Product Description
Magnificent mind-bending tales of swords and sorcery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Back to the Future (with a Mastadon)
The author of these stories seemed fond of guns.They're in five out of the seven stories in the collection.He seemed to like ancient history and time travel as well.

"A Gun for Dinosaur" is by far the best story in the book.Two other 'time traveling to hunt prehistoric animals' stories follow up after this one, bringing back the same characters to further enjoy.Unfortunately the two latter stories don't pack the same punch the first one does.

The author does a pretty good job of coming up with theories to make his science fiction plausible, especially since these stories were written so long ago.I think there were only one or two times I felt the material was technologically dated (although I did imagine the dinosaur-hunting guns shooting lasers instead of bullets).His background education in engineering served him well.

I kind of like the Aristotle story too, echoing the all-too-familiar theme of screwing up the past when you try to alter it.

I'll close by saying I got a good laugh out of the book's last story, when the knight got busted for killing a dragon without a hunting license.

A pleasant read
A good light read that introduces hopefully the author to a new generation of SF readers. If you like this one then go read "Lest the Darkness Fall" by the same author.

long out of print stories
A short collection of decades-old tales that deserve renewed life amongst a new generation of science fiction readers. To expose them to the talent that was L Sprague de Camp, who died just recently. He had been writing continuously since before World War 2. Mostly short stories, like those in this collection.

Harry Turtledove weaves a nice editorial thread that gives some background on de Camp and his stories. Shows that Turtledove is as skilled an editor as he is an author. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Good Collection
A good overview of the Sword & Sorcery genre.I didn't think the HP Lovecraft or Lord Dunsany stories really fit the book.But the Clark Ashton Smith story was excellent as well as the stories by Robert Howard and Fritz Leiber.Also includes material by CL Moore, Henry Kuttner and Poul Anderson. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A great book to pick up anytime
L.Sprague De Camp has an extremely pleasant writing style, unhurried, clear, and casual.In this book he runs through the evolution of organisms from primitive vertebrates up to the dinosaurs.The focus is, of course onthe dinosaurs, and one gets the basics (skull forms, hipbones, and majorgroups) as they develop over time.There is also an entertaining sectionon the fossil feuds of the 19th century.I have read this book about 20times, and still turn to it when the rest of library looks boring.Thetechnical level is about 12th grade.A guilty pleasure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Methinks this is a wild adventure
I have been familiar with the name of L. Sprague de Camp for some time, but I am only now delving into his fiction.This book is a little peculiar; I can name several things I didn't love about the book, but overall I found it an interesting, enjoyable read.Kerin is our honorable barbarian (branded the latter for the sole reason that he travels to the east in his recorded journey) whose family sends him on a business trip immediately after the father of the supposedly "virginal" Adeliza (she is colorfully described by one character as having "a hot notch in her crotch") catches him in a hayloft with his daughter.He journeys to Kuromon to retrieve information on advanced clock technology.The journey is not an easy one.After bartering his way on to a ship, he is forced to flee from the jealousy of the captain's lust for the female navigator.After enduring some months with the talkative, self-exiled wizard Pwana on an otherwise deserted island, he finds himself in the hands of nasty pirates intent on buggering him and eventually killing him.Managing to escape unbuggered, he continues his journey with a princess rescued from the clutches of the dastardly pirates.All too soon, though, the princess falls into the clutches of Pwana, who intends to sacrifice her to his god.As if rescuing princesses is not enough, Kerin must also deliver a secret message to the Kuromon government, evade the continuing threats and attacks of the evil wizard Pwana, and abide the torment of the sprite Belinka who was hired on behalf of Adeliza to keep him away from other women (particularly the comely princess) while he is away from home.

One thing that hinders the flow of the narrative, particularly early on, is the dialect of the characters, each of whom speaks like a second-rate Shakespearean actor, with "methinks," "cansts," "thankees," and the like permeating the narrative.Everyone also makes a habit of referencing strangely-named gods in their rather numerous exclamations.This is standard fantasy fare, though, and it does tend to give the novel a more exotic, otherworldly feel.I must admit I was surprised by the amount of carnal references in these pages; there are a number of lewd jokes and loaded statements, but these are largely pretty subtle, often quite humorous, and in no way gratuitous.The conclusion lacks oomph, I feel, and it somehow seems to be rushed without really feeling rushed.Some of the things I viewed as most important early on ended up being rather trivial by the end, which was a little disconcerting.Even more disconcerting was the introduction of roller skates into this seemingly medieaval fantasy world, but such a little shock to the system is by no means a bad thing.

The Honorable Barbarian does seem to be an offshoot of sorts of de Camp's The Reluctant King trilogy of novels, but ignorance of these other novels takes absolutely nothing away from your enjoyment of this story.This novel was captivating enough to convince me to read these other works and to continue exploring the fictional worlds of L. Sprague de Camp.There is just something about de Camp's writing style that distinguishes him from the crowd of modern fantasy writers, and this particular novel is certainly an enjoyable, eccentric read.

The Whims of Destiny
This is a delightful de Camp bit of slantwise fantasy.It is full of magic, adventure, humor and young love.

Follow the antic adventures of Kerin who is fleeing matrimony with the amorous Adeliza.He is accompaniedby a sprite who is to keep him safe until he is returned to Adeliza.Thisis a fate that his family has tried to save him from by sending him on aperilous mission.

