Fantastic – July 1973

Fantastic Sword & Sorcery and Fantasy Stories Volume 22 Number 5.

Contains the story BLACK SPHINX OF NEBTHU. This 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. This is its first publication. It first appeared in book form by Ace Books in the paperback collection Conan of Aquilonia in May 1977, which was reprinted several times through 1994. The first British edition was published by Sphere Books in October 1978.

The Saga of Faring Town

The Saga of Faring Town. The three stories were published in Horror Stories, but separated by date of composition rather than thematically. This booklet fixes that and the reader does not lose the mood created by Sea Curse before they encounter the other two stories. This chapbook was provided to Legacy Circle members of the Robert E. Howard Foundation as part of their membership. 

The Flame Knife

Edited by L. Sprague de Camp

The Flame Knife is a 1955 fantasy novella by American writers Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring Howard’s sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was revised by de Camp from Howard’s original story, a then-unpublished oriental tale featuring Francis X. Gordon titled “Three-Bladed Doom”. De Camp changed the names of the characters, added the fantastic element, and recast the setting into Howard’s Hyborian Age. The story was first published in the hardbound collection Tales of Conan (Gnome Press, 1955), and subsequently appeared in the paperback collection Conan the Wanderer (Lancer Books, 1968), as part of which it has been translated into German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, and Italian. It was published itself in paperback book form by Ace Books in 1981, in an edition profusely illustrated by Esteban Maroto.

Conan the Wanderer

Edited by L. Sprague de Camp

Conan the Wanderer is a 1968 collection of four fantasy short stories by American writers Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp, and Lin Carter, featuring Howard’s sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories were originally published in various fantasy magazines. The book has been reprinted a number of times by various publishers and has also been translated into German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, and Italian. It was later gathered together with Conan the Adventurer and Conan the Buccaneer into the omnibus collection The Conan Chronicles 2 (1990).

Fantastic Universe December 1955

Fantastic Universe Volume 4 Number 5. Contains CONAN, MAN OF DESTINY which is a story based on a final draft (now at Cross Plains Public Library) that L. Sprague de Camp found and rewrote as “Conan, Man of Destiny,” then later published as THE ROAD OF THE EAGLES.

Black Canaan (early version)

After publication of the first printing of PICTURES IN THE FIRE, it was discovered that the typescript used for “Black Canaan” was Howard’s final version, rather than the earlier version that was intended. To correct the error, the REH Foundation Press issued this chapbook and included it with copies of the first print run.

Conan and the Spider God

Non-Howard material.

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 paperback editions were issued by Ace Books (April 1989, reprinted August 1991) and Tor Books (June 2003). The first hardcover edition was issued by Robert Hale in 1984, and the second by Tor Books in 2002. It was later gathered together with Conan the Swordsman and Conan the Liberator into the omnibus trade paperback collection Sagas of Conan (Tor Books, 2004).

Conan the Rebel

Non-Howard material.

Conan the Rebel is a fantasy novel by American writer Poul Anderson, featuring Robert E. Howard’s sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Bantam Books in July 1980. It was reprinted once by Bantam (1981) and twice by Ace Books (1988, 1991). The first hardcover edition was published by Tor Books in 2001; a trade paperback followed from the same publisher in 2003. The first British edition was published by Sphere Books in 1988.