“Lethal Consignment” by Shaun Hamill is the newest Heroic Legends Conan e-book. Shaun Hamill lives in north Texas, so he is a neighbor of mine. Perhaps he’ll make it to Howard Days on June 7th in Cross Plains. At only $1.99 Mr. Hamill’s consignment writing of this Conan short story isn’t lethal.
This story takes place before “The Tower of the Elephant.” Conan is a young barbarian new to civilization. In this story his inclination seems to be for honest work. Perhaps his experience in this story is what pushed him to be a thief? If Mr. Hamill had played that angle up, it would have been a more meaningful story. Conan is described in the paragraph below.
This is a very short story, only six chapters. Hamill’s writing is straight forward and simple. Conan takes employment as a “sellsword.” I’ve come across this word a lot in recent fantasy stories. It’s descriptive of the job, I suppose. Conan is in Kordava, the capital of Zingara and in need of employment. Flavio de Palma the Bold, first mate of the “Fortune’s Dawn” hires Conan to help fight off any pirates that may attack their ship on the way to Aquilonia. This story has Conan aware of Aquilonia but no mention is made of Venarium and Conan’s role in that skirmish.
Conan takes the consignment. Captain Bertoldo stays in his quarters. Conan interacts mainly with Leonidus, another “sellsword.” Conan’s spider-sense is aroused by the small number of crewmen for such a sizeable ship. Eventually the ship is attacked by some sort of demon and a crewman is murdered. His body is ordered to be tossed overboard.
A new crew member is hired. Conan tries to talk about these events with a crewman promoted because of the death. But the man is secretive. The story starts to resemble “The Last Voyage of the Dementer.” But in a non-sensical way. This ship stops along the journey without any desertions or clammer from the sailors, who we know from various other genre stories, are always a superstitious lot. Mind control is hinted at later, but I thought this set up to be weak. Leonidus seems to be in control of himself but is reluctant to talk as everyone else. Which seems highly unrealistic to my thinking.
I don’t want to provide further spoilers. Suffice to say, Conan wins in the end and destroys the evil thing aboard the ship and is alone in the water by story’s end. I’ve read better (and worse) Conan comic book adventures. There is some cleverness in the story, but the behavior of the crew did not seem realistic to me. Men observing a shrinking crew would not stay aboard such a vessel. It is looking more and more like really good Conan short story writers are hard for Titan Books to find. Along with giving more consignments to Scott Oden and John Hocking they should pick up Jason Waltz’s Neither Beg Nor Yield and start hiring those writers.
“‘Listen, my lord. I was a great sorcerer in the south. Men spoke of Thoth-amon as they spoke of Rammon. King Ctesphon of Stygia gave me great honor, casting down the magicians from the high places to exalt me above them. They hated me, but they feared me, for I controlled beings from outside which came at my call and did my bidding. By Set, mine enemy knew not the hour when he might awake at midnight to feel the taloned fingers of a nameless horror at his throat! I did dark and terrible magic with the Serpent Ring of Set, which I found in a nighted tomb a league beneath the earth, forgotten before the first man crawled out of the slimy sea.”
Robert E. Howard, “The Phoenix on the Sword”
Thoth-amon by Barry Windsor-Smith
Thoth-amon is commonly considered Conan’s arch-enemy, but in Robert E. Howard’s stories, he simply was not. Yes, he was in “Phoenix on the Sword,” the first Conan story; however, he wasn’t trying to kill Conan. He didn’t give a shit about Conan. Thoth-amon wanted to kill Ascalante. The only reason Conan was in danger was because of the last thing Thoth-amon said to his baboon-like demon, “and all with him!”
Thoth-amon was the slave of Ascalante and when he found his Ring again, he wanted Ascalente dead. And the “all with him” was just icing on the cake. With this story we find a wonderful antagonist, and his attack was about his enslaver. That his enslaver was attacking Conan at the time was incidental. I reject the idea that Thoth-amon considered Conan an enemy at all.
However, my opinion doesn’t matter at all. The world turns in its own way regardless of my opinions on just about any matter. Thus, it turns with Thoth-amon, who would, in due course, become Conan’s nemesis in pop-culture.
The Phoenix on the Sword
“Thoth-amon’s eyes narrowed. For all his iron-self-control, he was near bursting with long pent-up shame, hate and rage, ready to take any sort of a desperate chance. What he did not reckon on was the fact that Dion saw him, not as a human being with a brain and a wit, but simply a slave, and as such, a creature beneath notice.”
Robert E. Howard, “The Phoenix on the Sword”
Thoth-amon first appeared in “The Phoenix on the Sword.” It’s also the first Conan story, and well known as a rewrite of an unsold King Kull story, “By This Axe I Rule.” The Kull story did not have Thoth-amon in it, nor counterpart to the sorcerer-turned-slave. There was no demon of the Ring or anything of the sort. These elements would be added only in the Conan version of the story, an addition of supernatural elements needed for Weird Tales.
As I mentioned in the introduction, Thoth-amon is not angry with Conan nor is he Conan’s opponent in “The Phoenix on the Sword.” He is a slave of Ascalante. He was once a powerful sorcerer and priest in Stygia, but he lost his precious Serpent Ring of Set – which weakened him and allowed rival priests to overthrow him and sell him into slavery. Somehow Dion, the fat baron of Attalus, bought the Serpent Ring from a thief and considered it a good luck charm. Thoth-amon slew Dion, took back his ring, and summoned the haunter of the Ring to slay his enslaver, Ascalante. That King Conan was in the room with Ascalante was mere happenstance.
Thoth-amon is shown to be an intelligent observer and a wise advisor. Whenever he is under another’s power, whether through sorcery or blackmail, he is always careful to gain leverage and gather magical links to one day turn the tables on his oppressor; in this story he kept one of Ascalante’s sandals with him. When he makes an enemy, he is unlikely to rest until that enemy is painfully dead. “The Phoenix on the Sword” also establishes that Thoth-amon needs his Ring to be powerful. When it was stolen, he was overthrown by others. One wonders what became of Thoth-amon when the fiend was slain by Conan – if it truly was slain.
The God in the Bowl
“’I found a symbol on the bottom of the Bowl!’ chattered Promero. ‘Not an ancient hieroglyphic, but a symbol recently carved! The mark of Thoth-amon, the Stygian sorcerer, Kalanthes’ deadly foe!’”
Robert E. Howard, “The God in the Bowl”
Thoth-amon is mentioned again in “The God in the Bowl,” identified as the deadly foe of Kalanthes, the priest of Ibis. Again, he is not after Conan, but someone else entirely (the afore-mentioned Kalanthes). This story is in Conan’s youth. “The Phoenix on the Sword” is in Conan’s middle years. An REH purist would not find any other interactions between Conan and Thoth-amon, and wouldn’t consider Thoth-amon to be Conan’s greatest enemy. Conan and Thoth-amon don’t even meet in any Robert E. Howard story.
