The Mathematics of Magic: The Enchanter Stories of de Camp and Pratt

Back in the 1940s and 1950s, L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt co-wrote five fantasy stories about psychologist Harold Shea and his colleagues for the pulp magazines. The Mathematics of Magic: The Enchanter Stories of de Camp and Pratt collects all five of these original Enchanter stories, plus an introduction by Christopher Stasheff (who edited many of the later Enchanter stories written by other authors), an article written by de Camp about Fletcher Pratt and their collaboration, two additional Enchanter stories written by de Camp after Pratt’s death in 1956, and two essays by SF writer Jerry Pournelle… The Harold Shea stories (some are actually novellas) are clever, witty, irreverent, and fun, effectively blending deadpan and slapstick humor… I recommend reading them one at a time as a comical break from more serious fare. Read the rest.