L. Sprague de Camp
Encyclopedia
Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography
. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors. He "was widely regarded as an imaginative and innovative writer and was an important figure in the heyday of science fiction, from the late 1930's through the late 1940's."
, one of three sons of Lyon de Camp and Emma Beatrice Sprague. His maternal grandfather was the accountant, banker, pioneering Volapük
ist and Civil War veteran Charles Ezra Sprague
. De Camp once noted that he rarely used pen-names, "partly because my own true name sounds more like a pseudonym than most pseudonyms do."
Trained as an aeronautical engineer, De Camp received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology
in 1930 and Master of Science degree in Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology
in 1933. He was also a surveyor and patent expert.
In 1939, he married Catherine Crook
, with whom he collaborated on numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, beginning in the 1960s.
During World War II
, de Camp worked at the Philadelphia Naval Yard with fellow authors Isaac Asimov
and Robert A. Heinlein
. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserve.
He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders
, which served as the basis of Isaac Asimov
's fictional group of mystery solvers the "Black Widowers
". De Camp himself was the model for the Geoffrey Avalon character.
He was also a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA)
, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy
authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's
Flashing Swords!
anthologies.
The de Camps moved to Plano
, Texas
, in 1989. De Camp died there on November 6, 2000, seven months after the death of his wife of 60 years. He died on what would have been her birthday, just three weeks shy of his own 93rd birthday. His ashes were inurned with those of his wife in Arlington National Cemetery
.
De Camp's personal library of about 1,200 books was acquired for auction by Half Price Books
in 2005. The collection included books inscribed by fellow writers, such as Isaac Asimov
and Carl Sagan
, as well as de Camp himself.
who wrote works examining society
, history
, technology
and myth
. He published numerous short stories, novels, non-fiction works and poems during his long career.
De Camp had the mind of an educator, and a common theme in many of his works is a corrective impulse regarding similar previous works by other authors. A highly rational and logical thinker, he was frequently disturbed by what he regarded as logical lapses and absurdities in others' writings. Thus, his response to Mark Twain
's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
was to write a similar time travel
novel (Lest Darkness Fall
) in which the method of time travel was rationalized and the hero's technical expertise both set at a believable level and constrained by the technological limitations of the age.
In like fashion, he reimagined space opera
and planetary romance
s in his "Viagens Interplanetarias
" series, and the prehistoric precursor civilizations characteristic of much heroic fantasy
in his "Pusadian series
". When he was not debunking literary conventions he was often explaining them, as with the early "Harold Shea" stories co-written with Fletcher Pratt
, in which the magical premises behind a number of bodies of myths
and legend
s were accepted as a given but examined and elucidated in terms of their own systems of inherent logic. De Camp's explanatory tendency also carried over into his non-fictional writings.
and alternate history
stories, including Lest Darkness Fall
(1939), "The Wheels of If
" (1940), "A Gun for Dinosaur
" (1956), "Aristotle and the Gun
" (1958), and The Glory That Was
(1960) – in the last of which the "time travel" actually turns out to be a tour de force of historical recreation. Lest Darkness Fall, "The Wheels of If" and "A Gun for Aristotle" have been recognized as seminal works in the field of alternate history.
His most extended work was his "Viagens Interplanetarias
" series, set in a future where Brazil is the dominant power, particularly a subseries of sword and planet
novels set on the planet Krishna, beginning with The Queen of Zamba
. His most influential Viagens novel was the non-Krishna work Rogue Queen
, a tale of a hive society undermined by interstellar contact, which was one of the earliest science fiction novels to deal with sexual themes.
De Camp wrote a number of lesser-known but nonetheless significant works that explored such topics as racism
, which he considered to be more accurately described as ethnocentrism
. He pointed out that no scholar comparing the merits of various ethnicities has ever sought to prove that his own ethnicity was inferior to others.
" series, both written in collaboration with his longtime friend Fletcher Pratt
. The pair also wrote a number of stand-alone novels similar in tone to the Harold Shea stories, of which the most highly regarded is Land of Unreason
. De Camp also produced a few more of this genre on his own.
He was also known for his sword and sorcery
, a fantasy genre he was instrumental in reviving through his editorial work on and continuation of Robert E. Howard's
"Conan
" cycle. He also edited a series of early fantasy anthologies credited with helping to spark the renaissance of heroic fantasy in the late 1960s.
De Camp wrote three sword and sorcery sequences of note. The early "Pusadian series
", composed of the novel The Tritonian Ring
and several short stories, are set in an antediluvian
era similar to Howard's.
More substantial is the later "Novarian series
", of which the core is the Reluctant King
trilogy, beginning with The Goblin Tower
, de Camp's most accomplished effort in the genre. The trilogy features the adventurer Jorian, ex-king of Xylar. Jorian's world is an alternate reality to which our own serves as an afterlife. Other novels in the sequence include The Fallible Fiend
, a satire told from the point of view of a demon, and The Honorable Barbarian
, a follow-up to the trilogy featuring Jorian's brother as the hero.
A late third series, composed of The Incorporated Knight
and The Pixilated Peeress
, is set in the medieval era of another alternate world sharing the geography of our own, but in which a Neapolitan empire filled the role of Rome
and no universal religion like Christianity
ever arose, leaving its nations split among competing pagan sects. The setting is borrowed in part from Mandeville's Travels
.
