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The Incompleat Enchanter #1
The Incompleat Enchanter
The Mathematics of Magic—it was the greatest discovery ever. Or so thought Professor Harold Shea. With the proper equations he could instantly transport himself and his friend Reed Chalmers back—or sideways—in time to all the wondrous lands of ancient myth and legend.
But slips in time were a hazard. and Shea's magic didn't always work quite as he expected. A dragon spell might yield a hundred dragons—or, even worse, one-tenth of a dragon. And the various imaginary lands he travelled to held countless dangers that even Shea's equations couldn't predict...
But slips in time were a hazard. and Shea's magic didn't always work quite as he expected. A dragon spell might yield a hundred dragons—or, even worse, one-tenth of a dragon. And the various imaginary lands he travelled to held countless dangers that even Shea's equations couldn't predict...
236 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1940
About the author
L. Sprague de Camp
694 books287 followersLyon Sprague de Camp, (Pseudonym: Lyman R. Lyon) was an American science fiction and fantasy author and biographer. In a writing career spanning fifty years he wrote over one hundred books, including novels and notable works of nonfiction, such as biographies of other important fantasy authors. He was widely regarded as an imaginative and innovative writer and was an important figure in the heyday of science fiction, from the late 1930s through the late 1940s.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
September 11, 2022
I'm pleasantly surprised with this. It's an old fantasy, way back in 1940, but we've got ourselves a psychology, physics, and math explanation for magic, using sympathy and symbolic logic in our modern day to twist reality.
Cool? It's nothing compared to WHERE we go, however.
The Aesir. To be in the middle of Ragnarok. We hang out with Heimdal, avoid Loki, and survive the ultimate end-times.
Using psychology, math tricks, and a little alternate-universe stuff. :)
The writing is solid, the adventure better, and best of all, I had a good time.
Cool? It's nothing compared to WHERE we go, however.
The Aesir. To be in the middle of Ragnarok. We hang out with Heimdal, avoid Loki, and survive the ultimate end-times.
Using psychology, math tricks, and a little alternate-universe stuff. :)
The writing is solid, the adventure better, and best of all, I had a good time.
October 31, 2014
Never thought I'd see the day where Frege's definition of a number is a key plot point in a fantasy novel...
Read
September 23, 2016This volume is the first of a series in which the protagonist, Harold Shea, is whisked away to parallel universes modeled on the myths in our own world. The tone is light and comic, absolute fun to read. I must have been subconsciously channeling when I wrote The Riddle of the Seven Realms.
August 13, 2011
Of the incomplete enchanter books the first was clearly the best which is why I have given it five stars and the complete enchanter four. Having said that they are both excellent reads.
This is a fast paced, enjoyable fantasy adventure in several parts in which our hero, an academic of course, finds himself whisked across parallel universes simply by an act of will and belief to mystical realms from books and legends, where he can suddenly find he can do magic. Its awesome as he realises that his old magic as it were (things such as matches) won't work any longer in these new worlds, but new versions, things such as epic rhyming poetry type spells will.
The book is well written, the characters come to life, and one of them returns to the 'real' world with him, and its a lot of fun. Suspend your disbelief and simply enjoy.
This is a fast paced, enjoyable fantasy adventure in several parts in which our hero, an academic of course, finds himself whisked across parallel universes simply by an act of will and belief to mystical realms from books and legends, where he can suddenly find he can do magic. Its awesome as he realises that his old magic as it were (things such as matches) won't work any longer in these new worlds, but new versions, things such as epic rhyming poetry type spells will.
The book is well written, the characters come to life, and one of them returns to the 'real' world with him, and its a lot of fun. Suspend your disbelief and simply enjoy.
