instance_of the stone of the witch queen
Lyon Sprague de Camp ( ___MASK73___ 27 , 1907  ___MASK73___ 6 , 2000 )  known as L . Sprague de Camp  was an American writer of science fiction , fantasy , non - fiction and ___MASK19___ . In a career spanning 60 years , he wrote over 100 books , including novels and works of non - fiction , including biographies of other fantasy authors . He was a major figure in science fiction during the ___MASK72___ ' s heyday in the 1930s and 1940s . ___MASK46___ fiction ( often shortened to SF , sci - fi or scifi ) is a ___MASK72___ of speculative fiction , typically dealing with imaginative concepts such as futuristic science and technology , space travel , ___MASK35___ travel , faster than light travel , parallel universes , and extraterrestrial life . ___MASK46___ fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations , and has been called a " literature of ideas ." It usually avoids the supernatural , and unlike the related ___MASK72___ of fantasy , historically science fiction stories were intended to have a grounding in science - based fact or theory at the ___MASK35___ the story was created , but this connection is now limited to hard science fiction . The ___MASK7___ ( Medieval Latin : " superntrlis ": " supra " " above " + " naturalis " " natural ", first used : 1520  1530 AD ) includes all that cannot be explained by ___MASK46___ or the laws of nature , including things characteristic of or relating to ghosts , gods , or other ___MASK7___ beings , or to things beyond nature . Speculative ___MASK79___ is a broad umbrella ___MASK72___ denoting any narrative ___MASK79___ with supernatural or futuristic elements ; this encompasses the genres of science ___MASK79___ , fantasy , horror , alternative ___MASK33___ , magic realism , and superhero ___MASK79___ , as well as combinations of the previous genres . It typically strays strongly from reality and so may feature fictional types of beings like mythical creatures and supernatural entities , technologies that do not exist in real life like time machines and interstellar spaceships , or magical or otherwise scientifically inexplicable elements . The term ' s popularity is sometimes attributed to Robert Heinlein , who referenced it in 1947 in an editorial essay , although there are prior mentions of speculative ___MASK79___ , or its variant " speculative literature ". ___MASK79___ is the ___MASK95___ for any story or universe derived from imagination  in other words , not based strictly on ___MASK33___ or fact . ___MASK79___ can be expressed in a variety of formats , including writings , live performances , films , television programs , animations , video games , and role - playing games , though the term originally and most commonly refers to the narrative forms of literature ( see " literary " fiction ), including the novel , novella , ___MASK53___ , and play . ___MASK79___ constitutes an act of creative invention , so that faithfulness to reality is not typically assumed ; in other words , fiction is not expected to present only characters who are actual people or descriptions that are factually true . The context of fiction is generally open to interpretation , due to fiction ' s freedom from any necessary embedding in reality ; however , some fictional works are claimed to be , or marketed as , historically or factually accurate , complicating the traditional distinction between fiction and non - fiction . ___MASK79___ is a ___MASK95___ or category , rather than a specific mode or genre , unless used in a narrower sense as a synonym for a particular literary fiction form . Poseidonis is an imagined last remnant of the lost ___MASK100___ of Atlantis , detailed in a series of short stories by Clark Ashton Smith . Smith based Poseidonis on Theosophical scriptures about Atlantis , ( such as " Secret Doctrine " by Helena Blavatsky ) and his concept of " the last isle of foundering Atlantis " is echoed by the Isle of Meneltarma in J . R . R . Tolkien ' s legendarium . Robert Ervin Howard ( ___MASK8___ 22 , 1906  ___MASK39___ 11 , 1936 ) was an American author who wrote pulp ___MASK79___ in a diverse range of genres . He is well known for his character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre . ___MASK50___ and sorcery ( S & S ) is a subgenre of fantasy generally characterized by ___MASK50___ - wielding ___MASK75___ engaged in exciting and violent conflicts . An element of ___MASK84___ is often present , as is an element of magic and the supernatural . Unlike works of high fantasy , the tales , though dramatic , focus mainly on personal battles rather than world - endangering matters . ___MASK50___ and sorcery commonly overlaps with heroic fantasy . `` The Stone of the Witch Queen '' is a fantasy story written by L . Sprague de Camp as part of his Pusadian ___MASK21___ . It was first published in the magazine Weirdbook for fall 1977 . Chronologically , `` The Stone of the Witch Queen '' is the fifth of de Camp ' s Pusadian tales , and the third to ___MASK56___ his protagonist Gezun of Lorsk . A ___MASK19___ , or simply bio , is a detailed ___MASK91___ of a person ' s life . It involves more than just the basic facts like education , work , relationships , and death ; it portrays a person ' s experience of these life events . Unlike a profile or curriculum vitae ( résumé ), a ___MASK19___ presents a subject ' s life story , highlighting various aspects of his or her life , including intimate details of experience , and may include an analysis of the subject ' s personality . ___MASK72___ ( or ; from French " ___MASK72___ " , " kind " or " sort ", from Latin " ___MASK44___ " ( stem " gener -"), Greek  , " gés ") Non - ___MASK79___ or nonfiction is content ( sometimes , in the form of a story ) whose creator , in good faith , assumes responsibility for the truth or accuracy of the events , ___MASK4___ , and / or information presented . In contrast , a story whose creator explicitly leaves open if and how the work refers to reality is usually classified as ___MASK79___ . Nonfiction , which may be presented either objectively or subjectively , is traditionally one of the two main divisions of narratives ( and , specifically , ___MASK2___ writing ), the other traditional division being ___MASK79___ , which contrasts with nonfiction by dealing in information , events , and characters expected to be partly or largely imaginary . Fantasy is a ___MASK79___ ___MASK72___ set in an imaginary universe , often but not always without any locations , events , or people from the real world . Most fantasy uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element , theme , or setting . Magic and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds . Fantasy is generally distinguished from the genres of science ___MASK79___ and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of scientific and macabre themes , respectively , though there is a great deal of overlap between the three , all of which are subgenres of speculative ___MASK79___ . The Pusadian ___MASK21___ is a ___MASK40___ of fantasy stories by L . Sprague de Camp , begun in the early 1950s and written under the influence of Robert E . Howard ' s Conan stories . It is also known as the Poseidonis ___MASK21___ . It was the first post - Howard attempt at serious world - ___MASK60___ of a fantasy setting in the Howard vein , prefiguring the numerous sword and sorcery settings of the 1960s and 1970s .