, set in the era of classical antiquity from the height of the Persian Empire to the waning of the Hellenistic
period, which forms a loosely-connected series based on their common setting and occasional cross references. They were also linked by a common focus on the advancement of scientific knowledge, de Camp's chosen protagonists being explorers, artisans, engineers, innovators and practical philosophers rather than famous names from antiquity, who are relegated to secondary roles. The best known of his historical novels is The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate
.
doubtful history and pseudoscientific
claims of the supernatural, and explaining how ancient civilizations produced structures and architecture
thought by some to be beyond the technologies of their time, such as the Pyramid
s of Ancient Egypt
. Works in this area include Lost Continents
, Citadels of Mystery, and The Ancient Engineers
.
Among his many other wide-ranging non-fiction works were The Great Monkey Trial
(about the Scopes Trial
), The Ragged Edge of Science
, Energy and Power
, The Heroic Age of American Invention
, The Day of the Dinosaur
(which argued, among other things, that evolution took hold after Darwin
because of the Victorian
interest spurred by recently popularized dinosaur
remains, corresponding to legend
s of dragons), and The Evolution of Naval Weapons
(a United States of America
government textbook).
The author also wrote pioneering biographies
of many key fantasy writers, most as short articles, but two as full-length studies of the prominent authors Robert E. Howard
and H. P. Lovecraft
. The latter was the first major independent biography of the famous horror writer. De Camp's "warts and all" approach to his subjects has been branded by some fans
as unflattering and unbalanced. For instance, Mark Finn
, author of Blood and Thunder: The Life & Art of Robert E. Howard, contends that de Camp deliberately framed his questions in regard to Howard to elicit answers matching his Freudian theories about him.
, de Camp won the 1953 International Fantasy Award
for nonfiction for their Lands Beyond
, their study of geographical myths. De Camp was guest of honor at the 1966 World Science Fiction Convention
and won the Nebula Award
as a Grandmaster (1978) and the Hugo Award
in 1997 for his autobiography, Time and Chance
. In 1976, he received the World Science Fiction Society's Gandalf Grand Master
award. In 1984 he won a World Fantasy Convention award. In 1995, he won the first Sidewise Award for Alternate History
Lifetime Achievement Award.
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors. He "was widely regarded as an imaginative and innovative writer and was an important figure in the heyday of science fiction, from the late 1930's through the late 1940's."
Life
De Camp was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, one of three sons of Lyon de Camp and Emma Beatrice Sprague. His maternal grandfather was the accountant, banker, pioneering Volapük
Volapük
Volapük is a constructed language, created in 1879–1880 by Johann Martin Schleyer, a Roman Catholic priest in Baden, Germany. Schleyer felt that God had told him in a dream to create an international language. Volapük conventions took place in 1884 , 1887 and 1889 . The first two conventions used...
ist and Civil War veteran Charles Ezra Sprague
Charles E. Sprague
Charles Ezra Sprague was an American accountant, born in Nassau, Rensselaer County, New York. He was known as a Civil War hero, and as a proponent of the constructed language Volapük, for which he authored the first major textbook in English, Handbook of Volapük , as well as an early organizer of...
. De Camp once noted that he rarely used pen-names, "partly because my own true name sounds more like a pseudonym than most pseudonyms do."
Trained as an aeronautical engineer, De Camp received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
in 1930 and Master of Science degree in Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a technological university located on a campus in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA – founded in 1870 with an 1868 bequest from Edwin A. Stevens. It is known for its engineering, science, and technological management curricula.The institute has produced leading...
in 1933. He was also a surveyor and patent expert.
In 1939, he married Catherine Crook
Catherine Crook de Camp
Catherine Crook de Camp, was an American science fiction and fantasy author and editor. Most of whose work was done in collaboration with her husband L. Sprague de Camp, to whom she was married for sixty years. Her solo work was largely non-fiction.-Life:Catherine Crook was born Catherine Adelaide...
, with whom he collaborated on numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, beginning in the 1960s.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, de Camp worked at the Philadelphia Naval Yard with fellow authors Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
and Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserve.
He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders
Trap Door Spiders
The Trap Door Spiders are a literary male-only eating, drinking, and arguing society in New York City, with a membership historically composed of notable science fiction personalities...
, which served as the basis of Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's fictional group of mystery solvers the "Black Widowers
Black Widowers
The Black Widowers is a fictional men-only dining club created by Isaac Asimov for a series of sixty-six mystery stories which he started writing in 1971...
". De Camp himself was the model for the Geoffrey Avalon character.
He was also a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA)
Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA)
The Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America is the name of a literary group of American fantasy authors active from the 1960s through the 1980s, noted for their contributions to the fantasy subgenre of heroic fantasy or "Sword and Sorcery."...
, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy
Heroic fantasy
Heroic fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy which chronicles the tales of heroes in imaginary lands. Unlike stories of sword and sorcery, heroic fantasy narratives tend to be intricate in plot, often involving many peoples, nations and lands. Grand battles and the fate of the world are common themes,...
authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's
Lin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft and Grail Undwin.-Life:Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida...
Flashing Swords!
Flashing Swords!
Flashing Swords! was a series of fantasy anthologies published by Dell Books from 1973 to 1981 under the editorship of Lin Carter. It showcased the heroic fantasy work of the members of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America , a somewhat informal literary group active from the 1960s to the...
anthologies.
The de Camps moved to Plano
Plano, Texas
Plano is a city in the state of Texas, located mostly within Collin County. The city's population was 259,841 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Texas and the 71st most populous city in the United States. Plano is located within the metropolitan area commonly referred to as...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, in 1989. De Camp died there on November 6, 2000, seven months after the death of his wife of 60 years. He died on what would have been her birthday, just three weeks shy of his own 93rd birthday. His ashes were inurned with those of his wife in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
.
