Customer Reviews (1)

not what i thought
I was looking for De Camp books this book was not written by him and it was a pick your path to adventure. Still it was ok for story purposes. ... Read more

Product Description
Discovering the countess Yvette hiding behind a bush without any clothes on, Sergeant Thorolf is soon enlisted to take her to Rhaetia, a wizard, in order that he might change her form and help her elude her pursuers. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

I didn't like it as well asw 'Incoroprated Knight'...
... but my son liked it better.Equally well written & funny;I just liked 'Knight' better.
As the two books won't set you back much I recommend getting them both.

Good solid de Camp
I thought this was a very nice, typical example of the deCamp style.I think it may be slow going for some, liek the previous reviewer, because of his fondness for archaic language, but once you get used to it, it rolls right along.I'm always sorry when one of his books has to come to an end.I liked Yvette and the interplay between her and the hero and this books was one of the bawdier of his output, which is always nice for a rowsing good time.Perhaps not as good as The Reluctant King, but solid nevertheless ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good fiction, for its era
This book is a product of the time in which it was written, during which women were thought of as dependent and in need of direction from males. This comes out very strongly when Iroedh begins to develop into a fertile, mature female and has to learn to play the psychological, war of the sexes-type of "game" with her chosen mate, whose chauvinist views are straight out of the '40's and '50's. In spite of its sexism, the book is highly enjoyable as recreational reading and even sheds some light on the Communist panic that swept the nation during the time.

Blatantly sexist, but otherwise enjoyable.
In this book becoming truly female meant becoming needy & incompetent.If you can ooverlook that it's an enjoyable book. Decamp's better atalternate history then this kind of space age story. I think it'd be falseto assume he's sexist & it's not quite as bad ,in that way, as I havesaid. ... Read more

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Mass Market Paperback ... Read more

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The hunt for a beautiful princess and a king's treasure bring Conan to the edge of the world, where he must battle the hell-fed powers of the sorcerer Thoth-Ammon. Reissue. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Great adventure in Conan's world
While some people have looked down on this book as being episodic, they cannot say that it is boring.I devoured this book and I reccomend it to anyone looking for escapist entertainment.If you want pure, undiluted Conan, seek out the tales of the great Cimmerian's creator, Robert E. Howard.If, however, you are looking for a great and entertaining pastiche, you cannot go wrong with this book.I love how the language of the book paints very sensual imagages in your mind.The fury of battle, the passionate embrace of an amazon's arms, and the thrill of high adventure are found between the covers of this book. Highly reccomended.

The nadir
I'm a fan of Conan, and unlike some others, I don't object fanatically to L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter's efforts to complete Howard's unfinished stories and outlines, and to expand the Conan stories into a twelve volume series...at least in principle. The De Camp and Carter stories written in posthumous collaboration with Howard are fine, in fact, but you must be wary of the full-length novels in the series that are not at least partially credited to Howard. There are three: Volume 6 (this one), Volume 11 (Conan of Aquilonia), and volume 12 (Conan of the Isles). While volume 12 is a passable read, the other two are dreadful pastiches, the worst volumes in the series.

The story is about Conan donning pirate gear once again to hunt his old nemesis, but it's an episodic story--just a series of events poorly strung together. Conan is not a particularly profound character, and De Camp and Carter simply lack Howard's ability to make him interesting despite his basic shallowness. Without the contributions of Howard's fantastic vision, their efforts wear thin in a full-length book. Conan the Buccaneer doesn't cohere as a novel, and nothing in it stirs the imagination. You won't miss anything by skipping it, particularly since biographical summaries that appear at the start of each story in the series tell you what you need to know to continue. The next couple volumes are possibly the best in the series (Conan the Warrior, Conan the Usurper), in fact, so don't waste time in getting to them by reading this one.

Vintage Conan
Carter and de Camp do a good job of capturing the Robert Howard "feel" of the tale while making it a full length story.There's plenty of action and (as Carter says in the introduction)impossibly beautiful women.Fans of Conan comics will be happy to see the Cimmerian's Kushite comrade-at-arms Juma playing a part in this adventure.

