LIN CARTER TALKS ABOUT CONAN AND THONGOR

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.

LIN CARTER AND THE BLACK HAWK OF VALKARTH

Fans of science-fiction, fantasy and sword and sorcery will be familiar with Lin Carter's Thongor of Lemuria. Carter has received what I think is a bad rap over the years among so-called critics of this genre, calling him nothing more than a pastiche writer and even a hack. Perhaps it was his fannish enthusiasm and emulation of his favorite authors (Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, et al.) that led to this. Frankly, I like reading his novels and stories because they are damn entertaining.

Born Linwood Vrooman Carter on 9 June 1930 in St. Petersburg, Florida, Carter was a prolific writer during his long career. He was immersed in fan culture (one photo shows him dressed up in an early cosplay costume as a wizard), formed writer's clubs, published his own small-press magazine, and sponsored the Gandalf Award for Fantasy. His greatest achievement is perhaps his editing of the seminal Ballantine Adult Fantasy series.

He was a devotee of H.P. Lovecraft ("Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos", J.R.R. Tolkien ("Tolkien: A Look Behind the Lord of the Rings") and Edgar Rice Burroughs, who was an inspiration for his Green Star series. He also wrote the Ballantine book, "Imaginary Worlds: The Art of Fantasy", among many others.

Along with L. Sprague de Camp, Carter edited a number of Robert E. Howard's Conan re-issues in paperback and together they re-wrote and completed some of Howard's unfinished story fragments. Carter wrote some of his own Conan stories to fill in the gaps of the famous barbarian's "career".

Mr. Carter passed away on 7 February 1988 in Montclair, New Jersey at the age of 57.

Carter's first published novel was "The Wizard of Lemuria" (Ace #F*326, 1965) a tale of sword and sorcery introducing his character, Thongor of Valkarth. A mingling of Howard, Clark Ashton Smith and Edgar Rice Burroughs, Thongor gained some success and returned in a series of novels and short stories.

Posted below is what can be considered Thongor's "origin story", from FANTASTIC SCIENCE-FICTION AND FANTASY STORIES (September, 1974). I hope you find it as enjoyable as I did.

WITCHCRAFT AND SORCERY NO. 5 (PART 2)