Background
The novel is a high fantasy, and Carter's preface characterized it as showing influences from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and C. S. Lewis's Narnia series, which he presumed Chant had "read carefully" before beginning her tale. In an afterword to the third Vandarei book, When Voiha Wakes , Chant explained in detail the origins of Vandarei and the Kendreth stories, specifying that she had been reading folklore and mythology since childhood and that Vandarei was a "playworld":
"... it began as a playworld, the sort that a lot of children have, and I was of course the Queen, the character about whom I created the adventures. But I had the disposition of a pedant. I didn't really want to pretend: I wanted to know, to be sure, to get it right. So even in its childish form this playworld tended to become concise, factual. As I grew older, horses became a passion and the playworld developed into 'Equitania'—the horse motif strengthening. During this time the history of the country itself assumed an importance and I began to actually write. At fifteen, however, the last links with 'Equitania' wavered and the name 'Vandarei' appeared. The Queen was abandoned and ceased to be an avatar of myself, becoming a character whom I manipulated, but with whom I no longer especially identified." [2]
Linwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft and Grail Undwin. He is best known for his work in the 1970s as editor of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, which introduced readers to many overlooked classics of the fantasy genre.
Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains part of that company.
Ian Keith Ballantine was an American publisher who founded and published the paperback line of Ballantine Books from 1952 to 1974 with his wife, Betty Ballantine. The Ballantines were both inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2008, with a shared citation.
The Ballantine Adult Fantasy series was an imprint of American publisher Ballantine Books. Launched in 1969, the series reissued a number of works of fantasy literature which were out of print or dispersed in back issues of pulp magazines, in cheap paperback form—including works by authors such as James Branch Cabell, Lord Dunsany, Ernest Bramah, Hope Mirrlees, and William Morris. The series lasted until 1974.
Joy Chant is a British fantasy writer. She is best known for the three House of Kendreth novels, published 1970 to 1983. Her legal name is Eileen Joyce Rutter.
Conan of Aquilonia is a collection of four linked fantasy short stories by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. The stories were originally published in Fantastic in August 1972, July 1973, July 1974, and February 1975. The collected stories were intended for book publication by Lancer Books, but this edition never appeared due to Lancer's bankruptcy, and the first book edition was issued in paperback by Ace Books in paperback in May 1977. It was reprinted by Ace in July 1981, April 1982, November 1982, August 1983, July 1984, 1986, June 1991, and April 1994. The first British edition was published by Sphere Books in October 1978, and reprinted in July 1988. The book has also been translated into French.
Tolkien: A Look Behind The Lord of the Rings, alternatively subtitled A joyous exploration of Tolkien's classic trilogy and of the glorious tradition from which it grew is a 1969 non-scholarly study of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien by the science fiction author Lin Carter. The original version of the book was among the earliest full-length critical works devoted to Tolkien's fantasies, and the first to attempt to set his writings in the context of the history of fantasy.
Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy I is an anthology of fantasy novellas, edited by American writer Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by Ballantine Books in September, 1972 as the fifty-second volume of its Ballantine Adult Fantasy series. It was the eighth such anthology assembled by Carter for the series.
Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy Volume II is an anthology of fantasy novellas, edited by American writer Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by Ballantine Books in March, 1973 as the fifty-sixth volume of its Ballantine Adult Fantasy series. It was the ninth such anthology assembled by Carter for the series.
Zothique is a collection of fantasy short stories by Clark Ashton Smith, edited by Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by Ballantine Books as the sixteenth volume of its Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in June 1970. It was the first themed collection of Smith's works assembled by Carter for the series. The stories were originally published in various fantasy magazines in the 1930s, notably Weird Tales.
At the Edge of the World is a collection of fantasy short stories by Irish writer Lord Dunsany, edited by Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by Ballantine Books as the thirteenth volume of its Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in March 1970. It was the series' second Dunsany volume, and the first collection of his shorter fantasies assembled by Carter.
Imaginary Worlds: the Art of Fantasy is a study of the modern literary fantasy genre written by Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by Ballantine Books in June, 1973 as the fifty-eighth volume of its Ballantine Adult Fantasy series; it was the only nonfiction entry in the series. The book was among the earliest full-length critical works devoted to fantasy writers and the history of fantasy. It was the third of three such studies by Carter, being preceded by Tolkien: A Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings" (1969) and Lovecraft: A Look Behind the "Cthulhu Mythos" (1972). These works, together with his editorial guidance of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, established Carter as an authority on the genre.
The Sundering Flood is a fantasy novel by British writer William Morris, perhaps the first modern fantasy writer to unite an imaginary world with the element of the supernatural, and thus the precursor of much of present-day fantasy literature. The Sundering Flood was Morris' last work of fiction, completed only in rough draft, with the ending dictated from his deathbed. It was edited posthumously by his daughter May into finished form for publication and published in 1897.
Conan the Barbarian is a fantasy novel written by Michael A. Stackpole featuring Robert E. Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero of the same name, a novelization of the feature film of the same name. It was first published in paperback by Berkley Books in 2011. An earlier novel of the same name by L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter and Catherine Crook de Camp, based on the original film of which the 2011 version was a remake, was published by Bantam Books in 1982.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a fantasy-adventure children's novel inspired by Chinese folklore. It was written and illustrated by Grace Lin and published in 2009. The novel received a 2010 Newbery Honor and the 2010 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature. It has been translated into Chinese, French, Hebrew, Romanian, Korean and Slovene.
This is an incomplete list of works by American space opera and science fiction author Frederik Pohl, including co-authored works.
Bibliography of science fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction writer Lin Carter:
When Voiha Wakes is a novel by Joy Chant published in 1983. It is the third book in the House of Kendreth series, following Red Moon and Black Mountain (1970), and The Grey Mane of Morning (1977).