The story takes place on the high seas and sweltering southern jungles, so it makes for a great read during the hot summer months - or maybe a good escape from a snowy winter weekend.The only complaint I have is the man eating tree they have Conan face off against.This is kinda lame, but I was having so much fun with this story that I really didn't mind.This book is worth reading if you can track it down.

A Good Conan In The Pack.
Say what you will against a pastiche, but I like Conan novels.Howards will always be the best, but it is great to see his characters continue on.

de Camp and Carter have kept this Conan story nicely in the lifeline(actually tying it in to fill a gap in his history).While some parts ofthe story lost my interest, there were quite a few great scenes in thenovel that made me forget that I wasn't actually reading a Howardnovel.

If you are interested in reading past Howard's Conan stories, thisis a good one in the pack.

If ya Like Conan, you will CRAVE this book
I would recommend this book to almost anyone. After reading it I think menwould enjoy it a little more than most women. I think the authors werewriting it for a target audience of men. Now don't get me wrong if you area women that enjoys adventure, gore, and lots of sex, then this book it foryou. The story might be a little to hard to follow for a young reader, ages13 and above I think is about right.

The story starts out with Conantrying to find some treasure and he gets tangled up in the kidnapping andrescuing ofa princess., and the plot of the usurping of a kingdom. Conanof course has to save the day, but not before going through many smalladventures first. Before the end of the story Conan has fought a huge stonetoad, a evil sorcerer, a living tree, and many amazon women warriors. Conanmust save the kingdom from the evil sorcerer and then the world from thesorcerer's god.This is making a long story short, but I don't want to gointo too much detail or it will ruin the story for you.

Now this bookhas many good aspects about it. I think the main great thing about thisbook it the authors wonderful use of descriptive phrases and words. The waythey describe stuff makes you able to completely visualize the entire Conanworld. Out of all the books I have ever read, I think this is the mostdescriptive out of all of them. Another great quality of the book is howthe adventure never stops it is always on-going. This book is one of themost fast paced action books I have ever read. Just as you think theremight be rest in the action something big and new and more exciting comesalong. This book is not without its flaws though. MY only real complaint ishow the authors have this pre-obsession with women's breasts. Now don't getme wrong it is not like a porno book or anything, it is just that most ofthe time when they describe a women her breasts are usually the keydescriptive phase. The book would have been fine without so muchdescription of the women and their beautiful bodies. It is not a horriblynoticeable thing but you will start to get tired of it after a while.

So all in all I think this book was FANTASIC. It was definitely one of thebetter books I have read in along time. If you up for fast paced highaction and adventure then this is definitely your book! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

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

This volume deals with a Terran diplomat, trying to rescue a Terran Anthropologist from a paranoid local king.

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

Product Description
A masterpiece of the science fiction/fantasy genre as it haddeveloped before its Golden Age, during the '20's and '30's.

Horace Gold wrote it for John Campbell at Unknown Magazine, he collaborated with de Camp to arrive at the final manuscript, and it was published in installments in 1939. Never before issued as a book, though it was highly praised when it appeared in Unknown and has had an underground following ever since then.

Gold's novel is based on the Faust premise: William Hale, in the depths of the Depression in NY City, undertakes to outwit the Devil with a foolproof plan. The story unfolds in a series of vivid scenes and encounters. The premise is brilliant and it gives an unusual twist to its themes, as well as rendering in high detail and with a full cast of characters a wonderfully film noire metropolis, from the Salvation Army mission and the vagrant flophouse to the lavish apartments of the wealthy "captains of industry" of that time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

a gem of classic sf literature
This is an amazing story, sort of a modern American version of Dr. Faustus. I read many of Horace L. Gold's works, and this is probably his single most important work, it reads exceptionally well. A timeless piece! Highly recommended, not only for SF-buffs. I can't believe this book has been out of print for so long... ... Read more