De Camp's personal library of about 1,200 books was acquired for auction by Half Price Books
Half Price Books
Half Price Books, Records, Magazines, Incorporated is the largest family-owned chain of new and used bookstores in the United States. The company’s original motto is "We buy and sell anything printed or recorded except yesterday's newspaper", and many of the used books, music, and movies for sale...
in 2005. The collection included books inscribed by fellow writers, such as Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
and Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
, as well as de Camp himself.
Works
De Camp was a materialistMaterialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
who wrote works examining society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
and myth
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
. He published numerous short stories, novels, non-fiction works and poems during his long career.
De Camp had the mind of an educator, and a common theme in many of his works is a corrective impulse regarding similar previous works by other authors. A highly rational and logical thinker, he was frequently disturbed by what he regarded as logical lapses and absurdities in others' writings. Thus, his response to Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an 1889 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The book was originally titled A Yankee in King Arthur's Court...
was to write a similar time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
novel (Lest Darkness Fall
Lest Darkness Fall
Lest Darkness Fall is an alternate history science fiction novel written in 1939 by author L. Sprague de Camp. The book is often considered one of the best examples of the alternate history genre; it is certainly one of the most influential...
) in which the method of time travel was rationalized and the hero's technical expertise both set at a believable level and constrained by the technological limitations of the age.
In like fashion, he reimagined space opera
Space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap...
and planetary romance
Planetary romance
Planetary romance is a type of science fiction or science fantasy story in which the bulk of the action consists of adventures on one or more exotic alien planets, characterized by distinctive physical and cultural backgrounds...
s in his "Viagens Interplanetarias
Viagens Interplanetarias
The Viagens Interplanetarias series is a sequence of science fiction stories by L. Sprague de Camp, begun in the late 1940s and written under the influence of contemporary space opera and sword and planet stories, particularly Edgar Rice Burroughs's Martian novels...
" series, and the prehistoric precursor civilizations characteristic of much heroic fantasy
Heroic fantasy
Heroic fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy which chronicles the tales of heroes in imaginary lands. Unlike stories of sword and sorcery, heroic fantasy narratives tend to be intricate in plot, often involving many peoples, nations and lands. Grand battles and the fate of the world are common themes,...
in his "Pusadian series
Pusadian series
The Pusadian series is a sequence of fantasy stories by L. Sprague de Camp, begun in the early 1950s and written under the influence of Robert E. Howard's Conan stories. It is also known as the Poseidonis series...
". When he was not debunking literary conventions he was often explaining them, as with the early "Harold Shea" stories co-written with Fletcher Pratt
Fletcher Pratt
Murray Fletcher Pratt was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and history, particularly noted for his works on naval history and on the American Civil War.- Life and work :...
, in which the magical premises behind a number of bodies of myths
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
and legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
s were accepted as a given but examined and elucidated in terms of their own systems of inherent logic. De Camp's explanatory tendency also carried over into his non-fictional writings.
Science fiction
De Camp's science fiction is marked by his interests in linguistics, historical forces, and the history and philosophy of science. His first published story was "The Isolinguals", in the September 1937 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. His most highly regarded works in the genre are his time travelTime travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
and alternate history
Alternate history (fiction)
Alternate history or alternative history is a genre of fiction consisting of stories that are set in worlds in which history has diverged from the actual history of the world. It can be variously seen as a sub-genre of literary fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction; different alternate...
stories, including Lest Darkness Fall
Lest Darkness Fall
Lest Darkness Fall is an alternate history science fiction novel written in 1939 by author L. Sprague de Camp. The book is often considered one of the best examples of the alternate history genre; it is certainly one of the most influential...
(1939), "The Wheels of If
The Wheels of If
"The Wheels of If" is a classic alternate history science fiction story by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine Unknown Fantasy Fiction for October, 1940, and first appeared in book form in de Camp's collection The Wheels of If and Other Science Fiction...
" (1940), "A Gun for Dinosaur
A Gun for Dinosaur
"A Gun for Dinosaur" is a science fiction story written by L. Sprague de Camp as part of his Rivers of Time series. It was first published in the magazine Galaxy Science Fiction for March, 1956, and first appeared in book form in the anthology The World That Couldn't Be and 8 Other SF Novelets...
" (1956), "Aristotle and the Gun
Aristotle and the Gun
"Aristotle and the Gun" is a classic time travel and alternate history science fiction story by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine Astounding Science-Fiction for February, 1958, and first appeared in book form in de Camp's collection A Gun for Dinosaur and Other Imaginative...
" (1958), and The Glory That Was
The Glory That Was
The Glory That Was is a science fiction novel by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the science fiction magazine Startling Stories for April, 1952, and subsequently published in book form in hardcover by Avalon Books in 1960 and in paperback by Paperback Library in 1971. It has since...
(1960) – in the last of which the "time travel" actually turns out to be a tour de force of historical recreation. Lest Darkness Fall, "The Wheels of If" and "A Gun for Aristotle" have been recognized as seminal works in the field of alternate history.
His most extended work was his "Viagens Interplanetarias
Viagens Interplanetarias
The Viagens Interplanetarias series is a sequence of science fiction stories by L. Sprague de Camp, begun in the late 1940s and written under the influence of contemporary space opera and sword and planet stories, particularly Edgar Rice Burroughs's Martian novels...
" series, set in a future where Brazil is the dominant power, particularly a subseries of sword and planet
Sword and planet
Sword and Planet is a subgenre of science fantasy that features rousing adventure stories set on other planets, and usually featuring Earthmen as protagonists. The name derives from the heroes of the genre engaging their adversaries in hand to hand combat primarily with simple melee weapons such as...
novels set on the planet Krishna, beginning with The Queen of Zamba
The Queen of Zamba
The Queen of Zamba is a science fiction novel written by L. Sprague de Camp, the first book of his Viagens Interplanetarias series and its subseries of stories set on the fictional planet Krishna. It was written between November 1948 and January 1949 and first published in the magazine Astounding...
