1940s, the borders between fantasy and science
fiction were much less distinct than they are
today. He would eventually write at great length
in both genres as well as five very highly regarded
straightforward historical novels, a considerable
body of nonfiction, including a study of Atlantis in
myth and literature, a biography of H. P. LOVE-
CRAFTand another of Robert E. HOWARD, plus
works on the art of writing and on various scien-
tific subjects. Catherine Crook de Camp, to whom
he was married for more than 60 years, is credited
on a few of these works, mostly the later ones, but
she probably contributed to some extent to many
of the others. His biography of Lovecraft was
mildly controversial, partly because of its critical
portrayal.
The major market for new fantasy fiction at
the time was Unknown,a companion to Astounding
Stories,a science fiction magazine. Although Un-
knownlasted only a few years, its name has been
associated with a particular brand of fantasy ever
since, stories in which the magic elements are sub-
ject to specific laws or rules and the plots are ad-
ventures enlivened by some humor. De Camp was
one of the main contributors to the magazine
throughout its existence, providing many excellent
stories, often in collaboration with Fletcher Pratt.
Their first major sequence together was the Harold
Shea series of novels and novellas, most of which
eventually appeared in book form as The Incom-
plete Enchanter(1941), The Castle of Iron(1950),
and Wall of Serpents(1960). The premise is that it
is possible to contrive a mathematical equation
that would allow one to physically enter an imagi-
nary world such as that created by a work of fic-
tion. Shea and his companion visit Edmund
Spenser’s The Faerie Queen(1590), the world of
Norse mythology, the Kalevala, a Celtic fantasy
world, and others.
Also writing with Pratt, de Camp produced a
series of tall tales as related in a tavern, eventually
collected as Tales from Gavagan’s Bar (1953).
Other fantasy and science fiction writers employed
this same device as in Tales from the White Hart
(1957) by Arthur C. Clarke, the Callahan’s Bar se-
ries by Spider Robinson, and The Outpost(2001)
by Mike Resnick. Another noteworthy collabora-
tive story from this period was “The Weissenbrock
Spectacles” (1954). Their remaining novel to-
gether was Land of Unreason(1942), an amusing
story in which a man puts out an alcoholic drink
for the fairies instead of milk. Inebriated, they
carry him off for a series of amusing adventures in
their world.
De Camp had written four fantasy novels of
his own by 1960, but they were all comparatively
minor. In The Carnelian Cube(1948) a magic arti-
fact allows the protagonist to visit alternate reali-
ties, but he gets into trouble every time and mildly
amusing consequences ensue. The Tritonian Ring
(1953) is a prehistoric quest fantasy of little inter-
est, and Solomon’s Stone(1957), in which a faked
demonic invocation actually works, is barely read-
able. The best of these was The Undesired Princess
(1951), in which an engineer from our world
crosses into one that runs by pure logic, with fre-
quently hilarious developments. These novels were
all reprinted from their original magazine appear-
ances during the 1940s. The Enchanted Bunny
(1990) by David DRAKEis a sequel to The Unde-
sired Princess.
When the CONAN SERIESby Robert E. Howard
began to appear in mass market paperback editions
during the 1960s, de Camp and his fellow writer
Lin CARTERwere employed to turn fragments into
stories and write new ones to flesh out the series.
De Camp also rewrote some non-Conan stories by
Howard, substituting Conan for the existing hero,
which evoked criticism from many fans of Howard’s
work. With Carter he also did a novelization of the
first Conan movie, Conan the Barbarian(1981), and
he wrote several articles pertaining to Howard’s
imaginary past world. Several of his own older fan-
tasy stories were collected as The Reluctant Shaman
(1970), but the only original novel he wrote during
that period was The Goblin Tower(1968).
The Goblin Towerwas the first in the Reluctant
King series, light adventures in the style of Un-
knownand the best fantasy de Camp had written in
years. The new king of a fantasy realm is indeed re-
luctant, because unless he accomplishes certain
seemingly impossible deeds, and quickly, he will be
ritually executed. His subsequent adventures in-
clude a very funny confrontation with a giant squir-
rel before he finds a way to avoid his fate. The
series continued with The Clocks of Iraz (1971),De Camp, L. Sprague 81