Say what you will about Lin Carter's so-called "pastiches", but he was a potent and dynamic force in re-introducing readers to the wonders of classic fantasy and sword and sorcery fiction with the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, as well as his own forays into the subject matter. After being blown away by the "new" Conan Lancer paperbacks, I came upon his Thongor books and they were a delightful addition to the genre.
Not surprising, a number of fanzines sprung up during this period (and before). One of them was the one-shot, mimeographed HYBORIAN TIMES, edited and published by George Heap in August 1967 which was a supplement to the SCIENCE FICTION TIMES fanzine. Included were two articles by Carter, "The Carter & de Camp Conans" and "The Shape Of Thongors To Come", in which he discusses his contribution to the Conan saga and provides news about his next Thongor book.
Mr. Heap was very active in the fan community and published several other fanzines, including an early version of the REH 'zine, AMRA (April 1955). It would be later resurrected under the leadership of George Scithers which ran from 1959 to 1982.
Wonderful artifact. As I read through it, I was reminded again and again of works I want to read or read again. Lin Carter's Fantasy series introduced me to so many writers I'd never heard of or only knew as names.
ReplyDeleteI did the same thing, looking for titles that I may have missed or forgotten about. We have a lot to thank Carter about for his contributions to genre literary conservation.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome... can't wait into dig into this. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteA little gem from the past and allows some insight from someone who was very active in the Conan series early on as well as his own Thongor.
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