The Hour of the Dragon
“’Men say that he has opposed Thoth-amon, who is the master of all priests of Set, and dwells in Luxur, and that Thutothmes seeks hidden power to overthrow the Great One. But who am I to say? When priests war with one another a common man can but lie on his belly and hope neither treads upon him.’”
Robert E. Howard, The Hour of the Dragon
Thoth-amon does not appear in The Hour of the Dragon, but he is mentioned. “Only occultists high in the mazes of the hideous Black Ring possessed the power of the black hand that dealt death by its touch; and only such a man would dare defy Thoth-Amon, whom the western world knew only as a figure of terror and myth.” Thoth-amon is a monster in Stygia, and it takes someone of great power to openly defy him. Thutothmes of Khemi is such a someone. He discusses Thoth-amon in more detail in the following quote:
“Ask me not how I, Thutothmes of Khemi and the Night, heard the word before Thoth-Amon who calls himself prince of all wizards. There are secrets not meet for such ears even as yours, and Thoth-Amon is not the only lord of the Black Ring.
“I knew, and I went to meet the Heart which came southward. It was like a magnet which drew me, unerringly. From death to death it came, riding on a river of human blood. Blood feeds it, blood draws it. Its power is greatest when there is blood on the hands that grasp it, when it is wrested by slaughter from its holder. Wherever it gleams, blood is spilt and kingdoms totter, and the forces of nature are put in turmoil. “And here I stand, the master of the Heart, and have summoned you to come secretly, who are faithful to me, to share in the black kingdom that shall be. Tonight you shall witness the breaking of Thoth-Amon’s chains which enslave us, and the birth of empire.”
However, these three Conan stories were not the only times Robert E. Howard wrote of Thoth-amon…
Marchers of Valhalla (Draft)
“Listen, and I will tell you!” she cried, hitching toward me on her knees and catching at the skirt of my tunic. “Only listen, and then grant me the little thing I ask! I am Ishtar, a daughter of a king in dim Lemuria, which the sea gulped so long ago. Thoth-amon, the sorcerer of Stygia, hated my father, and to spite him, he put the curse on me of Life ever-lasting!”
Robert E. Howard, Marchers of Valhalla (Draft)
In one of the drafts of Marchers of Valhalla, Robert E. Howard references Thoth-amon, the sorcerer of Stygia. In this draft, Ishtar claims Thoth-amon had the ability to curse people with eternal life, and that she was the recipient of this curse.
The Haunter of the Ring
“’I knew as soon as I saw the ring on Evelyn Gordon’s finger; the ring she could not remove; the ancient and accursed ring of Thoth-amon, handed down by foul cults of sorcerers since the days of forgotten Stygia.’”
Robert E. Howard, “The Haunter of the Ring”
When I discovered “The Haunter of the Ring,” I was beyond surprised. That story mesmerized me. It’s probably most easily found in The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard, the Del Rey edition, page 410. For me, I discovered it with Beyond the Borders, Baen, October 1996. Unlike most of the stories involving Thoth-amon, this one takes place in the 1920s-1930s. John Kirowan’s friend, James Gordon, has arrived, with a tale of a mysterious ring, possibly found in Hungary, that was sent to his wife, Evelyn. She cannot get this ring off her finger. It is described as “copper, made like a scaly snake coiled three times, with its tail in its mouth and yellow jewels for eyes.”
The ring causes her to dream of a horrible faceless black thing that mumbles and paws over her with apish hands… and during the day, she tries to kill her husband, Jim Gordon (not the police commissioner of Gotham, just the same name). Kirowan leads the narrator (Michael O’Donnel) to their enemy, Joseph Roelocke (aka Yosef Vrolok), a Hungarian with psychic powers who gave Evelyn the ring… a ring revealed to be Thoth-amon’s, which summons a demon more ferocious than all in Hell. Apparently, Conan didn’t kill the demon permanently, or Thoth-amon trapped another demon within it.
The fate of the ring is unclear, however. I suppose Kirowan was able to get it off Evelyn’s finger and then kept it, but where it lurks today, who can say? I think a story of it’s modern-day appearance would be FANTASTIC!
Conan the Buccaneer
“The man was a dusky giant, with broad shoulders and aloof, hawklike features. From his shaven skull to his sandaled feet, his skin was a deep, rich brown. Black eyes glittered hypnotically from the depths of cavernous eye-sockets. He wore a simple white linen robe. The only ornament to be seen on his person was a copper-colored ring, in the form of a serpent that, making three turns around one finger of a muscular hand, held its tail in its jaws.”
L. Sprague de Camp & Lin Carter, Conan the Buccaneer
I am not here to debate the merits or demerits of L. Sprague de Camp or Lin Carter. I was a teenager when I discovered the Ace/Lancer Conan series, and they included pastiches… and I enjoyed those pastiches when I was younger. At the end of Chapter One, a character named Menkara goes to seek Thoth-Amon. L. Sprague de Camp followed Weird Tales editor Farnsworth Wright’s original edit and capitalized the “Amon” portion of the name, whereas Robert E. Howard (in his typescript) did not. Sometimes, de Camp and Carter (undoubtedly a typo) spell his name “Thoth-Ammon,” sometimes in adjacent paragraphs (page 32 of the Ace edition of “Conan the Buccaneer”). I’ll use the de Camp & Carter capitalization for their version of Thoth-Amon.
Thoth-Amon first appears in Chapter 8. He uses magic freely and easily, telekinetically moving things with the snap of his fingers. In Chapter 12, Thoth-Amon can search through the Akashic Plane for people. He appears again in Chapter 14, teleporting in to steal the Cobra Crown. He handwaves the Amazon queen to unconsciousness and teleports back again. His attitude toward Conan is simply, “Thoth-Amon regarded the Cimmerian buccaneer as but a minor annoyance, as one would a buzzing mosquito.”
Thoth-Amon becomes King of Zingara in Chapter 19, but it doesn’t last long, and Thoth-Amon destroys the Cobra Crown. Thoth-Amon turns invisible, uses his Serpent Ring to animate a tapestry, and escapes.
The Treasure of Tranicos
“’He was Thoth-Amon of the Ring, in exile from his native Stygia. He had fled in the reign of King Mentupherra, and when Mentupherra died and Ctesphon ascended the ivory throne of Luxur, Thoth-Amon lingered in Kordava though he might have returned home, dunning me for the debt I owed him. But instead of paying him the moiety of my gains as I had promised, I denounced him to my own monarch, so that Thoth-Amon must needs willy-nilly return to Stygia in haste and stealth.’”
