L. Sprague deCamp

The Perfect Servant (NOT!) He looked like a cross between a dragon and a catfish, and he could bend iron bands into pretzels with a flick of his hand. But what Zdim the mild-mannered demon really was, was a scholar of logic and philosophy. That's why when Zdim was drafter for a year's servitude on the mortal plane he felt that a monumental administrative error had been made. And even though Zdim resolved to be absolutely obedient and to do exactly what he was told, the wizard who employed him soon agreed.

The Fallible Fiend

King Jorian was rather attached to his head. Hence, he felt his promise to seal the Kist of Avlen, a treasure trove of ancient manuscripts on magic, was little enough a price to pay for a chance to escape his own beheading. But when the quest pitted him against one peril after another - a murderous wizard and his giant squirrel, a castle full of executioners, a marauding troop of ape men, and a voluptuous 500-year-old princess who was also a serpent - Jorian wondered if he'd made a good bargain!

The Goblin Tower

Catherine Crook deCamp

When Fergus Reith agrees to act as tour guide for the famed palaeontologist Dr Aristide Marot, little does he realise that the search for the elusive Ozymandias will uncover spectacular riches, ruthless adversaries - and his former wife, the seductive Dr. Alicia Dyckman! Caught in a bloody civil was, the three adventurers must fight or face death by boiling in the Cauldron of Repentance! The secrets of the planet Krishna continue to unfold in L. Sprague de Camp's latest tale of mystery, treachery and romance. The Bones of Zora is the sixth of L. Sprague de Camp's Krishna book - interplanetary romance in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Martian Tales.

The Bones of Zora

P. Schuyler Miller

Twenty-five men and women against a world of evolution gone mad! Here is the vivid story of their adventures and terrors - the monster in the forest - the city of giant beavers - and the secret of the incredible race that had supplanted mankind.

Genus Homo

Meet Victor Hasselborg, easily the most miserable Private Investigator in the entire galaxy. More comfortable with the dull routine of investigating insurance frauds than interstellar adventure, Hasselborg is bound by duty to chase a runaway heiress across known space to the primitive world called Krishna. Clad in kilt and sword, his hair dyed green, riding a buggy driven by a six legged monster of a beast, Hasselborg's quest takes him through the volatile world of feudal Krishna politics and into the presence of . . . the Queen of Zamba. The Queen of Zamba is the first of L. Sprague de Camp's Krishna book - interplanetary romance in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Martian Tales.

The Queen of Zamba

Fletcher Pratt

The Weirdest Drinking Establishment in the Universe Gavagan's Bar - presided over by Mr. Aloysius P. Cohan, bartender. Where you will meet such not-so-regular customers as: Councilman Maguire, who brought his own leprechaun with him from Ireland. Mrs. Vacarescu and her husband Putzi, the were-dachshund. Mr. Murdoch, who borrowed a very small dragon to rid his apartment of mice and lost it. And assorted witches, magicians, devils, dryads, and the occasional demigod.

Tales from Gavagan's Bar

The Whims of Destiny Jorian, the one-time unbeheaded king, was now safely retired from a long career of getting into trouble. But his younger brother Kerin lacked such wisdom. The outraged father of Adeliza had caught him in compromising circumstances with the maiden. So Kerin had to be sent at once on a mission by sea to the Far East. But Kerin's talent for trouble was not to be denied. First came Belinka, a sprite sent by Adeliza to bring him back safe for her. The ship captain believed Kerin was seducing his mistress. Though innocent this time, Kerin left hastily in a rowboat. That got him to a hermit-wizard's island - and a voyage on a pirate ship, where the kidnapped princess Nogiri was held captive. Kerin was unable to save her - until he gained the help of the hermit-wizard, who then betrayed him by seizing the girl and fleeing with her to be used as a human sacrifice. From then on, events became hectic as Kerin managed to save Nogiri again, helped by a wizard who was the enemy of the first one. Belinka was much distressed by what happened then between Kerin and Nogiri - with cause - as they set out again, this time to the Emperor of the Farthest East. There Kerin discovered more magic, and the Emperor learned that no man should be absentminded when using a powerful spell. But it was later that Kerin discovered the limitations of roller skates.

