''The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate'' is a historical novel 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 ...

, first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1961, and in paperback by

Lancer Books Lancer Books was a publisher of paperback books founded by Irwin Stein and Walter Zacharius that operated from 1961 through 1973. While it published stories of a number of genres, it was noted most for its science fiction and fantasy, particularl ...

in 1968. The first trade paperback edition was issued by

The Donning Company Walsworth Publishing Company is a family-owned publishing company based out of Marceline, Missouri. Walsworth produces catalogs and periodicals, and is the only American- and family-owned publisher of yearbooks. It was started in 1937 by brothe ...

in 1982. The book was reissued with a new introduction by

Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed hi ...

as a trade paperback and ebook by

Phoenix Pick Phoenix Pick is the science fiction and fantasy imprint of Arc Manor Publishers based in Rockville, Maryland, United States. Phoenix Pick publishes many classic and semi-classic works of science fiction and fantasy. These include '' Dark Univ ...

in September 2013. It is the third of de Camp's historical novels in order of writing, and earliest chronologically. It is set in 466-465 BCE, the last years of the reign of King

Xerxes I Xerxes I ( peo, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ξέρξης ; – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of D ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Plot summary

The novel concerns the quest of Bessas of Zarispa, a young officer of the "

Immortals Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

" regiment, for the ingredients of a potion that the King has been told will give him

immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

; the blood of a dragon and the ear of a king. Unbeknownst to Bessas, the third ingredient is the heart of a hero, and therefore Bessas' own. Relying on information given him by the priests of Marduk in Babylon that a reptile depicted in reliefs on their temple, the sirrush, is a real dragon and lives at the headwaters of the Nile, Bessas sets out for the source of the Nile, accompanied by his former tutor, Myron of Miletos, who is bored of teaching and wants to make a name for himself in the field of philosophy.

Reception

Harry Cavendish calls the novel "possibly ... the author's most breezily amusing venture into fictionizing classical lore," in which " mic opera attacks and nocturnal ambushes abound ... There obviously is a lot of fictional hocus-pocus in all this, but there's also a shimmering mirthfulness in the writing." Martin Levin characterizes the book as "a gore-spattered delight with a nod to archaeological deduction,

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

and perhaps Edgar Rice Burroughs. ... An antiquarian as well as a science-fiction writer, Mr. De Camp seasons this full-bodied adventure novel with masses of ancient lore and an educated zest for exotic geography." Barbara Copeland writes "L. Sprague de Camp uses his talents for writing fantasy and weird fiction to concoct a swashbuckling historical novel. Full of violence and blood, like the cruel age in which it is set, the story leads the reader on a hair-raising expedition." On the down side, she notes that " his efforts for authenticity, De Camp has so liberally laced the book with tongue-twisting classical names and archaic phrasing that it is actually difficult to read rapidly." ''

The Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'' rates the story as " colorful, vigorous, and outspoken tale that will appeal to masculine readers of the author's historical and science fiction." Don Adrian Davidson calls it " long, well-written,

picaresque novel The picaresque novel ( Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for "rogue" or "rascal") is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish, but "appealing hero", usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corru ...

," that "is excepted from the classification of the straight historical novel only by the Conan-like stature of its hero." Robert Coulson, commenting on the Starblaze edition, states that it remains " eat entertainment if you missed it the first time around ... Even if you read it then, the original edition wasn't embellished by Steve Fabian artwork, so you might want this anyway. ... the characters and the wry humor make it entertaining.""Book Reviews," ''

Amazing Science Fiction Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances i ...

'', September 1983, p. 16.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragon Of The Ishtar Gate, The 1961 American novels Novels by L. Sprague de Camp Novels set in ancient Persia Doubleday (publisher) books Novels set in the 5th century BC