L. Sprague de Camp, “The Treasure of Tranicos”
“The Treasure of Tranicos” is an odd duck to say the least. The story behind how “The Black Stranger” became “Swords of the Red Brotherhood” and then became “The Treasure of Tranicos” is best left for other essays and has been covered many times. While Thoth-amon does not appear in REH’s original “The Black Stranger,” Thoth-Amon does appear in the de Camp-rewritten “The Treasure of Tranicos.”
Thoth-Amon is depicted as Valenso’s enemy in court. De Camp changed the text so the magician Valenso cheated wasn’t killed, but lived… and was none other than Thoth-Amon. Conan slays Thoth-Amon’s demon and supposed Thoth-Amon had slunk off to some Stygian tomb because “these wizards are a queer lot.” Ace also released an illustrated edition of the Treasure of Tranicos, and there is a pretty great picture of Thoth-Amon by Esteban Maroto on page 63.
Even at this stage, Thoth-Amon is not Conan’s enemy per se. He’s always after someone else.
Conan of Aquilonia
“Then the coil of writhing vapor that was Thoth-Amon’s spirit stiffened and writhed in Conan’s impalpable clutch. Thoth-Amon shrieked soundlessly – an awful, hollow cry of agony and despair. The bodiless thing melted in his grasp. It disintegrated and faded into the cold mists of the void.”
L. Sprague de Camp & Lin Carter, “Shadows in the Skull”
Conan of Aquilonia was always an interesting book for me when I was young. Conan is older, and he has a son. This is the book where L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter really cemented Thoth-Amon as Conan’s nemesis.
In “The Witch of the Mists,” King Conan discovers that Thoth-Amon is behind the plot to kidnap Conan’s son, Conn.
In “Black Sphinx of Nebthu,” King Conan leads an army into Stygia, into the ancient city of Nebthu, to seek out Thoth-Amon. A druid kept Conan’s army basically invisible to Thoth-Amon’s magical sight. Conan knows Thoth-Amon was behind the demon that attacked in “Phoenix on the Sword.” For his part, Thoth-Amon recounts the events of “The God in the Bowl,” Conan the Buccaneer, “Treasure of Tranicos,” and “Phoenix on the Sword.” Thoth-Amon is surrounded by hundreds of wizards and acolytes. He can shoot green rays from his fingers to knock swords out of hands. Soon, the hundreds of wizards join Thoth-Amon in shooting green rays at Conan and his men, but the White Druid of Pictland defended them with his magic staff. When the druid started to falter, Conan produced the Heart of Ahriman. The Heart of Ahriman killed or drove mad the hundreds of wizards, but Thoth-Amon summoned a giant, demonic black sphinx which slaughtered Conan’s army, but vanished with the coming daylight. Thoth-Amon flees to Zembabwei.
In “Red Moon of Zembabwei,” Thoth-Amon meets with another ally, Nenaunir, a king and fellow wizard. Thoth-Amon captures Conan and Conn, but ultimately must flee southward on a wyvern. This leads into Shadows in the Skull, where Thoth-Amon takes refuge among a remnant colony of serpent-men. The life-force of Thoth-Amon battled the life-force of Conan. Conan and Conn, however, won the day, finally killing their foe.
In this book, Thoth-Amon is shown to use magic almost absent-mindedly, shooting green bolts of eldritch energy with ease. He is also shown to have sorcerous allies and a cult with hundreds of votaries.
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics leaned into L. Sprague de Camp’s vision of Thoth-Amon as a nemesis for Conan. In their adaptation of “The God in the Bowl” in Conan the Barbarian (CtB) #7, Conan actually gets a visionary glimpse of Thoth-Amon, complete with curled ram’s horns as headgear. In CtB #43, Morophla is worried that Conan might be an assassin sent by Thoth-Amon. In CtB #89, Thoth-Amon is seen blasting apart a door and he takes on an advisory role in the rule of Ctesphon III. Thoth-Amon appears also in The Savage Sword of Conan (SSoC). SSoC #191-193 are notable because chronologically, this is the first time in the Marvel Universe that Conan and Thoth-Amon meet.
Of course, Thoth-Amon appears in the various adaptations of “The Phoenix on the Sword,” Conan of Aquilonia, and Conan the Buccaneer. I prefer Thoth-Amon bald headed than with the ram’s horn headdress, but it is notable and easily identifiable. Thoth-Amon is generally portrayed as a bad-ass in the Marvel Comics. Effort is made to make him a mighty and fearsome foe.
Marvel Comics ran a Thoth-Amon short story by Matt Forbeck called “The Fall of Thoth-Amon” in Age of Conan: Valeria #1-5. It is a very slight tale that more or less explains how Thoth-Amon lost his ring and became Ascalante’s slave.
Tor Novels
“Tevek had met Thoth-Amon once, years hence in Nebthu, and that meeting had left a lasting impression. The raw essence of evil had pervaded the very air about Thoth-Amon, whose mere presence had cowed the haughty priests of Nebthu. Tevek himself had felt the cold fire of Thoth-Amon’s gaze, for the Stygian mage had questioned everyone at Nebthu regarding an ancient tome for which he searched.”
Sean A. Moore, Conan and the Grim Grey God
Through the 1980s and 1990s, Tor published 42 Conan pastiches (in 2004, they published a 43rd) of varying degrees of quality. A handful of these have appearances by Thoth-Amon. The Tor books used L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter’s preference of capitalizing the “Amon” and I will do so in this section as well.
Conan the Invincible by Robert Jordan gave Thoth-Amon a minor role. A Stygian sorcerer used a homunculus to basically call up Thoth-Amon and give him a progress report. Although I like the use of a homunculus, and it felt reasonably weird, I am generally not on board with writers using magic to duplicate modern conveniences, like telephones.
Conan the Valorous by John Maddox Roberts has Thoth-Amon appearing in Crom’s Cave beneath Ben Morgh. Hathor-Ka, another wizard, believed herself to be the equal to Thoth-Amon and comes to realize she was woefully mistaken. He then proceeds to teach her about magic. Thoth-Amon is also briefly mentioned in Conan and the Manhunters by John Maddox Roberts.
Conan and the Grim Grey God by Sean A. Moore gives Thoth-Amon a lot more to do. Thoth-Amon is seeking Eibon’s codices, and several other books of power, and the titular grim grey god. Thoth-Amon shoots green magical energy from his Ring, which is called the Black Ring in this book instead of the Serpent Ring. Thoth-Amon loans this Ring out to a necromancer, pointing out that he is still powerful even without it. He creates a candle that will kill this necromancer if the Ring is not returned in a fortnight. In this novel, Thoth-Amon is more about spreading the religion of Set and destroying rival religions than he is about personal power. At the end of the novel he escapes by teleporting away.
Anok, Heretic of Stygia (Age of Conan Trilogy)
“He had somehow expected a small, old, wizened figure of a man. But Thoth-Amon was tall, towering over Anok, nearly as tall as Teferi, and broader of shoulder. As he stepped towards them, he carried himself gracefully, having neither the swagger of a warrior, or the hesitant gait of an old-man.
