Corabia zeitei Ishtar

by A. Merritt

Wealthy young John Kenton receives a mysterious inscribed block of stone from an archaeological dig in Mesopotamia. It proves to encase the carved image of an ancient ship with some strange features, which proves to the counterpart of a real one in another dimension, to which the earthly counterpart is magically linked --and between the worlds of which the earthly model ship is a conduit.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Pulp, Adventure, Sword and Sorcery, Time Travel

Paperback

First published January 1, 1924

About the author

Abraham Grace Merritt, wrote under the name of A. Merritt, born in New Jersey moved as a child to Philadelphia, Pa. in 1894, began studying law and than switched to journalism. Later a very popular writer starting in 1919 of the teens, twenties and thirties, horror and fantasy genres. King of the purple prose, most famous The Moon Pool, a south seas lost island civilization, hidden underground and The Ship of Ishtar, an Arabian Nights type fable, and six other novels and short stories collections (he had written at first, just for fun). Nobody could do that variety better, sold millions of books in his career. The bright man, became editor of the most successful magazine during the Depression, The American Weekly , with a fabulous $100,000 in salary. A great traveler, in search of unusual items he collected. His private library of 5,000 volumes had many of the occult macabre kind. Yet this talented author is now largely been forgotten.

Reviews

[Henry Avila · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Kenton a wealthy archaeologist and disillusioned World War 1 veteran, ( the war to end all wars) receives a stone block, with a minute ship inside from Babylon (Iraq for the non-history buffs). This being a fantasy, he soon lands on a strange galley with slaves right out of an Arabian Nights fable. The golden vessel, has cruised 60 centuries in an endless sea, what a great vacation folks! An exotic world without any sun, moon or stars. A vivid, stunningly blue ocean everywhere, an unknown light shines on the clear dazzling waters, blue (again) skies so bright they hurt your eyes, no land just quaint tiny hideous islands scattered on the azure surface ( if you dislike the color blue this is not for you). On board he meets Sharane, the beautiful high priestess of Ishtar, goddess of love, however her eternal conflict against Klaneth, dark priest of Nergal seems endless, ( the god of the underworld) a vile man, is the focus of our amazing story which will delight readers. Guess what side the hero chooses? You are correct , a pretty woman can give a male much more courage which he didn't have before. The sailing vessel is divide equally down the middle, as are the crews supporters of Sharane and Klaneth. The conflicts bloody struggle gives excitement when they occur, to those who dislike this kind of atmospheric action be warned . Excellent finale, when Kenton's galley meets Klaneth 's powerful warships, amidst towering, eerie rocks arising from the bottom of the deep sea. Pure imagination produces an excellent story that gives this unique, lively book its charm and interest, may this never cease. A. ( for Abraham Merritt) the mark is appropriate for the writer whose talents for adventure in the fantasy genre has no equal, just relax people and forget your many troubles, add a dash of belief, travel to the dreams as the myth becomes true and the mind awakens.

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abraham Merritt's position as editor of The American Weekly paid handsomely, giving him both the wealth and the leisure to pursue his hobbies: traveling the world, collecting rare volumes of the occult, cultivating orchids and herbs (with alleged magical properties), and writing fantasy and adventure stories for the pulps. Today his work for the Hearst publication is forgotten, but his place as a pioneer of fantasy fiction is secure. The Ship of Ishtar is perhaps the best known and best loved of Merritt's novels, and--although it is marred by excesses--it is an enjoyable reading experience.

Merritt's prose style is often ludicrously elaborate. His inversions of natural word order, intended to simulate the epic manner, often strike the ear as odd, and--worse--at times slow the action. His highly wrought attempts to fashion a poetic, musical prose seem strained, worthy of some third-rate Swinburne or second-rate Clark Ashton Smith. Moreover, his sexual politics are woefully obsolete: his ideal woman Sharane, though a courageous and expert handler of weapons, desires nothing so ardently as to be mastered by her man “johnkenton,” and is happiest when she may at last address him by the affectionate epithet, “lord of me.”

Still, there is much here to recommend. The frame-story--which is also the novel's central conception and the inspiration for its title--is both useful and attractive. The wealthy archeological dilettante John Kenton receives a package containing an artifact unearthed by an expedition he has financed, and hidden within it is a miniature Babylonian ship equipped with a miniature crew. Of course the ship of Ishtar proves to be more than a toy: suddenly Kenton is transported onto its now full-sized deck, and so begins his adventure.Kenton soon learns—I'll leave the details for you to discover—that this ship, enchanted by Babylonian gods, is destined to travel throughout the world and through time to fulfill a particular purpose.

