The God in the Bowl

, 2003). The original short story was written by Robert E. Howard and first appeared in a 1952 issue of "Space Science Fiction" magazine.] Infobox short story
name = The God in the Bowl
title_orig = The God in the Bowl
translator =
author = Robert E. Howard
country = USA
language = English
series = Conan the Cimmerian
genre = Fantasy
published_in = USA
publication_type = Pulp magazine
publisher = Space Science Fiction
media_type =
pub_date = 1952
english_pub_date =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"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.

Plot summary

cquote2|"Arus the watchman grasped his crossbow with shaky hands, and he felt beads of clammy perspiration on his skin as he stared at the unlovely corpse sprawling on the polished floor before him. It is not pleasant to come upon Death in a lonely place at midnight..."
Robert E. Howard|"The God in the Bowl"

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."

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 "".

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:

In other stories, de Camp would actually substantially alter and rewrite whole sections, often to include references to his own work. [ [http://www.barbariankeep.com/edited.html The Barbarian Keep] , retrieved 7th July 2007]

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 "" (Del Rey, 2003). Recent versions have removed all alterations made by L. Sprague de Camp.

Adaptations

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

References

External links

* [http://conan.wikia.com/wiki/The_God_in_the_Bowl Conan wiki • The God in the Bowl] • Synopsis, characters, locations, and publishing history
* [http://www.amrathelion.com/ Conan the Barbarian at AmratheLion.com]
* [http://www.conan.com/ Conan.com: The Official Website]
* [http://www.rehupa.com/rippke_stygia.htm The Mystery of Pre-Human Stygia] • Essay pertaining to the Giant-Kings by Dale Rippke