Plot summary
Kashtar, ruler of the pirate city-state of Tarakus, joins forces with a wizard who has dabbled in the forbidden secrets of lost Nianga, among them, a ray that causes madness--"the Gray Death," as it is known to its victims. With it, Kashtar hopes to conquer all Lemuria, and incidentally escape having his realm absorbed into the growing empire of Patanga, ruled by the upstart barbarian conqueror Thongor.
After Kashtar takes the best ship in Patanga's fleet and captures Thongor's old friend Karm Karvus, Thongor determines to free him and gain intelligence by sneaking into Tarakus. Posing as a crewman of Barim Redbeard, the pirate captain who helped his son escape Kashtar in the previous volume, he suits deed to word, only to be separated from his allies before he can reach his goal. He has to continue on to his goal on his own.
As Thongor approaches the city, he meets Karm Karvus, who has escaped on his own along with an imprisoned princess, and learns the pirate invasion fleet has set out for Patanga. Fortunately, they are able to link up again with Barim's ship and infiltrate the fleet as originally intended. Taking the ship bearing the death ray, they turn it on the enemy's own vessels. Once Tarakus is defeated in battle, it is annexed to Thongor's empire.
The book includes a frontispiece map by the author of part of Lemuria and concludes with an "Author's Note."
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.
The Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America or SAGA was an informal group of American fantasy authors active from the 1960s through the 1980s, noted for their contributions to the "Sword and Sorcery" kind of heroic fantasy, itself a subgenre of fantasy. When it developed a serious purpose that was to promote the popularity and respectability of Sword and Sorcery fiction.
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.
Thongor of Lemuria is a fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the second book of his Thongor series set on the mythical continent of Lemuria. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in 1966. The author afterwards revised and expanded the text, in which form it was reissued as Thongor and the Dragon City, first published in paperback by Berkley Books in 1970. This retitled and revised edition became the standard edition for later reprintings.
The Wizard of Lemuria is a fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the first book of his Thongor series set on the fictional ancient lost continent of Lemuria. The author's first published novel, it was initially issued in paperback by Ace Books in 1965. The author afterwards revised and expanded the text, in which form it was reissued as Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria, first published in paperback by Berkley Books in 1969. This retitled and revised edition became the standard edition for later reprintings. The novel was also adapted into comic form, appearing in eight issues of Marvel's Creatures on the Loose.
Renegade of Callisto is a science fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the eighth and last in his Callisto series. It was first published in paperback by Dell Books in August 1978, and reprinted once, in November of the same year. A tribute to Edgar Rice Burroughs's The Chessmen of Mars, the book introduces the game of Darza, Carter's equivalent of Jetan. An appendix details the rules.
Mind Wizards of Callisto is a science fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the fifth in his Callisto series. It was first published in paperback by Dell Books in March 1975. It includes a map by the author.
"The Gem in the Tower" is a short story by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. It is a rewritten version of "Black Moonlight", an earlier story by Carter alone featuring his own sword and sorcery character Thongor. The Conan version was first published by Bantam Books in the paperback collection Conan the Swordsman in August 1978, and was reprinted in the anthology The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 5 and later editions of Conan the Swordsman. The collection was later gathered together with Conan the Liberator and Conan and the Spider God into the omnibus collection Sagas of Conan. The story has also been translated into Italian and French.
Young Thongor is a collection of fantasy short stories by American writer Lin Carter, with additional material by Robert M. Price, edited and with a foreword by Adrian Cole. It was first published in trade paperback by Wildside Press in May, 2012. Most of the pieces were first published in magazines, anthologies or other books by Carter; the remaining pieces are original to the present work.
The Warrior of World's End is a 1974 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, then 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.
Giant of World's End is a fantasy novel written by 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 last in Carter's Gondwane Epic, five prequel novels set earlier in time being issued later. It was first published in paperback by Belmont Books in February 1969. The first British edition was issued in paperback by Five Star in 1972. The book has been translated into Polish.
Thongor is a character in a series of sword-and-sorcery novels and stories written by Lin Carter, stylized after Conan the Barbarian and set in ancient Lemuria. The character was picked up by Marvel Comics in the 1970s for its series Creatures on the Loose which saw some of Carter's stories adapted, as well as the author himself contributing to later issues.
The Sword of Thongor is a collection of fantasy short stories by American writer Robert M. Price, featuring Lin Carter's sword and sorcery hero Thongor of Valkarth. It was first published in trade paperback by Surinam Turtle Press in September 2016. Some of the pieces were originally published in magazines, the author's website, or the collection Young Thongor ; the remaining pieces are original to the present work.
The Volcano Ogre is a science fiction novel by American writer 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.
Thongor Against the Gods is a fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the third book of his Thongor series set on the mythical continent of Lemuria. It was first published in paperback by Paperback Library in November 1967, and reissued by Warner Books in August 1979. The first British edition was published in paperback by Tandem in 1970, and reprinted in March 1973. An ebook edition was issued by Wildside Press in July 2015. The book has been translated into Japanese and French.
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.
Thongor at the End of Time is a fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the fifth book of his Thongor series set on the mythical continent of Lemuria. It was first published in paperback by Paperback Library in October 1968, and reissued by Warner Books in December 1978. The first British edition was published in paperback by Tandem in July 1970, and reprinted in March 1973. The book has been translated into Japanese and French.
Bibliography of science fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction writer Lin Carter:
The Flame of Iridar is a science fantasy novella by American writer Lin Carter set on an ancient, inhabited Mars. It was first published in paperback by Belmont Books in May 1967 together with the unrelated Kris Neville novella Peril of the Starmen as the "Belmont Double" anthology, The Flame of Iridar/Peril of the Starmen. The anthology was reissued in trade paperback by Wildside Press in August 2018. A chapbook of the Carter work alone, constituting its first stand-alone edition, was published by Sabre Press in 2019. The first British edition was issued in ebook by Gateway/Orion in January 2020.