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Embroiled in his field work in the arboreal world of Sunga, biologist Kirk Salazar must put up with hard-core tourists, an ignorant industrialist, and Alexis Ritter, the formidable high priestess of a Sunga cult dedicated to chastity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Interesting, but not one of de Camp's better novels
The Venom Trees of Sunga by Grand Master L. Sprague de Camp seems to lie along the border of not only science fiction and fantasy but of the traditional tale and its modern equivalent.While the book is interesting and features some lively characters, I have to admit that I never felt myself fully immersed in the environment of Sunga, a region on the planet Kukulcan.It is a purely alien environment, featuring exotic vegetation and an advanced form of reptilian life possessing a philosophy and lifestyle diametrically opposed to human life.Actually, I should say Terran life, for the natives of this planet refer to themselves as human beings; visiting Terrans are the aliens on this world.This novel features a typical de Camp hero, a scrawny, rather mousy scientist named Kirk Salazar who has come to Sunga in order to complete the research for his dissertation.It is his intention to learn exactly how the planet's native kusis are able to survive in their native forest of venom trees - the nanshin trees squirts deadly acid on any other being that comes into contact with them.As events unfold, the deadly venom of the nanshin trees comes to be the least of Salazar's concerns.

A number of unique characters place themselves in the way of scientific progress in the novel.A famous representative of the Terran Gnostic religion, working in conjunction with a boorish, womanizing brute of a man, is scheming with the local High Chief Yaamo to cut the forests down and make way for an influx of Terrans on the planet.The group of tourists Salazar has joined (as the cheapest way for him to get to Sunga to do his research) can be rather annoying in and of themselves, but the greatest danger comes from Alexis Ritter, a deadly young Terran who serves as the high priestess of a cult of Terrans up in the mountains.Salazar is to have a number of unforgettable adventures with and on account of her.

The basic story itself proved rather boring at times, and it definitely seemed to go out with a whimper as opposed to a bang.The heroic as well as morally questionable acts we find Salazar committing as conditions change do not quite fit with his supposed nature of a naïve, overzealous scholar, leading me to look elsewhere for a source of true connection with the characters inhabiting this alien world.The most interesting part of this particular novel, at least to me, is the race of "human beings" inhabiting the planet Kukulcan.These reptilian natives are referred to as "Kooks," and they are a fascinating race of beings.They express emotions through color changes on the scales of their neck, obey a strong moral code far more noble than that of Terrans, and speak Terran in a clumsy manner that can be comical at times to the reader.The book takes a while to get rolling, due largely to a tremendous amount of alien terms and names thrown at the reader in the opening pages, and the steam the narrative eventually manages to build up begins to fade long before the conclusion, making The Trees of Sunga an interesting but far from compelling read; certainly, it does not number among de Camp's more noteworthy novels.

Another Kukulcan Adventure
Kirk Salazar represents the typical de Camp approach to a book: rather than a big, brawny hero, Kirk is a scholar, short and intellectual, set apon the task of figuring out the way the branch climbing kusis manage to live amoung the venom trees in the island of Sunga on the Kukulcan planet. The venom trees having adopted a defense of spraying acid at dangers, including people.

An easy enough task except for the intervention of people, from a land developer who simply wants to cut the forest down for lumber to a quasi-preistess come to reside among a back-to nature cult in the same area. The local dinosauroid natives simply add flavor to the typical mix up of different people striving for different goals, none of which match.

Too bad so few books were written in the setting. It has the classical semi-barbaric atmosphere of old novels (steam engines, great lizards, jungle) with modern themes and prose the reader can relate to. ... Read more

Product Description
Here is a fascinating study by L Sprague de Camp of controversial and often little-known happenings in science and technology, with an emphasis on the wayward activities of those who dabble in fringe science. ... Read more

