Lankar of Callisto is a science fiction novel written by Lin Carter, the sixth in his Callisto series. It was first published in paperback by Dell Books in June 1975.[1] It is noted for the author writing himself into the story.
Plot summary
Throughout the series, author Lin Carter has portrayed himself as the recipient and editor of the manuscripts of protagonist Jonathan Dark (Jandar), teleported from the Jovian moon Callisto (moon) (or Thanator, as its inhabitants call it) to the ruined Cambodian city of Arangkhôr. In this volume he finally travels to Cambodia, hoping to learn what became of Jandar after the conclusion of the last volume of his memoirs, Mind Wizards of Callisto. Once in Arangkhôr Carter accidentally falls into the well-like teleportation device himself, and is duly transported to the jungle moon as Jandar had been. A literal babe in the woods, he is hardly cut out to become an interplanetary hero; indeed, he spends much of his sojourn on Thanator mooning over its extraordinary sights like a tourist, likening them to wonders of which he has read or seen portrayed in various works of fantastic literature and art.
Fortunately, Carter is soon taken in hand by an othode, a forest creature with the personality of a faithful dog, which becomes his companion and protector against the local perils. It defends him against a Vastodon and later saves him from an immense spiderweb. Carter acquires another companion in the native boy Tarin, who had also been trapped in the web, and an abbreviated native-style name, "Lankar," which Tarin finds easier to pronounce. They subsequently encounter warriors from Shondakar, the kingdom of Jandar's love interest Princess Darloona, and join the expedition against the hidden city of Kuur, lair of the evil Mind Wizards who hold the hero captive. Carter's othode even manages to uncover the secret entry to the city, but Carter himself is caught and imprisoned with Jandar.
All comes out well, as they are rescued by Tarin and in a climatic battle the Mind Wizards are almost all killed. (One is later revealed to have escaped, to permit sequel possibilities.) At the end of the story Carter manages to catch the return beam to Earth, content to resume his role as redactor, rather than participant, in Jandar's adventures.
Reception
Den Valdron, assessing the series in ERBzine, calls the book "an odd novel, more travelogue than adventure, and Carter's constant references to other works of fiction are a bit annoying ... [and suggest] a painful lack of imagination." He finds the plot and action thin, and the author an inadequate action hero, nothing that "the 'dog' that adopts him does practically all the work." His ultimate judgment is that "Lankar of Callisto is frankly embarrassing to read, what with its endless references to others' works, the obvious self consciousness and 'tweeness' of the author, and the fact that just about everything interesting happens offstage and to other people. It's an interesting conceit, but sadly it fails."[2]
Notes
External links
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| | | | | The Mysteries of Mars |
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| Novels |
- The Flame of Iridar (1967)
- The Man Who Loved Mars (1973)
- The Valley Where Time Stood Still (1974)
- The City Outside the World (1977)
- Down to a Sunless Sea (1984)
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| Short works |
- "The Martian El Dorado of Parker Wintley" (1976)
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| | Zanthodon series |
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| Novels |
- Journey to the Underground World (1979)
- Zanthodon (1980)
- Hurok of the Stone Age (1981)
- Darya of the Bronze Age (1981)
- Eric of Zanthodon (1982)
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| | Zarkon series |
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| Novels |
- The Nemesis of Evil (1975)
- Invisible Death (1975)
- The Volcano Ogre (1976)
- The Earth-Shaker (1982)
- Horror Wears Blue (1987)
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| | Minor SF series |
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| Great Imperium |
- The Man Without a Planet (1966)
- Star Rogue (1970)
- Outworlder (1971)
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| Hautley Quicksilver |
- The Thief of Thoth (1968)
- The Purloined Planet (1969)
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| | Thongor series |
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| Novels | |
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| Short works |
- "Thieves of Zangabal" (1969)
- "Keeper of the Emerald Flame" (1970)
- "Black Hawk of Valkarth" (1974)
- "Diombar's Song of the Last Battle" (1975)
- "The City in the Jewel" (1975)
- "Black Moonlight" (1976)
- "Demon of the Snows" (1980)
- "The Creature in the Crypt" (2012)
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| Short works |
- "Exile of Atlantis" (1967)
- "Black Abyss" (1967)
- "Riders Beyond the Sunrise" (1967)
- "Wizard and Warrior" (1967)
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| | The Gondwane Epic |
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| Novels |
- 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)
