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The Green Star Series is a set of five science fantasy novels written by American writer Lin Carter, published by DAW Books, from 1972 to 1976. In these novels, the concept of soul-projection (introduced by Edgar Rice Burroughs in his John Carter series) is central. The series is written from the viewpoint of an anonymous, rich, crippled 30-year-old who seeks adventure—and finds it on a planet revolving around a green star.
An anonymous, rich, crippled American gets books from the Tibetan monastery at Qanguptoy, from which he learns the art of soul projection. Longing for an adventure, and restricted by his earthly body, he looks at the sky one night and sees a green star (referred to later as The Green Star) and projects his soul to a cloud-covered planet revolving around it. The texts of the five volumes of the series are ostensibly transcripts of first-person narratives by the anonymous author recounting his adventures: the first after he took the (preserved) body of Chong The Mighty, and returned to earth after Chong was killed by a brigand; the rest, in his second incarnation as Karn The Hunter (where the author had taken over Karn's just-dead body). Through a bequest, these come into the hands of Lin Carter, who "edits" them for publication.
The surface of the planet revolving about The Green Star is largely covered by a tropical forest of multi-mile-high trees in whose tops are the main cities including Phaolon, Ardha and Kamadhong. The human inhabitants of these arboreal cities, known as Laonese, use large moths (dhua) to draw carriages, and dragonflies (zaiphs) for individual transport. Other (than Laonese) races of humans include:
The planet is closer to The Green Star than the earth is to the sun; it is protected from being seared by a thick, almost unbroken cloud-cover. However, the cloud-cover does not protect the planet from tidal effects (observable in the Sea of Komar).
In all of the novels, it is assumed (by the author) that humans retain terrestrial size; he confesses at two points in the series that he does not know if this is the case, or if humans are miniaturised with other creatures retaining terrestrial size (in one of the two places, he believes this may make more sense).
John Carter of Mars is a fictional Virginian soldier who acts as the initial protagonist of the Barsoom stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs. A veteran of the American Civil War, he is transported to a fantastical realm called Barsoom, located on Mars, where he becomes a warrior battling various mythological beasts, alien armies and malevolent foes. First created in 1911, the character has appeared in novels and short stories, comic books, television shows and films, including the 2012 feature film John Carter, which marked the 100th anniversary of the character's first appearance.
Planet of Adventure is a series of four science fiction novels by Jack Vance, published between 1968 and 1970. The novels relate the adventures of the scout Adam Reith, the sole survivor of an Earth ship investigating a signal from the distant planet Tschai.
A Princess of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first of his Barsoom series. It was first serialized in the pulp magazine All-Story Magazine from February–July, 1912. Full of swordplay and daring feats, the novel is considered a classic example of 20th-century pulp fiction. It is also a seminal instance of the planetary romance, a subgenre of science fantasy that became highly popular in the decades following its publication. Its early chapters also contain elements of the Western. The story is set on Mars, imagined as a dying planet with a harsh desert environment. This vision of Mars was based on the work of the astronomer Percival Lowell, whose ideas were widely popularized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Planetary romance is a subgenre of science fiction in which the bulk of the action consists of adventures on one or more exotic alien planets, characterized by distinctive physical and cultural backgrounds. Some planetary romances take place against the background of a future culture where travel between worlds by spaceship is commonplace; others, particularly the earliest examples of the genre, do not, and invoke flying carpets, astral projection, or other methods of getting between planets. In either case, it is the planetside adventures which are the focus of the story, not the mode of travel.
Works of fiction about the planet Venus have been written since before the 19th century. Its impenetrable cloud cover gave science fiction writers free rein to speculate on conditions at its surface; the planet was often depicted as warmer but still habitable by humans. Depictions of Venus as a lush, verdant paradise, an oceanic planet, or fetid swampland, often inhabited by dinosaur-like monsters, became common in early pulp science fiction, particularly between the 1930s and 1950s, when science had revealed some aspects of Venus but not yet the harsh nature of its surface conditions. Some other stories portrayed it as a desert, or invented more exotic settings. When portrayed, the native sentient inhabitants, Venusians, were generally portrayed as gentle, ethereal and beautiful. Overall, Venus was considered to have much less of an established setting than its sister planet, Mars.
