"The Ship of Ishtar" is a universally hailed as a classic of the fantasy novel genre. 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." 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.
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"The Ship of Ishtar" is a universally hailed as a classic of the fantasy novel genre. 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." 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.
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Add this copy of The Ship of Ishtar to cart. $18.10, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2011 by Oxford City Press.
Add this copy of The Ship of Ishtar to cart. $48.47, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Oxford City Press.
Add this copy of The Ship of Ishtar to cart. $65.00, very good condition, Sold by Satellite Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Burlington, VT, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Oxford City Press.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Size: 9x6x0; Hardcover. First Edition 1924. Very Good / Very Good dust jacket wrapped in protective mylar. Free of any markings and no writings inside. For any additional information or pictures, please inquire.
Add this copy of The Ship of Ishtar to cart. $80.77, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Oxford City Press.
Merritt's 1924 fantasy novel often achieves a vivid, heady opulence despite its slight, almost non-existent structural and philosophical underpinnings. A mysterious block of Babylonian stone arrives in protagonist John Kenton's study and soon crumbles to reveal a tiny model of a fantastic ship which has the power to mystically transport Kenton to the ship's full-size counterpart, where a bizarre crew sails strange seas under compulsion of gods of the Babylonian pantheon. One half of the ship is claimed by love goddess Ishtar and her beautiful priestess Sharane, the other by underworld god Nergal and his evil priest. Kenton's arrival naturally upsets the divinely decreed balance. Merritt achieves a strange dreamy tone here as in much of his work. Much of the action takes place on the ship, afloat on misty seas where the passage of time adheres to no fixed rule. Archaic-sounding constructions add interest to his sometimes unfocused prose. Merritt's interesting use of characters from far-flung time periods- a Persian and a Viking are among the 20th-century Kenton's eventual allies- is only very lightly fleshed out with historical or mythological background. Though it may put off modern fantasy readers accustomed to laboriously detailed world-building backdrops, it is this dashed-off, light quality which forms much of the charm of Merritt's style. Depth of psychological characterization is not to be expected, but the reader is nonetheless rewarded with exotic settings, sights and sounds, as well as a few vivid set pieces and more evocative scenes toward the end of the book. The final naval battle in a half-submerged city of colossal monuments is the most powerful of these. The strength of visions like this and others scattered through novels such as The Face In The Abyss and Dwellers In The Mirage grant Merritt his role as an important pulp fantasist whose work needs to be considered in any study of weird literature.