A great and joyous romp through the highs and lows ofmagic . . . ... Read more

Product Description
As thief, pirate, mercenary, adventurer, chief of barbarous tribes and general in the armies of kings, Conan had ventured far and known adventure and marvel. But the adventure that started here, in the royal hall of justice in Tarantia was to be the strangest and most fantastic of all. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

De Camp is a classic Science Fiction Writer
L Sprague De Camp created the Krishna series, of which "The Bones Of Zora" is but on example, as a modern version of Edgar Rice Burrough's Barsoom tales. Drawing on his own vast experiences of travel in the Middle East, De Camp creates a more practical view of another world, and a vastly entertaining one. De Camp's sly sense of humor shines through every page of the entire series.

Every fan of Golden Age Science Fiction should have the complete Krishna Series on his bookshelf. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Less than a paragraph on pathways; actually a rambling bibliography
I am a huge fan of Dunsany and have been looking forward to getting my hands on "Pathways to Elfland" for years.I thought it would be what the title suggests, the pathways Dunsany followed to become one of the world's most influential writers on Elfland.That is: an exhaustive 200-page essay on Dunsany's creative process, how that process evolves, which influences he drew from, and which specific motifs he borrowed from each influence.Instead I was unpleasantly surprised to find that the book is essentially one long poorly written stream-of-consciousness ramble through Dunsany's bibliography, usually with 2-3 sentence summaries of each story.Overall it reads like a C- college thesis.

Of Dunsany's pathways to Elfland, we learn only one valuable thing: Dunsany never rewrote anything.He published only first drafts.This goes a long way in explaining why his fiction is universally considered superior to his poetry: Dunsany's powerful ability to create a sense of wonder is often enough to carry a story, while poems mandate fine-tuning.

Of Dunsany's sources, everything we learn may be summarized in a few sentences: Schweitzer believes that Dunsany's strongest influence was Greek stageplays.He also drew from Herodotus, the King James Bible, Grimms' and Andersen's fairy tales.Dunsany studied Greek and Latin.As has been noted elsewhere, the most explosive Dunsany influence might be the stageplay The Darling of the Gods (1904), which presents a fantastical version of Japan that seems to have been Dunsany's original template for the magical kingdoms he spent most of his life creating.The title of Time and the Gods comes from a line of Swinburne, "Time and the Gods are at strife."

The least pleasant aspect of the book might be the author's wearisome, unbroken tone of superiority.Nearly every page describes Dunsany's work using words like "failed, irrational, obscure, obvious," etc.This is broken by occasional moment of praise to describe patches of Dunsany's writing style and his ability to evoke a sense of wonder.But overall it quickly becomes unpleasant to read page after page of the author's apparent conviction that he has a complete grasp of everything Dunsany did right and wrong, his clumsy prose is infinitely superior to Dunsany's, and if he so wished, could easily write circles around him; if that were true, where are the best-selling, hugely influential and beloved Schweitzer fantasies?

Schweitzer lists Dunsany's strongest book-length fantasies, in descending order of quality, as:
1. The Curse of the Wise Woman
2. The Charwoman's Shadow
3. The King of Elfland's Daughter (Dunsany's most famous)

It's a shame this book does not include illustrations by Sidney Sime, a frequent Dunsany collaborator.It does include a full-color cover, four full-page black-and-white illustrations and a spot illustration by Tim Kirk, all of which are excellent and suit the tone of the book.

The book's greatest strength might be the bibliography, which is fairly complete.However, an even stronger bibliography - including cover illustrations and short descriptions - is available free online:
[..]

Despite the low quality of the book, it is certainly the only guided tour through Dunsany's catalog one is likely to find, and a mercifully quick read.Anyone doing a thesis- or book-level study of Dunsany is encouraged to skim the book at a library.I believe Schweitzer is correct in summarizing Dunsany's contribution as, "the first person to adapt the heroic fantasy into the short story form," thus creating a good deal of the basic blueprint for the current sword-and-sorcery genre.

The complete guide to the life and work of Lord Dunsany
The complete guide to the life and work of Lord Dunsany by one of the world's foremost Dunsany experts. Covers every aspect of his writing, from the early fantasies to the later mainstream novels and mysteries. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Quest Against the Gods
From the back...The gods of Poseidonis-or Atlantis-were powerful and real. Now they were determined to destroy the kingdom ruled by the father of Prince Vakar, the one man whose mind they could not read. The only way to save the kingdom was to discover that thing which the gods feared most. To find it, Prince Vakar set out across the largely unknown world where dangers multiplied with every league. There he found savage countries and strange people-the wild Amazons; a voluptuous, ensorcelled queen; a too-charming girl who was half-horse, half-woman; dangerous magicians who ruled hordes of headless slaves...and the Gorgons, who could paralyze their victims at a glance. Behind was his ambitious brother, determined that Vakar must fail. Even closer were unknown enemies set on his trail by the suspicious gods. And to add to his troubles, Vakar had no idea of what he sought!

The gods creates their doom by trying to prevent it.
A tour de force. When good hack writers do their best you should expect something very readable and this book certainly is. Fantasy usually comes in 2 flavors: 1) The boy who learns better and gets the girl, the kingdomor whatever. 2) The Hobbit or King Arthur rides again. Here you getsomething entirely different. You get the story of 1) The king, the god orwhoever who is told that something or somebody will be his/it's downfall,tries to destroy the problem (ie. the hero) and in doing this causes thevery disaster he/she/it is trying to avert. The story is 2-3000 years old,but it is still a good one if properly handled. 2) The coming of the ironand the going of the old gods and the old magic. 3) One of DeCamps usualreluctant/practical heroes (or intelligent cowards) doing the best he canwith what he has. The hero gets the girl and one suspects that eventuallyhe will also get the kingdom, but at the end of the book the hero leavesthe kingdom and his not very nice brother to one another in order to livewith the girl (who has a very nice kingdom of her own). If you like grownup fantasy this is a Must Read. ... Read more