August 4, 2018
This is the sort of book I imagined writing when I was younger--injecting the protagonist into one of the many existing mythological or fantastical realms of human conjuration--albeit reducing a bit of the uncomfortable misogyny of the main character, Harold Shea. It's wonderfully realized, though the magic is at turns simplistic and (perhaps by design) incomprehensible. The stories were written in the 1930s and 40s, yet they entertain an idea of a multiverse, that all the fantastic worlds imagined by recorders of Norse mythology in the Prose and Poetic Eddas, and Edmund Spenser's Fairie were people with psychiatric conditions allowed glimpses of other universes which, according to a small coterie of psychologists, one could project oneself into and experience completely.
A neat idea, and obviously derivative, but it's the familiarity with characters in these worlds that make them enjoyable. It's a story you enjoy because you recognize the characters and the world, and you get to go on a brief adventure with them. You can tell me this was never an adventure you dreamed of as a child, but I won't believe you.
A neat idea, and obviously derivative, but it's the familiarity with characters in these worlds that make them enjoyable. It's a story you enjoy because you recognize the characters and the world, and you get to go on a brief adventure with them. You can tell me this was never an adventure you dreamed of as a child, but I won't believe you.
November 13, 2019
These were funny little stories.
The basic premise is fun - some sciency-types in our world figure out a theorem that lets a person jump into alternate-worlds. Shenanigans ensue
In the first story, our PoV character - prof. Harold Shea, is a tad dissatisfied with his life, and risks trying an untested theorem - and finds himself in the mytic world of miðgard, complete with Aesir, giants, and the coming Ragnarok!
In the second, Prof. Shea is joined by his colleague Prof. Chalmers (a more ... sedate... professor) and find themselves in the chivalric world of the Fae!
These are basically "fish out of water" stories, with "modern" folks traipsing around in these worlds with radically different ways of thinking and acting - and what really throws them is that the basics of the world are different: phyisics doesn't work as expected, and magic does!
Silly and fun. The language is a little strange, and the characters can be somewhat offensive but the self-mocking tone saves it :)
Need to find the other books in the series!
The basic premise is fun - some sciency-types in our world figure out a theorem that lets a person jump into alternate-worlds. Shenanigans ensue
In the first story, our PoV character - prof. Harold Shea, is a tad dissatisfied with his life, and risks trying an untested theorem - and finds himself in the mytic world of miðgard, complete with Aesir, giants, and the coming Ragnarok!
In the second, Prof. Shea is joined by his colleague Prof. Chalmers (a more ... sedate... professor) and find themselves in the chivalric world of the Fae!
These are basically "fish out of water" stories, with "modern" folks traipsing around in these worlds with radically different ways of thinking and acting - and what really throws them is that the basics of the world are different: phyisics doesn't work as expected, and magic does!
Silly and fun. The language is a little strange, and the characters can be somewhat offensive but the self-mocking tone saves it :)
Need to find the other books in the series!
November 26, 2018
Connection between fantasy and realism in this book is so embarrassingly stupid I don't even have to mention main character is a total patsy to justify my rating.
November 11, 2020
Amusing science fiction series disguised as fantasy.
A group of psychologists come up with a multiverse theory that suggests writers of myth and fantasy are actually recording events in parallel universes with different physical laws that allow things like magic to work. They further propose a method of jumping between universes by means of contemplating the right set of symbolic logic that operates in the desired universe.
This volume contains the first two stories. In the first, "The Roaring Trumpet", psychologist Harold Shea tries out their theory by attempting to visit the world of Irish myth described in Queen Meav. His inexpert grasp of the symbolic logic required to describe the world view of the desired myth leads to him landing instead in the world of Norse mythology where he falls in with Odin, Thor, Loki, and Heimdall as they attempt to prevent the coming of Ragnarok.
In the second story, "The Mathematics of Magic", Shea tries again. This time taking professor Reed Chalmers along, since he's the expert in symbolic logic who originated the theory. This time they set out for, and actually arrive in, the mythical world described in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene. They have a series of adventures with knights, evil magicians, and assorted mythical creatures. They also have time to work out a more detailed physical theory of how magic works, allowing them to quickly match and even exceed the magical skills of the local wizards.