The Honourable Barbarian

Decades before a certain five-year voyage, L. Sprague de Camp sent a spirited crew to a strange and distant world, where their meeting with its inhabitants created chaos in local politics, upset the balance of power and generally created the most entertaining havoc. Rogue Queen is an engaging tale of aliens and humans on the loose on a world of appealing strangeness.

Rogue Queen

Tortured Intellectual Kirk Salazar, devout intellectual, had quite been looking forward to his field research on Sunga. He aimed to discover how the stump-tailed, semiarboreal kusis lived without being injured within the venom tree forest. A fascinating topic! His thesis would have progressed splendidly, save for one thing. A certain lack of financing necessitated that he travel through Sunga with a tour group. Much against his will, he soon became embroiled with a conglomeration of characters even more peculiar than Sunga's natural wonders. First there were the hard-core tourists, always pushing and complaining, desperate to glimpse the rare, birdlike zutas. Worse the Cantemir - a man lewd, rude and dangerous - who had struck a deal with the native Chief to destroy the whole Sunga forest for lumber! But most formidable was Alexis Ritter. She was the high priestess of a Sunga cult dedicated to chastity. But she sure seemed to have a use in mind for Salazar's body! Doggedly Salazar pursued his research through ambushes, sex, and even attempted murder. A determined intellectual does not give up easily - even if he has to go to extremes to defend his thesis!

The Venom Trees of Sunga

SUSPEND YOUR DISBELIEF And plunge headlong into the always wild, constantly weird, and frequently whimsical realm of fantasy as invoked by that master magician L. SPRAGUE DE CAMP! - A social protestor who just happens to be a ghost. - A mail-order magic business that conjures up a universe of trouble. - A fledgling wizard who doesn't know the strength of his own power. And these are only a sprinkling of the outrageous and amazing creatures and things you'll encounter as you whir through a world where everything is probable.

The Reluctant Shaman and Other Fantastic Tales

Never Trust a Demon Three years earlier, Jorian had been the crowned King of Xylar. But the laws of Xylar decreed that each randomly chosen King must be beheaded at the end of a five-year reign. Jorian had a prejudice against losing his head. With the aid of the aged wizard Karadur, he managed to flee. Unfortunately he had not been able to bring his beloved wife, Queen Estrildis, with him, nor had he yet been able to find a means of freeing her from the palace in Xylar City. Now, however, he felt that his luck was about to change. He and the aged wizard Karadur were being flown through the night air in a great copper bathtub, powered by a demon under Karadur's control. Ahead of them lay Xylar City. There, while the demon kept the bathtub hovering above the palace, Jorian could let down a rope and rescue Estrildis. It should have been a foolproof scheme¿

The Unbeheaded King

LOVECRAFT THE MAN LOVECRAFT THE WRITER LOVECRAFT THE CULT FIGURE His name conjures macabre visions of ghoulish beasts, creeping monsters, ghastly fantasies. His stories have spawned a following that ranks him with Edgar Allan Poe and Lord Dunsany. But Lovecraft was himself the most bizarre of all his characters!

A Biography

Lovecraft

Against the Fall of Night The Roman Empire had spread order, knowledge, and civilisation throughout the ancient world. When Rome fell, the light of reason flickered out across the Empire. The Dark Ages had begun; they would last a thousand years. Could a man from the 20th century prevent the fall of Rome? When lightening struck and he was hurled backward into the sixth century, the question became anything but academic to Martin Padway, but even forearmed with a knowledge of 20th century technology and of events to come, what could one man do? But Padway must try, lest darkness fall.

Lest Darkness Fall

The Glory that was - or the Glory that wasn't? Knut Bulnes had considered Vasil IX, World Emperor of the 27th century, to be a harmless eccentric until Imperial decree completely sealed off Greece behind a force wall and people of Greek descent suddenly began disappearing from the rest of the world - including the wife of Bulnes's friend Wiyem Flin. Bulnes reluctantly agreed to help Flin find his wife, and the two managed to get inside the force wall only to find themselves in the Classical Greece of Socrates and Euripides - and the target of a man-hunt not only by the soldiers of Perikles, but also by the unpleasant characters with machine guns.

The Glory That Was

The Mathematics of Magic was probably the greatest discovery of the ages - at least Professor Harold Shea thought so. With the proper equations, he could instantly transport himself back in time to all the wondrous lands of ancient legend. But slips in time were a hazard, and Shea's magic did not always work - at least, not quite as he expected . . . The Incomplete Enchanter is the first in L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt's much-loved Compleat Enchanter series.

