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The Hand of Zei
by L. Sprague deCampDirk Barnevelt knew he wasn't a hero, but somebody had to find the explorer who'd vanished on the low-tech planet, Krisha and to do that, somebody had to single-handedly rescue a beautiful princess from bloodthirsty pirates and to do that, somebody had to lead the fleet against an impregnable fortress, while fending off a superior navy. And whoever managed all that was going to be a hero - whether he knew it or not!
The Honourable Barbarian
by L. Sprague deCampThe Whims of DestinyJorian, 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 Hostage of Zir
by L. Sprague deCampOutside the walls of the starport Novorecife, Earthmen on the warrior planet Kishna are on their own. So when he is chosen to lead the first ersuma (Earth-tourists) through the sorcerer-kingdoms of this "protected" medieval world, Fergus Reith must first learn to speak Durou; must take the chemical oath against imparting technical information; and must above all else learn to handle a broadsword! All these skills are needed when Reith finds himself and his ersuma trapped as pawns in a deadly war between a sorceress and a sterile kingdom under three moons . . . The Hostage of Zir is the third of L. Sprague de Camp's Krishna book - interplanetary romance in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Martian Tales.
L. Sprague de Camp SF Gateway Omnibus: Lest Darkness Fall, Rogue Queen, The Tritonian Ring
by L. Sprague deCampFrom the vaults of the SF Gateway, the most comprehensive digital library of classic SFF titles ever assembled, comes an ideal introduction to the varied work of author, editor and critic, L. Sprague de Camp.Although arguably best known for his continuation of Robert E. Howard's Conan stories, de Camp was an important figure in the formative period of modern SF, alongside the likes of Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein. In a career spanning seven decades, he won the HUGO, WORLD FANTASY LIFE ACHIEVEMENT and SFWA GRAND MASTER AWARDs. This omnibus collects three previously out-of-print classics: LEST DARKNESS FALL, ROGUE QUEEN and THE TRITONIAN RING. Lest Darkness Fall: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? Rogue Queen: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. The Tritonian Ring: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.
Lest Darkness Fall: Lest Darkness Fall, Rogue Queen, The Tritonian Ring (Gateway Essentials)
by L. Sprague deCampAgainst the Fall of NightThe 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.
Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers
by L. Sprague deCampStories contained in this book:The Swords of FaerieJack of all Arts: William MorrisTwo Men in One: Lord DunsanyEldritch Yankee Gentleman: H. P. LovecraftSuperman in a Bowler: E. R. EddisonThe Miscast Barbarian: Robert E. HowardParallel Worlds: Fletcher PrattSierran Shaman: Clark Ashton SmithMerlin in Tweeds: J. R. R. TolkienThe Architect of Camelot: T. H. WhiteConan's Compeers
Lovecraft: A Biography (Gateway Essentials)
by L. Sprague deCampLOVECRAFT THE MANLOVECRAFT THE WRITERLOVECRAFT THE CULT FIGUREHis 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!
The Prisoner of Zhamanak
by L. Sprague deCampPercy Mjipa, diplomat-adventurer, and Alicia Dyckman, interplanetary runaway, both aliens on the alien world of Krishna, are swept up in wildly treacherous - and wildly funny - imperial intrigue. . . .The Prisoner of Zhamanak is the fourth of L. Sprague de Camp's Krishna book - interplanetary romance in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Martian Tales.
The Purple Pterodactyls (Ace Science Fiction Ser.)
by L. Sprague deCampBeing the adventures of W. Wilson Newbury, mild-mannered - and mildly ensorcelled - gentleman banker.L. Sprague de Camp, winner of the Gandolf Award as a Grand Master of Fantasy, reveals within these pages the curious story of his friendship with W. Wilson "Willy" Newbury, for whom the realm of the super-natural seems to have a strange affinity.- A horse discloses its violent - non-equine - past.- A manufacturer reveals a particularly unacceptable form of non-union labour.- Formaldehyde is shown to be a better preservative than even its inventor would have hoped.- A game of chances takes on serious overtones, and all for a most unlikely prize.
The Queen of Zamba
by L. Sprague deCampMeet 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 Reluctant Shaman and Other Fantastic Tales
by L. Sprague deCampSUSPEND YOUR DISBELIEFAnd 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.
Rogue Queen: Lest Darkness Fall, Rogue Queen, The Tritonian Ring (Gateway Essentials)
by L. Sprague deCampDecades 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.
Solomon's Stone
by L. Sprague deCampAfter an unintentionally successful demon-summoning, accountant Prosper Nash finds himself on the astral plane, inhabiting the body of Jean-Prospere, Chevalier de Néche-the swashbuckling cavalier he likes to imagine himself as-and in a New York filled with characters from similar wish-fulfillment daydreams of other mundane souls. The demon is possessing his body on a mundane plane, and he attempts to find his way back. This involves the Shamir, the Solomon's Stone of the title, and plentiful swashbuckling adventure, and a plot in which Prosper Nash's accounting abilities prove as useful as Chevalier de Néche's athletic ones.
Time and Chance: An Autobiography
by L. Sprague deCampTime and Chance is the autobiography of Hugo, World Fantasy and SFWA Grand Master Award-winning author, L. Sprague de Camp. It is a fascinating insight into a man who began writing in the late 1930's and remained an active voice in the genre up until his death in the last year of the twentieth century, and who was a prime mover in the formation of the fields of Science Fiction and Fantasy as we know them today.