A group of psychologists come up with a multiverse theory that suggests writers of myth and fantasy are actually recording events in parallel universes with different physical laws that allow things like magic to work. They further propose a method of jumping between universes by means of contemplating the right set of symbolic logic that operates in the desired universe.
This volume contains the first two stories. In the first, "The Roaring Trumpet", psychologist Harold Shea tries out their theory by attempting to visit the world of Irish myth described in Queen Meav. His inexpert grasp of the symbolic logic required to describe the world view of the desired myth leads to him landing instead in the world of Norse mythology where he falls in with Odin, Thor, Loki, and Heimdall as they attempt to prevent the coming of Ragnarok.
In the second story, "The Mathematics of Magic", Shea tries again. This time taking professor Reed Chalmers along, since he's the expert in symbolic logic who originated the theory. This time they set out for, and actually arrive in, the mythical world described in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene. They have a series of adventures with knights, evil magicians, and assorted mythical creatures. They also have time to work out a more detailed physical theory of how magic works, allowing them to quickly match and even exceed the magical skills of the local wizards.
April 17, 2018
This is nothing serious, but a very fun book. I can see how it would have inspired fantasy role-players, it is basically a couple of moderns using their modern ways of thinking in fantasy medieval worlds. Harold Shea seemed a bit too obtuse in the first part of the first half of the book: we figure out what’s going on long before he does, which makes his choices seem stupid.
In his defense, all the best-laid plans of mice and men often fail to survive first contact with an evil DM.
The only real problem I had with their logic was that knowledge of the two basic laws of magic—contagion and similarity—allowed them to create complex spells. It would be like saying, well, I know Newton’s mechanics, therefore get me some sand and I can build a computer. For a story like this, though, that’s kind of nitpicking. It was meant to be a fun bit of wish-fulfillment about moderns with magic, and it did that very well.
In his defense, all the best-laid plans of mice and men often fail to survive first contact with an evil DM.
The only real problem I had with their logic was that knowledge of the two basic laws of magic—contagion and similarity—allowed them to create complex spells. It would be like saying, well, I know Newton’s mechanics, therefore get me some sand and I can build a computer. For a story like this, though, that’s kind of nitpicking. It was meant to be a fun bit of wish-fulfillment about moderns with magic, and it did that very well.
July 18, 2017
I read this book over 50 years ago, and enjoyed it almost as much this time as I did then. I was surprised by how much I remembered. I'd forgotten how funny it was or maybe I didn't fine it funny back then. It was one of the first alternate-universe books I read and that has turned into my favorite variety of SF. It led me to try to read "Fairie Queene," but gave up on that until college. (Maybe I'll re-read it now.) So, back then, I enjoyed the Norse myth story much more. The main change in my attitude is I now find Harold Shea, the protagonist, kind of a jerk, just because he grates on me. Maybe because of his sexist attitudes, even though de Camp and Pratt counter-balance them with the warrior women in their source.
January 12, 2016
Weird psychologists find a way to travel to fictional worlds through magic performed via complex formal logic. The worlds they travel to are worlds of our myths and legends, and there the magic they can use depends on the narrative style, lexicon etc the original opera's author used. So they often have to invent some sorts of poem, appropriate for the setting, to get the desired effect - and while one of the two psychologists avoids trouble and try to focus on understanding said magic, the other, Harold Shea, enjoys the time he gets outside of his grey, dull world - by putting himself in danger, saving attractive females (or being saved by them) and living fully.
June 12, 2018
The first story, with Harold Shea encountering the old norse gods, is absolutely magnificent, and on a par with Lest Darkness Fall. Hilarious and a great comment on what it means to encounter people from a different millieu. The second, which is a light-hearted look at the Faerie Queen is rather substandard, maybe because the author hasn't really come to grips with Spenser's work and doesn't seem to relate to it as well as he did with Norse mythology. The first story is definitely five stars and more
June 3, 2013
Loved this when I was in my teens. Dunno what I would think of it now, and would rather like to reread it someday to see. For now, consider this the rating of my young self, who might very well be wiser about these things than I am today.
