My edition of The Glory That Was is dedicated to Isaac Asimov and boasts an introduction by Robert A. Heinlein. So right up front you have substantial implied attestations of quality. But I’ve learned not to set my sights too high, and tempered my expectations accordingly. I expected an L. Sprague de Camp short novel:… Continue reading L. Sprague de Camp’s “The Glory That Was.”
Tag: L. Sprague de Camp
The Exotic Enchanter. A Hero’s Homecoming — Eventually.
Here we are with part 4 of my look at the Harold Shea stories. The last part, as far as I am aware. The Exotic Enchanter returns L. Sprague de Camp and Christopher Stasheff to the series as well as adding three additional authors, two of whom co-write a story. The ongoing pursuit of Florimel… Continue reading The Exotic Enchanter. A Hero’s Homecoming — Eventually.
The Enchanter Reborn. Too Many Cooks?
Despite the passing of Fletcher Pratt, Harold Shea lives on. The fantasy humor writer Christopher Stasheff tries to fill in, though the proceedure of story creation differs. The collection The Enchanter Reborn contains, rather than collaborations, individually written stories: two by Stasheff, one by L. Sprague de Camp, one by Holly Lisle, and one by… Continue reading The Enchanter Reborn. Too Many Cooks?
The Complete Compleat Enchanter. Part Two, the Romantic.
Last week I posted about the the first two tales of L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt’s Harold Shea stories. This week it is time to complete the Complete Compleat Enchanter. The Castle of Iron sees Shea in the world of Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso (after a brief stop in Coleridge’s Xanadu.) Shea is now… Continue reading The Complete Compleat Enchanter. Part Two, the Romantic.
The Complete Compleat Enchanter. Part One, of the Making of a Hero.
I re-read books. Yes, I keep going back to the well, or, rather, wells. But if the water is so good — uisce beatha, if you will — what’s wrong with that? I have the Baen edition of L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt’s The Complete Compleat Enchanter, which I haven’t read in years.… Continue reading The Complete Compleat Enchanter. Part One, of the Making of a Hero.
The Tritonian Ring: Barbecue in L. Sprague de Camp’s Backyard.
L. Sprague de Camp’s The Tritonian Ring is bronze-age sword-and-sorcery. In its pages he fits in lost continents, suggests origins for certain myths: medusa, gorgons, Amazons, etc., and provides a whirlwind tour of his pre-historic world of anxious, fallible gods, overly arrogant wizards, and bizarre societal habits. The driver of the narrative is the quest… Continue reading The Tritonian Ring: Barbecue in L. Sprague de Camp’s Backyard.
AKendix N. Plus Savage Journal Entry 20.
What books made you who you are today? What is your personal Appendix N? [NB: Appendix N is a recommended reading list for players of Dungeons and Dragons, writers that influenced Gary Gygax in his approach to the game.] That is, what sources molded the mental clay into the person you became? I’ve been pondering… Continue reading AKendix N. Plus Savage Journal Entry 20.
Anthologies: The Spell of Seven. Resurrected Post.
September 6, 2020 Anthologies: The Spell of Seven Another volume curated by L. Sprague de Camp, The Spell of Seven offers a stellar lineup of talent. Each of the seven tales features a Virgil Finlay illustration. How about that for lagniappe? Now, I’m guessing the cover looked better as a pencil and ink drawing. Colored,… Continue reading Anthologies: The Spell of Seven. Resurrected Post.
Intro to Sword and Sorcery: Five Names You Should Know. Resurrected Post.
November 24, 2019 Intro to Swords and Sorcery: Five Names You Should Know Perhaps you are new to this planet, or have been living in a bomb shelter all your life with limited reading material. Maybe you recently stumbled upon a trove of Molly Hatchet album covers at a garage sale, with those paintings by… Continue reading Intro to Sword and Sorcery: Five Names You Should Know. Resurrected Post.