. His most influential Viagens novel was the non-Krishna work Rogue Queen
Rogue Queen
Rogue Queen is a science fiction novel written by L. Sprague de Camp, the third book in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1951, and in paperback by Dell Books in 1952...
, a tale of a hive society undermined by interstellar contact, which was one of the earliest science fiction novels to deal with sexual themes.
De Camp wrote a number of lesser-known but nonetheless significant works that explored such topics as racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, which he considered to be more accurately described as ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group is centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's own. The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with...
. He pointed out that no scholar comparing the merits of various ethnicities has ever sought to prove that his own ethnicity was inferior to others.
Fantasy
De Camp was best known for his light fantasy, particularly the "Harold Shea" series and "Gavagan's BarTales from Gavagan's Bar
Tales from Gavagan's Bar is a collection of short stories by science fiction and fantasy authors L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, illustrated by the latter's wife Inga Pratt...
" series, both written in collaboration with his longtime friend Fletcher Pratt
Fletcher Pratt
Murray Fletcher Pratt was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and history, particularly noted for his works on naval history and on the American Civil War.- Life and work :...
. The pair also wrote a number of stand-alone novels similar in tone to the Harold Shea stories, of which the most highly regarded is Land of Unreason
Land of Unreason
Land of Unreason is a fantasy novel written by Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the fantasy magazine Unknown Worlds for October, 1941. Revised and expanded, it was first published in book form by Henry Holt and Company in 1942...
. De Camp also produced a few more of this genre on his own.
He was also known for his sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...
, a fantasy genre he was instrumental in reviving through his editorial work on and continuation of Robert E. Howard's
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
"Conan
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
" cycle. He also edited a series of early fantasy anthologies credited with helping to spark the renaissance of heroic fantasy in the late 1960s.
De Camp wrote three sword and sorcery sequences of note. The early "Pusadian series
Pusadian series
The Pusadian series is a sequence of fantasy stories by L. Sprague de Camp, begun in the early 1950s and written under the influence of Robert E. Howard's Conan stories. It is also known as the Poseidonis series...
", composed of the novel The Tritonian Ring
The Tritonian Ring
The Tritonian Ring is a fantasy novel written by L. Sprague de Camp as part of his Pusadian series. It was first published in the magazine Two Complete Science Adventure Books for Winter, 1951, and first appeared in book form in de Camp's collection The Tritonian Ring and Other Pusadian Tales...
and several short stories, are set in an antediluvian
Antediluvian
The antediluvian period meaning "before the deluge" is the period referred to in the Bible between the Creation of the Earth and the Deluge . The narrative takes up chapters 1-6 of Genesis...
era similar to Howard's.
More substantial is the later "Novarian series
Novarian series
The Novarian series is a sequence of fantasy stories by L. Sprague de Camp, published between 1968 and 1989. The series contains some of de Camp's most innovative works of fantasy, featuring explorations of various political systems, an inversion of the "rags to royalty" pattern characteristic of...
", of which the core is the Reluctant King
The Reluctant King
The Reluctant King is the overall title of a trilogy of fantasy novels written by L. Sprague de Camp as part of his Novarian series, as well as the 1983 omnibus collection gathering the books together into one volume...
trilogy, beginning with The Goblin Tower
The Goblin Tower
The Goblin Tower is a fantasy novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, the first book of both his Novarian series and the "Reluctant King" trilogy featuring King Jorian of Xylar. It was first published as a paperback by Pyramid Books in 1968 and later reprinted by Del Rey Books. The first...
, de Camp's most accomplished effort in the genre. The trilogy features the adventurer Jorian, ex-king of Xylar. Jorian's world is an alternate reality to which our own serves as an afterlife. Other novels in the sequence include The Fallible Fiend
The Fallible Fiend
The Fallible Fiend is a fantasy novel written by L. Sprague de Camp, the third book of his Novarian series. It was first published as a two-part serial in the magazine Fantastic for December 1972 and February 1973, and subsequently expanded and revised for book publication. In its original form it...
, a satire told from the point of view of a demon, and The Honorable Barbarian
The Honorable Barbarian
The Honorable Barbarian is a fantasy novel written by L. Sprague de Camp, the fifth and final book of his Novarian series. It is a sequel both to the "Reluctant King" trilogy and to the Novarian sequence's only short story, "The Emperor's Fan"...
, a follow-up to the trilogy featuring Jorian's brother as the hero.
A late third series, composed of The Incorporated Knight
The Incorporated Knight
The Incorporated Knight is a fantasy novel written by L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine Crook de Camp, the first book in a sequence of two. Chapters 1-5 first appeared as the short stories "Two Yards of Dragon", "The Coronet", "Spider Love" and "Eudoric's Unicorn" in Flashing Swords!, The Magazine...
and The Pixilated Peeress
The Pixilated Peeress
The Pixilated Peeress is a fantasy novel written by L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine Crook de Camp. It is the second book in a sequence of two, following The Incorporated Knight. It was first published in hardcover by Del Rey Books in 1991, and in paperback by the same publisher in 1992...
, is set in the medieval era of another alternate world sharing the geography of our own, but in which a Neapolitan empire filled the role of Rome
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
and no universal religion like Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
ever arose, leaving its nations split among competing pagan sects. The setting is borrowed in part from Mandeville's Travels
John Mandeville
"Jehan de Mandeville", translated as "Sir John Mandeville", is the name claimed by the compiler of The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, a book account of his supposed travels, written in Anglo-Norman French, and first circulated between 1357 and 1371.By aid of translations into many other languages...