June 24, 2008
Fabulous book!! Everything your looking for in an adventure book!!
February 12, 2009
A strange book in as much as written in the American vernacular, but very enjoyable all the same.
February 20, 2016
Very funny fantasy series. Great read. Very recommended
October 10, 2023
Not my cup of tea.
I came to it through Appendix N as so many do and was excited to engage with the history of pre-Tolkien-strangled speculative fiction. That said, I'm reviewing it as an off-the-clock reader, not as a student of literature or history.
I think most would agree: the most striking feature of the piece is the way it argues a setting based on "symbolic logic" in which acts of nonrealism are explicitly stated to be irrational worlds conducting themselves in rational ways. Or, as it would appear on the page, a native English speaker in the 20th century would be re-wired to speak Old Norse when dropped into The Roaring Trumpet's context.
It's a cool concept and I enjoy how it connects to the mid-20th century advancements in physics and psychology. Truly science and the occult now and forever intermingle in the public imagination. Thus, the project of the Harold Shea stories is an interesting answer to its contemporary questions.
This is a strong idea. Stronger than plenty of other speculative conceits that I have enjoyed more.
But the work of the narrative around it to communicate these ideas just wasn't that interesting to me. I didn't love our POV Harold Shea. I liked that he was a human with the same physical frailties as the rest of our species, which added higher stakes to the drama. But his own personal investment in his own setting and the ways he responded to his obstacles often didn't surprise or interest me. In short: I found him boring.
Also the prose sucks.
The worlds are lively and funny. Cartoonish and archetypal. There's a string of interesting set pieces scattered around, but it feels a bit like an narrative-y amusement park ride. A lot of riding through an empty hallway and sometimes a monster from a media property you recognize jumps out and there's a moment of interest and then it's back to the hallway.
Gary Gygax's relationship to L. Sprague de Camp is interesting and something worth exploring. And there's certainly de Camp's inherent placement in the world of 20th century speculative writing including work on Robert E Howard's Conan to make this text more interesting when put into conversation with a tradition.
But, on its own, I got the flavor and it was plenty. I'm good on Harold Shea.
I came to it through Appendix N as so many do and was excited to engage with the history of pre-Tolkien-strangled speculative fiction. That said, I'm reviewing it as an off-the-clock reader, not as a student of literature or history.
I think most would agree: the most striking feature of the piece is the way it argues a setting based on "symbolic logic" in which acts of nonrealism are explicitly stated to be irrational worlds conducting themselves in rational ways. Or, as it would appear on the page, a native English speaker in the 20th century would be re-wired to speak Old Norse when dropped into The Roaring Trumpet's context.
It's a cool concept and I enjoy how it connects to the mid-20th century advancements in physics and psychology. Truly science and the occult now and forever intermingle in the public imagination. Thus, the project of the Harold Shea stories is an interesting answer to its contemporary questions.
This is a strong idea. Stronger than plenty of other speculative conceits that I have enjoyed more.
But the work of the narrative around it to communicate these ideas just wasn't that interesting to me. I didn't love our POV Harold Shea. I liked that he was a human with the same physical frailties as the rest of our species, which added higher stakes to the drama. But his own personal investment in his own setting and the ways he responded to his obstacles often didn't surprise or interest me. In short: I found him boring.
Also the prose sucks.
The worlds are lively and funny. Cartoonish and archetypal. There's a string of interesting set pieces scattered around, but it feels a bit like an narrative-y amusement park ride. A lot of riding through an empty hallway and sometimes a monster from a media property you recognize jumps out and there's a moment of interest and then it's back to the hallway.
