''Wall of Serpents'' is a collection of two

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving 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 literature and d ...

short stories by American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

and

authors L. Sprague de Camp and

Fletcher Pratt Murray Fletcher Pratt (25 April 1897 – 10 June 1956) was an American writer of history, science fiction, and fantasy. He is best known for his works on naval history and the American Civil War and for fiction written with L. Sprague de Camp. ...

, the third volume in their Harold Shea series. The pieces were originally published in the magazines ''

Fantasy Fiction Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving 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 literature and dra ...

'' and '' Beyond Fantasy Fiction'' in the issues for June 1953 and October 1954. The collection was first published in hardcover by

Avalon Books Avalon Books (originally Bouregy & Curl) was a small New York-based book publishing imprint active from 1950 through 2012, established by Thomas Bouregy. Avalon was an important science fiction imprint in the 1950s and 60s; later its specialty ...

in 1960, with a new edition from Phantasia Press in 1978. The first paperback edition was published by

Dell Books Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and so ...

in 1979. A 1980 edition published by

Sphere Books Sphere Books is the name of two British paperback publishers. History The original Sphere Books was launched in 1966 by Thomson Corporation. Sphere was sold to Pearson PLC in 1985 and became part of Penguin. The name was retired in 1990. In 19 ...

was retitled ''The Enchanter Compleated''. 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, an ...

imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form.Amazon.com entry for e-book edition
/ref> The book has also been combined with the earlier books in the series in the omnibus edition '' The Complete Compleat Enchanter'' (1989), and with the earlier books and later stories in the omnibus edition '' The Mathematics of Magic: The Enchanter Stories of L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt'' (2007). It has also been published in Italian and German. The Harold Shea stories are parallel world tales in which universes where magic works coexist with our own, and in which those based on the mythologies, legends, and literary fantasies of our world and can be reached by aligning one's mind to them by a system of symbolic logic. In the stories collected as ''Wall of Serpents'', the authors' protagonist Harold Shea visits two such worlds, those of

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

and

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by Ch ...

The Wall of Serpents ''The Wall of Serpents'' is a fantasy novella by American science fiction and fantasy authors L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt. The fourth story in their Harold Shea series, it was first published in the June 1953 issue of the fantasy pulp ma ...

" *"

The Green Magician ''The Green Magician'' is a fantasy novella by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt. The fifth story in their Harold Shea series, it was first published in the November 1954 issue of the fantasy pulp magazine '' Beyond Fiction' ...

Reception

Floyd C. Gale ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Edit ...

of ''

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Editi ...

'' rated ''Wall of Serpents'' 4.5 stars out of five, stating that "de Camp and Pratt were far and away the finest team of fantasy collaborators ... their stories are always chuckle-filled delights".

References

Sources

External links

* 1960 short story collections Fantasy short story collections by L. Sprague de Camp Works by Fletcher Pratt Books with cover art by Ed Emshwiller Avalon Books books {{1960s-fantasy-story-stub

Contents

Reception

References

Sources

External links