Moon of Blood

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

"Moon of Blood"
Short story by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Sword and sorcery
Publication
Published in	Conan the Swordsman
Publication type	Collection
Publisher	Bantam Books
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Publication date	1978
Series	Conan the Barbarian

"Moon of Blood" is a short story by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. It was first published by Bantam Books in the paperback collection Conan the Swordsman in August 1978. Later paperback editions of the collection were issued by Ace Books (1987 and 1991). The first hardcover edition was published by Tor Books in 2002. The book has also been translated into Italian. It was later gathered together with Conan the Liberator and Conan and the Spider God into the omnibus collection Sagas of Conan (Tor Books, 2004).

Plot summary

As the Picts west of the kingdom of Aquilonia gather to attack the frontier fort of Velitrium, Conan's Aquilonian scouting party is ambushed by magical snakes conjured by a native shaman. Conan learns that they were betrayed by one of their own number, Edric, and that the Picts are planning an even more ambitious blow. Rallying the garrison to meet its massed foe, Conan strikes out ahead, hoping to locate the enemy sorcerers and preclude a more devastating magical strike. Everything comes to a head at the well-named Massacre Meadow, where Conan's heroics gain him a reputation recognized even by the king of Aquilonia.

Adaptation

The story was adapted by Roy Thomas, Ernie Colón and Tony DeZuniga in Savage Sword of Conan #46, November 1979.

References

• Laughlin, Charlotte; Daniel J. H. Levack (1983). De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller. p. 212.
• Moon of Blood title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database