.
Historical fiction
De Camp also wrote historical fictionHistorical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
, set in the era of classical antiquity from the height of the Persian Empire to the waning of the Hellenistic
Hellenistic civilization
Hellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BCE to about 146 BCE...
period, which forms a loosely-connected series based on their common setting and occasional cross references. They were also linked by a common focus on the advancement of scientific knowledge, de Camp's chosen protagonists being explorers, artisans, engineers, innovators and practical philosophers rather than famous names from antiquity, who are relegated to secondary roles. The best known of his historical novels is The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate
The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate is a historical novel by L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1961, and in paperback by Lancer Books in 1968. The first trade paperback edition was issued by Starblaze in 1982. It is the third of his historical novels in order of writing,...
.
Nonfiction
De Camp enjoyed debunkingDebunker
A debunker is an individual who attempts to discredit and contradict claims as being false, exaggerated or pretentious. The term is closely associated with skeptical investigation of, or in some cases irrational resistance to, controversial topics such as U.F.O.s, claimed paranormal phenomena,...
doubtful history and pseudoscientific
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
claims of the supernatural, and explaining how ancient civilizations produced structures and architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
thought by some to be beyond the technologies of their time, such as the Pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
s of Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
. Works in this area include Lost Continents
Lost Continents
Lost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and Literature is a study by L. Sprague de Camp. It is considered one of his most popular works...
, Citadels of Mystery, and The Ancient Engineers
The Ancient Engineers
The Ancient Engineers is a 1963 science book by L. Sprague de Camp, one of his most popular works. It was first published by Doubleday and has been reprinted numerous times by other publishers. Translations into German and Polish have also appeared...
.
Among his many other wide-ranging non-fiction works were The Great Monkey Trial
The Great Monkey Trial
The Great Monkey Trial is a 1968 book on the Scopes Trial by L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardcover by Doubleday. This history of the trial was based on the memoirs of John T...
(about the Scopes Trial
Scopes Trial
The Scopes Trial—formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes and informally known as the Scopes Monkey Trial—was a landmark American legal case in 1925 in which high school science teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act which made it unlawful to...
), The Ragged Edge of Science
The Ragged Edge of Science
The Ragged Edge of Science is a science book by L. Sprague de Camp, illustrated by Don Simpson. It was first published by Owlswick Press in 1980....
, Energy and Power
Energy and Power
Energy and Power is a 1962 science book for children by L. Sprague de Camp, illustrated by Weimer Pursell and Fred Eng, published by Golden Press as part of The Golden Library of Knowledge Series....
, The Heroic Age of American Invention
The Heroic Age of American Invention
The Heroic Age of American Invention is a 1961 science book for children by L. Sprague de Camp, published by Doubleday. It was reprinted in 1993 by Barnes & Noble under the title Heroes of American Invention....
, The Day of the Dinosaur
The Day of the Dinosaur
The Day of the Dinosaur is a science book by L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine Crook de Camp, illustrated with plates. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1968, and in paperback by Curtis Books in 1971....
(which argued, among other things, that evolution took hold after Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
because of the Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
interest spurred by recently popularized dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
remains, corresponding to legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
s of dragons), and The Evolution of Naval Weapons
The Evolution of Naval Weapons
The Evolution of Naval Weapons is a 1947 government textbook by L. Sprague de Camp, published by the Training Activity Bureau of Naval Personnel.The work is a 40,000 word study of its topic....
(a United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government textbook).
The author also wrote pioneering biographies
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of many key fantasy writers, most as short articles, but two as full-length studies of the prominent authors Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
and H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
. The latter was the first major independent biography of the famous horror writer. De Camp's "warts and all" approach to his subjects has been branded by some fans
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
as unflattering and unbalanced. For instance, Mark Finn
Mark Finn
Mark Finn is the pseudonym of Mark Farr-Nash, a science fiction and fantasy writer, essayist, and playwright...
, author of Blood and Thunder: The Life & Art of Robert E. Howard, contends that de Camp deliberately framed his questions in regard to Howard to elicit answers matching his Freudian theories about him.
Awards
Together with his collaborator Willy LeyWilly Ley
Willy Ley was a German-American science writer and space advocate who helped popularize rocketry and spaceflight in both Germany and the United States. The crater Ley on the far side of the Moon is named in his honor.-Life:...
, de Camp won the 1953 International Fantasy Award
International Fantasy Award
The International Fantasy Award was an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy book and, in 1951-1953, the best non-fiction book of interest to science fiction and fantasy readers. The IFA was given by an international panel of prominent fans and professionals in 1951-1955 and...
for nonfiction for their Lands Beyond
Lands Beyond
Lands Beyond is a 1952 study of geographical myths by L. Sprague de Camp and Willy Ley, first published by Rinehart. It has been translated into French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. It was the winner of the 1953 International Fantasy Award for nonfiction.-External links:* *...
, their study of geographical myths. De Camp was guest of honor at the 1966 World Science Fiction Convention
Worldcon
Worldcon, or more formally The World Science Fiction Convention, is a science fiction convention held each year since 1939 . It is the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society...
and won the Nebula Award
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
as a Grandmaster (1978) and the Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
in 1997 for his autobiography, Time and Chance
Time and Chance: an Autobiography
Time and Chance: an Autobiography is the autobiography of science fiction and fantasy writer L. Sprague de Camp, first published by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc.. An E-book edition was published by Gollancz's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's...
