Poul Anderson began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. He also authored several works of fantasy, and a huge number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing.

For this story, in a time long ago when pulp magazines were on the wane, an author sometimes needed to tweak his story to fit the requirements of the issue. Here is a wonderful example. Planet Stories specialized in Sword and Planet stories so Anderson, writing under the pen name A. A. Craig - since another of his stories was also in the same issue - blends all the excitement readers of the magazine expected Witch of the Demon Seas while also using magic with a Science Fiction tilt.

Anderson includes Wizards, Witches, Monsters, Fish-people, blackmail, battles and scheming, all taking place on a faraway planet in this fast-paced and engaging tale. No wonder he was the winner of seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.