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| | Terra Magica |
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| Novels |
- Kesrick (1982)
- Dragonrouge (1984)
- Mandricardo (1987)
- Callipygia (1988)
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| | The Chronicles of Kylix |
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| Novels | |
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| Short works |
- "Vault of Silence" (1970)
- "The Higher Heresies of Oolimar" (1973)
- "The Curious Custom of the Turjan Seraad" (1976)
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| | Tara of the Twilight |
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| Novels | |
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| Short works |
- "For the Blood is the Life" (1984)
- "The Love of the Sea" (1984)
- "Pale Shadow" (1985)
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| | Simrana the Dream World |
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| Short works |
- "The Gods of Niom Parma" (1966/70)
- "The Whelming of Oom" (1969)
- "Zingazar" (1971)
- "How Sargoth Lay Siege to Zaremm" (1972)
- "The Laughter of Han" (1982)
- "The Benevolence of Yib" (1987)
- "The Thievery of Yish" (1988)
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| Short works |
- "The Red Offering" (1997)
- "The Dweller in the Tomb" (1971)
- "The Thing in the Pit" (1980)
- "Out of the Ages" (1975)
- "The Horror in the Gallery" (1976/97)
- "The Winfield Heritance" (1981)
- "Perchance to Dream" (1988)
- "Strange Manuscript Found in the Vermont Woods" (1988)
- "Something in the Moonlight" (1980)
- "The Fishers from Outside" (1988)
- "Behind the Mask" (1987)
- "The Strange Doom of Enos Harker" (1989/2001)
- "The Bell in the Tower" (1989)
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| Collections | |
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| Short works |
- "The Tired Tailor of Oz" (2001)
- "The Awful Ogre of Ogodown" (2004)
- "High TImes on Tip Top Mountain" (2004)
- "The Wooden Soldier of Oz" (2004)
- "No Joy in Mudville" (2004)
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| Collections |
- The Merry Mountaineer of Oz (2004)
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| | Other speculative fiction |
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| Novels |
- The Star Magicians (1966)
- Destination: Saturn (1967)
- Tower at the Edge of Time (1968)
- Lost World of Time (1969)
- Tower of the Medusa (1969)
- The Black Star (1973)
- Time War (1974)
- Found Wanting (1985)
- The Black Pharaoh (2007)
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| Short works |
- "The Castle beyond the World" (1950)
- "Masters of the Metropolis" (1956) with Randall Garrett
- "The Slitherer from the Slime" (1958)
- "Uncollected Works" (1965)
- "Crown of Stars" (1966)
- "Owlstone" (1969)
- "Keru" (1969)
- "Harvey Hodges, Veebelfetzer" (1969)
- "Under the Eaves" (1969)
- "A Guide to the City" (1969)
- "Azlon" (1969)
- "The Mantichore" (1969)
- "The Seal of Zaon Sathla" (1970)
- "Shaggai" (1971)
- "The Sword of Power" (1971)
- "The Double Tower" (1973)
- "The Utmost Abomination" (1973)
- "The Scroll of Morloc" (1975)
- "In the Vale of Pnath" (1975)
- "The Tower of Time" (1975)
- "The Twelve Wizards of Ong" (1976)
- "People of the Dragon" (1976)
- "The Stairs in the Crypt" (1976)
- "The Pillars of Hell" (1977)
- "A Farmer on the Clyde" (1978)
- "Rhian and Garanhir" (1979)
- "Zurvan's Saint" (1980)
- "The World Beneath the World" (1980)
- "Dreams in the House of Weir" (1980)
- "The Descent Into the Abyss" (1980)
- "The Light From the Pole" (1980)
- "The Offering" (1982)
- "The Vengeance of Yig" (1983)
- "History & Chronology of the Book of Eibon" (1984)
- "The Necronomicon: Concerning Them from Outside" (1984)
- "Confessions of the Mad Monk Clithanus: The Incantation of the Elder Sign" (1984)
- "The Feaster from the Stars" (1984)
- "The Goblinry of Ais" (1985)
- "Geydelle's Protective" (1985)
- "The Acolyte of the Flame" (1985)
- "The Stone from Mnar" (1985)
- "Papyrus of the Dark Wisdom" (1988)
- "From the Archives of the Moon" (1988)
- "How Ghuth Would Have Hunted the Silth" (1988)
- "The Secret in the Parchment" (1988)
- "How Her Doom Came Down at Last on Adrazoon" (1988)
- "Black Stars in the Skulls of Doom" (1988)
- "Dead of Night" (1988)
- "Carcosa Story about Hali" (1989)
- "Terror Wears Yellow" (1989)
- "A Bottle of Djinn" (1989)
- "Sweet Tooth" (1989)
- "The Necronomicon, Book II: The Book of Preparations" (1990)
- "The Necronomicon, Book III: The Book of the Gates" (1990)
- "The Necronomicon, Book IV: The Book of Dismissals" (1990)
- "King in Yellow: A Tragedy in Verse" (1993)
- "Cthulhu & Co." (1997)
- "The Light in the East" (1997)
- "Curse of the Black Pharaoh" (1997)
- "Khymyrium (excerpt)" (1997/98)
- "The Demon Star" (1998)
- "The Life of Eibon According to Cyron of Varaad" (2002)
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| | | | | | Poetry |
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- Sandalwood and Jade (1951)
- Galleon of Dream (1955)
- A Letter to Judith (1950)
- Dreams from R'lyeh (1975)
- The Intelligent Child's Own Book of Interesting and Instructive (1987/88)
- Limericks from Yuggoth (1983/88)
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