''Sagas of Conan'' is a 2004 omnibus collection of three previously issued
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving 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 literature and d ...
books written by
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
Björn Nyberg
Björn Emil Oscar Nyberg (11 September 1929 – 16 November 2004), was a Swedish fantasy author best known for his additions to the series of Conan stories begun by Robert E. Howard. His primary contribution to the series was ''The Return of C ...
featuring
Robert E. Howard's
sword and sorcery 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'') ...
. It was first published in paperback by
Tor Books
Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese sci ...
.
Contents
*''
Conan the Swordsman
''Conan the Swordsman'' is a collection of seven fantasy short stories and associated pieces by writers L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter and Björn Nyberg featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first publi ...
'' (L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter and Björn Nyberg)
**"The Conan Saga" (L. Sprague de Camp)
**"
Legions of the Dead
"Legions of the Dead" is a 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. In the opinion of de Camp critic Morgan Holmes, Cathe ...
" (L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter)
**"
The People of the Summit
"The People of the Summit" is a short story by Swedish writer Björn Nyberg, subsequently revised by L. Sprague de Camp, featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. Nyberg's version of the sto ...
" (Björn Nyberg and L. Sprague de Camp)
**"
Shadows in the Dark" (L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter)
**"
The Star of Khorala
"The Star of Khorala" is a short story by Björn Nyberg and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. It was first published by Bantam Books in the paperback collection ...
" (Björn Nyberg and L. Sprague de Camp)
**"
The Gem in the Tower
"The Gem in the Tower" is a 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 is a rewritten version of "Black Moonlight", an ...
" (L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter)
**"
The Ivory Goddess
"The Ivory Goddess" is a 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. According to Morgan Holmes, citing de Camp friend Loay H ...
" (L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter)
**"
Moon of Blood
"Moon of Blood" is a 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 by Bantam Books in the paperback colle ...
" (L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter)
**"Hyborian Names" (L. Sprague de Camp)
*''
Conan the Liberator
''Conan the Liberator'' is a fantasy novel by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Bantam Books in February 1979, and ...
'' (L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter)
*''
Conan and the Spider God
''Conan and the Spider God'' is a fantasy novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Bantam Books in December 1980; later paperbac ...
'' (L. Sprague de Camp)
Reception
Paula Guran in ''
Cinefantastique
''Cinefantastique'' is an American horror, fantasy, and science fiction film magazine.
History
The magazine originally started as a mimeographed fanzine in 1967, then relaunched as a glossy, offset printed quarterly in 1970 by publisher/editor ...
'' writes "Although
Robert_E._Howard's_original_Conan_stories.html" ;"title="
Robert E. Howard's original Conan stories">
Robert E. Howard's original Conan storieswere a huge influence, the Cimmerian really didn't begin to pervade our culture until the 1970s, due to the comics series and pastiches such as these. L. Sprague de Camp may be disdained for his 'editing' ... of original Howard material ... but his works are enjoyable and acceptable to most sword and sorcery fans, and it's nice to have them back in print. We're not sure why this is subtitled as three novels. This omnibus consists of two novels, 'Conan the Liberator' and 'Conan and the Spider God' (both by de Camp and Carter), and 'Conan the Swordsman' (a collection that also includes work by Bjorn Nyberg)." She gives the book three stars.
[Guran, Paula. "Sagas of Conan" eview ''Cinefantastique'', v. 36, iss. 2, April/May 2004, pp. 64-65.]
References
{{Lin Carter (books)
2004 short story collections
Conan the Barbarian books
Fantasy short story collections
Fantasy short story collections by L. Sprague de Camp
Short story collections by Lin Carter
Tor Books books
American short story collections