The Enchanter Completed [Mass Market Paperback]

Harry Turtledove (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 2005

For seven decades, L. Sprague de Camp was a giant in both science fiction and fantasy, renowned for his fast-moving action-adventure tales with a strong humorous element. Now, Hugo-winner and best-selling author Harry Turtledove has gathered together top writers in science fiction and fantasy to write new stories in the same humorous adventure vein which de Camp practically invented. On board are Poul Anderson, Frederik Pohl, David Drake, Judith Tarr, Esther M. Friesner, S.M. Stirling, Michael F. Flynn, Turtledove himself and more, including a remembrance of de Camp by Robert Silverberg.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Baen (April 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743499042
• ISBN-13: 978-0743499040
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,013,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice tribute but for L. Sprague de Camp fanatics only, August 27, 2010

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booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Enchanter Completed (Mass Market Paperback)

The late L. Sprague de Camp was a formidable figure in mid-20th century science fiction. Two of his works (at least) have become classics in the field, THE INCOMPLETE/COMPLEAT ENCHANTER and LEST DARKNESS FALL. Both have withstood the test of time and can be read today with as much enjoyment as when they were first written. Under the editorship of alternate history master Harry Turtledove (who credits LEST DARKNESS FALL for his own interest in history and alternate history), a number of authors create short stories inspired by (and in some cases using characters from) de Camp's own work. Who woudn't want to see how the future unfolds, for example, after Padway fights off the Byzantine invasion of Italy but must now confront the Franks, more Byzantines, and Lombards?

Turtledove assembles a number of top names in contemporary science fiction and fantasy (including Judith Tarr, David Drake, S. M. Stirling, Frederick Pohl and Lawrence Watt-Evans (to name only a few of my personal favorites) and lets them go to work following their own muse. Thus, while the title relates to the Compleat Enchanter, the stories actually follow many of de Camp's worlds.

I found the quality of the writing to be high, but the stories themselves were mostly only adequate. Fans of de Camp, like myself, will enjoy seeing some of our favorite characters (including the author and his wife) in new situations. Those who haven't read much of de Camp's work are likely to find these stories flat. For the most part, they read like something a talented author dashed off in an afternoon as a favor for a friend...which I suspect is exactly what these stories were.