This ancient ship is the perfect plot mechanism, for it not only permits all forms of display and adventure, but it also causes the reader to suspend his disbelief completely. He knows this is a magic ship traveling through a magic time, and he is neither surprised when he finds the ship peopled by Babylonians, Persians, Vikings, and one 20th century man, nor dismayed when he discovers that the shoreline cities bestow an even greater bounty of anachronistic peoples and fashions.

There is much here for a reader to love: enchantments and overwhelming passions, fast friendships and heroic sacrifices, exotic cities and evil sorcerers, pitched battles, ingenious escapes, and duels to the death, plus a conclusion which touches both the tragic and the elegaic, striking precisely the right tone.

To sum up, if you can get past the sexism and the purple prose, you will find that The Ship of Ishtar is a vessel that will transport you to a world awash in thrilling sensations and exciting adventures.

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Kenton is an archaeologist. He receives a Babylonian stone block and it turns out, there’s a small ship inside it. When he takes a closer look at the ship and the figures on it, he gets sucked into a magic world frozen in time for thousands of years.

The ship is locked in an eternal stalemate between two gods. One half of the ship is ruled by Ishtar, the other half by Nergal. The people on the ship can only stay on their own god’s half. When John arrives however, he can go wherever he wants to, because he’s not in the corner of either god. Which means that he can break the stalemate. But do the people on the ship even want his help?


These are some of the strongest characters Merritt wrote. The antagonist might seem a bit too completely evil for evil’s sake, but even some of the side characters are fleshed out quite a bit. And the dramatic romance at the core of this story is done pretty well. A bit over the top, but definitely gripping and entertaining.


Merritt’s writing style shines a lot here. In his first couple of books, his overly-detailed prose sometimes felt like it was a bit too much. Here, he clearly has found a great balance. The prose can be dark and poetic at times, which helps immerse you in the scene. This makes the setting come alive. This elevates the tension and makes you feel the rawness of the action scenes. And it helps flesh out the characters. But it doesn’t slow down the story or takes anything away from it.


You do have to keep in mind that this was written during a certain time, so some things can definitely feel a bit outdated. Like the gender dynamics can feel a bit unbalanced. And there’s one thing that bothers me a little bit. It’s a spoiler, so I won’t go into detail. But it does keep me from giving this the full five stars.


I get why people call this Merritt’s best work. This is escapism done right and it showcases all the things Merritt was a master at. Like sucking you into a story from the get go and keeping you hooked until the end. It’s gritty and raw. It’s full of tension, action, adventure, magic and violence. A mesmerizing ancient setting where gods rule and where danger lurks around every corner. A dark and dramatic romantic tale with bold heroic characters who speak to the imagination. A rich prose to paint a vivid and atmospheric picture. And an interesting blend of mythology and ancient history. It is absolutely brilliant in terms of the concept and the execution is to lick your fingers off delicious.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Kenton, WWI vet and archaeologist, gets a stone block from Babylon from a friend. Unbeknownst to both, the block contains the model of golden ship. Soon, Kenton finds himself transported to the ship the model represents, sailing the seas of an alien world and taking part in the ageless battle between two Babylonian gods, Ishtar and Nergal. Can he win over the priestess of Ishtar and free the ship from Nergal's influence?

The Ship of Ishtar is way ahead of its time. The style is more akin to modern fantasy than that of its contemporaries, like Howard and Lovecraft. The easy reading and exciting story makes it a fun read. John Kenton goes from being an academic to being a musclebound warrior after spending time in the slave pits aboard the Ship of Ishtar. While Klaneth is a bit over the top in his villainy, Kenton's allies aboard the ship are well developed, from the Viking Sigurd, to Gigi and Zubran, the crew members who join forces with him to rid the ship of Klaneth.

The story has a little bit of a John Carter of Mars feel but the writing is far superior to Burroughs'. Sharane is a little submissive for my tastes but since Merritt was writing this in the 30's, I'll chalk it up to being a product of the times. I would be negligent if I didn't mention the setting. Most of the book takes place aboard the Ship of Ishtar. Because of a curse, the minions of Nergal have to stay on one half of the ship while Ishtar's priestesses have to stay on the other. Since Kenton is beholden to neither, he can move about freely, if he can escape the slave pits. How many fantasy stories are there where the hero is a slave for half the book?

