Summary
A warehouse robbery in London perplexes Scotland Yard. The perpetrators, dubbed the "Blue Men," seem impervious to bullets and other conventional weaponry, and are even unaffected by deadly gases. This is merely the first of their brazen crimes; they strike again and again, apparently unstoppable. Called in from Knickerbocker City, Prince Zarkon and his Omega Crew come to the rescue. They discover the mastermind behind the Blue Men is the mad scientist known as Vulture, who clothes them in their impenetrable blue auras.
Outsmarting the protagonists time and again, the Vulture eventually oversteps when he has the Blue Men kidnap Zarkon's associates Scorchy Muldoon and Joey Weston. Turning the tables on him, the Omega Crew succeed in destroying his organization, though the Vulture himself escapes.
Reception
James B. Hemesath feels the book "enjoyable, lightweight reading, ideally suited for a dreary winter weekend," but "[n]evertheless, this is not a novel on which to spend your least $12.95." He calls it "[n]ot without its small pleasures, [with] a nice sense of London and its surrounding countryside." He notes that "[n]ames of chracters and bits of humor drawn from pulp-era writing abound for those readers interested in such things," observing that the book title itself "involves a rather clever joke." He also praises the jacket art as "suited to the title and the story," and "above average for Doubleday." Summing up, Hemesath thinks the novel "might be recommended for younger readers as a present-day introduction to the pulp-style storytelling that was so popular in the bygone days ... [b]ut for the rest of us, [it] is at best a passable diversion." [2]
Robert M. Price characterizes the Zarkon series as "five delightful novels ... Lin Carter's loving homage to Doc Savage and his creator Lester Dent." They celebrate "'the gloriously fourth-rate,' the pulps, radio, comics, and movies he loved as a kid." He notes that "[t]he novels manage quite successfully to walk the tightrope between salute and parody," and "the humor never seems to impede or undermine the action." While "[i]t is not difficult to pick out a flaw here and there" and the series is "not entirely free from Carter's later-career sloppiness ... on the whole these books are vastly superior to much of what else he was writing during the same period. The Zarkon novels all command a crisp, snappy prose, sometimes reminiscent of Lester Dent's." [3]
The book was also reviewed by Don D'Ammassa in Science Fiction Chronicle #101, February 1988, and anonymously in Pulp Vault, February 1988. [1]
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 Callisto series is a sequence of eight science fiction novels by Lin Carter, of the sword and planet subgenre, first published by Dell Books from 1972-1978. They were written in homage to the Barsoom and Amtor novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
The Quest of Kadji is a fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the first book of the Chronicles of Kylix series. It was first published in paperback by Belmont Books in July 1971, and was reprinted in December 1972. The first edition in the United Kingdom was published by Five Star Books in 1973. Wildside Press issued a trade paperback edition in December 1999 and an ebook edition in August 2014. The novel has been translated into Dutch, Portuguese and French.
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.
The Wizard of Zao is a fantasy novel written by Lin Carter, the second book of the Chronicles of Kylix series. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1978.
The Warrior of World's End is a 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 in November 1974, and 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.
The Nemesis of Evil is a science fiction novel by Lin Carter, the first in his "Zarkon, Lord of the Unknown" series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1975, with a paperback edition following from Popular Library in March 1978. It was reissued by Wildside Press in 1999. An ebook edition was issued by Thunderchild Publishing in August 2017.
The Earth-Shaker is a science fiction novel by Lin Carter, the fourth in his "Zarkon, Lord of the Unknown" series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in July 1982. An ebook edition was issued by Thunderchild Publishing in November 2017.
Invisible Death is a science fiction novel by Lin Carter, the second his "Zarkon, Lord of the Unknown" series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in November 1975, with a paperback edition following from Popular Library in July 1978. It was reissued by Wildside Press in December 1999. An ebook edition was issued by Thunderchild Publishing in September 2017.
The Volcano Ogre is a science fiction novel by 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.
The Enchantress of World's End is a fantasy 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 second in Carter's Gondwane Epic. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1975, and reprinted in May 1977. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in January 2001 and an ebook edition by Thunderchild Publishing in January 2019. The book includes a map by the author of the portion of Gondwane in which its story is set and "A Glossary of Unfamiliar Names and Terms" by the author.
The Immortal of World's End is a fantasy 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 third in Carter's Gondwane Epic. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in September 1976, and reprinted in May 1977. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in January 2001 and an ebook edition by Thunderchild Publishing in February 2019. The book includes a map of the portion of Gondwane in which its story is set and "A Glossary of Places Mentioned in the Text" by the author.
The Barbarian of World's End is a fantasy by American writer Lin Carter, set on a decadent far-future Earth in which all the world's landmasses have supposedly drifted back together to form a last supercontinent called Gondwane. The book is chronologically the fourth in Carter's Gondwane Epic. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1977. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in January 2001 and an ebook edition by Thunderchild Publishing in May 2019. The book includes a map of the portion of Gondwane in which its story is set and "A Glossary of Places Mentioned in the Text" by the author.
The Pirate of World's End is a fantasy 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 fifth in Carter's Gondwane Epic. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in October 1978. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in January 2001 and an ebook edition by Thunderchild Publishing in July 2019. The book includes "A Glossary of Places Mentioned in the Text" by the author.
Eric of Zanthodon is a science fiction novel by American writer Lin Carter, the fifth and last in his series about the fictional "Hollow Earth" land of Zanthodon. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1982, with an ebook edition following from Gateway/Orion in October 2018. It was also gathered together with the other volumes in the series into the omnibus ebook collection The Zanthodon Megapack.
Kesrick: An Adult Fantasy is a fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the first in his series about the fictional "Flat Earth" of Terra Magica. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in November 1982. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in February 2001, with an ebook edition following from Gateway/Orion in March 2020. It has also been translated into Italian.
Dragonrouge: Further Adventures in Terra Magica is a fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the second in his series about the fictional "Flat Earth" of Terra Magica. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in December 1984. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in 2001, with an ebook edition following from Gateway/Orion in February 2020.
Mandricardo : New Adventures in Terra Magica is a fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the third in his series about the fictional "Flat Earth" of Terra Magica. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in January 1987. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in 2001, with an ebook edition following from Gateway/Orion in March 2020.
Callipygia: Further Adventures in Terra Magica is a fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the fourth and last in his series about the fictional "Flat Earth" of Terra Magica. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in February 1988. A trade paperback edition was published by Wildside Press in 2002, with an ebook edition following from Gateway/Orion in January 2020.