He wore long, flowing robes of red and black, elaborately embroidered with gold thread, and on his seemingly hairless skull, he wore a skull-cap of mirror-polished metal. His face was angular and deeply chiseled, his nose long and hooked, his skin dark and gray, like cold ash from a fireplace. A pointed goatee framed his lipless mouth, and eyes like black marbles glinted from deep and shadowed sockets.
He smiled, and it was a terrible thing.”
J. Steven York, Heretic of Set
In 2006 or so, Ace came out with four trilogies for “The Age of Conan.” I read three of the four trilogies, and those three were abysmal. The trilogy that interests us here is the Anok, Heretic of Stygia trilogy. This trilogy is seriously marred, for although it supposedly takes place during the Hyborian age, it actually takes place in a fantasy world called Hyboria where everything is resolved by magic. Magic is so prevalent that one scene required a location in a “no-magic” zone – but of course magic is needed there to resolve the conflict of that scene, so the no-magic zone included a magic zone! Here’s my review of the third book that pretty much sums up the problems with the whole series:
However, regardless of how much I despise this trilogy, Thoth-Amon is in the series, so I’m going to discuss his appearance here. Thoth-Amon is mentioned several times in the story, usually referencing how Conan kicked his ass, but appears in Chapter 22 of Heretic of Set (Book 2 of the trilogy). Anok has reached Thoth-Amon’s castle. He meets Thoth-Amon where he learned the sorcerer was conspiring against Set with Ramsa. Thoth-Amon laughed because Anok feared gaining Corruption (which is a tangible thing the priests can measure and talk about). Anok battled Thoth-amon in a High Fantasy sorcerer’s duel. Anok lost and was sent to his villa. Thoth-Amon briefly returns in Chapter 23 of Venom of Luxur (Book 3 of the trilogy). Anok discovered Thoth-Amon at Luxur and that Anok is to be killed. Thoth-Amon is not a major character in the book, but his inclusion was kind of nifty.
Dark Horse Comics
Darkhorse Comics gave Thoth-amon a more traditionally Egyptian style headdress, which I liked better than the Marvel Ram’s Horns.
Conan: The Book of Thoth gives Thoth-amon’s origin story. Thoth-amon grows up as a street-rat and, through nefarious means, manages to rise up through the ranks of the priesthood. He is depicted as thoroughly evil throughout.
Conan the Roleplaying Game (Mongoose Publishing)
Ian Sturrock created statistics for Thoth-amon in Mongoose Publishing’s The Scrolls of Skelos. The text states that the statistics reflect Thoth-amon without his ring, but he is still a 20th level Scholar and absolutely mighty. Interestingly, Ian Sturrock did not give Thoth-amon any levels in this prestige class. In the same volume, he also created a “Lord of the Black Ring” prestige class and outlined the Serpent Ring of Set for the game. This prestige class gives the character Demonologist as a class feature. Interestingly, Ian Sturrock did not give Thoth-amon any levels in this prestige class. I suspect that is because he intended to include Thoth-amon in the base game book, but it just didn’t happen that way.
In Stygia – Serpent of the South, I offered an alternative version of Thoth-amon, but for whatever reason, I decided not to give him levels in the Lord of the Black Ring prestige class. He’s a straight 20th level Scholar in that book. Although I do not remember, I suspect I did it that way because that is the way Ian Sturrock statted him. I just wanted to correct the notion that he was powerful without his Ring, so the Stygia book includes a much weaker version of the character at 10th level without his Ring, with all the negative effects of Obsession at play. I also wanted to add in new rules from Scrolls of Skelos and Stygia – Serpent of the South and improve upon Ian Sturrock’s description of Thoth-amon’s personality. I also worked on making Knowledge (religion) a more useful skill. In this book, characters could take ranks in their god’s “mysteries” instead of a generic “religion” check. These ranks would affect what the character could do and provide cult-specific benefits at various ranks.
Presented below is my unpublished final version of Thoth-amon. Personally, any RPG statistics of Thoth-amon without making him considerably weaker without his ring is problematic, so I made sure to include Thoth-amon’s statistics without the Ring of Set. Even though you may or may not be interested in his game statistics, you might enjoy the character description.
Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of (Modiphius Entertainment)
This big, beautiful 175 page look at the creation of the James Webb Space Telescope came out last October from the MIT press. It’s a labor of love and I read the whole book in one sitting!
The author starts out by giving you a concise history that starts in 1989. What would succeed the Hubble Telescope? There were many false starts and many ideas that did not work out. My favorite science is astronomy and I well remember all the complaints about “the telescope that ate astronomy.” The authors point out that several of the problems were building this telescope from scratch: there were many new concepts and technologies. The James Webb telescope would be 100 times more powerful than the Hubble. It was decided that the telescope would be folded up like a flower into the rocket. When deployed the telescope had to unfold perfectly. Everything had to work right. The James Webb telescope would be orbiting beyond the Moon. There would be no repair missions. They HAD to get it right!
You then read about the science and why they went for an infrared telescope. The James Webb would be able to peer back in time almost to the Big Bang. Many questions would be answered and of course many new mysteries would be uncovered. The mysteries of the Dark Matter and Dark Energy would be investigated. The ability of the James Webb telescope is truly amazing.
You get to “Meet the Team” in the next chapter. You get to glimpse a few of the brilliant and hard-working engineers who made this telescope possible.
The “Webb Telescope’s Engineering Odyssey” and “Meet the Components” take up the last half of the book. The truly extraordinary engineering of the Webb telescope is shown in detail with many beautiful color photographs. And they made it work!
I remember the heartbreak and disappointment when the Hubble was deployed and it was discovered that the mirror had not been ground correctly. I was fearful about this telescope. There could be no repair missions and the telescope had to work perfectly. I couldn’t help wondering: what if they screw this up? Then what?
And they got it right! The James Webb Space Telescope exceeds expectations! What marvelous work and engineering! I think that in this sad old world it’s nice that once in a while we can do something beautiful and inspiring!
If Sprague were still here this is a book that he would love! He would find the engineering details fascinating! And unmanned satellites were how Sprague thought we should do our early space exploration. He told me that in our “flint axe and birchbark canoe” stage of space technology we should as much as possible use robots and satellites to spare the expense and possible heart ache of using human beings. Sprague thought the beginning stages of space flight were so dangerous that the way to go was to use unmanned space exploration as much as possible.
I strongly recommend this beautiful volume! We did something we can truly be proud of!
Yes, this is the one with satyrs. Conan the Liberator, Bantam Books, 1979 is a full-length novel telling the story of how Conan of Cimmeria became King Conan of Aquilonia. It is a story that demanded to be told. I just wish it had been told without satyrs.
