''Dark Valley Destiny: the Life of Robert E. Howard'' is a

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

of the writer Robert E. Howard by science-fiction writer

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...

in collaboration with Catherine Crook de Camp and Jane Whittington Griffin, first published in hardcover by

Bluejay Books James Raymond Frenkel (born 1948) is an American editor and agent of science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, thrillers, historical fiction, and other books, formerly for Tom Doherty Associates (Tor Books and Forge Books). He has edited numerous pr ...

in December 1983, and in trade paperback by the same publisher in May 1986. An

E-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...

edition was published by Gollancz's

SF Gateway Victor Gollancz Ltd () was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century and continues to publish science fiction and fantasy titles as an imprint of Orion Publishing Group. Gollancz was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz, a ...

imprint on September 29, 2011, as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form.

Summary

The work, an examination of the famous

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

writer and creator of

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...

, was the first major independent biography of Howard. It is an expansion of de Camp's earlier study '' The Miscast Barbarian: a Biography of Robert E. Howard'' (1975), itself an expansion of his article "The Miscast Barbarian", which appeared in the magazine ''

Fantastic The fantastic (french: le fantastique) is a subgenre of literary works characterized by the ambiguous presentation of seemingly supernatural forces. Bulgarian-French structuralist literary critic Tzvetan Todorov originated the concept, characte ...

'' in June, 1971.

Controversy

De Camp's "warts and all" approach to his subject has been branded by some

fans Fan commonly refers to: * Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling ** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling * Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...

as unflattering and unbalanced. For instance,

Mark Finn Mark Finn (born October 1969) is the pseudonym of Mark Farr-Nash, an American science fiction and fantasy writer, essayist, and playwright. In 2007 he was nominated for World Fantasy Special Award: Professional. Biography Finn's earliest publish ...

, author of '' Blood & Thunder: The Life & Art of Robert E. Howard'', argues that De Camp deliberately framed his questions about Robert Howard in order to elicit answers which matched his Freudian theories about the "neurotic" and "Oedipal" Howard.Murphy, Brian. "''Blood & Thunder: The Life & Art of Robert E. Howard'': A review" Oct. 16, 2008
/ref>

Notes

1983 non-fiction books American biographies Books by L. Sprague de Camp Books about Robert E. Howard {{lit-bio-book-stub