Book Haul/Spotlight: Dwellers in the Mirage and The Ship of Ishtar By A. Merritt
have been adding many new books to my collection recently. My interest in reading has shifted to older books and authors. So I thought instead of just a simple book haul post I would do more of a spotlight/introduction post as well. So in the post below you will not only find the usual book haul photo’s, but book and author info as well. I hope you will take the time to look it over and maybe take a chance at checking out books and authors that you may have forgot about or discover in these post!
Today we have:
Dwellers in the Mirage, PB Avon edition (1967)
and
The Ship of Ishtar, PB Avon edition (1966)
By A. Merritt
Dwellers in the Mirage, PB Avon edition (1967)
By A. Merritt
Leif Langdon was suddenly ripped from the 20th century and plunged into the ancient world of The Mirage. But his entrance into this awesome land awakened the slumbering Dwayanu, who in this strange incarnation was also Leif. Thus two-men-in-one battle with the beautiful witch-woman Lur and the ethereal beauty Evalie for the glory of the Mirage.
The Ship of Ishtar, PB Avon edition (1966)
By A. Merritt
The archaeologist hero, Kenton, receives a mysterious ancient Babylonian artifact, which he discovers contains an incredibly detailed model of a ship. A dizzy spell casts Kenton onto the deck of the ship, which becomes a full-sized vessel sailing an eternal sea. At one end is Sharane the assistant priestess of Ishtar and her female minions, and at the other is Klaneth the assistant priest of Nergal and his male minions, representatives of two opposed deities. None of them can cross an invisible barrier at the midline of the ship, but Kenton can. His arrival destabilizes a situation that had been frozen for 6,000 years, and fantastic adventures ensue.
Abraham Grace Merritt was born on January 20, 1884 in Beverly, New Jersey. He was originally steered towards a career in law but this later diverted to journalism. It was an industry where he would excel. Eventually he would edit The American Weekly but even from his early years he was remarkably well paid. Merritt was also an avid hobbyist and loved to make collections of his interests and, of course, also found time to write. As a writer Merritt was undeniably pulp fiction and heavily into supernatural. He first published in 1917 with Through the Dragon Glass. Many short stories followed including novels that were published whole as well as serialized. His stories would typically take on board the conventional pulp magazine themes: lost civilizations, hideous monsters and their ilk. His heroes were almost always brave, adventurous Irishmen or Scandinavians, whilst his villains were usually treacherous Germans or Russians and his heroines often virginal, mysterious and, of course, scantily clad. Many pulp fiction writers had a terse, spare style that never got in the way of plot but Merritt was more considered. His style was lush, florid and full of adjective laden detail. He was, in essence, a remarkable talent.