The Spell of Seven

1965 anthology of fantasy short stories edited by L. Sprague de Camp

The Spell of Seven
Cover of the first edition.
Editor	L. Sprague de Camp
Illustrator	Virgil Finlay
Cover artist	Virgil Finlay
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy
Publisher	Pyramid Books
Publication date	1965
Media type	Print (paperback)
Pages	192
Preceded by	Swords and Sorcery
Followed by	The Fantastic Swordsmen

The Spell of Seven is an anthology of fantasy short stories in the sword and sorcery subgenre, edited by L. Sprague de Camp and illustrated by Virgil Finlay. It was first published in paperback by Pyramid Books in June 1965, and reprinted in December 1969.^[1]^[2] It was the second such anthology assembled by de Camp, following his Swords and Sorcery (1963).

Summary

The book collects seven sword and sorcery tales by various authors, with an overall introduction by de Camp.

"Introduction: Wizards and Warriors" (L. Sprague de Camp)
"Bazaar of the Bizarre" (Fritz Leiber)
"The Dark Eidolon" (Clark Ashton Smith)
"The Hoard of the Gibbelins" (Lord Dunsany)
"The Hungry Hercynian" (L. Sprague de Camp)
"Kings in Darkness" (Michael Moorcock)
"Mazirian the Magician" (Jack Vance)
"Shadows in Zamboula" (Robert E. Howard)

Relation to other works

Four of the seven authors represented in the anthology were members of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA), a somewhat informal literary group of fantasy authors active from the 1960s to the 1980s, making the book a precursor of the five Flashing Swords! anthologies of SAGA-member works edited by Lin Carter from 1973 to 1981.

Notes

^ Laughlin, Charlotte; Daniel J. H. Levack (1983). De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller. pp. 113–114.
^ The Spell of Seven title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

L. Sprague de Camp

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 Shea

Pusadian

Novarian

Neo-Napolitanian

The Incorporated Knight (1987)
The Pixilated Peeress (1991)

Conan

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)

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)

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 fiction

Fiction edited

The Wolf Leader (1950)
Swords and Sorcery (1963)
The Spell of Seven (1965)
Conan the Warrior (1967)
The Fantastic Swordsmen (1967)
Conan the Conqueror (1967)
Warlocks and Warriors (1970)
3000 Years of Fantasy and Science Fiction (1972)
Tales Beyond Time (1973)

Nonfiction

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)

Science and
history