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.
Astral projection is a term used in esotericism to describe an intentional out-of-body experience (OBE) that assumes the existence of a subtle body called an "astral body" through which consciousness can function separately from the physical body and travel throughout the astral plane.
The astral plane, also called the astral realm or the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical, medieval, oriental, and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions. It is the world of the celestial spheres, crossed by the soul in its astral body on the way to being born and after death, and is generally believed to be populated by angels, spirits or other immaterial beings. In the late 19th and early 20th century the term was popularised by Theosophy and neo-Rosicrucianism.
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.
Paladin of Souls is a 2003 fantasy novel by American writer Lois McMaster Bujold. It won the Hugo, Locus, and Nebula awards. It is a sequel to The Curse of Chalion, and takes place approximately three years later. The series that it is part of, World of the Five Gods, won the Hugo Award for Best Series in 2018.
The silver cord in metaphysical studies and literature, also known as the sutratma or life thread of the antahkarana, refers to a life-giving linkage from the higher self down to the physical body. It also refers to an extended synthesis of this thread and a second that connects the physical body to the etheric body, onwards to the astral body and finally to the mental body.
Solomon's Stone is a fantasy novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine Unknown Worlds in June 1942. It was reprinted in the Summer 1949 issue of the British edition of Unknown, and then published in book form by Avalon Books in 1957.
James Herbert "Herbie" Brennan is a lecturer and the author of over 100 fiction and non-fiction books for adults, teens, and children.
"The Stolen Body" is a science fiction short story by H. G. Wells that was originally published in The Strand Magazine ; collected in Twelve Stories and a Dream (1903) and Tales of the Unexpected (1924); reprinted in Weird Tales magazine and was later reprinted in many collections and anthologies.
"Nightmares" is the tenth episode of the first season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode's teleplay was written by David Greenwalt, with a story by Joss Whedon, and directed by Bruce Seth Green. The episode originally aired on May 12, 1997, attracting a Nielsen rating of 2.5. The episode is about the students at Sunnydale High beginning to experience aspects of their worst nightmares while awake, leading the Scooby Gang's investigation to a young boy with a secret. However, before they can get to the bottom of things, they must face their own nightmares, which are rapidly taking over reality.
The Dragon and the George is a 1976 fantasy novel by American writer Gordon R. Dickson, the first in his "Dragon Knight" series. A shorter form of the story was previously published as the short story, "St. Dragon and the George" in the September 1957 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
Jason Nahrung is an Australian horror author and journalist who lives in Melbourne with his partner Kirstyn McDermott. Nahrung has previously written for The Courier-Mail newspaper in Queensland, with a special interest in speculative fiction and horror-related topics. He was co-winner the 2005 William Atheling Jnr award for Criticism or Review. His first novel, The Darkness Within, was published in June 2007 by Hachette Livre in Australia. Nahrung has also published some horror and speculative fiction short stories.
Travels is a nonfiction book by Michael Crichton that details how he abandoned his medical education at Harvard Medical School, moved to Los Angeles, and began his professional writing career with The Great Train Robbery (1975). After this book became a movie starring Sean Connery, Crichton undertook a variety of international adventures and experimented with mysticism, including out-of-body experiences, astral projection, and fortune-telling. It is his fourth, final, and most famous non-fiction book.
Simulated reality is a common theme in science fiction. It should not be confused with the theme of virtual reality.
Stranger with My Face is a young adult horror novel by Lois Duncan, first published in 1981. The novel is about Laurie Stratton, who is seen by others in places she knows she could not be. She discovers that she has an identical sister named Lia who has been visiting her town using astral projection, which involves sending her soul outside her body. Laurie learns astral projection and uses it to look for her sister. During this time, Lia's spirit takes control of Laurie's body. The story describes Laurie's struggle to take back control of her body. The novel explores themes of appearance versus true self and the idea of a double, someone similar but not quite the same as someone else. Duncan got the idea for the book after hearing about the concept of astral projection, which she thought would make a great plot for a novel. In 2011, the novel was updated with text to modernize the content.
Transmigration is a science fiction book by Scottish writer J. T. McIntosh, published in 1970.
John Ulrich Giesy was an American physician, novelist and author. He was one of the early writers in the Sword and Planet genre, with his Jason Croft series. He collaborated with Junius B. Smith on many of his stories.
Palos of the Dog Star Pack is a science fiction novel by American writer John Ulrich Giesy. It was first published in book form in 1965 by Avalon Books. The novel was originally serialized in five parts in the magazine All-Story Weekly beginning in July 1918.
Jason, Son of Jason is a science fiction novel by American writer John Ulrich Giesy. It was first published in book form in 1966 by Avalon Books. The novel was originally serialized in five parts in the magazine Argosy All-Story beginning in April 1921.
When the World Shook is a novel by British writer H. Rider Haggard, published in 1919. It deals with the adventures of Bastin, Bickley, and Arbuthnot as they travel to the south sea island of Orofena.
