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de Camp L Sprague
The Best of L. Sprague de Camp
 DescriptionNelson Doubleday hard cover, Feb. 1978, first edition. Contents: Introduction: L. Sprague de Camp- Engineer and Sorcerer, essay by Poul Anderson. Stories and poems: Hyperpelosity, Language for Time Travelers, essay by L. Sprague de Camp, The Command, The Merman, Employment, The Gnarly Man, "Reward of Virtue" (poem), Nothing in the Rules, The Hardwood Pile, The Reluctant Shaman, The Inspector's Teeth, The Guided Man, "The Ameba" (poem), Judgment Day, A Gun for Dinosaur, The Emperor's Fan, Two Yards of Dragon, "The Little Green Men" (poem), Author's Afterword, essay by L. Sprague de Camp.Customer ReviewsThe Best of L. Sprague De CampThis is a basic book for all science fiction lovers. I will read it again and again.
Conan the Liberator (Conan)
DescriptionCustomer ReviewsSuper ReaderHaving gained the Treasure of Tranicos, Conan finds himself assuming the role of a rebel general, as men flock to his banner, little liking the insane king that ruled in Aquilonia, and his sorcerer, Thulandra Thuu. He has to fight ambushes, the wizard, and Aquilonian and regional commanders to eventually make his way to the palace. How Conan Became a King In this novel, DeCamp and Carter tell the story of the Cimmerian's oft-mentioned revolt agains King Numedides of Aquilonia. Manipulating the madness of the king is Stygian wizard, Thulandra Thuu. (For those of you familiar with the works of Lin Carter, you gotta know that name was from Lin). Carter and DeCamp find a way to maintain the suspense even though any Conan fan knows the outcome of the story. The story shifts between Conan's inexorable march to Aquilonia and Thuu's attempts to stop the rebel army. Numedides is an excellent character, nasty and pitiful at the same time, every character in the book knows what's going on except him. Chance lost This book was a great chance to tell a super part of Conan's life. It misses the mark by being too boring and not enough action. Boring Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. We've all heard that statement before, right? In most cases, it may even be true. Something tells me it isn't so with this book. The two authors of this book point out in the introduction (which, along with the map of Howard's fantasy world, is the only interesting thing about this book) that great care has been taken to carefully reconstruct Howard's prose style while maintaining character continuity with his original stories. Even though I've never read a Howard book before--and I will seek some of them out after this--I don't doubt that the prose and descriptions match the original stories. Unfortunately, in their careful attempts at mimicry, these two authors forgot to craft an engaging story. "Conan the Liberator" tells the story about a revolution mounted against the evil Numedides, King of Aquilonia, by Conan the Cimmerian, a former general of Numedides. People are fed up with the debaucheries of Numedides, and the high taxes that go along with them. But Numedides is under the spell of the evil Lemurian sorcerer Thulandra Thuu, a man who wishes to further his own interests through the king. Conan has other ideas, and assembles an army with the help of Count Trocero, a nobleman of Poitain; Dexitheus, a priest of Mitra; Publius, a rebel tax accessor; and Prospero, another exiled general. The army assembles in nearby Argos, where spies keep watch on their activities, and a beauty by the name of Alcina, in the employ of Thuu, watches Conan. The entire book is a painfully detailed account of the grinding excursion north to a showdown with Numedides and Thuu. "Conan the Liberator" is the worst fantasy book I've ever read. Page after page is loaded with meaningless dialogue and politics. I always felt the name Conan was synonymous with action. This book showed me the error of that type of thinking. NOTHING happens in this book. Sure, there are a couple of short battles during the course of the story, and Thuu manages to cast a couple of spells against Conan and his army. But overall, these few scenes are not enough to justify writing this book, let alone reprinting it. Almost every scene manages to land with an earth-shattering thud Character development is criminally, excruciatingly flat. I've seen better character development in industrial training films. Not one character ever rises above simple human traits such as breathing and moving. It will be a miracle if I remember anything about any of them in a few days. What is good about this book pertains directly to the creator of Conan, Robert Howard. The introduction is good, and the map of Howard's fantasy world is fascinating. According to the introduction, Howard created a world with a mix of ancient, medieval, viking, and biblical place names. Howard placed his world between the sinking of Atlantis and "the emergence of the cities." Our gods and mythologies, according to Howard, are fragmentary memories of this forgotten age. Avoid this clunker at all costs. Go out and find the original stories, or rent the Conan movies. Learning Esperanto or cleaning the lint out of your navel would be more fun than diving into this cesspool. I suspect Howard would be quite testy if he was still alive today to witness what others have done with his ideas. exciting sword and sorcery A fortyish Conan leads an army trying to overthrow the maniacal tyranny of king Numedides of Aquilonia. Conan believes his rebel force has a great chance of defeating the king's forces led by General Procas and consequently expects to topple a monarch who abuses children and kills concubines on some of mad whim. Conan and his advisors anticipate and plan a war they expect fought in which blade goes against blade. Instead, the evil sorcerer Thulandra Thuu and his servant Alcina intercede. Soon a mysterious illness threaten to do what the king's forces have failed to do, destroy the rebel army unless Conan can find some way of saving himself, his soldiers and ultimately the people of Aquilonia. This is a reprint of an exciting sword and sorcery tale released over two decades ago. The story line is fast-paced and loaded with non-magical and esoteric action as expected from the novels starring the pre-history hero. Conan remains dauntless while trying to do what he believes is right while his deadly foe Thuu will return for another day (or is that novel - if this reviewer's memory holds see CONAN THE SWORDSMAN). Harriet Klausner
