Review: Shipwrecked by V. Castro

by Gary Romeo

A new Heroic Legends e-book! This time featuring Conan’s former lover, the pirate-captain, Bêlit. And the first one in the series written by a woman. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) Let’s examine Shipwrecked by V. Castro.

Per her website at https://vcastrostories.com: “V. Castro is a two time Bram Stoker award nominated writer born in San Antonio, Texas, to Mexican American parents. She’s been writing horror stories since she was a child, always fascinated by Mexican folklore and the urban legends of Texas. Castro now lives in the United Kingdom with her family, writing and traveling with her children.”

Bêlit, like Valeria, is one of those supporting characters created in a Robert E. Howard Conan adventure (“Queen of the Black Coast” and “Red Nails” respectively) that are too good to remain dormant. Marvel Comics and Dark Horse Comics added additional adventures of the two characters in their adaptations of Conan stories. Bêlit got a co-starring novel appearance in Conan the Rebel, Ballantine Books, 1980 and Valeria in Conan and the Gods of the Mountain, Tor Books, 1993 as well as Blood of the Serpent, Titan Books, 2022. Later they were each featured in their own (absent Conan) Marvel Comics limited series. Also, there was the perplexing (bad form to say godawful) limited series from Ablaze Comics that featured them as a team. And, of course, Bêlit’s fate and Valeria’s name were combined in the Conan the Barbarian 1982 movie. (There was a Bêlit prose story in the Marvel limited series called “Bone Whispers” by Michael A. Stackpole. It is scheduled to be reprinted in this e-book series and released on July 23, 2024.)

So, the bottom line here is, did V. Castro write a good Bêlit story?

I thought it a decent story. It read fast and led to a bloody conclusion. It didn’t have any twists or turns or surprises. Bêlit and her crew end up on a strange beach and Lovecraftian Fish People are there. The cover illustration features a bone white Bêlit (that seems to be in vogue these days.) Bêlit’s tough love captaincy is shown in the final line in the below excerpt.

Her leadership skills are arguably more merciful than her social skills. Threats vs. murder being the distinction. It is narrated that when a low-status drunk attempted to touch her, she killed the fellow.

Robert E. Howard’s Bêlit was a hellion, so I suppose, all this is in character. I’m too old (and too embarrassed about a faux pas I made in a bar once) to give it much thought. The conclusion was suitably bloody, and the Fish People were deserving of Bêlit’s wrath (even though her main objective was to steal their treasure.) It was entertaining enough and was only $1.99. Buy a copy.