Conan and the Spider God

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Conan and the Spider God
Conan and the Spider God.jpg
Cover of first edition
Author L. Sprague de Camp
Illustrator Tim Kirk
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series Conan the Barbarian
Genre Sword and sorcery
Publisher Bantam Books
Publication date
1980
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages175
ISBN 0-553-13837-5
OCLC 7052128

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; [1] [2] 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). [1]

Contents

Conan and the Spider God is the only fictional Conan work credited solely to de Camp; his other Conan stories being collaborations with Howard (posthumously), Lin Carter, and Björn Nyberg. [2] De Camp also wrote numerous non-fiction pieces about Conan and Howard, both alone and with others.

Plot summary

Conan finds himself in the kingdom of Zamora, a fugitive under suspicion of kidnapping Jamilah, the queen of Turan. Discovering she has actually been captured by devotees of the Zamoran spider god Zath, he journeys into the city of Yezud (first mentioned in the Howard story "The People of the Black Circle") to rescue Jamilah. Incidentally, Conan attempts to steal some opals used as eyes in the god's temple image.

Characteristically, de Camp's Conan is a more credible if less elemental figure than Howard's, carefully assessing the situation in Yezud and taking the time and effort to lay the groundwork for his foray rather than just barreling in swinging his sword.

Chronologically, Conan and the Spider God comes between the short stories "The Curse of the Monolith" and "The Blood-Stained God". [2]

Reception

Publishers Weekly briefly noted the appearance of the Tor hardcover, commenting that it offered "more dramatic adventures of Robert E. Howard's blue-eyed, broad-shoulder, sword-wielding hero" with "an epic battle" ensuing in the spider-god's temple. [3]

Ryan Harvey, in a more in-depth review, considers de Camp "a fine writer, but ... not adept at sword and sorcery." He takes issue with "de Camp's ... rationalized approach to Conan's barbarism," in which "Conan spends a great deal of time thinking and reasoning through problems and speculating on choices," which "deprives the character of his primal instinctiveness and makes him seem inordinately civilized." He also feels that "the action stalls when Conan arrives in the city of Yezud and stays there," after which "the story turns into an unconnected array of scenes of characters milling about in taverns and arguing. Conan has murky motivations, and therefore the plot never moves along a direct or interesting line of action." Harvey also scolds de Camp for his use of "plot tokens" and "overtaxed faux archaic prose." On the plus side, he notes that "[t]he long-foreshadowed encounter with the super spider does have a feverish intensity" but "it fails to build to the proper conclusion," and "[t]he finale of the novel whimpers to a close." [4]

Don D'Ammassa noted that "[d]e Camp wrote most of his Conan stories with Lin Carter, but this one was his alone and it's a good one." Of the plot, he wrote "[m]uch fun ensues." [5]

Comic adaptations

Marvel Comics published a comic adaptation of the book in issues 207-210 of the black and white comic magazine The Savage Sword of Conan in 1993. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Marvel also published a follow-up story in a three-issue miniseries called Conan: The Lord of the Spiders in 1998. [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Conan the Liberator</i> 1979 novel by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter

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 reprinted in 1982; later paperback editions were issued by Ace Books. The first hardcover edition was published by Tor Books in June 2002; a trade paperback followed from the same publisher in 2003. The first British edition was from Sphere Books. The novel was later gathered together with Conan the Swordsman and Conan and the Spider God into the omnibus collection Sagas of Conan.

<i>Conan the Barbarian</i> (1982 novel) Novel by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter

Conan the Barbarian is a 1982 fantasy novel written by L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter and Catherine Crook de Camp featuring Robert E. Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian, a novelization of the feature film of the same name. It was first published in paperback by Bantam Books in May 1982. The first hardcover edition was issued by Robert Hale in 1983, and the first British edition by Sphere Books in April 1988. A later novel with the same title by Michael A. Stackpole was issued by Berkley Books in 2011 as a tie-in with the 2011 remake of the 1982 film.

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<i>Conan the Swordsman</i> 1978 Bantam Books short story collection

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 published in paperback by Bantam Books in August 1978, and reprinted in 1981. Later paperback editions were issued by Ace Books. The first hardcover edition was published by Tor Books in December 2002. The first British edition was issued by Sphere Books in 1978. The book has also been translated into Italian and French. It was later gathered together with Conan the Liberator and Conan and the Spider God into the omnibus collection Sagas of Conan.

<i>Sagas of Conan</i>

Sagas of Conan is a 2004 omnibus collection of three previously issued fantasy books written by L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter and Björn Nyberg featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books.

<i>Conan and the Sorcerer</i>

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<i>Conan the Mercenary</i>

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"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, Catherine Crook de Camp may have had a hand in the writing as well. It was first published by Bantam Books in the paperback collection Conan the Swordsman in August 1978. Later paperback editions of the collection were issued by Ace Books. The first hardcover edition was published by Tor Books in 2002. The book has also been translated into Italian. It was later gathered together with Conan the Liberator and Conan and the Spider God into the omnibus collection Sagas of Conan.

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"Shadows in the Dark" 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 collection Conan the Swordsman in August 1978. Later paperback editions of the collection were issued by Ace Books. The first hardcover edition was published by Tor Books in 2002. The book has also been translated into Italian. It was later gathered together with Conan the Liberator and Conan and the Spider God into the omnibus collection Sagas of Conan.

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"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 Hall, Carter did none of the writing, and the story was written by de Camp in collaboration with his wife Catherine Crook de Camp. The story was first published by Bantam Books in the paperback anthology Conan the Swordsman in August 1978. Later paperback editions of the collection were issued by Ace Books. The first hardcover edition was published by Tor Books in 2002. The book has also been translated into Italian. It was later gathered together with Conan the Liberator and Conan and the Spider God into the omnibus collection Sagas of Conan. The story has been translated into Italian.

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References

  1. 1 2 Conan and the Spider God title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
  2. 1 2 3 Laughlin, Charlotte; Daniel J. H. Levack (1983). De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller. p. 36.
  3. ↑ "SF/Fantasy/Horror NOTES: February Publications" (Review). In Publishers Weekly, v. 249, no. 3, January 21, 2002, p. 70.
  4. ↑ "Harvey, Ryan. "Conan and the Spider God" (Review), February 21, 2005". Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  5. ↑ D'Ammassa, Don. "Conan and the Spider God" (review on Critical Mass). Sep. 6, 2017.
  6. ↑ Grand Comics Database entry for The Savage Sword of Conan #207 (March 1993)
  7. ↑ Grand Comics Database entry for The Savage Sword of Conan #208 (April 1993)
  8. ↑ Grand Comics Database entry for The Savage Sword of Conan #209 (May 1993)
  9. ↑ Grand Comics Database entry for The Savage Sword of Conan #210 (June 1993)
  10. ↑ Grand Comics Database entry for Conan: The Lord of the Spiders
Preceded by Bantam Conan series
(publication order)		Succeeded by
Preceded by Complete Conan Saga
(William Galen Gray chronology)		Succeeded by
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