The Incomplete Enchanter

The Best Mislaid Plans Wizardly schemes, Jorian knew went oft a-gley. But this time the wizard's plan seemed simple. Since ancient prophecy foretold that the clocks would save Iraz, Jorian must repair the great tower clocks that his father had built. If everything went well, Karadur could then plan the rescue of Jorian's beloved wife, Queen Estrildis from Xylar. And Jorian would be appointed Clockmaster of Iraz, a position that would require him to break a pirate siege, placate an amorous priestess, and stay at least one step ahead of the Royal Guard of Xylar - where he was still wanted as the star sttraction of a royal beheading!

The Clocks of Iraz

On Midsummer's Eve, as everybody knows, you should leave a bowl of milk out for the fairies. Unfortunately - or fortunately - Fred Barber, an American diplomat convalescing in Yorkshire, didn't take the obligation with proper seriousness. He swapped the milk for a stiff dose of Scotch. So he had only himself to blame if the fairies got a bit muddled. Barber found himself in an Old English Fairyland. At the Court of King Oberon, to be precise. The natural - or supernatural - laws there were, to say the least of it, distinctly odd. Things kept changing. This made the mssion with which he was entrusted, as the price of his return to the normal world, even harder than he expected. He had to penetrate the Kobold Hills, where it was said that swords were being made, and discover if an ancient enemy had returned. He was given a magic wand - but not told how to use it. Through the fields and forests he went, meeting dryads and sprites, ogres and two-headed eagles, on the way. Danger, seduction and magic lay all around him. And, as the adventure continued, somehow it darkened and became more seriousness. At the end of Fred Barber's quest lay a shattering revelation.

Land of Unreason

The Virgin of Zesh In which a beautiful woman, a mind-drunk poet, and a super-sober scientist must fight for their lives on a planet occupied by weird cultists from the Earth and bizarre varieties of humanoids from all over the galaxy. The Wheels of If In which a young lawyer is trapped in a sense-shattering shuttle among alternative worlds of possibility, and lands at last in an America that has been colonised by Norsemen and divided between two great warring empires - one white, one Indian.

The Virgin & the Wheels

Stories contained in this book: The Swords of Faerie Jack of all Arts: William Morris Two Men in One: Lord Dunsany Eldritch Yankee Gentleman: H. P. Lovecraft Superman in a Bowler: E. R. Eddison The Miscast Barbarian: Robert E. Howard Parallel Worlds: Fletcher Pratt Sierran Shaman: Clark Ashton Smith Merlin in Tweeds: J. R. R. Tolkien The Architect of Camelot: T. H. White Conan's Compeers

Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers

Copy from the 1975 Owlswick Press print edition: L. Sprague de Camp's original Science-Fiction Handbook, published in 1953 and long out of print, has been favourably remembered by a whole generation of science fiction readers and aspiring writers. Over the years, at convention after convention, fans have urged its reissue. Teachers of courses on imaginative fiction have begged for the book; one planned to reproduce the manual for his creative writing course until he learned that the material was under copyright Because of this enduring interest, the present book came into being. Completely rewritten by de Camp and his wife Catherine, Science Fiction Handbook, Revised serves two purposes. It introduces the general reader to the fascinating field of imaginative fiction. The first two chapters describe the growth of science fiction from Aristophanes to Asimov and give the history of its parent literature, fantasy, which is as old as cavemen and as young as tomorrow. The rest of the book affords the apprentice writer an overview of the pleasures and problems of writing imaginative fiction an teachers him the many and varied skills such writing requires. There are chapters on setting the scene, plotting the story and writing dialogue. Other chapters are devoted to showing the creative writer how to sore his literary works, keep records for tax purposes, market a story, deal with editors and agents, read the fine print in contracts and bargain with publishers. Finally, there are helpful hints for the successful writer about relating to his community, handling publicity and melding the needs of the creative artists with those of a successful human being and family member. In short, here is a wealth of information on the techniques of writing fiction. Here, too, is the wisdom distilled by the de Camps in the course of their long writing careers. And, for those who have no desire to write, here is a chance to see what the writer's world is really like and to learn something about the remarkable literature that we call science fiction and fantasy.

L. Sprague deCamp

About

Books

Join the club