I think most would agree that this cover screams toxic masculinity. I doubt any future Conan cover will use this motif (Conan surrounded by multiple naked women) ever again. De Camp did object to this cover (he referred to it as Conan the Slaver or Conan the Rapist in different letters), but he couldn’t get the publisher to change it. Realistically, it probably helped sales of the book back then. The late 70s were a different time. The publisher offered the cover as a poster for $5. I’m sorry I didn’t purchase it (only because of the investment potential, of course. 🙂 )
The introduction mentions Robert E. Howard writing in various genres, but touts Conan as having the “widest appeal.” De Camp states: “In the genre of fantasy, the Conan stories have made Howard’s work second only to J. R. R. Tolkien in popularity.”
Although the book is bylined de Camp AND Carter, it is believed Carter had little to do with the final product. In the introduction de Camp writes: “The present novel, to which my wife Catherine Crook de Camp has contributed extensive editorial assistance, is the latest [in the series.].”
The writing in this book is a little more purple than pulp. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but I’ll grant this novel reads a little differently than previous Conan novels. There are lots of different characters and more emphasis on the politics and geography of Aquilonia with less direct action individually taken by Conan; thus, testing the reader in ways that previous novels haven’t.
In Lin Carter’s Imaginary Worlds, Robert M. Price makes the following observation:
De Camp sets the stage for this novel in the final part of his introduction rather than in a separate preface before the story. He brings the reader up to date on Conan’s life:
My guess is that de Camp (Sprague and/or Catherine) were going for a more “high-fantasy” feel than a “sword & sorcery” one in this book. “Thews” are not mentioned. 🙂 Dark sorcery is prevalent though. The very first chapter gives us a tortured 12-year-old girl.
The next chapter directly follows the events that occurred in “The Treasure of Tranicos” (de Camp’s rewritten version of REH’s “The Black Stranger”). Lady Belesa and Tina are mentioned and Conan is introduced: “Above them towered a grim-faced man of gigantic stature. His smoldering eyes of volcanic blue and the black mane of coarse, straight hair that brushed his massive shoulders suggested the controlled ferocity of a lion in respose.”
The novel continues on. It is fairly heavy in realistic detail. Conan’s rebel army encounters spies, setbacks, recruiting troubles, finance problems, and diplomacy issues with the king of Argos.
While realistic, it isn’t terribly exciting. And some of the twists and turns are pretty clichéd. Conan is poisoned when he mistrusts a beautiful woman. King Numedides is a Caligua-type obsessed with immortality and sexual pleasure. The novel is quite good at showing how difficult winning a civil war is though. Conan’s task is never easy. Until…
The satyrs show up to save the day. I don’t know why satyrs bother me so. The Hyborian World is filled with odd creatures: winged demons, intelligent apes, iron devils, etc. But having a whole forest full of satyrs? Gola himself says it best… Satyrs blow…
The novel gets back on track and ends as REH had previously stated, with Conan strangling Numedides. “As Conan’s iron fingers dug deeper into the pudgy neck, Numedides’ eyes bulged. His mouth gaped, but no sound issued forth. Deeper and deeper sank Conan’s python grip, until the others in the room, standing with suspended breath, heard the cartilage crack.” All in all, the novel did lack in the main. Not enough action and a weak villain. But Conan’s road to kingship was plausible, interesting, and exciting at the end.
* * *
I know there are plenty who decry de Camp and Carter at every opportunity. I think Roy Thomas (in Barbarian Life Volume 3, page136) said it best, “The de Camp-Carter pastiches can be viewed as pretty minor creations when compared with REH’s best work, but I think they hold up quite well alongside mediocre REH stories like “The Vale of Lost Women.””
Roy Thomas adapted Conan the Liberator in 4 consecutive issues of The Savage Sword of Conan. This graphic novel version moves at a better speed than the novel and the visual representation of the satyrs here (as opposed to the more classical Greek version) almost makes me soften to their inclusion in the Hyborian World. Almost.
“Hyborian Names” is an article by L. Sprague de Camp that appeared in Conan the Swordsman, Bantam Books, 1978. This was an expansion of earlier pieces published in various issues of the Robert E. Howard/Conan fanzine Amra. The first installment appeared in Amra V2, No. 4.
De Camp makes some good observations. “Many of the personal names used by Howard in his Conan stories are ordinary Latin personal names (Publius, Constantius, Valeria) or Greek names (Dion, Pelias, Tiberias) or modern Italian versions of these (Publio, Tito, Demetrio). Others are modern Asiatic or Arabic names, sometimes modified (Aram Baksh, Yar Afzal, Jungir Khan, Bhunda Chand, Shah Amurath) while others are apparently made up (Thak, Thaug, Thog, Yara, Yog, Yogah, Zang, Zogar Sag). In “Red Nails” occur a number of Aztec or pseudo-Aztec names; in [other stories] pseudo-Iroquois names.” “It is interesting to note that the three made up names above, beginning with “Th,” are all names of monsters.”
“When [REH] graduated from the Kull stories to the Conan stories, he seems to have sworn off made-up names in favor of real names from history and geography, sometimes slightly modified. These borrowed names are usually well-chosen and euphonious. They convey the glamor of antiquity by their near familiarity without being too difficult for the modern reader, who, having been taught to read by sight-reading methods, is apt to boggle at any name more exotic than “Smith.”
De Camp goes on to compliment REH’s wide reading. De Camp mentions Harold Lamb and Talbot Mundy as major influences. “Howard’s Stygia and Vendhya are essentially Mundy’s Egypt and India.” De Camp goes on to mention Rudyard Kipling as well as Frederick Faust, A. D. Howden Smith, and Sax Rohmer. Jack London and Edgar Rice Burroughs are obvious influences as well.
The rest of de Camp’s article is a list of names with a brief description. I’ve decided to reproduce the pages for the names “Cimmeria” and “Conan” below. As a bonus, I’m including an excerpt by REH about Cimmerians and a poem by Thomas Gray written in 1775.
The days of non-fiction articles about Conan and the Hyborian Age appearing in affordable mass-market paperbacks are over. This was an era when fan immersion into REH’s world was at its height. We have gamebooks today with this level of detail (and more) but at a far higher price.
All music is entirely composed, played, mixed and mastered by Wulf Von Reifenstein. Album cover illustrated by Daniel Bechthold.
This ends my look at Conan the Swordsman. All in all, I found this to be a pretty good collection of Conan adventures. The last page of the book has a nicely informative page “About the Authors.”
“Moon of Blood” first appeared in Conan the Swordsman, Bantam Books, 1978. The story is by Lin Carter and L. Sprague de Camp. This is pretty much a no-nonsense grim tale of Conan against the Picts.
There are several characters in this story. Conan is Captain in the Aquilonian army fighting against the Picts. He interacts with several other soldiers. There is intrigue, tactics, and magic. It has all the essentials of a game. So, it is no surprise that it was adapted as a GURPS role-playing game.
