"...And Call Me Conrad" | |
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Short story by Roger Zelazny | |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre(s) | Science fiction |
Publication | |
Published in | The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction |
Publication type | Magazine |
Publisher | Mercury Press |
Media type | Print (Periodical) |
Publication date | October and November 1965 |
![]() Cover of the first edition | |
Author | Roger Zelazny |
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Cover artist | Gray Morrow |
Language | English |
Genre | Science fiction |
Publisher | Ace Books |
Publication date | July 1966 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (Paperback) |
Pages | 174 |
This Immortal, serialized as ...And Call Me Conrad, is a science fiction novel by American author Roger Zelazny. In its original publication, it was abridged by the editor and published in two parts in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in October and November 1965. It tied with Frank Herbert's Dune for the 1966 Hugo Award for Best Novel. [1]
Most, but not all of the edits made for the serialized version were restored for the first paperback publication by Ace Books and the title was changed by the publisher to This Immortal. Zelazny stated in interviews that he preferred the original eponymous title. The abridged version was novel length at over 47,000 words; the paperback version was over 58,000 words after the cuts were restored. However, it was not until a book club version was published in the 1980s that Zelazny realized that some cuts had not been restored to the book version; thus, earlier publications of This Immortal were still not complete. The abridged magazine version also contains 10 paragraphs of text not in the book version, starting from "And the long-dormant Radpol was stirring again, but I did not know that until several days later" and ending with "The days of Karaghiosis had passed." Also, the "Synopsis of Part One" that appeared in the November 1965 issue of F&SF (immediately prior to Part Two) is written in the first person and contains material about Conrad's character and backstory that is not in the main text of ...And Call Me Conrad nor the 1980s restored version of This Immortal. [2]
After being devastated by a nuclear war, the Earth is a planet with a population of only 4 million, overrun by a variety of mutated lifeforms. Worse, much of the Earth is now owned by the Vegans, a race of blue-skinned aliens who see the planet as a tourist location. Conrad Nomikos, the first person narrator, is a man with a past that he would rather not talk about who has been given a task that he would rather refuse: to show an influential Vegan named Cort Myshtigo around the old ruins of Earth. Thanks to an unusual mutation (he laughingly calls himself a changeling), Conrad is over a hundred years old, but he hides this fact by faking his death and changing identities over the years. But Conrad suddenly finds himself the reluctant protector of this alien visitor when attempts are made on the Vegan's life. Conrad knows that keeping the Vegan alive is important, but now he must find out why.
Conrad now finds himself playing nursemaid to a group of tourists in addition to Myshtigo: Don dos Santos, the leader of a group who want to take Earth back from the Vegans and are willing to use violent means to do so; his consort Diane, who was formerly Conrad's lover; Dos Santos' bodyguard, the master assassin Hasan, who knew Conrad under a different name; Earth's Poet Laureate Phil, an old friend of Conrad's; and the Emmets, a married pair of scientists conducting research. They plan to visit the ancient ruins of Earth, beginning with Greece and Egypt.
The group has a run-in with a cannibal tribe, a close encounter with several mutated and dangerous lifeforms, and Myshtigo is horrified to learn that Conrad is having the pyramids of Egypt torn down to provide building material for new constructions. Conrad explains that the process is also being filmed, and that the film will be run backwards to simulate the construction of the pyramids. Myshtigo isn't sure if Conrad is serious or not. There are also several accidents which may or may not been attempts to assassinate Myshtigo. Along the way Conrad is devastated by news that the island where he resides with his beloved wife Cassandra has been destroyed in an earthquake, along with all its inhabitants.
It is eventually revealed that Myshtigo has been charged with the final disposition of the planet Earth. Dos Santos and his group realize that Conrad has been fighting to protect the Earth in his own way. Through actions such as the deconstruction of the pyramids, Conrad makes the Vegans see that Earthlings would rather destroy the planet's riches than see them fall into the hands of others. In the final battle to protect the Vegan, Cassandra, having escaped the cataclysm at sea in Conrad's yacht, appears and delivers the decisive saving blow. Myshtigo sees the mettle of which Conrad is made, and decides to leave the planet in the possession of the one being with the longevity, power and moral fiber to do well by it. Conrad finds himself the owner and caretaker of Earth.
Many of Zelazny's heroes are overmen, or even gods or demigods; Conrad Nomikos is no exception to the rule. Identified early in the book as a possible "Kallikantzaros" [3] by his lover Cassandra (who exhibits the same abilities as her namesake to foretell the future but not be believed), Conrad is later also compared to Pan. Whether or not Conrad is a god, however, is left unclear in the book: while he has led an extraordinarily long life, it is hinted that this could be the result of mutation due to the nuclear war. Jane Lindskold, in her book titled Roger Zelazny, suggests that the fact that Conrad's face is handsome on one side and disfigured on the other is a metaphor for Conrad's ability to be both creator and destroyer, and it is not until the end of the book that the broken god can be "healed".
Zelazny declared that “I wanted to leave it open to several interpretations—well, at least two. I wanted to sort of combine fantasy and sf… either Conrad is a mutant or he is the Great God Pan. The book may be read either way.” [4] In keeping with this, some of the clues that Conrad may be Pan are that Conrad's surname Nomikos recalls Nomios (one of Pan's titles), he plays a syrinx (panpipes) in the novel, he may be immortal, and he has a disfigured appearance (limp, scarred face, and heterochromia).
Conrad Nomikos is a prototype for later Zelazny rogues such as Corwin, the amnesiac hero from The Chronicles of Amber and the cigarette-smoking Buddha, Sam (aka Mahasamatman) in Lord of Light — both flawed humans who are also flawed superhumans.
