None but Lucifer

0-89556-128-XOCLC49618893813/.54 21LC ClassPR9199.3.G5975 N66 2002

None but Lucifer is a fantasy novel by American writers Horace L. Gold and L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the fantasy magazine Unknown in September 1939,^[1][2] and later serialized in the revival of Galaxy Science Fiction, March-July 1994.^[2] Despite its good reception by the readership and the prominence of its authors (Gold was the founding editor of Galaxy Science Fiction, and de Camp quickly became a leading light of science fiction and fantasy during those genres' "golden age"), the book remained unpublished in book form for over sixty years, until finally issued as a trade paperback by Gateways Retro Science Fiction in 2002.^[2][3] It is also available as an electronic publication.

Plot

The book is a dark fantasy version of the Faust legend set in New York City during the Great Depression. Protagonist William Hale determines that contrary to popular belief Earth is Hell, and the devil is the ruler of it. By going out of his way to demonstrate he is aware of the con, he brings himself to the devil's attention; Lucifer, it turns out, runs things in the quiet disguise of an influential businessman. Hale talks himself into a partnership, complete with immortality and supernatural powers, only to discover that the perks come with corresponding liabilities. Deciding the only way out is to beat Lucifer at his own con, he discovers his very success ensures his own undoing.

Reception

Don D'Ammassa, citing the book's "highly respected reputation, ... can't imagine how it was left in obscurity for so long, even if it does seem a bit dated by contemporary standards." He calls it "a real treat even if it does have a few cobwebs."^[3]

References

External links

Viagens
Interplanetarias

Krishna	"Finished" (1949) The Queen of Zamba (1949) The Hand of Zei (1950) "Perpetual Motion" (1950) "Calories" (1951) The Virgin of Zesh (1953) The Tower of Zanid (1958) The Hostage of Zir (1977) The Prisoner of Zhamanak (1982) The Bones of Zora (1983) The Swords of Zinjaban (1991)
Kukulkan	The Stones of Nomuru (1988) The Venom Trees of Sunga (1992)
Other	"The Animal-Cracker Plot" (1949) "The Colorful Character" (1949) "Git Along!" (1950) "The Inspector's Teeth" (1950) "Summer Wear" (1950) The Continent Makers (1951) "The Galton Whistle" (1951) Rogue Queen (1951)

Harold SheaPusadianNovarianNeo-NapolitanianConan

Novels

Conan and the Spider God (1980) Conan of the Isles (1968) Conan the Barbarian (1982) Conan the Buccaneer (1971) Conan the Liberator (1979) The Return of Conan (1957)

Short stories

"Black Sphinx of Nebthu" (1973) "The Treasure of Tranicos" (1953) "Black Tears" (1968) "The Blood-Stained God" (1955) "The Castle of Terror" (1969) "The City of Skulls" (1967) "The Curse of the Monolith" (1968) "Drums of Tombalku" (1966) The Flame Knife (1955/81) "The Frost Giant's Daughter" Conan (1953) "The Gem in the Tower" (1978) "The God in the Bowl" (1952) "The Hall of the Dead" (1967) "Hawks Over Shem" (1955) "The Ivory Goddess" (1978) "The Lair of the Ice Worm" (1969) "Legions of the Dead" (1978) "Moon of Blood" (1978) "The People of the Summit" (1970/78) "Red Moon of Zembabwei" (1974) "The Road of the Eagles" (1955) "Shadows in the Dark" (1978) "Shadows in the Skull" (1975) "The Snout in the Dark" (1969) "The Star of Khorala" (1978) "The Thing in the Crypt" (1967) "The Witch of the Mists" (1972) "Wolves Beyond the Border" (1967)

Other
speculative
fiction

Novels

The Carnelian Cube (1948) Genus Homo (1950) The Glory That Was (1960) The Great Fetish (1978) Land of Unreason (1942) Lest Darkness Fall (1941) None but Lucifer (1939) Solomon's Stone (1942)

Short stories

"Aristotle and the Gun" (1958) "The Blue Giraffe" (1939) "The Command" (1938) "The Contraband Cow" (1942) "Cornzan the Mighty" (1955) "Divide and Rule" (1939) "The Egg" (1956) "Employment" (1939) "The Gnarly Man" (1939) "The Guided Man" (1952) "A Gun for Dinosaur" (1956) "The Hardwood Pile" (1940) "The Hibited Man" (1949) "Hyperpilosity" (1938) "In-Group" (1952) "Internal Combustion" (1956) "The Isolinguals" (1937) "Judgment Day" (1955) "Let's Have Fun" (1957) "Living Fossil" (1939) "The Merman" (1938) "Nothing in the Rules" (1939) "The Reluctant Shaman" (1947) "The Saxon Pretender" (1952) "The Space Clause" (1952) "The Stolen Dormouse" (1941) "Throwback" (1949) "The Wheels of If" (1940)

Historical fictionFiction editedNonfiction

Science and history

Inventions and Their Management (1937) The Evolution of Naval Weapons (1947) Antarctic Conquest (1949) Engines (1959) The Heroic Age of American Invention (1961) Man and Power (1961) Energy and Power (1962) The Ancient Engineers (1963) Ancient Ruins and Archaeology (1964) Elephant (1964) Spirits, Stars, and Spells (1966) The Story of Science in America (1967) The Day of the Dinosaur (1968) The Great Monkey Trial (1968) Darwin and His Great Discovery (1972) Great Cities of the Ancient World (1972) The Ragged Edge of Science (1980) The Fringe of the Unknown (1983) The Ape-Man Within (1995) Rubber Dinosaurs and Wooden Elephants (1996)

Lit crit and biography

Blond Barbarians and Noble Savages (1975) The Conan Reader (1968) Dark Valley Destiny (1983) Lands Beyond (1952) Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers (1976) Lost Continents (1954) Lovecraft: A Biography (1975) The Miscast Barbarian (1975) Science-Fiction Handbook (1953/75) Time and Chance (1996)

Nonfiction editedPoetryCollectionsAbout de Camp