The Wizard of Lemuria
Cover art of the first edition. | |
Author | Lin Carter |
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Cover artist | Gray Morrow |
Language | English |
Series | Thongor series |
Genre | Fantay |
Publisher | Ace Books |
Publication date | 1965 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (Paperback) |
Preceded by | Young Thongor |
Followed by | Thongor of Lemuria |
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.[1] The novel was also adapted into comic form, appearing in eight issues of Marvel's Creatures on the Loose.
Plot and storyline
The tale of Thongor of Valkarth, barbarian warrior in the prehistoric continent of Lemuria, who becomes humanity's champion in their pivotal struggle against the Dragon Kings who had previously dominated the world. As the serpent men devise a plan in restoring their empire, all that stands in their way are the courage of Thongor, his comrades, and the magic of the wizard Sharajsha.
Setting
The Thongor series is Carter's prime entry in the Sword & Sorcery genre, serving as a tribute for both the Conan series by Robert E. Howard and the Barsoom novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs. He pictures the lost continent of Lemuria as a prehistoric kingdom located in the Pacific Ocean during the ice age, where Mesozoic wildlife persisted after a cataclysm wiped them out from the rest of the world. An intelligent race of reptilian humanoids, which evolved from dinosaurs, once reigned supreme over Lemuria in a vast empire, before being driven off by barbarian tribes who invaded the continent via a land bridge. Culturally, Lemuria is a mixture of civilization and barbarism. However, the human inhabitants have advanced beyond a Bronze Age level, boasting magic-based technology which even includes flying machines. The Thongor series relate the struggle of the titular protagonist as he unites the various tribes into a single army and complete his overthrow of the "dragon kings".
Reception
Robert M. Price writes "[t]he Lemurian books pulse with a color and vitality that we miss in many of Lin Carter's later works. ... Yet to his relative inexperience we may also lay the blame for certain inconsistencies and failures to reckon with the implications of what he has written." Among these he notes "Thongor eating dates from the East as if he were in Europe" and "hail[ing] from [Lemuria's] wintry North," when, with the continent "south of the Equator, it would get hotter the further north you went!"[2]
The novel was also reviewed separately by Archie Mercer and Harry Harrison in Amra v. 2, no. 36, September 1965, J. Cawthorn in New Worlds SF, February 1966, Charlie Brown in Locus no. 44, December 17, 1969, and Richard P. Brisson in Sword & Fantasy no. 8, October 2006.[1]
References
- ^ a b The Wizard of Lemuria title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- ^ Price, Robert M. "Thongor's Saga." Chapter in Lin Carter: A Look Behind His Imaginary Worlds. Mercer Island, WA, Starmont House, Inc., 1991, pages 13-22.
- v
- t
- e
- Jandar of Callisto (1972)
- Black Legion of Callisto (1972)
- Sky Pirates of Callisto (1973)
- Mad Empress of Callisto (1975)
- Mind Wizards of Callisto (1975)
- Lankar of Callisto (1975)
- Ylana of Callisto (1977)
- Renegade of Callisto (1978)
- Under the Green Star (1972)
- When the Green Star Calls (1973)
- By the Light of the Green Star (1974)
- As the Green Star Rises (1975)
- In the Green Star's Glow (1976)
- The Flame of Iridar (1967)
- "The Martian El Dorado of Parker Wintley" (1976)
- The Valley Where Time Stood Still (1974)
- The City Outside the World (1977)
- Down to a Sunless Sea (1984)
- The Man Who Loved Mars (1973)
- The Nemesis of Evil (1975)
- Invisible Death (1975)
- The Volcano Ogre (1976)
- The Earth-Shaker (1982)
- Horror Wears Blue (1987)
- Journey to the Underground World (1979)
- Zanthodon (1980)
- Hurok of the Stone Age (1981)
- Darya of the Bronze Age (1981)
- Eric of Zanthodon (1982)
- The Wizard of Lemuria (1965/69)
- Thongor and the Dragon City (1966/70)
- Thongor Against the Gods (1967)
- Thongor in the City of Magicians (1968)
- Thongor at the End of Time (1968)
- Thongor Fights the Pirates of Tarakus (1970)
- Young Thongor (2012)
- The Sword of Thongor (Robert M. Price) (2016)
Novels |
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Short works |
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Collections |
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- "Exile of Atlantis" (1967)
- King Kull (1967)
- The Warrior of World's End (1974)
- The Enchantress of World's End (1975)
- The Immortal of World's End (1976)
- The Barbarian of World's End (1977)
- The Pirate of World's End (1978)
- Giant of World's End (1969)
- Kesrick (1982)
- Dragonrouge (1984)
- Mandricardo (1987)
- Callipygia (1988)
- The Quest of Kadji (1971)
- The Wizard of Zao (1978)
- Kellory the Warlock (1984)
- Tara of the Twilight (1979)
- The Tired Tailor of Oz (2001)
- The Merry Mountaineer of Oz (2004)
- Beyond the Gates of Dream (1969)
- Lost Worlds (1980)
- The Xothic Legend Cycle: The Complete Mythos Fiction of Lin Carter (1997)
- Lin Carter's Simrana Cycle (2018)
edited
BAFS and Doubleday anthologies |
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Flashing Swords! |
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Year's Best Fantasy |
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Weird Tales |
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Other |
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- Tolkien: A Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings" (1969)
- Lovecraft: A Look Behind the "Cthulhu Mythos" (1972)
- Imaginary Worlds (1973)
- Sandalwood and Jade (1951)
- Galleon of Dream (1953)
- Letter to Judith (1959)
- Dreams from R'lyeh (1975)