…And Call Me Conrad

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"...And Call Me Conrad"
Author Roger Zelazny
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Science fiction novel
Published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
Publication type Magazine
Publisher Mercury Press
Media type Print (Periodical)
Publication date October and November 1965
This Immortal

Cover of the first edition
Author Roger Zelazny
Cover artist Gray Morrow
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Science fiction novel
Publisher Ace Books
Publication date 1966
Media type Print (Paperback)
Pages 174 pp
ISBN NA

...And Call Me Conrad was Roger Zelazny's first novel. In its original publication, it was abridged by the editor and serialized in two parts in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in October and November of 1965. It tied with Frank Herbert's Dune for the 1966 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

Contents

[edit] Publication history

Most but not all of the cuts made for the serialized version were restored for the first paperback publication by Ace Books, and the title was changed by the publisher to This Immortal. Zelazny stated in interviews that he preferred the original eponymous title.The abridged version was novel length at over 47,000 words; the paperback version was over 58,000 words after the cuts were restored. However, it was not until a book club version was published in the 1980s that Zelazny realized that some cuts had not been restored to the book version; thus, earlier publications of This Immortal were still not complete. The abridged magazine version also contains 10 paragraphs of text not in the book version, this being from "And the long-dormant Radpol was stirring again, but I did not know that until several days later." and ending "The days of Karaghiosis had passed." Also, the "Synopsis of Part One" that appeared in the November 1965 issue of F&SF (immediately prior to Part Two) is written in the first person and contains material about Conrad's character and the backstory that is not in the main text of ...And Call Me Conrad nor the 1980s restored version of This Immortal.

[edit] Plot summary

After being devastated by a nuclear war, the Earth is a planet with a population of only 4 million, overrun by a variety of mutated lifeforms. Worse, much of the Earth is now owned by a race of blue-skinned aliens called Vegans who see the planet as a tourist location. Conrad Nomikos, the first person narrator, is a man with a past that he'd rather not talk about, and he's been given a task that he'd rather refuse: to show an influential Vegan around the old ruins of Earth. But Conrad suddenly finds himself the reluctant protector of this alien visitor when attempts are made on the Vegan's life. Conrad knows that keeping the Vegan alive is important—but now he must find out why.

[edit] Major themes

Many of Zelazny's heroes are supermen. Sometimes they are even gods or demigods. Conrad Nomikos is no exception to the rule. Identified early on as a possible Kallikanzaros, by his lover Cassandra (who exhibits the same abilities to foretell the future, but not be believed), later on the comparison is made between Conrad and Pan. Whether or not Conrad is a god, however, is left unclear in the book: while he has led an extraordinary long life, it is suggested that this could be the result of mutation due to the nuclear war. Jane Lindskold, in her book titled Roger Zelazny, suggests that the fact that Conrad's face is handsome on one side and disfigured on the other is a metaphor for Conrad's ability to be both creator and destroyer, and it is not until the end of the book that the broken god can be "healed."

Other examples of Zelazny's superman are Corwin, the prince who would be king in the world(s) of Amber series, and the man-god Sam -- Mahasamatman (the Great Souled Sam) -- in Lord of Light.

It could be said that Conrad Nomikos is the prototype for both Sam and Corwin; a flawed human who is also a flawed superhuman.

Zelazny identified Aldous Huxley as one model he kept in mind while writing this novel. Another evident influence is John D. MacDonald; several minor elements in the novel appear to be deliberate homage to the Travis McGee series.

[edit] Awards and nominations

Ace/SFBC hardcover edition (1988)
Ace/SFBC hardcover edition (1988)

[edit] Release details

[edit] As ...And Call Me Conrad

[edit] As This Immortal

[edit] References

  • Levack, Daniel J. H. (1983). Amber Dreams: A Roger Zelazny Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller, 61-64, 77-78. ISBN 0-934438-39-0. 

[edit] External links

Preceded by
The Wanderer
by Fritz Leiber		 Hugo Award for Best Novel
1966
(tied with Dune (novel))		 Succeeded by
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
by Robert A. Heinlein
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