Gary Gygax's relationship to L. Sprague de Camp is interesting and something worth exploring. And there's certainly de Camp's inherent placement in the world of 20th century speculative writing including work on Robert E Howard's Conan to make this text more interesting when put into conversation with a tradition.
But, on its own, I got the flavor and it was plenty. I'm good on Harold Shea.
November 11, 2023
I'm afraid I didn't much care for this book but I loved the way it was written which is how I rate it two stars. I did like the first tale which drew me into its strange fantasy world of mythic creatures and strong fighters as the scientist from earth joins in with the crew of Odin and his family of warriors and magicians as they travel different lands seeking Thor's hammer before giants are slaughtered by it. Then the scientist who has travelled here through mathematical equations is caught along with one of the others and imprisoned in a giants far away cell. I do really enjoy the story in this first tale and it made me eager to continue on with the next which started off quite well continuing directly from the first after Harold returns to his homeland, appearing in the room before the eyes of his friends and just in time before being caught up in the battle. He appears in the strange old clothing he put on while away in the mythical land and with an enormous appetite hurries out to dinner where he is joined by his close friend Chalmers. He orders many large meals and dessert while telling of his adventures in that dangerous land.
Where it goes from here I lost much interest and found the story boring. The two friends choose to travel again and find themselves in a more peaceful but still dangerous land of knights, queens, squires, duals and magicians. I can say the only interesting part I found in this one is where they encounter a horrible beast who cannot be stopped without hearing a poem or story in prose. In the end the beast leaves, somewhat disgusted with what he has been told.
Also the part where a spell goes wrong and dragons begin to appear from a cloud of smoke in the forest, not just one but one hundred of them.
Apart from that the rest of the story held very little for me. Missing the scale of adventure and charm in the first one.
Where it goes from here I lost much interest and found the story boring. The two friends choose to travel again and find themselves in a more peaceful but still dangerous land of knights, queens, squires, duals and magicians. I can say the only interesting part I found in this one is where they encounter a horrible beast who cannot be stopped without hearing a poem or story in prose. In the end the beast leaves, somewhat disgusted with what he has been told.
Also the part where a spell goes wrong and dragons begin to appear from a cloud of smoke in the forest, not just one but one hundred of them.
Apart from that the rest of the story held very little for me. Missing the scale of adventure and charm in the first one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure & as with my last review would rather give it 3.5 Stars (if it was possible?). It does tread a little on some oft used concepts, although that may be more due to reading it in 2021 when it was authored in the 70s (I believe). Similarly the language is occasionally a little archaic; although as a wordsmith I enjoy referencing these, if it does occasionally break the flow of reading.
I will be keeping my eyes open for the next in the series.
I will be keeping my eyes open for the next in the series.
May 30, 2022
I loved this when I read it and I was pretty annoyed when I found out there was another book after this and I could not get hold of it because the bookstores around me would not order it in due to "not enough interest". I still haven't seen a copy of "The Compleat Enchanter" where I can get access to it and would definitely read this again as well as that if I do finally get a copy.
August 29, 2023
When this book/stories in the pulps first came out I expect this book was really something of a sensation. They mostly hold up well. My trouble is that have not looked into the classic literature myths the stories are set in, so I am sure I am missing things in the narrative. I do recommend the book.
July 2, 2016
Retro Hugo Award Finalists (1940)
• “The Roaring Trumpet” by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt (Unknown, May 1940)
Professor Harold Shea discovers a way to transport himself back to a time of ancient legend. But instead of landing in Ireland as he wanted, Shea discovers he is really in the Scandinavia of Norse myth, hanging out with the likes of Thor and Loki. To his disappointment, Shea realizes that his modern artifacts such as matches don’t work in this land, but through trial and error manages to teach himself enough magic to pose as a wizard and help his new friends on their adventures.
