"Red Moon of Zembabwei" is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by American writers

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 ...

and

Lin Carter Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...

, featuring the fictional

sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tale ...

hero

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'') ...

created by Robert E. Howard. It was first published in the July 1974 issue of the magazine ''

Fantastic The fantastic (french: le fantastique) is a subgenre of literary works characterized by the ambiguous presentation of seemingly supernatural forces. Bulgarian-French structuralist literary critic Tzvetan Todorov originated the concept, characte ...

'', and was first appeared in book form by

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns, and soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first scienc ...

in the paperback collection ''

Conan of Aquilonia ''Conan of Aquilonia'' is a collection of four linked fantasy short stories by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. The stories were originally published in ' ...

'' in May 1977, which was reprinted several times through 1994. The first

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

edition was published by

Sphere Books Sphere Books is the name of two British paperback publishers. History The original Sphere Books was launched in 1966 by Thomson Corporation. Sphere was sold to Pearson PLC in 1985 and became part of Penguin. The name was retired in 1990. In 19 ...

in October 1978.

Plot summary

Following his encounter with

Thoth-Amon "The Phoenix on the Sword" is one of the original short stories about Conan the Cimmerian written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in ''Weird Tales'' magazine in December 1932. The tale, in which Howard created the charac ...

in Stygia during the events of "

Black Sphinx of Nebthu "Black Sphinx of Nebthu" is a fantasy short story by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. It was first published in the July 1973 iss ...

", King Conan of Aquilonia pursues his arch nemesis to the kingdom of Zembabwei. Thoth-Amon has taken refuge here with the aid of Nenaunir, an evil wizard who has usurped the throne from his own twin brother. Conan, who has entered the city to negotiate his enemy's surrender, is ignorant of this state of affairs until he finds himself thrown in the dungeon with the rightful king, who has been deposed and tortured by Nenaunir. Murzio, a spy from the Aquilonian army, is able to slip through the sewers of Zembabwei to reach the dungeon, but is unable to release Conan. However, he is able to open the gates of the city to the Aquilonian soldiers. In the meantime, Conan and Conn are to be sacrificed to the evil serpent-god Set, or Damballah, as the deity is known in Zembabwei. Prince Conn saves the day by killing Nenaunir and nullifying the earthly materialization of Damballah. Having lost his sanctuary, Thoth-Amon flees south on a flying

wyvern A wyvern ( , sometimes spelled wivern) is a legendary winged dragon that has two legs. The wyvern in its various forms is important in heraldry, frequently appearing as a mascot of schools and athletic teams (chiefly in the United States, Unit ...

Adaptations

Howard's story "The Grisly Horror" was published in the magazine ''

Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, prin ...

'' (Feb 1935) and was later renamed "The Moon of Zambabwei" (the inspiration for the de Camp/Carter version). It was adapted by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

as a Conan story in ''Conan the Barbarian'' #28 ("Moon of Zembabwei", July 1973) a year before the publication of de Camp/Carter.

Notes

{{Lin Carter (books) 1974 short stories Conan the Barbarian stories by L. Sprague de Camp Short stories by Lin Carter Pulp stories Fantasy short stories Works originally published in Fantastic (magazine)