Despite the seriousness of the story and a Pictland setting it fails when compared to “Beyond the Black River.” Conan, Balthus, and Slasher made a great team. Conan and Flavius not so much, even though some of the dialog is well done. The wizard Sagayetha is a pale shadow of Zogar Sag.
As mentioned above, this story is a sequel or follow up to “Beyond the Black River.” Conan is described as “armed as if for war; a plain steel helm covered his mane of coarse black hair; and his deep chest and knotted arms were protected by a hauberk of chain mail. The dented helm framed a dark, scarred face bronzed by strange suns, wherein blazed eyes of smoldering volcanic blue.”
Conan is alarmed at the quiet of the forest. He suspects Picts are in the area, even though scouts have reported no sign of them. Conan’s lieutenant, Flavius, suspects that Conan distrusts the Viscount Lucian.
The Picts attack (Conan’s instincts were right) but mysteriously retreat after both sides faced losses. It’s mentioned that a new wizard, Sagayetha, is a nephew of Zogar Zag (sic). Conan is a little more critical of his Aquilonian bosses in this story. “I know those treaties, signed by some Pictish drunken ne’er do well who knew not what he placed his mark upon. I love not Picts, but I can understand the fury that drives them now.”
A horde of snakes attack Conan and his army. The army scatters and Conan and Flavius flee together. They hide behind a beaver dam as the Picts hold council. Various tribes are there. “They are learning to put aside their clannish feuds,” muttered Conan. “If ever the tribes unite at once, let Aquilonia beware. Ha! Look at those twain.”
Revealing who Conan was talking about would provide spoilers. So, I’ll end here. Conan exhibits probably too much strength at one point, making him almost superhuman. His plan and fortitude help win the battle and by story’s end he has been promoted to General Conan. Thus, setting the stage for his eventual kingship.
Marvel Comics adapted the story in Savage Sword of Conan #46. It is a faithful adaptation. I’m including the splash page for the other story in this issue as well. I think you can guess why.
About two weeks ago, I was rushing through a Barnes & Noble bookstore towards the restroom. I noticed a display rack and two titles caught my eye: Dr. No and James. As I am an Ian Fleming fan I immediately thought of James Bond. I took a quick look at the author’s name, Percival Everett, and thought to myself, “some British author must be writing new Bond novels?” As my need was immediate I moved on.
I left the store without going back to the display rack. I had read Kingsley Amis’s James Bond novel, most of John Gardner’s, some of Raymond Benson’s, and one by Anthony Horowitz. I had no interest in reading an endless stream of new James Bond pastiches. I’m too busy reading an endless stream of Conan the Barbarian pastiches. 🙂
Somehow, the books lingered in my brain, and I googled the author. I then realized my mistake. Percival Everett is an award-winning American author. I had just recently seen the movie American Fiction based on his book Erasure. I thought the movie started well but lost its way by the end. I took no special note of any names associated with the movie.
I went back to the bookstore more informed and bought Dr. No. It tells the story of a professor of mathematics, Wala Kitu, who is an expert on “nothing.” John Sill, a billionaire, vowed to become a “James Bond villain” after his parents were murdered in a conspiracy connected to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. Sill hires Kitu.
“Nothing” is “something.” The power of nothing is shown when a city is erased from existence. Something happened but nothing happened. Or nothing happened and something happened. In any event, no one remembers anything about that city.
There are “James Bondian” things in the novel. Exotic locales, villainous characters, traps, pursuits, chases, and a plan to do “nothing” to Fort Knox. The book is an easy read full of puns and wit. Like the movie, American Fiction, (I haven’t read Erasure) it falters toward the end. Mr. Everett gets a little too cute making Father Damien Karras from the Exorcist book (and movie) a character. And the finale doesn’t quite work for me (especially since the novel is written in the first person.) But it was mostly entertaining and a very quick read.
So… I hesitated a bit to purchase James. Would Percival Everett disappoint me in the conclusion once again? Maybe, but a reworking of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn where the slave Jim is an educated man, and the story is told from his view intrigued me.
Percival Everett appears to be a Mark Twain fan. Dr. No has a quote from Twain preceding the story. “Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”
James is a page-turner. Just like Huckleberry Finn. I read both books in one sitting. I don’t have a whole lot to say about this book other than I thought it great. Like in Twain’s novel the relationship between Huck and Jim grows and it is marvelous to experience. Everett details the horrors of slavery far more that Twain did, of course. But both authors get the essence of the goodness and badness inherit in mankind.
I’m not in a position to say whether Everett (through his version of James, rather than Jim) comes across as angry or revengeful or any other word that describes how everyone feels from time to time (but is usually considered a bad thing.) I will say I believe I honestly felt every emotion that the author wanted me to feel, and that it was enjoyable. This is a great book, well worth reading. The ending was perfect in this one.
Into the west, unknown of man, Ships have sailed since the world began. Read, if you dare, what Skelos wrote, With dead hands fumbling his silken coat; And follow the ships through the wind-blown wrack – Follow the ships that come not back ~ The Pool of the Black One, Robert E. Howard
The iron-bound book of Skelos, introduced in “The Pool of the Black One,” is one of the mystical books created by Robert E. Howard. Who was Skelos? What was in his book? How has it been portrayed in various REH-related media?
Book of Skelos spiral notebook, available at Red Bubble
Robert E. Howard established that Skelos was an author (“Read, if you dare, what Skelos wrote” in “The Pool of the Black One”) who had access to prehistoric sources (“…and there was a description of them in the Book of Skelos, which drew on prehistoric sources” in “The Devil in Iron”). He was a wizard and wrote incantations (“’You must be deep in the arts yourself, Orastes, to have been able to restore my life. How is it that a priest of Mitra knows of the Heart of Ahriman, and the incantations of Skelos?’” in The Hour of the Dragon). He was also some kind of charismatic leader, as he had votaries, or devoted followers, adherents, or advocates of someone (“Not for naught had he gained access into darksome cults, had harkened to the grisly whispers of the votaries of Skelos under midnight trees…” in “Black Colossus”).
So, what is in the Book of Skelos? The quote in the prior paragraph hints that the book probably contains incantations. In “The People of the Black Circle,” Yasmina learned how the king of Vendhya was killed via magic, at least partially from reading from the Book of Skelos (“The king of Vendhya was destroyed by magic,” she said at last. “I have devoted my life to the destruction of his murderers. As he died he gave me a clue, and I have followed it. I have read the Book of Skelos, and talked with nameless hermits in the caves below Jhelai. I learned how, and by whom, he was destroyed. His enemies were the Black Seers of Mount Yimsha.”). The Book of Skelos also had geographical knowledge, as this quote from “The Pool of the Black One” points out: “Zaporavo had his reasons for wishing to go alone. He desired to learn if this island were indeed that mentioned in the mysterious Book of Skelos, whereon, nameless sages aver, strange monsters guard crypts filled with hieroglyph-carven gold.”
