N7: The Fallible Fiend by L. Sprague de Camp

Book Review!

N7: The Fallible Fiend by L. Sprague de Camp

Gary Gygax specifically recommended L. Sprague de Camp’s novel The Fallible Fiend. In reading this tale, I clearly see the influence of the work as it gives the first-person point of view of a fiend named Zdim summoned to serve a wizard on the prime material plane on a contract with a one year term. The story develops with the contract sold to someone else, as the chapters detail Zdim serving different masters and getting caught up in the problems of the local town. I read the 152-page paperback with copyright years of 1972, 1973, and 1981.

The Good

*The author delivers the story from a fun, interesting point of view with Zdim providing “outsider” commentary on the humans.

*The fantasy names sound realistic for the setting.

*Zdim came across as a sympathetic protagonist despite his fiendish identity.

The Bad

*MILD SPOILERS: Just as I began to like the wizard’s apprentice, he *ahem* died; unfortunately, I saw that coming since the back cover of the book gave away that spoiler.

D&D Connections & Inspirations

*The setting felt very much like a D&D world; in fact, I easily see Gygax reading this story and modeling a setting after the characters and situations within the book’s pages.

*I know some modern realists complain about the leather armor in D&D, but this book gives an example in fantasy context with the town’s defenders using boiled leather for headpiece and cuirass.

*The fiend in this story came across as dragon-like, even called a dragon-man; I always wondered about Tiamat reigning as one of the fiend-lords of the 9 Hells and the original concept connecting dragons/lizardkin with the fiends. This story at least provides some insight for why the evil leader of dragons rested in the fiend-spectrum in old D&D lore.
*The governments operated as city-states, likely inspiring the early D&D settings.

Overall

I give the work a 8/10 rating because of its unique point of view and captivating evolving story structure.