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Time travel and fearless dinosaur hunters based on a classic science fiction story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Book two of the exciting The Reluctant King trilogy
This second novel in de Camp's The Reluctant King trilogy pales in comparison to its predecessor but does continue the exciting, highly enjoyable story of Jorian and the wizard Karadur.After narrowly escaping Xylar with his head, Jorian wandered far from the Twelve Cities, finding himself in one deadly situation after another all throughout the land.All he really wants is a normal, quiet life with the chosen wife he had to leave behind in Xylar.At the beginning of this novel, he has secured a surveying job not far from Xylar, finally achieving some level of anonymity.As soon as he receives a message from Karadur, who has found his way to Iraz, asking his help and promising assistance in rescuing his wife from Xylar, imminent danger immediately appears in the form of Xylarian guards who recognize their unbeheaded king.Managing a wild, very narrow escape, Jorian makes his way to Iraz, where Karadur asks him to repair the gigantic water clock that his father originally built for the king years ago.Of course, things are never quite so simple for Jorian.This time, instead of meeting danger at every turn, danger comes to him in the form of a coordinated siege of Iraz.Can this Barbarian Savior save the kingdom, not to mention his own hide--again?

This novel is somewhat shorter than The Goblin Tower, but it seems to be much shorter.Compared to Jorian's earlier adventures, not a whole lot seems to happen in The Clocks of Iraz.There is a lot of buildup in the middle of this novel, and the only really exciting actions takes place at the beginning and end.On its own merits, it is still a great read, and Jorian's talent for telling fascinating stories to aid his cause makes him one of fantasy's more interesting characters (as does his habit of admitting how much everything bad that happens to him scares him).The conclusion is a little unsatisfying, but that is primarily because it sets the stage for the final novel of the trilogy.Be sure to read The Goblin Tower before reading this novel, especially since there are numerous references to past events included in the text.de Camp is one of fantasy's most gifted writers, and The Clocks of Iraz offers ample proof of his genius. ... Read more

Product Description
Why do people behave in such unreasonable, ineffective ways? Why can't we get along? Renowned science writer L. Sprague de Camp explains that some of our counterproductive and self-destructive tendencies are the result of humans spending over a million years foraging through the African savannah for food, grubbing for edible roots, and chasing other scavengers away from the kills of abler predators. In these activities we see our highly competitive nature and our tendency to view others as adversaries. De Camp examines our global "wrong-headedness" by considering the qualities that served as survival traits in our primitive past. This book is social anthropology at its best! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not simplistic... deals with the inner reality of our nature
Like the Chimpanzees, we descend from apes. Like the chimpanzees, weinherit ape-like behavioral tendencies. This scares a lot of people, sothey attack any idea that suggests that we are anything other than a docilespecies, easily brainwashed into gentleness and conformity. The entireweight of human history says otherwise, and supports the conclusions ofthis book. A good book, but the insecure reader should avoid it.

Simplistic view of our past
The Ape-Man Within offers a simplistic view of our pre-historic past.Nothing is explained just presupposed. Readers should do better to take alook at writers like Alexander, R.D. Leakey, R. or Stephen Gould tounderstand something of our human nature and the way we evolved. MichaelOlson. ... Read more

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FOOTPRINTS ON SAND is a selection of short stories, verse, non-fiction, and excerpts drawn from almost every facet of the de Camps' diverse writings - fantasy, science fiction, children's stories; poems fabulous, romantic, and pragmatic; notes on prehistory, the evolution of weaponry, the development of imaginative fiction, the origins of engineering; of Atlantis, Conan, and magic.Included in this book is a section of tributes from such friends and admirers as Poul Anderson, Isaac Asimov, Lin Carter, Robert A. Heinlein, Patricia Jackson, Andrew Offutt, and George Scithers.On August 12, 1939, a New York school teacher, Catherine A Crook, married a young science fiction writer, otherwise unemployed, named L. Sprague de Camp.They have since collaborated on six non-fiction books, two anthologies of science fiction, and two sons.Catherine de Camp has herself written two books on money management, and has edited an anthology of children's science fiction.She spends much of her time editing and revising her husband's work, handling the family finances, and dealing with publishers, tax collectors, and ticket and passport offices.L. Sprague de Camp began writing full time in 1938 after leaving the Fowler-Becker Publishing Co., and since then has authored more than 80 books, hundreds of magazine articles, and vast numbers of short stories and poems. The de Camps live in Villanova, Pennsylvania, and when not writing, reading, or traveling, spend time listening to classical music, gardening, occasionally sailing, and horseback riding. ... Read more