"The Gem in the Tower" is a short story

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 by L. Sprague de Camp

L. Sprague de Camp

Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...

 and Lin Carter

Lin Carter

Linwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft and Grail Undwin.-Life:Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida...

 featuring the fictional sword and sorcery

Sword and sorcery

Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...

 hero Conan the Barbarian

Conan the Barbarian

Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...

 created by Robert E. Howard

Robert E. Howard

Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....

. It is a rewritten version of "Black Moonlight," an earlier story by Carter alone featuring his own sword and sorcery character Thongor. As a Thongor story it was first published in the magazine Fantastic

Fantastic (magazine)

Fantastic was an American digest-size fantasy and science fiction magazine, published from 1952 to 1980. It was founded by Ziff-Davis as a fantasy companion to Amazing Stories. Early sales were good, and Ziff-Davis quickly decided to switch Amazing from pulp format to digest, and to cease...

in the issue for November 1976, and was reprinted in the anthology The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 3

The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 3

The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 3 is a 1977 anthology of fantasy stories, edited by Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books....

(DAW Books

DAW Books

DAW Books is an American science fiction and fantasy publisher, founded by Donald A. Wollheim following his departure from Ace Books in 1971. The company therefore claims to be "the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy." The first DAW Book published was...

, 1977). The Conan version was first published by Bantam Books

Bantam Books

Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...

 in the paperback collection Conan the Swordsman

Conan the Swordsman

Conan the Swordsman is a collection of seven fantasy short stories and associated pieces written by L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter and Björn Nyberg featuring Robert E. Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Bantam Books in August 1978....

in August 1978, and was reprinted in the anthology The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 5

The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 5

The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 5 is an anthology of fantasy stories, edited by Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in January, 1980...

(DAW Books, 1980) and later editions of Conan the Swordsman (Ace Books

Ace Books

Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...

, 1987 and 1991, Tor Books

Tor Books

Tor Books is one of two imprints of Tom Doherty Associates LLC, based in New York City. It is noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles. Tom Doherty Associates also publishes mainstream fiction, mystery, and occasional military history titles under its Forge imprint. The company was founded...

 (first hardcover edition), 2002). The collection has also been translated into Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

, and was later gathered together with Conan the Liberator

Conan the Liberator

Conan the Liberator is a fantasy novel written by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter featuring Robert E. Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Bantam Books in February 1979; later paperback editions were issued by Ace Books...

and Conan and the Spider God

Conan and the Spider God

Conan and the Spider God is a fantasy novel written by L. Sprague de Camp featuring Robert E. Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Bantam Books in December 1980; later paperback editions were issued by Ace Books and Tor Books...

into the omnibus collection Sagas of Conan

Sagas of Conan

Sagas of Conan is a 2004 omnibus collection of three previously issued fantasy books written by L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter and Björn Nyberg featuring Robert E. Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books.-Contents:*Conan the...

(Tor Books, 2004).

Plot summary

Conan, as second mate of Gonzago's freebooters, participates in a shore party to a nameless island off the kingdom of Stygia to steal a magic gem of the Stygian sorcerer Siptah. The expedition immediately goes wrong, with its own magician Mena and Gonzago himself both killed. Conan is left in command to battle Siptah's winged demon and learn the secret of the sorcerer's tower.

Adaptation

The story was adapted by Roy Thomas

Roy Thomas

Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...

, John Buscema

John Buscema

John Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...

 and Tony DeZuniga

Tony DeZuniga

Tony DeZuniga is a Filipino comic-book artist best known for his work for DC Comics, where he co-created the characters Jonah Hex and Black Orchid.-Early life and career:...

 in Savage Sword of Conan

Savage Sword of Conan

The Savage Sword of Conan was a black-and-white magazine-format comic book series published beginning in 1974 by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of Marvel Comics, and then later by Marvel itself. Savage Sword of Conan starred Robert E...

#45, October 1979.

External links

• Conan wiki • The Gem in the Tower • Synopsis, characters, locations, and publishing history