Book Review: Heroes of Atlantis & Lemuria edited by D.M. Ritzlin

Book Review: 'Heroes of Atlantis & Lemuria'

edited by D. M. Ritzlin

4 / 5 Stars

'Heroes of Atlantis & Lemuria' (232 pp.) is a trade paperback published by DMR Books in 2019, and features cover art by Pan-Spec.

 

I was interested in this anthology because it contains five 'Kardios' stories by Manly Wade Wellman. These first were published in the 1970s in the sword and sorcery anthology series 'Swords Against Darkness,' edited by Andrew J. Offutt. With the 'Swords' books being long out of print and fetching very steep prices, 'Heroes' is an affordable way to access the Kardios tales. 

 

Wellman brought something new to the rather well-traveled sword and sorcery genre with his Kardios franchise. Kardios is the lone survivor of the sinking of Atlantis, obliged to wander the prelapsarian world in search of adventure, and receptive audiences for his harp-playing. Provided those he meets are friendly, the last Atlantean always is willing to do a good turn and address one menace of another, be they space monsters, vampires, oversized bugs, or something known only as the 'Flying Fear.'

 

Kardios is an engaging character; he approaches his encounters with humor and self-confidence. He's something of a smarter, and more urbane, Conan.

 

Rounding out the entries in 'Heroes' are three tales authored by Frederick Arnold Kummer, Jr., that first were published in various pulp magazines from 1939-1940. These stories feature Kirk Bradley, a square-jawed, athletic American who through some strange agency finds himself transported back in time to ancient Mu. Kummer is a more capable author than might be expected and the Kirk Bradley stories are reasonably entertaining ventures into the sword and sorcery genre.

 

The final entry in 'Heroes' is a Leigh Brackett piece from the June, 1941 issue of the pulp magazine Science Fiction. It involves modern-day Americans Coh Langham and Simon Krim, whose submarine voyage under the waves of the Pacific takes them back in time and space to Mu. Langham and Krim must defeat the tyrant Xacul if they are to find a way back to their own realm. It's not a particularly good story, with too-frenetic pacing, and probably best serves to indicate how much Brackett matured as a fiction writer en route to her 'Skaith' novels of the 1970s.

 

Sometimes small-press and P.O.D. books can have multiple typographical and grammatical errors, but it's noteworthy that I found only one misspelling in 'Heroes' (page 39, '....was hung was....'). Some attention and care went into the preparation of 'Heroes,' which was true of another DMR Books release I read, this one, Ramsey Campbell's 'Ryre' stories collected in the 2021 volume, 'Far Away and Never.'

 

Summing up, if you are fond of the shorter fiction of Manly Wade Wellman, then 'Heroes of Atlantis & Lemuria' is as good a way as any to acquire his sword and sorcery adventures.

Playboy May 1974

Playboy

May 1974 

May, 1974.........and number one on the Top 40 singles chart of May 18, is Ray Stevens with 'The Streak,' a humorous examination of the streaking phenomenon then sweeping America. An instrumental, 'The Entertainer,' by Marvin Hamlisch, is enjoying success due to the hit movie The Sting. Old School R & B and Soul are well accounted for, at the hands of the Jackson 5 and the Stylistics.
 

The May issue of Playboy is out on the stands, and well worth the $1 cover price. As is the case with these 1970s issues, the magazine is thick with content and advertising.

In keeping with the spirit of the pop culture at the time, there is a portfolio, titled 'The Devil and the Flesh,' on the occult. The portfolio's introduction, presumably penned by photographers Alexas Urba and Marilyn Grabowski, references Rosemary's Baby, The Devil in Miss Jones, and The Exorcist. Of course - !

These photos are ultimate 70s Cheese, but it is important to remember that in the decades before Photoshop and digital composition, capturing and modifying these images was a time-consuming and laborious undertaking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Needless to say, any middle-aged man reading this issue of Playboy could make the conclusion that getting into the 'occult' landscape is a valid way to enjoy the favors of nubile young women.......... 