. In 1976, he received the World Science Fiction Society's Gandalf Grand Master
Gandalf Award
The Gandalf Awards, honoring achievement in fantasy literature, were conferred by the World Science Fiction Society annually from 1974 to 1981. They were named for Gandalf the wizard, from the Middle-earth stories by J. R. R. Tolkien. The award was created and sponsored by Lin Carter and the...
award. In 1984 he won a World Fantasy Convention award. In 1995, he won the first Sidewise Award for Alternate History
Sidewise Award for Alternate History
The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were established in 1995 to recognize the best alternate history stories and novels of the year.The awards take their name from the 1934 short story "Sidewise in Time" by Murray Leinster, in which a strange storm causes portions of Earth to swap places with...
Lifetime Achievement Award.
Selective bibliography
The most significant of de Camp's works as published in book form include the following:Science fiction
- Lest Darkness FallLest Darkness FallLest Darkness Fall is an alternate history science fiction novel written in 1939 by author L. Sprague de Camp. The book is often considered one of the best examples of the alternate history genre; it is certainly one of the most influential...
(1939) - an early alternate historyAlternate history (fiction)Alternate history or alternative history is a genre of fiction consisting of stories that are set in worlds in which history has diverged from the actual history of the world. It can be variously seen as a sub-genre of literary fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction; different alternate...
novel that helped define the genre - The Wheels of If and Other Science FictionThe Wheels of If and Other Science FictionThe Wheels of If and Other Science Fiction is a 1948 collection of science fiction stories by L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardback by Shasta and in paperback by Berkley Books in 1970. It has also been translated into German...
(1948) - early collection of de Camp's short fiction, including "The Wheels of IfThe Wheels of If"The Wheels of If" is a classic alternate history science fiction story by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine Unknown Fantasy Fiction for October, 1940, and first appeared in book form in de Camp's collection The Wheels of If and Other Science Fiction...
" - Genus HomoGenus Homo (novel)Genus Homo is a science fiction novel by L. Sprague de Camp and P. Schuyler Miller. It was first published in the science fiction magazine Super Science Stories for March, 1941, and subsequently published in book form in hardcover by Fantasy Press in 1950 and in paperback by Berkley Books in 1961...
(1950) (with P. Schuyler MillerP. Schuyler MillerPeter Schuyler Miller was an American science fiction writer and critic.-Life:Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a life-long interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as an amateur archaeologist and a member of the New York State Archaeological Association.He...
) - first science fiction novel de Camp had a hand in, possibly the earliest work of fiction dealing with the "Planet of the Apes" theme - The Hand of ZeiThe Hand of ZeiThe Hand of Zei is a science fiction novel written by L. Sprague de Camp, the second book of his Viagens Interplanetarias series and its subseries of stories set on the fictional planet Krishna....
(1950) - the best of the early KrishnaViagens InterplanetariasThe Viagens Interplanetarias series is a sequence of science fiction stories by L. Sprague de Camp, begun in the late 1940s and written under the influence of contemporary space opera and sword and planet stories, particularly Edgar Rice Burroughs's Martian novels...
novels - Rogue QueenRogue QueenRogue Queen is a science fiction novel written by L. Sprague de Camp, the third book in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1951, and in paperback by Dell Books in 1952...
(1951) - one of the earliest science fiction novels to deal with sexual themes - The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the ViagensThe Continent Makers and Other Tales of the ViagensThe Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens is a 1953 collection of stories by science fiction and fantasy author L. Sprague de Camp, the fifth book in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It was first published in hardcover by Twayne Publishers, and in paperback by Signet Books in 1971...
(1953) - collection of most of the shorter works in the Viagens InterplanetariasViagens InterplanetariasThe Viagens Interplanetarias series is a sequence of science fiction stories by L. Sprague de Camp, begun in the late 1940s and written under the influence of contemporary space opera and sword and planet stories, particularly Edgar Rice Burroughs's Martian novels...
series - The Virgin of ZeshThe Virgin of ZeshThe Virgin of Zesh is a science fiction novella written by L. Sprague de Camp, the fourth book of his Viagens Interplanetarias series and the third of its subseries of stories set on the fictional planet Krishna. Chronologically it is the fifth Krishna novel.It was first published in the magazine...
(1953) - KrishnaViagens InterplanetariasThe Viagens Interplanetarias series is a sequence of science fiction stories by L. Sprague de Camp, begun in the late 1940s and written under the influence of contemporary space opera and sword and planet stories, particularly Edgar Rice Burroughs's Martian novels...
novel noted for the early use (for science fiction) of a strong female protagonist and a possible influence on Daniel KeyesDaniel KeyesDaniel Keyes is an American author best known for his Hugo award-winning short story and Nebula award-winning novel Flowers for Algernon. Keyes was given the Author Emeritus honor by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2000.-Early life and career:Keyes was born in Brooklyn, New...
's Flowers for AlgernonFlowers for AlgernonFlowers for Algernon is a science fiction short story and subsequent novel written by Daniel Keyes. The short story, written in 1958 and first published in the April 1959 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1960... - The Glory That WasThe Glory That WasThe Glory That Was is a science fiction novel by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the science fiction magazine Startling Stories for April, 1952, and subsequently published in book form in hardcover by Avalon Books in 1960 and in paperback by Paperback Library in 1971. It has since...
(1960) - a tour de force incorporating most of de Camp's major interests into one work - A Gun for Dinosaur and Other Imaginative TalesA Gun for Dinosaur and Other Imaginative TalesA Gun for Dinosaur and Other Imaginative Tales is a short story collection by science fiction and fantasy author L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardback by Doubleday in 1963, and in paperback by Curtis Books in 1969...