Conan and the Spider God
 List Price: $6.99 DescriptionConan is back, and at the top of his form!SFWA Grand Master L. Sprague de Camp was revered in the genre of fantasy for both his fiction and nonfiction. Booklist praised his novel The Honorable Barbarian, saying: “The action is brisk, and the worlds and characters are described with de Camp's deft, light touch . . . thoroughly agreeable entertainment,” while Kirkus Reviews said of The Pixilated Peeress “the unassuming style and verve of the telling keep the pages turning. Pure prose junk-food.” But more important, L. Sprague de Camp wrote Dark Valley Destiny, the definitive biography of Conan’s creator, Robert E. Howard, leaving little wonder as to why Conan and the Spider God is considered one of the finest novels in the canon of Conan. Son of a blacksmith, a former slave and thief, Conan the Cimmerian has risen to the rank of Captain of the Royal Guard. But as usual, trouble is his bedfellow. Forced to kill while defending himself, Conan must flee the vengeance of the High Priest of Erlik. Foraging through field and forest, meeting friend and foe, Conan cuts a bloody swath through assassins and bounty hunters all the way to the sinister temple of Zath, where he encounters the huge and hideous Spider God. Facing certain death, Conan becomes both the hunter . . . and the hunted. Conan and the Spider God is a thrilling adventure of the mighty barbarian, from one of the genre's most revered authors. Customer ReviewsGood, but not greatDe Camp tries to be Howard, but alas, falls flat in my opinion. The story could've had more of what makes Conan tales great; action, magic and gals.
The Best Of L. Sprague De Camp
DescriptionCustomer ReviewsThe Best of L. Sprague De CampThis is a basic book for all science fiction lovers. I will read it again and again.
Lest Darkness Fall & To Bring the Light
 List Price: $5.99 DescriptionIn Lest Darkness Fall, twentieth-century academic Martin Padway travels through time to prevent the fall of the Roman Empire, while in To Bring the Light, Herosilla must forge the birth of Roman civilization.Customer ReviewsThe Best Time Travel Story, Ever.Or at least the most fun. I own this edition, but I doubt I've read the Drake story more than once. The de Camp story, however, is one that I come back to and re-read again and again. The story is told with wit, humor, and verve. It is probably the best depiction of what a 20th century man could do with the contents of his pockets and his knowledge of history and machinery. He's not given too much knowledge - as a classics professor, he knows the language and a plausible amount about well-documented historical personalities, but it's all entirely plausible to the reader. He actually has difficulty devising machines based on his layman's knowledge of them, which is a reality that a lot of time travel stories avoid. If Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" hadn't come first, I'd call this the all-time classic of the genre. This is more entertaining, because it's both more accessible and more historically realistic at the same time. The characters are all strikingly well-drawn, even the minor characters. They aren't Faulkner characters or anything, but as stock types they are all memorable and fun. Five stars. I'd give six stars if that was possible. Highly recommended. I just wish I could write 1/10th as well as this! While reading one of Harry Turtledoves book, he mentioned this slim little book as one of his favorites. So I went out and bought a copy. Am I ever happy that I did! This novel is extremely well written, refreshingly politically incorrect, well researched, fast paced and interesting as well. Frankly his story of one man being sent back in time to put off the Dark Ages of Western Europe is well worth the time & coin. Lest Darkness Falls Great Book. I read Lest Darkness Falls forty years ago and then recently I found a re-release of the book on Amazon. Again it held me with a great story about time travel. Not even a barbarian could pry this book from my hands. De Camp Delights Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague de Camp is the perfect introduction to this golden-age great science-fiction author. De Camp, along with Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard and others, were all part of John W. Campbell's, editor of Astounding and Unknown, stable of writers. These men created modern Science-Fiction. De Camp pretty much created the alternate universe story with this novel. Fans of de Camp can discuss his life and works at a Yahoo Discussion Group called d_for_de_Camp. Hopefully, one day soon, de Camp will be rediscovered and appreciated for the talent he is. His books always delight and should be reprinted for a new generation of readers. This book is one of his best. De Camp's masterpiece... plus bonus material! "Lest Darkness Fall" (which is by far the bulk of this book) is the most amazing historical novel I've ever read, deliberately picking an extremely obscure period and characters and yet making them come brightly alive. Drake's short story, in comparison, just can't hold its own -- although it's quite interesting, on its own terms, particularly if you ARE familiary with Livy's Book 1 (and, believe me, you SHOULD be:-). No matter: the book as a whole is a bargain, and an absolute MUST de Camp L Sprague News
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de Camp, L. Sprague
L. Sprague de Camp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
L Sprague De Camp Biography
L Sprague de Camp
L. Sprague deCamp, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer |
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