 

Elsewhere in the magazine, we have three personalities 'On the Scene,' all of them comedians. Meet Steve Martin, Martin Mull, and Freddie Prinze. Martin and Mull would go on to achieve considerable success in the remaining years of the decade, and well into the 1980s and 1990s. Tragically, Prinze would commit suicide in 1977, ending what could have been a career path as promising as that of Martin and Mull.

 

This May issue sees the first appearance of the amazing, petite Marilyn Lange (b. 1952), a Hawaii resident who would go on to appear in Playboy multiple times (in 1975 she was Playmate of the Year). Her boyfriend is a musician named 'Kip'...........the portfolio borrows heavily from the style used by Bob Guccione in Penthouse, and I must say, copying styles can be rewarding: Marilyn looks very good here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The portfolio on 'Sheer Delights,' devoted to lingerie, stands out as yet another calculated evocation of the Penthouse sensibility. Lots of soft focus, Warm Tones, gauzy fabrics and bed linens, as well as models displaying 'private' behaviors...........very 'Guccione-esque.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

And so we end our trip back to 1974, 51 (!) years ago, when that 70s Style was front and center.............

Book Review: The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

Book Review: 'The Sword of Shannara' by Terry Brooks

5 / 5 Stars

 

The story goes that after spending 7 years writing 'The Sword of Shannara,' Terry Brooks (b. 1944) submitted the manuscript to Lester Del Rey, who was the head of fantasy publishing at Ballantine Books. In November 1974 Ballantine accepted the novel and in 1977, both hardcover and trade paperback editions were published. 

 

The novel was illustrated by the Brother Hildebrandt, at that time the foremost fantasy illustrators in the world.

I picked up the mass market paperback edition of the book shortly after its release in May, 1978. How does the book hold up after the passage of 47 years ? Quite well. In fact, it's a Five Star novel. 

 

I should state at the outset that 'Sword' is a pastiche of the Lord of the Rings (LOTR). As a pastiche, it was (and is) very successful, being one of the bestselling fantasy novels of the 1970s. 

Brooks is unapologetic about relying on LOTR for inspiration. Lin Carter, who was a prominent editor and author in the fantasy field in the 1970s, was incensed by 'Sword,' devoting a chapter in his 1978 anthology 'The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 4' to criticizing Brooks for writing 'a complete rip-off' of Tolkein. I believe Carter was angry more because Del Rey had not approached him to produce a 700-page pastiche of LOTR, choosing instead to showcase a novice author.........

 

In the 726 pp. comprising 'Sword,' Brooks reprises the storyline of LOTR: 

 

A Dark Lord (designated the 'Warlock Lord') threatens the free world, and elves, dwarves, and men must unite to combat the menace. Under the direction of the mysterious druid Allanon, a multi-racial party is assembled to embark on a quest to recover a mythical talisman, the Sword of Shannara. Playing the role of Frodo Baggins is the Valeman Shea Ohmsford, whose half-human, half-elf heritage makes him the only person in the world capable of wielding the sword, which expressly has been designed to be effective against the Warlock Lord.

 

The initial third of the novel sees the party jointly encountering all manner of dangers, be they gnomes, Skull Bearers, or monsters. Thereafter 'Sword' settles into the narrative of LOTR in which tribulations of one sort or another sunder the party, and the storyline alternates between groups of characters. The closing chapters of 'Sword' focus on the siege of the fortress city of Tyrsis (the counterpart to Minas Tirith) and this account of a desperate struggle to hold off the armies of the Warlock Lord is well done by author Brooks.

 

'Sword' is written for 'all ages' (12 years old and up), and the narrative stays comparatively tame in terms of describing the mayhem between good and evil factions; even the climactic dispatching of one particularly odious character is done 'off-screen.' But it must be said that for a first-time author Brooks displays skill in keeping the plot moving through all 700+ pages, a feat many authors of lengthy fantasy novels (and here Richard Adams's 'Shardik' comes to mind) have problems executing.