The Tower of Zanid
by L. Sprague deCampWelcome back to the planet Krishna - a wilderness of blue woods under three moons, where square-riggers sail the treacherous inland seas, where fierce humanoid natives with feathery antennae cross swords in endless war, and where a Terran outside the confines of the spaceport is strictly on his own!The Tower of Zanid is the seventh book of L. Sprague de Camp's Viagens Interplanetarias series - interplanetary romance in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Martian Tales.
The Tritonian Ring and Other Pusadian Tales
by L. Sprague deCampThe 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 Unbeheaded King
by L. Sprague deCampNever Trust a DemonThree 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 Undesired Princess
by L. Sprague deCampThe Undesired PrincessRollin Hobart thought he was a logical, sensible man - until he was transported to a world that was perfectly logical but not sensible in the least.The Enchanted BunnyJoe Johnson thought he had his hands full ghostwriting a Senators memoirs - but that was before he fell into the middle of a fairy tale, complete with wizard and fire-breathing dragon.Two reluctant heroes using their modern knowledge but finding that things don't work quite the way they're used to. But they've got to try, because nobody else can save the world - and unless Hobart and Joe succeed they and their new friends are going to be horribly and realistically dead.
The Venom Trees of Sunga
by L. Sprague deCampTortured IntellectualKirk 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 Virgin of Zesh
by L. Sprague deCampWelcome back to the planet Krishna - a wilderness of blue woods under three moons, where square-riggers sail the treacherous inland seas, where fierce humanoid natives with feathery antennae cross swords in endless war, and where a Terran outside the confines of the spaceport is strictly on his own!The Virgin of Zesh is the fifth of L. Sprague de Camp's Krishna book - interplanetary romance in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Martian Tales.
The Virgin & the Wheels
by L. Sprague deCampThe Virgin of ZeshIn 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 IfIn 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 Adamantine Palace (Memory Of Flames Ser. #1)
by Stephen DeasPraised by Joe Abercrombie and Brent Weeks alike - the dragon fantasy that heralded the arrival of an exciting new talent on the fantasy sceneThe Adamantine Palace lies at the centre of an empire that grew out of ashes. Once dragons ruled the world and man was little more than prey. Then a way of subduing the dragons through alchemy was discovered and now the dragons are bred to be mere mounts for knights and highly valued tokens in the diplomatic power-players that underpin the rule of the competing aristocratic houses. The Empire has grown fat.And now one man wants it for himself. A man prepared to poison the king just as he has poisoned his own father. A man prepared to murder his own lover and then bed her daughter. A man fit to be king?But unknown to him there are flames on the way. A single dragon has gone missing. And even one dragon on the loose, unsubdued and returned to its full intelligence, its full fury, could spell disaster for the Empire. But because of the actions of one unscrupulous mercenary the rivals for the throne could soon be facing hundreds of dragons ...Stephen Deas has written a fast moving and action-fuelled fantasy laced with irony, a razor sharp way with characters, dialogue to die for and dragons to die by.
The Black Mausoleum (Memory of Flames #4)
by Stephen DeasTwo years have passed since the events of The Order of the Scales. Across the realms, dragons are still hatching. Hatching, and hatching free.Skorl is an Ember, a soldier trained from birth to fight dragons. He is a living weapon, one-shot only, saturated with enough dragon-poison to bring down a monster all on his own. Misanthrope, violent and a drunk, to fulfil his purpose and slay a dragon, means to be eaten. Now Skorl has a choice: he can hang for his crimes, or he can go with the last of the Adamantine Men, fighting against an enemy he was born to face.Rat is an Outsider. He's on the run and he's stumbled onto something that's going to make him rich beyond all his dreams. It's just a shame that the end of the world has started without him.Kataros is an alchemist, one of the order responsible for keeping the dragons in check. One of the order that has just failed, and disastrously so.Two men, one woman. One chance to save the world from a storm of dragons ...
Dragon Queen
by Stephen DeasPraised by the likes of Joe Abercrombie and Brent Weeks, Stephen Deas has made dragons his own.In the years before the Dragons laid waste to man's empire, the fearsome monsters were used for war and as gifts of surpassing wealth to buy favour in the constant political battles that tore at the kingdoms. Notorious in these battles was the Dragon Queen. And now she is a prisoner. But no one is more dangerous than when caged ...The critics, fellow authors and readers alike are agreed - if you love dragons and epic fantasy, Stephen Deas is the writer for you. The man who brought dragons back to their full glory, might and terror.DRAGON QUEEN is a companion volume to the Memory of Flames trilogy and to THE BLACK MAUSOLEUM.
The King of the Crags: The Memory Of Flames, Book Ii (Memory Of Flames Ser. #2)
by Stephen DeasPrince Jehal has murdered, poisoned and betrayed his way to the top. There is a new speaker for the realms, his opposition has been crushed, now he just has to enjoy the fruits of power. And yet he feels more for the wife he married for power than perhaps he should and his lover knows it. Out in the realms those loyal to the old regime are still plotting. and there are rumours that the Red Riders, heralds of revolution and doom are on the ride.And still no-one has found the famous white dragon. The dragon that, if it lived, will have long since recovered from the effects of the alchemical liquid fed to the dragons of the realms to keep them docile, to block their memories of a time when they ruled and the world burned.Stephen Deas has created an epic world, vivid characters, a plot full of betrayals and the most awesome dragons fantasy has seen.