The Green Magician

Short story by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt

"The Green Magician"

Short story by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt

Cover of The Dragon, June 1978, illustrating "The Green Magician"

Country| United States
Language| English
Genre(s)| Fantasy
Publication
Published in| Beyond Fiction
Publisher| Galaxy Publishing Corporation
Media type| Print (Magazine)
Publication date| November, 1954
Chronology
Series| Harold Shea

The Wall of Serpents |
Professor Harold and the Trustees

|

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. It first appeared in book form, together with "The Wall of Serpents", in the collection Wall of Serpents, issued in hardcover by Avalon Books in 1960;[1][2] the book has been reissued by a number of other publishers since.[3][4] It has also been reprinted in various magazines, anthologies and collections, including The Dragon (June–July 1978),[1][2] The Complete Compleat Enchanter (1989), Masterpieces of Fantasy and Enchantment (1988), and The Mathematics of Magic: The Enchanter Stories of L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt (2007).[2] It has been translated into Italian[3][4] and German.[3]

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 Green Magician, Shea visits his sixth such world, that of Irish myth.

## Plot summary

[edit]

Harold Shea and his wife Belphebe of Faerie have been attempting to rescue Shea's colleague Walter Bayard and policeman Pete Brodsky from the world of Coleridge's Xanadu. With professional assistance from the wizards of the Kalevala they succeeded in retrieving their friends, only to have Bayard inadvertently transport them to the world of Irish myth. Only the Sheas and Brodsky arrive together, however; Bayard appears to have misplaced himself.

The three meet the Irish hero Cuchulainn, who soon exhibits a disturbing interest in Belphebe. Aware that the local mores might force him to share his wife with their host, Harold attempts the return journey to their native universe, only to be stymied by Brodsky's unwillingness to go. Pete likes this version of Ireland, particularly after managing to beat one of the local bards in a singing contest. Instead, the travelers become embroiled in Cuchulainn's dispute with Ailill and Maev, king and queen of Connacht.

Eventually the Sheas do manage to transport themselves home, the reluctant Brodsky in tow. Once returned, he decides he's had his fill of mythological Ireland after all.

The fate of Walter Bayard remains a loose end, and is ultimately revealed in the later story "Sir Harold and the Gnome King."

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b Laughlin, Charlotte; Daniel J. H. Levack (1983). De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller. p. 172.
2. ^ a b c The Green Magician title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
3. ^ a b c Laughlin, Charlotte; Daniel J. H. Levack (1983). De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller. pp. 103–104.
4. ^ a b Wall of Serpents title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Preceded by

"The Wall of Serpents"

|  Harold Shea Series
The Green Magician | Succeeded by

"Professor Harold and the Trustees"

|
|

* v
* t
* e

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|

* "The Roaring Trumpet" (1940)
* "The Mathematics of Magic" (1940)
* The Castle of Iron (1941/50)
* The Wall of Serpents (1953)
* The Green Magician (1954)
* Sir Harold and the Gnome King (1990)
* Sir Harold of Zodanga (1995)

Pusadian|

* The Tritonian Ring (1951)
* "The Eye of Tandyla" (1951)
* "The Owl and the Ape" (1951)
* "The Hungry Hercynian" (1953)
* "The Stronger Spell" (1953)
* "Ka the Appalling" (1958)
* "The Rug and the Bull" (1974)
* "The Stone of the Witch Queen" (1977)

Novarian|

* The Goblin Tower (1968)
* The Clocks of Iraz (1971)
* "The Emperor's Fan" (1973)
* The Fallible Fiend (1973)
* The Unbeheaded King (1983)
* The Honorable Barbarian (1989)

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)

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)

Historical fiction|

* The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate (1961)
* The Arrows of Hercules (1965)
* An Elephant for Aristotle (1958)
* The Bronze God of Rhodes (1960)
* The Golden Wind (1969)

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)

Nonfiction edited|

* The Conan Swordbook (1969)
* The Conan Grimoire (1972)
* To Quebec and the Stars (1976)
* The Blade of Conan (1979)
* The Spell of Conan (1980)

Poetry|

* Demons and Dinosaurs (1970)
* Heroes and Hobgoblins (1981)
* Phantoms and Fancies (1972)

Collections|

* The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens (1953)
* The Virgin of Zesh & The Tower of Zanid (1983)
* The Incomplete Enchanter (1941)
* Wall of Serpents (1960)
* The Compleat Enchanter (1975)
* The Complete Compleat Enchanter (1989)
* The Enchanter Reborn (1992)
* The Exotic Enchanter (1995)
* The Mathematics of Magic (2007)
* The Tritonian Ring and Other Pusadian Tales (1953)
* The Reluctant King (1985)
* Conan (1967)
* The Conan Chronicles (1989)
* The Conan Chronicles 2 (1990)
* Conan of Aquilonia (1977)
* Conan of Cimmeria (1969)
* Conan the Adventurer (1966)
* Conan the Avenger (1968)
* Conan the Freebooter (1968)
* Conan the Swordsman (1978)
* Conan the Usurper (1967)
* Conan the Wanderer (1968)
* Sagas of Conan (2004)
* Tales of Conan (1955)
* The Treasure of Tranicos (1980)
* Aristotle and the Gun (2002)
* The Best of L. Sprague de Camp (1978)
* Divide and Rule (1948)
* Footprints on Sand (1981)
* A Gun for Dinosaur (1963)
* The Purple Pterodactyls (1980)
* The Reluctant Shaman (1970)
* Rivers of Time (1993)
* Scribblings (1972)
* Sprague de Camp's New Anthology (1953)
* Tales from Gavagan's Bar (1953/78)
* The Undesired Princess (1951)
* The Virgin & the Wheels (1976)
* The Wheels of If (1948)
* Years in the Making (2005)

About de Camp|

* GURPS Planet Krishna (1997)
* The Enchanter Completed (2005)

Works by Fletcher Pratt

Harold Shea series
(with L. Sprague de Camp)|

| de Camp/
Pratt canon|

* "The Roaring Trumpet" (1940)
* "The Mathematics of Magic" (1940)
* The Castle of Iron (1941/50)
* The Wall of Serpents (1953)
* The Green Magician (1954)

|

Collections|

* The Incomplete Enchanter (1941)
* Wall of Serpents (1960)
* The Compleat Enchanter (1975)
* The Complete Compleat Enchanter (1989)
* The Mathematics of Magic (2007)

Novels|

* Land of Unreason (1941) with L. Sprague de Camp
* The Carnelian Cube (1948) with L. Sprague de Camp
* The Well of the Unicorn (1948)
* The Blue Star (1952)
* Double Jeopardy (1952)
* The Undying Fire (1953)
* Invaders from Rigel (1960)
* Alien Planet (1962)

Collections|

* Double in Space (1951)
* Tales from Gavagan's Bar (1953, expanded 1978) with L. Sprague de Camp

Anthologies|

* World of Wonder (1951)
* The Petrified Planet (1952)
* Witches Three (1952)

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