Reception
Robert M. Price characterizes the Zarkon series as "five delightful novels ... Lin Carter's loving homage to Doc Savage and his creator Lester Dent." They celebrate "'the gloriously fourth-rate,' the pulps, radio, comics, and movies he loved as a kid." He notes that "[t]he novels manage quite successfully to walk the tightrope between salute and parody," and "the humor never seems to impede or undermine the action." While "[i]t is not difficult to pick out a flaw here and there" and the series is "not entirely free from Carter's later-career sloppiness ... on the whole these books are vastly superior to much of what else he was writing during the same period. The Zarkon novels all command a crisp, snappy prose, sometimes reminiscent of Lester Dent's." [2]
Marguerite Burgess in Library Journal writes "You want this spoof of the Doc Savage stories to work, but sadly it does not." Calling it a "comic book sans pictures," she rates it as "[n]ot recommended for library purchase" though without utterly dismissing it. "There is a place for this undemanding, basically good-humored genre: the newsstand." [3]
The book was also reviewed by Don Yee in The Science Fiction Review, August 1975, James K. Burk in Delap's F & SF Review, October 1975, and Algis Budrys in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction , March 1976. [1]
Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a doctor, scientist, adventurer, detective, and polymath who "rights wrongs and punishes evildoers." He was created by publisher Henry W. Ralston and editor John L. Nanovic at Street & Smith Publications, with additional material contributed by the series' main writer, Lester Dent. Doc Savage stories were published under the Kenneth Robeson name. The illustrations were by Walter Baumhofer, Paul Orban, Emery Clarke, Modest Stein, and Robert G. Harris.
Lester Dent was an American pulp-fiction writer, best known as the creator and main writer of the series of novels about the scientist and adventurer Doc Savage. The 159 Doc Savage novels that Dent wrote over 16 years were credited to the house name Kenneth Robeson.
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.
William Gibson Bogart was an American pulp fiction writer. He is best known for writing several Doc Savage novels, under the pseudonym Kenneth Robeson.
Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze is a 1975 American action film starring Ron Ely as pulp hero Doc Savage. This was the last film completed by pioneering science fiction producer George Pal. It was directed by Michael Anderson, who had previously directed another big-budget adventure film, Around the World in 80 Days.
William Murray is an American novelist, journalist, short story, and comic book writer. Much of his fiction has been published under pseudonyms. With artist Steve Ditko, he co-created the superhero Squirrel Girl.
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.
The Man Who Loved Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the first in his Edgar Rice Burroughs- and Leigh Brackett-inspired series The Mysteries of Mars. It was first published in paperback by Fawcett Gold Medal in March 1973. The first British edition was published in hardcover by White Lion in August of the same year. It was reissued by Wildside Press in December 1999. The novel has also been translated into German.
The Valley Where Time Stood Still is a science fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the second in his Edgar Rice Burroughs- and Leigh Brackett-inspired series The Mysteries of Mars. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in December 1974 and in paperback by Popular Library in February 1976. It was reissued by Wildside Press in April 2008.
The Earth-Shaker is a science fiction novel by Lin Carter, the fourth in his "Zarkon, Lord of the Unknown" series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in July 1982. An ebook edition was issued by Thunderchild Publishing in November 2017.
Invisible Death is a science fiction novel by Lin Carter, the second his "Zarkon, Lord of the Unknown" series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in November 1975, with a paperback edition following from Popular Library in July 1978. It was reissued by Wildside Press in December 1999. An ebook edition was issued by Thunderchild Publishing in September 2017.
The Volcano Ogre is a science fiction novel by Lin Carter, the third his "Zarkon, Lord of the Unknown" series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1976, with a paperback edition following from Popular Library in November 1978. It was reissued by Wildside Press in 1999. An ebook edition was issued by Thunderchild Publishing in October 2017.
Horror Wears Blue is a science fiction novel by Lin Carter, the fifth and last in his "Zarkon, Lord of the Unknown" series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in November 1987. An ebook edition was issued by Thunderchild Publishing in December 2017.
Thongor in the City of Magicians is a fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the fourth book of his Thongor series set on the mythical continent of Lemuria. It was first published in paperback by Paperback Library in April 1968, and reissued by Warner Books in October 1979. The first British edition was published in paperback by Tandem in January 1970, and reprinted in March 1973. The book has been translated into Japanese and French.
The Enchantress of World's End is a fantasy 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 second in Carter's Gondwane Epic. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1975, and reprinted in May 1977. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in January 2001 and an ebook edition by Thunderchild Publishing in January 2019. The book includes a map by the author of the portion of Gondwane in which its story is set and "A Glossary of Unfamiliar Names and Terms" by the author.
The Immortal of World's End is a fantasy 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 third in Carter's Gondwane Epic. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in September 1976, and reprinted in May 1977. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in January 2001 and an ebook edition by Thunderchild Publishing in February 2019. The book includes a map of the portion of Gondwane in which its story is set and "A Glossary of Places Mentioned in the Text" by the author.
The Barbarian of World's End is a fantasy by American writer Lin Carter, set on a decadent far-future Earth in which all the world's landmasses have supposedly drifted back together to form a last supercontinent called Gondwane. The book is chronologically the fourth in Carter's Gondwane Epic. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1977. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in January 2001 and an ebook edition by Thunderchild Publishing in May 2019. The book includes a map of the portion of Gondwane in which its story is set and "A Glossary of Places Mentioned in the Text" by the author.
The Pirate of World's End is a fantasy 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 fifth in Carter's Gondwane Epic. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in October 1978. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in January 2001 and an ebook edition by Thunderchild Publishing in July 2019. The book includes "A Glossary of Places Mentioned in the Text" by the author.