(1963) - collection of some of the best of de Camp's early fiction, including "A Gun for DinosaurA Gun for Dinosaur"A Gun for Dinosaur" is a science fiction story written by L. Sprague de Camp as part of his Rivers of Time series. It was first published in the magazine Galaxy Science Fiction for March, 1956, and first appeared in book form in the anthology The World That Couldn't Be and 8 Other SF Novelets...
" and "Aristotle and the GunAristotle and the Gun"Aristotle and the Gun" is a classic time travel and alternate history science fiction story by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine Astounding Science-Fiction for February, 1958, and first appeared in book form in de Camp's collection A Gun for Dinosaur and Other Imaginative...
" - The Best of L. Sprague de CampThe Best of L. Sprague de CampThe Best of L. Sprague de Camp is a 1978 collection of writings by science fiction and fantasy author L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardback by Nelson Doubleday and in paperback by Ballantine Books the same year...
(1978) - a mid-career review collecting de Camp's best short works
Fantasy
- The Incomplete EnchanterThe Incomplete EnchanterThe Incomplete Enchanter is a collection of two classic fantasy short stories by science fiction and fantasy authors L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, the first volume in their Harold Shea series. The pieces were originally published in the magazine Unknown in the issues for May and August, 1940...
(1941) (with Fletcher PrattFletcher PrattMurray Fletcher Pratt was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and history, particularly noted for his works on naval history and on the American Civil War.- Life and work :...
) - first of the de Camp/Pratt collaborations, including the earliest Harold Shea stories - Land of UnreasonLand of UnreasonLand of Unreason is a fantasy novel written by Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the fantasy magazine Unknown Worlds for October, 1941. Revised and expanded, it was first published in book form by Henry Holt and Company in 1942...
(1942) (with Fletcher PrattFletcher PrattMurray Fletcher Pratt was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and history, particularly noted for his works on naval history and on the American Civil War.- Life and work :...
) - best of the non-series de Camp/Pratt collaborations - The Undesired PrincessThe Undesired PrincessThe Undesired Princess is a 51,000 word fantasy novella written by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the fantasy magazine Unknown Worlds for February, 1942. It was published in book form by Fantasy Publishing Company, Inc. in 1951. The book version also includes the 10,000 word fantasy...
(1951) - earliest of de Camp's major fantasies not written in collaboration with Pratt; set in an AristotelianAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
universe - Tales from Gavagan's BarTales from Gavagan's BarTales from Gavagan's Bar is a collection of short stories by science fiction and fantasy authors L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, illustrated by the latter's wife Inga Pratt...
(1953, exp. 1978) (with Fletcher PrattFletcher PrattMurray Fletcher Pratt was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and history, particularly noted for his works on naval history and on the American Civil War.- Life and work :...
) - collected edition of de Camp and Pratt's second major fantasy series - The Tritonian Ring and Other Pusadian TalesThe Tritonian Ring and Other Pusadian TalesThe Tritonian Ring and Other Pusadian Tales is a 1953 collection of stories by science fiction and fantasy author L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardcover by Twayne Publishers...
(1953) - collection of the earlier works in the Pusadian seriesPusadian seriesThe Pusadian series is a sequence of fantasy stories by L. Sprague de Camp, begun in the early 1950s and written under the influence of Robert E. Howard's Conan stories. It is also known as the Poseidonis series...
, including The Tritonian RingThe Tritonian RingThe Tritonian Ring is a fantasy novel written by L. Sprague de Camp as part of his Pusadian series. It was first published in the magazine Two Complete Science Adventure Books for Winter, 1951, and first appeared in book form in de Camp's collection The Tritonian Ring and Other Pusadian Tales... - Tales of ConanTales of ConanTales of Conan is a 1955 collection of four fantasy short stories written by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. The tales as originally written by Howard were adventure yarns mostly set in the Middle Ages; they were...
(1955) (with Robert E. HowardRobert E. HowardRobert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
) - collection containing the first of de Camp's "posthumous collaborations" with Howard, marking the beginning of his successful promotion of Howard's "Conan the BarbarianConan the BarbarianConan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
" character - Conan the AdventurerConan the Adventurer (collection)Conan the Adventurer is a 1966 collection of four fantasy short stories written by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories originally appeared in the fantasy magazine Weird Tales in the 1930s...
(1966) (with Robert E. HowardRobert E. HowardRobert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
) - first of the paperback printings of the Howard/de Camp "ConanConan the BarbarianConan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
" collaborations, which ensured the success of the character and defined it for a generation - The Goblin TowerThe Goblin TowerThe Goblin Tower is a fantasy novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, the first book of both his Novarian series and the "Reluctant King" trilogy featuring King Jorian of Xylar. It was first published as a paperback by Pyramid Books in 1968 and later reprinted by Del Rey Books. The first...
(1968) - first of the Novarian seriesNovarian seriesThe Novarian series is a sequence of fantasy stories by L. Sprague de Camp, published between 1968 and 1989. The series contains some of de Camp's most innovative works of fantasy, featuring explorations of various political systems, an inversion of the "rags to royalty" pattern characteristic of... - The Fallible FiendThe Fallible FiendThe Fallible Fiend is a fantasy novel written by L. Sprague de Camp, the third book of his Novarian series. It was first published as a two-part serial in the magazine Fantastic for December 1972 and February 1973, and subsequently expanded and revised for book publication. In its original form it...