I confess that after finishing 'Sword' I was not overly motivated to take up some of the other 40+ novels and short story collections that make up the franchise. However, younger readers may be more motivated to do so than I.

The verdict ? 'The Sword of Shannara' is one of the most successful epic fantasy novels of the 1970s, and thus, a good starting place for anyone who wants to get the sensibility of the genre in that era. 

Plastic bags for paperbacks 2026 update

Plastic Bags for Paperbacks

Update: May 2026

It's nearly been six years since I last posted on plastic bags for storing paperbacks. I thought I would revisit the topic and update on where you can obtain these bags.

Action Bags / Action Packaging of Woodstock, Illinois, continues to sell plastic bags in a variety of sizes and styles. In my experience, their SKU: E6B5.75x8.625 (pictured above) is ideal for almost all mass market paperbacks, including thicker (i.e., 500+ pp) paperbacks. This size can be purchased in lots of 100, 500, 1,000, and even 2,000. 

For thinner (i.e., up to about 225 pp) mass market paperbacks, BCW 5 x 7 3/8 inch bags continue to be available at amazon. With these you have to tape the edge (they aren't self-sealing).

So, you have some good, affordable options for protecting those precious paperbacks !

Book review: The City Machine by Louis Trimble

Book Review: 'The City Machine' by Louis Trimble

3 / 5 Stars

'The City Machine' (143 pp.) was published by DAW in 1972 and features cover art by Kelly Freas. This is among the very first books in the DAW catalog, standing at No. 24.

Louis Trimble (1917 - 1988) published novels in a variety of genres, including detective / crime, westerns, and science fiction. Along with 'The City Machine,' his sci-fi novels for DAW included 'The Wandering Variables' (1972) and 'The Bodelan Way' (1974).

'City' is set on an un-named Earth-like planet where, some centuries after the arrival of the initial exploration ship, most of the population resides in an arcology known simply as the City. The upper caste of inhabitants, known as the Highs, enjoy lives of leisure and privilege in the apex floors of the arcology, while below them, but still comparatively affluent, reside the Uppers. 

The Lowers, as the name implies, are the unfortunates condemned to life in the arcology's dim and dirty lower floors. To them falls the task of maintaining the City and the comfortable lifestyle of the Highs. Life in the lower levels is bleak and devoid of hope, with the populace kept in check by gangs of malevolent 'Bully Boys.' 

Protagonist Ryne once was a Lower, but through smarts and initiative, he has worked his way into a slot as an Upper. As the novel opens Ryne is recruited by the City's overseer, a man known only as the Coordinator, for a clandestine mission.

It seems that a cabal of Uppers are intent on acquiring a quasi-mythical 'City Machine,' a device brought by the initial colonization ship, used to build the City, and then somehow lost. The Machine is remarkable, capable of erecting an entire city within a day or two. Acquisition of the City Machine could allow for construction of a new City, one with sufficient room and resources for all to thrive. The rebels envision opening this new city to the downtrodden Lowers.

For the Coordinator, acquisition of the City Machine by a rebel action will mean the end of the City, for without the Lowers, the City cannot be maintained. As Ryne is the only City resident who can understand the language used in operating the City Machine, the rebels are sure to try and co-opt him into their scheme.

As Ryne joins the rebel faction as a covert operative, will he stay true to his allegiance to the Coordinator and the class system of the City, or will Ryne side with the cause of freedom and an end to the oppression of the Lowers ? Does the City Machine even exist, or is the rebel cause simply a fantasy ? Ryne will find himself forced to choose sides, and his choice will be be fateful one for every Terran on the planet.....

'The City Machine' is a competent sci-fi adventure novel, written in clear and straightforward prose at a time when the New Wave movement made such things seem passe. Where it falters is in the final chapters, where the double-crosses and shifting alliances get a little too elaborate and make for confusion. This strains the narrative's credulity, and left me comfortable with assigning a Three Star, as opposed to a Four Star, Rating. 

Playboy May 1973

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