The Book of Skelos itself was described as “Iron-Bound” (“…I read the iron-bound books of Skelos, and talked with unseen creatures in deep wells, and faceless shapes in black reeking jungles” in The Hour of the Dragon). Iron has long had an association with magic in folklore, so I think that is why Robert E. Howard often described magical tomes as being iron-bound. It’s part of his skillful way to paint a scene with just a few words. Even if we don’t consciously remember that iron is tied to magic in folklore, I think subconsciously many of us do make this connection.
I read a couple of online sources that want to treat the Book of Skelos as having been written by Vathelos the Blind; for example, the Marvel Database (http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/tomes_of_eldritch_knowledge.htm) has this entry for The Book of Skelos: “Book of Skelos – Savage Sword of Conan #2 (1974) Several copies of an iron-bound book apparently compiled in the Hyborian Era by Vathelos the Blind; held by Kulan Gath, traded to Professor Justin Alphonse Gamble by Merlin in exchange for the meteorite from which he created the Ebony Blade. Compendium for arcane knowledge (history, geography, gods, demons, wizards, rituals, prophecy, and dagger); included spell to summon the demon Azoth.” I think this comes from the “Black Colossus” line that says, “Not for naught had he gained access into darksome cults, had harkened to the grisly whispers of the votaries of Skelos under midnight trees, and read the forbidden ironbound books of Vathelos the Blind.” Personally, I think there can be more than one set of ironbound books in the world, but I can see where one can conflate them.
In the Marvel Comics, there were few copies of the Book of Skelos extant. Thoth-amon’s copy was said to be incomplete, for a page of his was stolen, according to Marvel Feature presents Red Sonja Vol 2, #6. In Savage Sword of Conan Vol 1, #54, a single page of the Book of Skelos is mentioned. For a while in the Marvel run, there was a character named Zula, whose master Shu-Onoru possessed a copy. With this copy, Zula learned sorcery. Another wizard had a copy in Savage Sword of Conan Vol 1, #8, but that copy was destroyed at the end of the story. In Savage Sword of Conan Vol 1, #41, which was an adaptation of L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter’s Conan the Buccaneer, it mentions that one copy resided in Kheshatta, City of Magicians and another within the Aquilonian Librarium. Another copy is in Vendhya, because Yasmina also read a copy there in the adaptation of “The People of the Black Circle.” Even in more modern eras, Marvel Comics used the Book of Skelos. In Avengers Annual Vol 1, #22, Merlin was shown possessing the Book of Skelos in Camelot during the 6th Century.
In L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter’s Conan the Buccaneer, a reptile-bound copy was found on the Nameless Isle, in the Western Sea, on an altar to Tsathoggua the Toad-God. It is described thusly: “Beneath the sacks of jewels was a huge book, bound in the hide of some reptile and fitted with clasps and hinges of bronze, green with age. The scales of the reptile whose skin formed the cover were of a size that no earthly beast had worn for eons.” Obviously, not all the copies were bound in iron.
For Mongoose’s Conan the Roleplaying Game, the first supplement to the core rulebook was a splatbook called “The Scrolls of Skelos.” I always wondered why it was called that and not the “Book of Skelos.” I suppose it came from the movie, Conan the Destroyer, which referenced the “scrolls of Skelos” throughout, although they were also referred to as scrolls in Savage Sword of Conan Vol 1 #1.
In that particular roleplaying game, the book itself was given the following description:
In Mongoose’s Faith and Fervour, which I wrote, I took the charismatic leader and made him the subject of a cult. He’s described as having votaries, so this seemed reasonable to me. Here is the short description of his cult in game terms:
Skelos Though Skelos is often said to have been no more than a powerful, mortal sorcerer, he is also worshipped as a god of magic by many sorcerers, particularly those who are not quite so Stygian as to revere Set but who still seek after dark and forbidden knowledge. His followers whisper grisly secrets to one another in secret cult meetings held in forest glades at midnight. These meetings have more the character of a coven meeting than a religious act of worship, and Skelos’s priests are wizards first and foremost.
Requirements of Worship: Pay a tithe worth 1 sp/level/month to the local priests of Skelos, attend at least one cult meeting/month.
Benefits of Worship: Spells (any).
Requirements for Ordained Priesthood: Standard, plus as follows: must know at least three sorcery styles and three advanced spells; Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks; must give up at least three magical links to oneself to the cult’s archpriest.
Benefits of Ordained Priesthood: Standard, plus sorcery teaching is available (all spells).
Typical Punishments for Disloyal Priests: Killed by magical means.
Monolith’s Robert E. Howard’s Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of has a supplement titled the Book of Skelos, but I don’t have a copy of that book, so I am unable to say how it treats the book for that particular roleplaying game.
Introduction to Modiphius Entertainment’s The Book of Skelos
Skelos didn’t just give his name to a book, but also to several other items as well. For example, in “Queen of the Black Coast,” we have a Well of Skelos: “Conan knew these creatures were not beasts; it was not merely in their unnatural size that he sensed a blasphemous difference. They exuded an aura tangible as the black mist rising from a corpse-littered swamp. By what godless alchemy these beings had been brought into existence, he could not guess; but he knew he faced diabolism blacker than the Well of Skelos. “
Andrew Offut wrote a Conan novel titled, The Sword of Skelos. This sword was enchanted to fly about and fight of its own accord.
And it seems as though some sorcerer’s use Skelos’ name as a curse, and I’ll end off with such a quote from “The People of the Black Circle.”
‘“Follow the golden vein through the abyss,” muttered Khemsa. “Wear the girdle. I had it from a Stygian priest. It will aid you, though it failed me at last. Break the crystal globe with the four golden pomegranates. Beware of the Master’s transmutations – I am going to Gitara – she is waiting for me in hell – aie, ya Skelos yar!” And so he died.
Vincent Darlage currently works as an accountant in Indiana. He discovered REH in 1983 when he was 13 years old. He wrote sixteen supplements to Mongoose’s Conan the Roleplaying Game and small bits here and there in Monolith’s game. He is one of the moderators of the Robert E. Howard Readers group on Goodreads.
“The Ivory Goddess” first appeared in Conan the Swordsman, Bantam Books, 1978. I doubt this is anyone’s favorite Conan story. It’s a pretty simple tale with an unsatisfying conclusion. Muriela deserved better, I think.
