Lancer

Lancer is a U.S. publisher.

Lancer/Ace series: 1966-1971
Under the direction of L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, Lancer published the first comprehensive paperback series of Conan stories, which compiled the existing Robert E. Howard stories and pastiches together with new pastiches, within a timeline devised by de Camp to form a complete account of Conan's life.

Lancer went out of business about 1974 before publishing the final volume, 11th according to de Camp's chronology, which was subsequently published by Prestige (and which is included in the list above for completeness). Prestige reprinted all the other Lancer titles and, as Ace distributed (and subsequently reprinted) the Prestige editions, this series is often called the Lancer/Ace series. All featured cover art by Frank Frazetta, except Freebooter, Wanderer, Aquilonia and Isles which featured cover art by John Duillo (Lancer) or Boris Vallejo (Prestige/Ace).
 * 1) Conan (collection) &bull; Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp, and Lin Carter &bull; 1968
 * 2) Conan of Cimmeria (collection) &bull; Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp, and Lin Carter &bull; 1969
 * 3) Conan the Freebooter (collection) &bull; Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp &bull; 1968
 * 4) Conan the Wanderer (collection) &bull; Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp &bull; 1968
 * 5) Conan the Adventurer (collection) &bull; Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp &bull; 1966
 * 6) Conan the Buccaneer (novel) &bull; L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter &bull; 1971
 * 7) Conan the Warrior (collection) &bull; Robert E. Howard &bull; 1967
 * 8) Conan the Usurper (collection) &bull; Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp &bull; 1967
 * 9) Conan the Conqueror (novel) &bull; Robert E. Howard &bull; 1967
 * 10) Conan the Avenger (novel) &bull; Björn Nyberg and L. Sprague de Camp &bull; 1968
 * 11) Conan of Aquilonia (collection) &bull; L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter &bull; Prestige 1977
 * 12) Conan of the Isles (novel) &bull; L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter &bull; 1968

This series includes all the original Howard stories, including those left unpublished in his lifetime, and incorporates Howard's fragments and outlines. However, de Camp and Carter heavily edited much of the material, substantially rewriting some stories and completing stories that were not in finished form. They also rewrote several of Howard's non-Conan stories, mostly historical exotica situated in the Levant at the time of the Crusades, to turn them into Conan yarns. They also added their own wholly original pastiches.

Volumes 6, 10, 11 and 12 of the series don't contain a word by Howard. Of the thirty-five stories in the other eight volumes, nineteen were published or completed by Howard during his lifetime, but with an undetermined amount of new edits; ten are "collaborations" rewritten from other complete manuscripts or completed from his incomplete manuscripts, fragments or synopses; and six are the sole work of de Camp and Carter. Many purist Howard fans have taken exception to these editorial practices.