Sword and planet is a subgenre of science fantasy that features rousing adventure stories set on other planets, and usually featuring humans as protagonists. The name derives from the heroes of the genre engaging their adversaries in hand-to-hand combat primarily with simple melée weapons such as swords, even in a setting that often has advanced technology. Although there are works that herald the genre, such as Percy Greg's Across the Zodiac (1880) and Edwin Lester Arnold's Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation, the prototype for the genre is A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs originally serialized by All-Story in 1912 as "Under the Moons of Mars".
The Shadow Out of Time is a novella by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written between November 1934 and February 1935, it was first published in the June 1936 issue of Astounding Stories. The story describes time and space travel by mind transfer. The premise is that a person in a given place and time can switch bodies with someone who is elsewhere or elsewhen. Other writers have re-used this concept in later works, such as drinking tea from Red Forest leaves in the television series 12 Monkeys and long-range communication stones in the Stargate SG-1 television series. As with other Lovecraftian works, this story features otherworldy alien beings that are not simply variations on humans or other familiar terrestrial animals.
The Chessmen of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fifth of his Barsoom series. Burroughs began writing it in January, 1921, and the finished story was first published in Argosy All-Story Weekly as a six-part serial in the issues for February 18 and 25 and March 4, 11, 18 and 25, 1922. It was later published as a complete novel by A. C. McClurg in November 1922.
The Callisto series is a sequence of eight science fiction novels by Lin Carter, of the sword and planet subgenre, first published by Dell Books from 1972-1978. They were written in homage to the Barsoom and Amtor novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Under the Green Star is a science fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter. Published by DAW Books in 1972, it is the first novel in his Green Star Series.
When the Green Star Calls is a science fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter. Published by DAW Books in 1973, it is the second novel in his Green Star Series, starting after the first novel, Under the Green Star, finished.
By the Light of the Green Star is a science fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter. Published by DAW Books in 1974, it is the third novel in his Green Star Series. In this installment, other races of Green Star planet humans are introduced.
As the Green Star Rises is a science fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter. Published in 1976, it is the fourth, and penultimate, novel in his Green Star series, continuing from By the Light of the Green Star.
In the Green Star's Glow is a science fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the final book in his Green Star Series. It was published in 1976.
Barsoom is a fictional representation of the planet Mars created by American pulp fiction author Edgar Rice Burroughs. The first Barsoom tale was serialized as Under the Moons of Mars in 1912 and published as a novel as A Princess of Mars in 1917. Ten sequels followed over the next three decades, further extending his vision of Barsoom and adding other characters.
The Warrior of World's End is a fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, set on a decadent far-future Earth in which all the world's land masses have supposedly drifted back together to form a last supercontinent called Gondwane. The book is chronologically the first in Carter's Gondwane Epic. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in November 1974, and reprinted twice through November 1978. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in January 2001. The book includes a map by the author of the portion of Gondwane in which its story is set.
Alien Nation is an American science fiction media franchise created by Rockne S. O'Bannon, comprising film, television, and other media productions about alien refugees living on Earth. The series began with the 1988 film Alien Nation, which was adapted into a Fox Network television series of the same name in 1989. Fox cancelled the series abruptly after one season, but continued the story in five TV movies. The series also produced other media and merchandising tie-ins, including novels and comics. Aside from the sci-fi angle, the franchise fits into many different genres including drama, police procedural and buddy cop.
Dragonrouge: Further Adventures in Terra Magica is a fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the second in his series about the fictional "Flat Earth" of Terra Magica. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in December 1984. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in 2001, with an ebook edition following from Gateway/Orion in February 2020.
Mandricardo : New Adventures in Terra Magica is a fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the third in his series about the fictional "Flat Earth" of Terra Magica. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in January 1987. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in 2001, with an ebook edition following from Gateway/Orion in March 2020.