โ Scribed by Merritt, A.
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
John Kenton, WWI vet and archaeologist, gets a stone
block from Babylon from a friend. Unbeknownst to both, the block
contains the model of golden ship. Soon, Kenton finds himself
transported to the ship the model represents, sailing the seas of an
alien world and taking part in the agless battle between two Babylonian
gods, Ishtar and Nergal. Can he win over the priestess of Ishtar and
free the ship from Nergal's influence?
The Ship of Ishtar is way ahead of its time. The style is more akin to
modern fantasy than that of its contemporaries, like Howard and
Lovecraft. The easy reading and exciting story makes it a fun read. John
Kenton goes from being an academic to being a musclebound warrior after
spending time in the slave pits aboard the Ship of Ishtar. While
Klaneth is a bit over the top in his villainy, Kenton's allies aboard
the ship are well developed, from the Viking Sigurd, to Gigi and Zubran,
the crew members who join forces with him to rid the ship of Klaneth.
Several of Merritt's works have sometimes been cited as possible influences for the hit ABC television series Lost. Several fan websites have noted striking similarities between Merritt's work, The Moon Pool, and the plot of the ABC drama. Thus far, the creators have not commented concerning the similarities or possible references.
Merritt was influential upon the science fiction and fantasy world primarily through the imaginative power he displayed in the creation of desirable alternative worlds and realities. He was extremely popular during his life, and even had a pulp magazine named after him. The escapist yearning for otherness and mystery that he expressed has seldom been conveyed in science fiction with such an emotional charge.
The Ship of Ishtar, a universally hailed classic of the fantasy novel by A. Merritt. Abraham Grace Merritt (January 20, 1884-August 21, 1943) - known by his byline, A. Merritt - was an American editor and author of works of fantastic fiction. Merritt's writings were heavily influenced by H. Rider Haggard and Gertrude Barrows Bennett (writing as Francis Stevens), with Merritt having "emulated Bennett's earlier style and themes." Merritt's stories typically revolve around conventional pulp magazine themes: lost civilizations, hideous monsters, etc. His heroes are gallant Irishmen or Scandinavians, his villains treacherous Germans or Russians (in accordance with the politics of the time) and his heroines often virginal, mysterious and scantily clad. What sets Merritt apart from the typical pulp author, however, is his lush, florid prose style and his exhaustive, at times exhausting, penchant for adjective-laden detail. Merritt's fondness for micro-description nicely complements the pointillistic style of Bok's illustrations, and often serves to highlight and radicalize the inherent fetishistic tendencies of pulp Sci Fi.
๐ SIMILAR VOLUMES