(1973) - offbeat entry in the Novarian seriesNovarian seriesThe Novarian series is a sequence of fantasy stories by L. Sprague de Camp, published between 1968 and 1989. The series contains some of de Camp's most innovative works of fantasy, featuring explorations of various political systems, an inversion of the "rags to royalty" pattern characteristic of...
presenting a satirical look at humanity through the eyes of a demon
Other
- The Dragon of the Ishtar GateThe Dragon of the Ishtar GateThe Dragon of the Ishtar Gate is a historical novel by L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1961, and in paperback by Lancer Books in 1968. The first trade paperback edition was issued by Starblaze in 1982. It is the third of his historical novels in order of writing,...
(1961) - the first (chronologically) of de Camp's historical novels - Swords and SorcerySwords and SorcerySwords and Sorcery is a 1963 anthology of fantasy short stories in the sword and sorcery subgenre, edited by L. Sprague de Camp and illustrated by Virgil Finlay. It was first published in paperback by Pyramid Books...
(1963) - pioneering sword and sorcerySword and sorcerySword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...
anthology, the first ever published
Nonfiction
- Inventions and Their ManagementInventions and Their ManagementInventions and Their Management is a science book by Alf K. Berle and L. Sprague de Camp, based on the earlier book Inventing and Patenting by Alf K. Berle and Howard Wilcox. The Berle/de Camp version was published by the International Textbook Company in 1937...
(1937; vt. Inventions, Patents, and Their Management (1959)) (with Alf K. Berle) - de Camp's first work of nonfiction - Lands BeyondLands BeyondLands Beyond is a 1952 study of geographical myths by L. Sprague de Camp and Willy Ley, first published by Rinehart. It has been translated into French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. It was the winner of the 1953 International Fantasy Award for nonfiction.-External links:* *...
(1952) (with Willy LeyWilly LeyWilly Ley was a German-American science writer and space advocate who helped popularize rocketry and spaceflight in both Germany and the United States. The crater Ley on the far side of the Moon is named in his honor.-Life:...
) - a comprehensive survey of geographical myths - Science-Fiction HandbookScience-Fiction HandbookScience-Fiction Handbook is a guide to writing and marketing science fiction and fantasy by L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine Crook de Camp. The original edition by L. Sprague de Camp alone, subtitled The Writing of Imaginative Fiction, was published in hardcover by Hermitage House in 1953...
(1953 (revised 1975, with Catherine Crook de CampCatherine Crook de CampCatherine Crook de Camp, was an American science fiction and fantasy author and editor. Most of whose work was done in collaboration with her husband L. Sprague de Camp, to whom she was married for sixty years. Her solo work was largely non-fiction.-Life:Catherine Crook was born Catherine Adelaide...
)) - an influential early writers' guide - Lost Continents; the Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and LiteratureLost ContinentsLost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and Literature is a study by L. Sprague de Camp. It is considered one of his most popular works...
(1954) - the title says it all - The Ancient EngineersThe Ancient EngineersThe Ancient Engineers is a 1963 science book by L. Sprague de Camp, one of his most popular works. It was first published by Doubleday and has been reprinted numerous times by other publishers. Translations into German and Polish have also appeared...
(1963) - an exhaustive account of practical science through the ages prior to the modern era - The Great Monkey TrialThe Great Monkey TrialThe Great Monkey Trial is a 1968 book on the Scopes Trial by L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardcover by Doubleday. This history of the trial was based on the memoirs of John T...
(1968) - the definitive popular account of the Scopes TrialScopes TrialThe Scopes Trial—formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes and informally known as the Scopes Monkey Trial—was a landmark American legal case in 1925 in which high school science teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act which made it unlawful to... - Lovecraft: a BiographyLovecraft: a BiographyLovecraft: a Biography is a 1975 biography of the writer H. P. Lovecraft by science-fiction writer L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardcover by Doubleday in February 1975. A later hardcover edition was issued by Barnes & Noble in January 1996. The first paperback edition, corrected and...
(1975) - the first major biography of H. P. LovecraftH. P. LovecraftHoward Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction.... - Literary Swordsmen and SorcerersLiterary Swordsmen and SorcerersLiterary Swordsmen and Sorcerers: the Makers of Heroic Fantasy is a 1976 work of collective biography on the formative authors of the heroic fantasy genre by L. Sprague de Camp, published by Arkham House in an edition of 5,431 copies...
(1976) - a major contribution to the historical study of modern fantasy authors - Dark Valley Destiny: the Life of Robert E. HowardDark Valley Destiny: the Life of Robert E. HowardDark Valley Destiny: the Life of Robert E. Howard is a biography of the writer Robert E. Howard by science-fiction writer L. Sprague de Camp in collaboration with Catherine Crook de Camp and Jane Whittington Griffin, first in hardcover published by Bluejay Books in 1983...
(1983) (with Catherine Crook de CampCatherine Crook de CampCatherine Crook de Camp, was an American science fiction and fantasy author and editor. Most of whose work was done in collaboration with her husband L. Sprague de Camp, to whom she was married for sixty years. Her solo work was largely non-fiction.-Life:Catherine Crook was born Catherine Adelaide...
and Jane Whittington Griffin) - the first major biography of Robert E. HowardRobert E. HowardRobert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre.... - Time and Chance: an AutobiographyTime and Chance: an AutobiographyTime and Chance: an Autobiography is the autobiography of science fiction and fantasy writer L. Sprague de Camp, first published by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc.. An E-book edition was published by Gollancz's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's...
(1996) - winner of the 1997 Hugo Award for Best Non-Fiction Book
Listen to
- A Gun for Dinosaur on X Minus OneX Minus OneX Minus One was a half-hour science fiction radio drama series broadcast from April 24, 1955 to January 9, 1958 in various timeslots on NBC.-Overview:...
, NBC radio, 1956