• “The Mathematics of Magic” by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt (Unknown, Aug 1940)
Shea and his mentor, Reed Chalmers, decide to try travelling through time again, this time landing in the medieval world of Spenser’s The Faerie Queene. Shea gets the hang of this magic business, and finds adventure and romance. I didn’t enjoy this story as much as “The Roaring Trumpet,” but that may simply be because I am not very familiar with Spenser’s original work.
These are lighthearted stories that greatly benefit from knowing the literary source material of the worlds Shea travels to. But even without that knowledge, these are fun romps. I can imagine one or both of these stories being nominated in 1941, although I doubt either would win.
• “The Roaring Trumpet” by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt (Unknown, May 1940)
Professor Harold Shea discovers a way to transport himself back to a time of ancient legend. But instead of landing in Ireland as he wanted, Shea discovers he is really in the Scandinavia of Norse myth, hanging out with the likes of Thor and Loki. To his disappointment, Shea realizes that his modern artifacts such as matches don’t work in this land, but through trial and error manages to teach himself enough magic to pose as a wizard and help his new friends on their adventures.
• “The Mathematics of Magic” by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt (Unknown, Aug 1940)
Shea and his mentor, Reed Chalmers, decide to try travelling through time again, this time landing in the medieval world of Spenser’s The Faerie Queene. Shea gets the hang of this magic business, and finds adventure and romance. I didn’t enjoy this story as much as “The Roaring Trumpet,” but that may simply be because I am not very familiar with Spenser’s original work.
These are lighthearted stories that greatly benefit from knowing the literary source material of the worlds Shea travels to. But even without that knowledge, these are fun romps. I can imagine one or both of these stories being nominated in 1941, although I doubt either would win.
September 30, 2015
I picked this up randomly from a used bookstore because the title caught my eye. It has a decent hook; namely, a handful of scientists and psychologists devise a mathematical formula that pushes people into alternate universes, and for some handwave-y reason these universes are based off existing myths and stories. Once in an alternate universe, they must use their wits and scientific knowledge to deal with the locals, figure out how magic works, and (ultimately) travel back home. This book includes two stories: in the first, Harold Shea, the protagonist, travels solo to the world of Norse mythology, shortly before Ragnarok; in the second, he and another scientist travel to Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene.
That said, it's pretty old. The gender politics are out of date. At least the second story has several interesting women characters.
That said, it's pretty old. The gender politics are out of date. At least the second story has several interesting women characters.
July 4, 2016
One of those good old literature hopping humour stories. In these Harold Shea transports himself into the myths of Viking legend and then the world of Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene. I wouldn't say it is laugh out loud funny but is a nice romp and adventure nonetheless.
I must say I enjoyed the first half more than the second but that may well by the result of my familiarity with Norse Myth over Spenser's writings.
I must say I enjoyed the first half more than the second but that may well by the result of my familiarity with Norse Myth over Spenser's writings.
June 4, 2015
Stupendo libro, assoluta poesia. L'ho adorato per la sua particolarità, per come giustifica l'esistenza della magia, l'esistenza dei mondi fantastici stessi, per l'assoluta logica e indiscussa varietà della storia. Meraviglioso, non esagero nel dire che sia uno dei fantasy che in assoluto mi è piaciuto di più.
May 27, 2014
This book was on my dad's shelf growing up, somewhere around where he kept Asimov, Aspirin, Heinlein, and so many others. I'm never really objective when reviewing, but here even less than normal. It's a part of my childhood. I wonder what I would think if I read it now?
October 20, 2008
Harold Shea in a parallel world or two. Nordic mythology and Spenser's Fairy Queene offer settings where magic works.
November 28, 2020
This book of two connected stories is rather like Poul Anderson's 'A Midsummer Tempest' in concept. The device employed for the transition between worlds is interesting.
February 6, 2013
This was one that belonged to my dad and I really wanted to like it, but I couldn't get to chapter 3. I couldn't understand the language or the plot.
December 30, 2020
After a few tries at L. Sprague de Camp, he's one of those writers I cannot get into.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews