words or by mesmerism, vistas did open to the king’s gaze beyond that strange door, and Kull is less sure of reality since he gazed into the mirrors of Tuzun Thune.”
This story either grabs you with it metaphysical thinking or it doesn’t. It grabbed me and it grabbed Farnsworth Wright gaining REH a paycheck. It is depressing that REH was only able to sell two Kull stories to Weird Tales. REH had a real knack for thoughtful Sword & Sorcery, and really great Kull stories were never sold. Conan is solid action and adventure but Kull is all that and a little more. I’m not sure I did enough of a convincing write up here but REH’s Kull stories, are to my thinking, some of his best work.
spraguedecampfan 
I like to imagine this story as an early commentary on television addiction.
A great story and Mike Ploog’s art for the Savage Sword adaptation is Excellent
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