Zelazny also identified Aldous Huxley as one model he kept in mind while writing this novel: "Bear [Huxley] in mind when constructing the cast of characters, including the monomaniac scientist as a note of thanks for the assist, but take nothing else. Do not lean too heavily on anyone." [4]
Algis Budrys praised This Immortal as "an extremely interesting and undeniably important book", describing it as "a story of adventures and perils, high intrigue, esthetics [and] politics ... utterly charming [and] optimistic". He predicted that as examples of the New Wave, Zelazny's career would become more important and enduring than Thomas M. Disch's. [5]
Lawrence P. Ashmead, an editor for Doubleday & Company Inc, rejected the book for publishing, claiming that "the plot is terribly thin and uninteresting." He also pans the "Germanic constructions and pseudo-clever dialogue" of the book. [6]
Donald Allen Wollheim was an American science fiction editor, publisher, writer, and fan. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell, Martin Pearson, and Darrell G. Raynor. A founding member of the Futurians, he was a leading influence on science fiction development and fandom in the 20th-century United States. Ursula K. Le Guin called Wollheim "the tough, reliable editor of Ace Books, in the Late Pulpalignean Era, 1966 and '67", which is when he published her first two novels in Ace Double editions.
Roger Joseph Zelazny was an American poet and writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for The Chronicles of Amber. He won the Nebula Award three times and the Hugo Award six times, including two Hugos for novels: the serialized novel ...And Call Me Conrad (1965), subsequently published under the title This Immortal (1966) and then the novel Lord of Light (1967).
Have Space Suit—Will Travel is a science fiction novel for young readers by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and published by Scribner's in hardcover in 1958. The last Heinlein novel to be published by Scribner's, it was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1959 and won the Sequoyah Children's Book Award for 1961. Heinlein's engineering expertise enabled him to add realistic detail; during World War II, he had been a civilian aeronautics engineer at a laboratory which developed pressure suits for use at high altitudes.
The Chronicles of Amber is a series of fantasy novels by American writer Roger Zelazny. The main series consists of two story arcs, each five novels in length. Additionally, there are a number of Amber short stories and other works. While Zelazny's will expressly forbade sequels by other authors, four posthumous prequels authorized by Zelazny's family were authored by John Gregory Betancourt.
Jack of Shadows is a science fantasy novel by American author Roger Zelazny. It was serialized in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1971 and published in book form that same year.
Creatures of Light and Darkness is a 1969 science fiction novel by American writer Roger Zelazny. Long out of print, it was reissued in April 2010. The novel is set in the far future, with humans on many worlds. Some have god-like powers, or perhaps are gods—the names and aspects of various Egyptian gods are used. Elements of horror and technology are mixed, and it has points in common with cyberpunk.
Robert Sheckley was an American writer. First published in the science-fiction magazines of the 1950s, his many quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, absurdist, and broadly comical.
Doorways in the Sand is a science fiction novel by American writer Roger Zelazny. Featuring both detective fiction and comic elements, it was originally published in serial form in the magazine Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact; the hardcover edition was first published in 1976 and the paperback in 1977. Zelazny wrote the whole story in one draft, no rewrites and it subsequently became one of his own five personal favorites in all his work. Doorways in the Sand was nominated to the Nebula and Hugo awards.
James Henry Schmitz was a German-American science fiction writer.
Norstrilia is a science fiction novel by American writer Paul Linebarger, published under the pseudonym Cordwainer Smith. It is the only novel he published under this name, which he used for his science fiction works. It takes place in Smith's Instrumentality of Mankind universe, and was heavily influenced by the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. The novel is in part a sequel to Smith's 1962 short story "The Ballad of Lost C'Mell", featuring some of the same characters and settings.
NESFA Press is the publishing arm of the New England Science Fiction Association, Inc. The NESFA Press primarily produces three types of books:
This is a bibliography of works by American writer John W. Campbell Jr.
This is a bibliography of works by Damon Knight.
To Die in Italbar (1973) is a science fiction novel by American writer Roger Zelazny. To Die in Italbar follows Mr. H, a man who needs only to touch someone to heal or hurt them, during a deadly galactic pandemic.
Underwood–Miller Inc. was a science fiction and fantasy small press specialty publishing house in San Francisco, California, founded in 1976. It was founded by Tim Underwood, a San Francisco book and art dealer, and Chuck Miller, a Pennsylvania used book dealer, after the two had met at a convention.
Bridge of Ashes is an experimental science fiction novel by author Roger Zelazny. The paperback edition was published in 1976 and the hardcover in 1979. Zelazny describes the book as one of five books from which he learned things "that have borne me through thirty or so others". He states that he "felt that if I could pull it off I could achieve some powerful effects. What I learned from this book is something of the limits of puzzlement in that no man’s land between suspense and the weakening of communication".
Four for Tomorrow is the first story collection by Roger Zelazny, published in paperback by Ace Books in 1967. British hardcover and paperback editions followed in 1969, under the title A Rose for Ecclesiastes. The first American hardcover was issued in the Garland Library of Science Fiction in 1975. A French translation appeared in 1980. Paperback reissues continued from Ace and later from Baen Books into the 1990s.
Why Call them Back From Heaven? is a 1967 science fiction novel by American writer Clifford D. Simak. It was the initial volume in the Ace Science Fiction Specials line.
This is a partial bibliography of American science fiction and fantasy author Roger Zelazny.
Nebula Award Stories 3 is an anthology of award-winning science fiction short works edited by Roger Zelazny. It was first published in the United Kingdom in hardcover by Gollancz in November 1968. The first American edition was published by Doubleday in December of the same year. Paperback editions followed from Pocket Books in the U.S. in February 1970, and Panther in the U.K. in November 1970. The American editions bore the variant title Nebula Award Stories Three. The book was more recently reissued by Stealth Press in hardcover in June 2001. It has also been published in German.