Hawks over Shem

This article is about a short story. For the protagonist and principal character, see Conan the Barbarian.

"Hawks over Shem"
Short story by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Fantasy
Publication
Published in	Fantastic Universe
Publication type	Magazine
Media type	Print (Magazine)
Publication date	1955
Series	Conan the Barbarian

"Hawks over Shem" is a fantasy short story by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, featuring Conan the Barbarian and published in 1955. It's based on the story "Hawks over Egypt" by Robert E. Howard and is usually credited to both authors.

Synopsis

Conan pursues General Othbaal, an ally turned traitor, into the city of Asgalun. He allies himself with Mazdak, one of two other generals involved in a power struggle serving under King Akhirom. Conan and Mazdak eliminate the other generals while causing Akhirom to be overthrown in a coup d'état. Conan must flee Asgalun, and a potentially profitable alliance with Mazdak, when it's discovered that he is actually Amra; a pirate who fleeced many nearby city-states.

Differences from Howard's original story

De Camp gave Diego de Guzman's role to Conan, changed the setting from Egypt in 1021 A.D. into Howard's Hyborian Age, and extensively rewritten the plot so that a new "Howard" story could be included to the collection Tales of Conan in 1955.

Publication history

"Hawks over Shem" was first published in Fantastic Universe during October 1955. In the same year, it was also published as part of Tales of Conan. In 1968, it was republished in the collection Conan the Freebooter.

The original story, "Hawks Over Egypt", can be found in The Road of Azrael published in 1979.

Sources

• "The Barbarian Keep: Mistaken Identity: Are you Conan?". Retrieved 2009-05-14.
• Howard, Robert E.; de Camp, L. Sprague (1989). Conan Piraten (in Swedish). Target Games AB. p. 4. ISBN 91-7898-054-2.

External links

• Hawks over Shem title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database