Most Popular Books by L. Sprague

Acting sergeant Thorolf Zigramson of the Fourth Commonwealth Foot, an aspiring scholar but a soldier by default, somewhat reluctantly rescues Yvette, the beautiful countess of Grintz, from the soldiers set after her by an evil duke who covets her body and her land. After elderly magician Doctor Bardi mistakenly transforms Yvette into an octopus, Thorolf turns to sinister Doctor Orlandus to restore her true form and discovers that the Doctor Orlandus has invaded the minds of his followers, including Yvette, and is slowly assuming control of the government of Rhaetia. When Thorolf is accused of Doctor Bardi's murder, he flees to the trolls, one of whom he must wed to gain sanctuary and keep from being eaten. From their uncertain stronghold he mounts an expedition to rescue his beloved countess and his country.

Wrestling Reptiloids is no job for milquetoasts. Mild-mannered Terran archaeologist Keith Salazar was just minding his own business, digging up the alien past on an out-of-the-way site on the planet Kukulcan, when suddenly he was besieged by intruders on his scholarly peace: hostile natives, an indifferent ex-wife, and a demon developer with rapacious eyes glued on both his site and his true love. In the course of protecting his dig, regaining his loved one and vanquishing his rival, Salazar will fight a giant reptilian predator bare-handed, leap into snake-filled pits, engineer the planet's first imperial conquest, lead and train a battalion of alien riflemen and hold a séance. Pretty exciting work - but then maybe Keith Salazar wasn't such a milquetoast after all.

Tortured Intellectual Kirk Salazar, devout intellectual, had quite been looking forward to his field research on Sunga. He aimed to discover how the stump-tailed, semiarboreal kusis lived without being injured within the venom tree forest. A fascinating topic! His thesis would have progressed splendidly, save for one thing. A certain lack of financing necessitated that he travel through Sunga with a tour group. Much against his will, he soon became embroiled with a conglomeration of characters even more peculiar than Sunga's natural wonders. First there were the hard-core tourists, always pushing and complaining, desperate to glimpse the rare, birdlike zutas. Worse the Cantemir - a man lewd, rude and dangerous - who had struck a deal with the native Chief to destroy the whole Sunga forest for lumber! But most formidable was Alexis Ritter. She was the high priestess of a Sunga cult dedicated to chastity. But she sure seemed to have a use in mind for Salazar's body! Doggedly Salazar pursued his research through ambushes, sex, and even attempted murder. A determined intellectual does not give up easily - even if he has to go to extremes to defend his thesis!

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Being the adventures of W. Wilson Newbury, mild-mannered - and mildly ensorcelled - gentleman banker. L. Sprague de Camp, winner of the Gandolf Award as a Grand Master of Fantasy, reveals within these pages the curious story of his friendship with W. Wilson "Willy" Newbury, for whom the realm of the super-natural seems to have a strange affinity. - A horse discloses its violent - non-equine - past. - A manufacturer reveals a particularly unacceptable form of non-union labour. - Formaldehyde is shown to be a better preservative than even its inventor would have hoped. - A game of chances takes on serious overtones, and all for a most unlikely prize.

Armchair Fiction presents extra large paperback collections of the best in classic science fiction short stories. It's time for our sixteenth collection of vintage Science Fiction Gems, filled to the brim with great tales by top authors: L. Sprague de Camp, Milton Lesser, Chad Oliver, Carl Jacobi, Rog Phillips, Stanley Mullen and more. For interplanetary adventure with a bit of a twist at the end, check out "Dead on Departure" and "The Soaring Statue." In "The Fifth Stone" and "The Outvaders" man's willingness to accept his own mortality is clearly demonstrated. If you enjoy your sci-fi served up with a sprinkling of grimness and horror, then "Specimen" and "The Tomb from Beyond" are tales to make you shudder. Both "Night" and "Revolt on Mercury" testify to man's willingness to buck interstellar government guidelines-often at great peril! So make no mistake about it, all these stories and more make up another can't-put-it-down edition of Armchair Fiction's Science Fiction Gems. Here's the lineup:THE FIFTH STONE, by Alfred CoppelDEAD ON DEPARTURE, by Milton LesserSPECIMEN, by C. C. MacAppTEACH ME TO KILL, by Rog PhillipsTHE SOARING STATUE, by L. Sprague de CampNIGHT, by Chad Oliver THE TOMB FROM BEYOND, by Carl JacobiTHE OUTVADERS, by Joe L. HensleyREVOLT ON MERCURY, by Stanley MullenTO THE VICTORS, by H. B. HickeyTHE DOOR, by Clifton B. Kruse

A FICTION HOUSE PRESS PULP REPLICA: The April-May 1939 issue of DYNAMIC SCIENCE STORIES issue #2 featuring "Prison of Time" by Eando Binder, "Ananias" by L. Sprague de Camp, "Under the North Pole" by Ed Earl Repp, "The Stranger" by Fredric Arnold Kummer Jr., and "Insight" by Manly Wade Wellman.