Conan and Muriela by Ollie Cuthbertson
The credits list this story as by Lin Carter and L. Sprague de Camp but that has been questioned. Per Wikipedia: “According to Morgan Holmes, citing de Camp friend Loay Hall, Carter did none of the writing, and the story was written by de Camp in collaboration with his wife, Catherine Crook de Camp. Robert M. Price also believes Lin Carter had very little input into this story:
I don’t doubt that Catherine Crook de Camp had a hand in this story. There are certain key lines that almost scream a woman’s touch. But more on that below. As normal, there is the introduction placing the story’s chronological order. This tale is a sequel to “Jewels of Gwahlur” AKA “The Servants of Bit-Yakin.”
Conan is described as “a huge man, nearly naked, his massive arms, broad shoulders, and deeply arched chest burned to a bronzen hue. His only garments were a pair of ragged silken breeks, a leathern baldric, and sandals of rhinoceros hide. […] The man’s thick mane of coarse blue-black hair was square-cut at the nape of his neck. Smoldering eyes of volcanic blue stared out beneath thick, drawn brows.”
Conan, with Muriela in tow, has a plan for her to impersonate the goddess Nebethet and have himself declared the best choice to lead the Puntian army. Muriela points out this is the same plan that failed before (in “Jewels of Gwahlur”). When Conan and Muriela arrive at the Temple of Nebethet, they are attacked by a furry beast and an old hag.
No, the “old hag” in the story doesn’t sell Pizza but her role in the tale would have been more interesting if she had. (I need to complain to the owner of this place that the woman pictured above sorta looks like my deceased grandmother. Shame on them!)
Anyway, onward… As in “Jewels of Gwahlur” Muriela hides in a secret panel. This time she’ll be the voice of the skull-faced goddess Nebethet when the Puntish priest arrives for consultation. There is a twist in this story… Nebethet takes over Muriela’s body!
You can read the story for yourself. But basically, Conan escapes death (Catherine Crook de Camp probably wrote this part) since “he was kind to the woman whose body is my garment.” And, later says: “Your concern [for Muriela] does credit to you, Conan.”
So, Conan leaves Muriela trapped within Nebethet: “She shall be my garment as long as I wish.” The goddess does assure Conan that Muriela will be eventually free and well provided for. Conan’s reaction to all this seems out of character in my opinion, but I’m not overly upset. It was a throwaway story to show how Conan and Muriela became separated. I don’t believe Muriela’s fate was ever followed up in another story. If not, some enterprising writer should take this thread and sew up a worthy conclusion.
“The Ivory Goddess” was adapted to comics in Savage Sword of Conan #60. The cover is by Earl Norem. The story is by Roy Thomas, John Buscema, and Danny Bulandi.
The comic book adaptation actually works a bit better than the prose version. The art gives it a dramatic flair lacking in the prose. Muriela is nicely drawn. The dark inks create an eerie tone. John Buscema and Danny Bulandi made a rather bland story a decent contribution to the Conan comics saga.
I recently purchased 100 Years of Weird Tales and have just finished reading it. It’s lots of fun although I do think it could have been even better.
This 488-page volume has an introduction by Jonathan Maberry. In “The Eyrie” he writes about how as a youngster he used to attend meetings of “The Hyborian Legion” at the house of George Scithers where the works of REH, HPL, CAS, and Fritz Leiber would be discussed. He met L.Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter. He and Sprague became friends, and he would visit Sprague and Catherine at their house in Villanova! Jonathan Maberry writes that George Scithers and Lin Carter and then Jonathan Maberry would end up editing Weird Tales.
I had not known until I read this book that Weird Tales is again a going concern! I looked it up and it now appears to be a quarterly magazine. Each issue has a particular theme. The latest Weird Tales (#368) is devoted to occult detective stories.
This book has many essays and stories. The stories are a mix of classic reprints and more modern tales. In here you will find “The Call of Cthulhu,” “The Worms of the Earth,” and “Black God’s Kiss” by C.L. Moore. I had never read “Black God’s Kiss” and found it an excellent story of hate and revenge and how far Jirel of Joiry will go to get back at the wicked, brutish man who has defeated and humiliated her. C.L. Moore could conjure up some very REH style hate and anger. Jirel of Joiry can hate to the point of madness. You can see why REH enjoyed this story!
Others I enjoyed include a 1943 story titled “The Scythe” by Ray Bradbury. A John Steinbeck type displaced farming family reach a deserted farm where a deadly magical scythe is found. They soon find that there is a tragic price to be paid for living at this farm and finding this scythe.
One I never knew: Isaac Asimov sold a story to Weird Tales! He and Frederick Pohl wrote “Last Rites.” It came out in the September 1950 issue and is a humorous look at a legal court battle between the descendant of the owner of an old mansion and the ghost who haunts the mansion. The descendant wants the ghost out of the house but the ghost goes to court to claim squatter’s rights! The attorneys and poor judge are a bit baffled about how to proceed in this one!
I had always heard that the great Tennessee Williams had published his first professional story in Weird Tales and here it is! Written when he was 16 years old this story of revenge in ancient Egypt was published in the August 1928 issue (the same issue that featured the first Solomon Kane adventure) and is titled “The Vengeance of Nitocris.” An Egyptian queen plots and carries out what Sprague would describe as a “lingering and humorous doom” on the people who had murdered her husband. It’s an excellent story!
The essays discuss cosmic horror and swords and sorcery and occult detectives. There is a nice essay titled “Weird Tales at 100″ by Lisa Morton. I found a few mistakes in “The Circle: Shared World” by Lisa Diane Kastner. On page108 she writes that CAS wrote 1000 stories between 1929 and 1934. He actually wrote about 100 stories! She also calls Smith’s Hyperborea “Hyperbose.” To me these are pretty obvious errors that the editor should have caught!
I guess it shows me as a 68 year old geezer but I can’t help but note that the older stories are to me much more effective. The newer stories seem to me to rely too much on swear words and copious amounts of gore and filth. The older stories could conjure up terror and weirdness and horror without the swear words, etc. that modern authors seem to think are absolutely necessary. Of course Sprague always thought that tastes in the arts are so subjective that arguing about them is largely a waste of breath!
There are poems scattered throughout this anthology. I did not particularly care for them but then again others might love them!
That brings me to one of my criticisms. Both Sprague and Lin Carter thought Clark Ashton Smith was the single most brilliant contributor to Weird Tales. I remember Carter writing that Smith could write “circles” around HPL and REH. So since HPL and REH have stories in this book Mr. Maberry really should have included a Smith tale!.
Also, a beautiful Smith poem would have been perfect in this book!
My other complaint is that there are no notes and no index! I remember Gary writing that the lack of notes and index bothered him when he read The Weird Tales Boys. Mr. Maberry must know how important Sprague thought notes and indexes were so I am a little surprised that they are lacking in this book.
All in all, though, this is an excellent book. I am glad I bought it and glad that Weird Tales has risen again! (Scattered throughout the book are the old advertisements from days of yore which are lots of fun.) I wish Mr. Maberry luck and will be buying the back issues and the upcoming issues. Weird Tales lives again!
spraguedecampfan 