The God in the Bowl

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An illustration of a dramatic scene in The God in the Bowl as depicted by Mark Schultz in The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian (Del Rey, 2003).

The original short story was written by Robert E. Howard and first appeared in a 1952 issue of Space Science Fiction magazine.

"The God in the Bowl" is one of the original short stories featuring the sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard but not published during his lifetime. It is set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age and concerns Conan robbing a temple museum only to be ensnared in bizarre events and be deemed the prime suspect in a murder mystery. The story first saw publication in September 1952 in Space Science Fiction and has been reprinted many times since.

[edit] Plot summary

One night in the degenerate municipality of Numalia, the second largest Nemedian city, Conan enters a fantastic establishment: a great museum and antique house which laymen call the Temple of Kallian Publico.

In the midst of robbing this temple museum, Conan finds himself embroiled in a murder investigation when the strangled corpse of the temple's owner and curator, Kallian Publico, is found by a night watchman. Though the Cimmerian is the prime suspect, the investigating magistrate and the prefect of police show remarkable forbearance, allowing Conan not only to remain free, but also to keep his unsheathed sword while their nervous men search the shadowy premises.

As the on-scene investigation unfolds, the magistrate soon learns Publico had received from distant Stygia a strange bowl-like sarcophagus that now lies unsealed, open, and empty. This sarcophagus was said to be a priceless relic found among the darkened tombs far beneath the Stygian pyramids and sent to Kalanthes, a denizen of Numalia, "because of the love the sender bore the priest of Ibis." Intercepting this rare item meant for Kalanthes, Kallian Publico had believed the sarcophagus contained the fabled diadem of the giant-kings whose primordial kin dwelt in that dark southern land before the ancestors of the Stygians came there. However, clearly, the object contained within was not the diadem, but something of a more insidious nature.

While the magistrate and his men are baffled when uncovering this aforementioned information, the reader quickly begins to suspect the murderer may have been something other than entirely human and was contained within the now-opened sarcophagus.

A scream, a death, and the police retreat from the temple museum; thus, leaving Conan to fend for himself with the roaming "murderer." Conan eventually locates the culprit whom he hesitantly dispatches with his long sword, learning only in the final sentence the true horror of "the god in the bowl."

[edit] Editing controversy

Like many of the Conan stories, this was edited by L. Sprague de Camp, much to the dismay of Howard purists. Unlike many, the edited version of The God in the Bowl was the first version to see print, as it was rejected by pulp magazine Weird Tales in Howard's lifetime and only rediscovered in 1951. Several other differently-edited versions followed. The unedited, original version was only printed in 2002 with Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932-1933).

Many of the changes made to this story by de Camp were slight. Though technically correct and giving greater precision to the text, they lose a lot of the richness and energy of Howard's original. Compare, for example, the same line from both writers:

Arus stood in a vast corridor, lighted by huge candles in nitches along the walls. These walls were hung with black velvet tapestries, and between the tapestries hung shields and crossed weapons of fantastic make.

—Robert E. Howard, Original version

The watchman stood in a vast corridor lighted by huge candles set in niches along the walls. Between the niches, these walls were covered with black velvet wall-hangings, and between the hangings hung shields and crossed weapons of fantastic make.

—L. Sprague de Camp, Edited version

In other stories, de Camp would actually substantially alter and rewrite whole sections, often to include references to his own work.^[1]

[edit] Reprint history

Notable reprints of this story have appeared in the collections The Coming of Conan (Gnome Press, 1953) and Conan (Lancer Books, 1967). It has most recently been republished in the collections The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle (Gollancz, 2000) and Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932-1933) (Del Rey, 2003). Recent versions have removed all alterations made by L. Sprague de Camp.

[edit] Adaptations

The story was adapted by Roy Thomas and Barry Smith in Conan the Barbarian #7 and in Conan #10 & 11.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The God in the Bowl

• Conan wiki • The God in the Bowl • Synopsis, characters, locations, and publishing history
• Conan the Barbarian at AmratheLion.com
• Conan.com: The Official Website
• The Mystery of Pre-Human Stygia • Essay pertaining to the Giant-Kings by Dale Rippke