"Hawks over Shem" is a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

short story by American writer

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...

, featuring

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...

and published in 1955. It's based on the story "Hawks over Egypt" by Robert E. Howard and is usually credited to both authors.

Synopsis

Conan pursues General Othbaal, an ally turned traitor, into the city of Asgalun. He allies himself with Mazdak, one of two other generals involved in a power struggle serving under King Akhirom. Conan and Mazdak eliminate the other generals while causing Akhirom to be overthrown in a coup. Conan must flee Asgalun, and a potentially profitable alliance with Mazdak, when it's discovered that he is actually Amra; a pirate who fleeced many nearby city-states.

Differences from Howard's original story

De Camp gave Diego de Guzman's role to Conan, changed the setting from Egypt in 1021 A.D. into Howard's

Hyborian Age The Hyborian Age is a fictional period of Earth's history within the artificial mythology created by Robert E. Howard, serving as the setting for the sword and sorcery tales of Conan the Barbarian. The word "Hyborian" is derived from the l ...

, and extensively rewritten the plot so that a new "Howard" story could be included to the collection ''

Tales of Conan ''Tales of Conan'' is a 1955 collection of four fantasy short stories by American writers Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. The tales as originally written by Howard were a ...

'' in 1955.

Publication history

"Hawks over Shem" was first published in ''

Fantastic Universe ''Fantastic Universe'' was a U.S. science fiction magazine which began publishing in the 1950s. It ran for 69 issues, from June 1953 to March 1960, under two different publishers. It was part of the explosion of science fiction magazine publishin ...

'' during October 1955. In the same year, it was also published as part of ''

''. In 1968, it was republished in the collection ''

Conan the Freebooter ''Conan the Freebooter'' is a 1968 collection of five fantasy short stories by American writers Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories originally appeared in the ...

''. The original story, "Hawks Over Egypt", can be found in ''

The Road of Azrael ''The Road of Azrael'' is a collection of historical short stories by Robert E. Howard. It was first published in 1979 by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. is a fantasy and science fiction small press publish ...

'' published in 1979.

Citations

Sources

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External links

* 1955 short stories Conan the Barbarian stories by L. Sprague de Camp Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard Fantasy short stories Works originally published in Fantastic Universe {{1950s-fantasy-story-stub