The Eye of Tandyla
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| Author | L. Sprague de Camp |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Pusadian series |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy short story |
| Released in | Fantastic Adventures |
| Media Type | Print (Magazine) |
| Released | May, 1951 |
| Preceded by | The Tritonian Ring |
| Followed by | "The Owl and the Ape" |
"The Eye of Tandyla" is a fantasy story written by L. Sprague de Camp as part of his Pusadian series. It was first published in the magazine Fantastic Adventures for May, 1951, and first appeared in book form in de Camp's collection The Tritonian Ring and Other Pusadian Tales (Twayne, 1953). It has also been translated into Italian and German.
[edit] Plot summary
The sorceror Derezong Taash, in the service of King Vuar the Capricious, is ordered to steal a magical gem from the temple of the goddess Tandyla. The jewel is set as an eye in the goddess's statue. Together with his apprentice Zhamel Seh, Taash undertakes the errand, which goes suspiciously well; its guardians almost seem to want it stolen. With a sense of foreboding, Taash decides he must discard his prize while tricking the king into thinking he has truly supplied it, thus becoming unwittingly embroiled in a plot against the throne that reaches to the very heart of the royal family...
Chronologically, "The Eye of Tandyla" is the second of de Camp's Pusadian tales, and the first to feature his protagonists Derezong Taash and Zhamel Seh.
[edit] Setting
In common with the other Pusadian tales, "The Eye of Tandyla" takes place in a prehistoric era during which a magic-based Atlantian civilization supposedly throve in what was then a single continent comprised of Eurasia joined with Africa, and in the islands to the west. It is similar in conception to Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age, by which it was inspired, but more astutely constructed, utilizing actual Ice Age geography in preference to a wholly invented one. In de Camp's scheme, the legend of this culture that came down to classic Greece as "Atlantis" was a garbled memory that conflated the mighty Tartessian Empire with the island continent of Pusad and the actual Atlantis, a barbaric mountainous region that is today the Atlas mountain range.
[edit] References
- Laughlin, Charlotte; Daniel J. H. Levack (1983). De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller, 158.
| Preceded by The Tritonian Ring |
Pusadian series "The Eye of Tandyla" |
Succeeded by "The Owl and the Ape" |
