The Compleat Enchanter

by L. Sprague de Camp, Fletcher Pratt

The Mathematics of Magic was probably the greatest discovery of the ages - at least Professor Harold Shea thought so. With the proper equations, he could instantly transport himself back in time to all the wondrous lands of ancient legend. But slips in time were a hazard, and Shea's magic did not always work - at least, not quite as he expected . . . This omnibus volume of all of the Magical Misadventures of Harold Shea contains The Incomplete Enchanter, The Wall of Serpents and Castle of Iron

Genres: Fantasy, Humor, Classics

544 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2000

About the author

Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction literature. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, both novels and works of non-fiction, including biographies of other fantasy authors. He was a major figure in science fiction in the 1930s and 1940s.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been coming back to this, off and on, it seems like forever. Half way through The Castle of Iron I've made the decision to abandon it for good. When a book that promises to be so much fun feels like such a chore you know that something isn't working. The idea of travelling to parallel worlds created from great literature and myth is very enticing to me, but the reality is that the authors just don't know what to do with their characters once they are there and narrative momentum - at least vaguely present in The Roaring Trumpet - ultimately gives way to meeting a bunch of people who are all remarkably similar and constant exclamations of "I'm going to save x from y" without any sense that our protagonists are going to do it before they've met another bunch of characters and had surprisingly similar conversations.

I'm being harsh because Sprague's style and boyish humour just doesn't ultimately gel with me here. It does, in fact, feel as if this has been written by a schoolboy with grandiose visions bigger than the cut of his nib, in thrall to great narrative poetry but never really understanding its nuances or how to communicate its joy to others. In truth, there's a similar sense to Tolkien, in that, although Tolkien revolutionised fantasy writing by using his knowledge of myth and legend as a jumping off point to create something new, whereas Sprague and Pratt are - here, at least - content to play around dumbing down someone else's sandbox. On top of this there's an odd dumbing down of characterisation that happens across the books. At first, I thought we had something mildly interesting going on with Harold Shea, who has to learn how to survive out of his comfort zone (yeah, a common trope, but it provides focus for a story)how to manipulate magic in strange environments, and how to be someone he isn't in order to gain the trust of those around him. But by the time we reach Castle of Iron this has regressed into "where did my wife go ... oh, she's acting a bit strange"

All that said, another interesting read/pick from the Fantasy masterworks series, definitely notable for its concept, if not the execution.

[Jeff Lewonczyk]

Perfect for - and possibly written by - the precociously well-read 14-year-old boy from 1955 in your life.

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nhw.livejournal.com/684127.html[return][return]Reading "The Compleat Enchanter",[return]when I came to the fourth section,[return](set in Finland's Kalevala)[return]somehow I began to wonder:[return]Can one write LiveJournal entries[return]in iambic tetrameter?[return](Yes, I know that last word's bogus[return]and perhaps that gives the answer.)[return][return]This, a five-book compilation[return]of the works of Pratt and de Camp,[return]brings together the adventures[return]of a man called Harold Shea from[return]Ohio, mid-20th century,[return]who is, with his friends and lover,[return]thrust in various fant'sy poems,[return]first Norse legends, second Spenser,[return]third Orlando Furioso[return](also Kubla Khan here featured),[return]fourth (as mentioned) Kalevala[return]ending in Cuchulain's Ireland.[return][return]Though Mark Twain perhaps began it[return]writing of King Arthur's Yankee[return](don't think I can really mention[return]which state that wayfarer came from[return]as it has two unstressed vowels[return]in succession, so won't scan here)[return]this ambitious and effective[return]merging of mundane and mythic[return]surely was an inspiration[return]for much else in the same genre.[return][return]Even the stock story setting -[return]visitors arrive from elsewhere,[return]get entwined in local issues,[return]solve the problem (sometimes fail to)[return]disappear to next adventure[return]using magic means of travel[return]sounds a bit like Doctor Who, ne?[return][return]Also, use of spell components[return]such as "verbal" and "somatic"[return]was employed by Gary Gygax[return]in so far as I remember[return]from my teenage D&D days.[return][return]Anyway, this book is harmless.[return]Irish bit is, sadly, least good -[return]use of silly plot devices[return]to prevent our heroes making[return]any diff'rence to the story.[return]But the rest is entertaining.[return]And I think I'd recommend it.[return]Four stars in my on-line cat'logue.

[Rhys · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an omnibus volume of five novellas (the description often claims that there are four novellas and a novel, but the 'novel' is only a little longer than the first two novellas). The adventures of Harold Shea in a multiverse that is based on our epic mythologies and literatures anticipates all parallel-universe-hopping and intertextual adventures that followed.

L. Sprague de Camp was one of the finest writers of the 'Golden Age' of SF. Perhaps his ideas were less wild than those of Asimov, Heinlein, et al, but his prose was solid and muscular and better than theirs. His collaborator, Fletcher Pratt, had a more unusual background: a decade older than de Camp he had worked as a translator of German SF in the 1920s. Together they produced this masterpiece of heroic satire and serious comedy.

Of the five novellas, the first two are the strongest. 'The Roaring Trumpet' (set in the universe of Norse myth) and 'The Mathematics of Magic (set in the world of Spenser's Faery Queen) are crisply written, funny, farcical, profound and exciting, both on a vastly higher plane than most magazine SF and fantasy of the time (they were originally published in Unknown in 1941).

The third novella, The Castle of Iron, is still brilliant. Set in the strange mishmash cosmos of Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, there is a slightly strained tone to some of the scenes, but generally it works very well. The fourth and fifth novellas, written ten years after the first three, are weaker still. And yet they have many worthwhile elements and surprises to offer.

So not a perfect work... But still a masterpiece and a fantasy opus of magnificent originality and quirkiness and lasting influence.

[Akshay · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most entertainingly tantalising fantasy works I have come across in a long while.. filled with equal parts, wit, humour, inventiveness, adaptation of known fantasy/fictional themes and characters, attention to detail, adventure, action and silliness - this is one of the finest and most innovative examples of fantasy fiction.
Prof. Harold Shea has become hands down one of my all time favourite characters as a result of these stories and I only wish fervently that there had been more! The simple concepts alone are enough to hook you completely, and the characters are so human, and at the same time not even close, that you can actually believe them and imagine yourself in there.

Well worth reading for anyone who has even the slightest taste for fantasy/scifi fiction.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining mid-century fantasy about characters travelling to various mythologies and classic literature (e.g., Norse mythos, Spenser's Faerie Queene, the chansons de geste). While the dialogue is dated, and the plotting and characters sometimes thin, it's a light, humorous romp that deserves not to be forgotten. Extra points for portraying Heimdall racing cockroaches and swaying madly on a broomstick like a cartoon.

[Salimbol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amiable, amusing set of stories about psychologists stumbling their way through literary realms of magic. More than a little dated, but great concept, fun execution.

[Joseph Panno]

Was lots of fun. Similar to a Pratchett yarn.