While The Ship of Ishtar hasn't unseated any of my fantasy favorites, it's still really good. If you're looking for pulp adventure, you could find worse ways to spend a Sunday afternoon.

[Ajeje Brazov · Rating 5 out of 5]

New York, anni 20 del XX secolo, Kenton (il nostro protagonista ed alter ego dell'autore) reduce dalla Prima Guerra Mondiale, è ormai senza più motivazioni per il futuro, si sente vuoto, spento, quasi morto, neanche la sua massima espressione di felicità e passione, quale è quella della ricerca dell'ignoto proveniente da lontano nel passato, molto lontano, dell'antichità quale fioriera di mitologia, folklore popolare, di quel passato dominato da civiltà ormai lontane ma sempre presenti nel suo animo.
Il suo mondo privato, l'unico in cui avrebbe potuto essere felice, aveva smarrito ogni fascino: non sapeva più dove ritrovarlo, nè poteva dirne il perchè. La guerra aveva trasformato il quotidiano in una palude di sabbie mobili e, peggio ancora, aveva distrutto quel ponte verso l'antichità su cui la sua anima aveva amato viaggiare.
Poi un giorno gli viene recapitato un oggetto curioso, enigmatico, all'apparenza pare essere soltanto una pietra informe. Kenton però sente dentro di sè che dietro o dentro di essa troverà qualcosa di straordinario. Così quella fiammella di passione, ricomincia ad ardere dentro di Kenton, la pietra poi si rivelerà essere, al suo frantumarsi, il vascello di Ishtar. Kenton allora con un'adrenalina che da anni non provava più, si imbatterà in...

La mia personale ricerca dei capolavori degli albori del fantastico, questa volta mi ha fatto tirare l'ancora presso uno scrittore statunitense molto apprezzato da H. P. Lovecraft, A. Merritt appunto.
Il vascello di Ishtar è stato scritto dall'autore nel 1924, periodo tra le due guerre mondiali, sicuramente in America sentite meno che in Eurola, ma va da sè...
Se Lovecraft punta i suoi racconti sul terrore, l'incubo e da questo si viene risucchiati come da un gorgo senza fine e senza porre difesa, Merritt come Robert E. Howard, realizza i suoi racconti su tema eroico, cioè il protagonista combatte il Male che tutto ammanta.

Ottima scoperta, caratterizzata da una scrittura piena di rimandi a varie mitologie, mescolandole, da quella babilonese a quella norrena, dalla persiana a quella sumera. Una scrittura piena anche di descrizioni scintillanti, immaginifiche, piena di suspense, insomma un altro capolavoro è servito!

[Skallagrimsen]

In this delirium dream of a fantasy, John Kenton, an American archaeologist and World War I veteran, is thrust into a dimension beyond time and into the heart of an ancient conflict between the Babylonian deities Ishtar, the goddess of Love, and Nergal, the god of Death. I'd classify The Ship of Ishtar "sword and sorcery," despite being written several years before Robert E. Howard supposedly invented the genre. At the same time, it philosophizes about nature of fate, time and material reality in a way that raises it above the intellectual level of most tales of the sort. The story is vivid, violent, erotic and exciting--quite innovative for its time, I believe. I'm sure Howard read it, and I'd bet Roger Zelazny did too; it certainly anticipates his mythological themes.

I've long thought it odd that The Ship of Ishtar doesn't enjoy greater renown as seminal work of early twentieth century American fantasy. Few now, in my experience, even seem to have heard of it. If only The Ship of Ishtar had been translated into a technicolor feature film in the 1950's, as it was so clearly meant to have been, complete with glorious stop motion special effects by the great Ray Harryhausen! It might now be as famous as The Lord of the Rings (or at least Conan the Barbarian). While that opportunity has obviously been lost, it's still not too late to bring The Ship of Ishtar to the big screen. Even now, in the lackluster CGI phase of contemporary cinema, it might make a better than average popcorn flick, if adapted with skill and respect for the source material. Next year will mark the hundredth anniversary of The Ship of Ishtar's publication, as good as an excuse as any to introduce this weirdly powerful and unjustly neglected fantasy to a modern mass audience.

Contrary to my usual practice, the cover image I selected for this review isn’t from the one I read as a kid. I prefer the tawdrier artwork of this edition.

[Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abraham Merritt was every bit as much a master of lush prose as his contemporaries Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard (and, in this book at least, that isn't the only valid comparison to Howard; John Kenton has definite Conan-like qualities, and the level of sometimes gruesome violence is not for the squeamish) and had as original an imagination as either of them, which gives this novel its own distinctive quality. He also merits comparison with Burroughs in terms of the primitivism theme, for Kenton is a man drawn into a violent, low-tech world where his fight to survive will be the supreme test of his mettle.

The world to which he is magically transported (he never understands the magic, and since he's the viewpoint character, it isn't explained to the readers either) is one on the seas of which sails a ship crewed by exiles from ancient Sumer, divided down the middle between those loyal to Ishtar and Nergal --the Sumerian deities, respectively, of love and death-- who are determined to wage an eternal strife aboard it. This premise lends itself to a work positing a dualistic conflict between good and evil, creation and destruction, replete with archetypes (of course, one reader's archetype may be another one's stereotype :-)). The story is told, and the characters and setting are evoked, in rich language that will captivate any reader who likes this sort of thing. (For instance, the commentary that accompanies Kenton's progress through the Temple of Seven Zones is virtually prose poetry.) Several of the characters come to life strongly and individually; Sharane, Ishtar's priestess, is a strong female character in a pulp milieu that often preferred its heroines weak and wimpy. There is a strong erotic (though not smutty) flavor to the whole work, but what it celebrates is true and committed love, not lechery. A number of the scenes in the novel are genuinely emotionally compelling.

What cost the book its fifth star? Kenton's prior career and background are not developed to any degree; we don't get to know him in his own context before he's whipped into Sharane's world. Merritt's metaphysical premises aren't the same as my own, which hinders suspension of disbelief to a degree. Most importantly, Merritt has some ethical insensitivity that colors my reaction to the work. Kenton, though he does have more of a conscience than some of his friends in his new world, has no problem with exploiting chained, involuntary galley slaves; and he does some things toward the end of the book that are even more objectionable than that. But these factors don't spoil the book for me.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the books that turned me on to heroic fantasy fiction back in the early Seventies.

I've been a fan of Merritt's for a long time. He's little known outside a narrow field these days, but he knew how to drive a plot.

Our protagonist is "sucked" into a sculpure of a boat, finding himself part of the crew and forced to man the oars in a fantasy "Arabian Nights" setting.

That's just the start of a swashbuckling adventure worthy of a Douglas Fairbanks movie. There are sultry maidens, heroic rescues, and black magic, all you'd expect in a fantasy novel of the period.

The writing style seems pulpy and dated these days, but it's a great fast read, and should be on every fantasy reader's bookshelf, just so they can understand the history of the genre.

[Jim Kuenzli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to DMR for publishing this fantasy masterpiece as it reaches 100 years old. I’m not going to dive into the plot or the fantastic story. I want to concentrate on the influence.

Abraham Merritt is one of the most influential, yet under appreciated authors of the first half of the 20th century. One can easily see some of Robert E Howard’s, Catherine Moore’s, Leigh Brackett’s etc. inspiration came directly from this book. The dialogue, certain scenes, tropes and the like are easily visible in some of Howard’s Conan and Cormac material. This is similar to Lovecraft’s inspiration from Merritt’s The Moon Pool. It’s also easy to see why this is part of Appendix N. I can definitely picture this as an early Dungeons and Dragons module.

Maybe the most impressive feat was the amount of popularity due to this and a couple of other books by Merritt. At one point, I believe, he was outselling Edgar Rice Burroughs. Whattt??? It’s too bad that he didn’t write more novel length titles. His short stories are also fantastic.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 1924, Abraham Merritt’s The Ship of Ishtar is, on surface at least, an obvious early product of Pulp’s Golden Age. In many ways Ishtar is standard stuff, with young (and wealthy) American, John Kenton, who has an interest in things ancient. The story has little down time, as Kenton cracks open an ancient block of stone to discover a model Babylonian boat – with tiny figures on deck. Suddenly there’s a rush of wind, and in no time imagination and realty blend, with Kenton soon on the deck of a ship that is divided between two gods. (How did that happen? Who cares?) One side (which is white) is ruled by a beautiful priestess of Ishtar, and the other (which is black) by a thug like priest of the god of death.

Various adventures spiral out from this encounter, as Kenton transforms himself from a modern day American, encased within his mansion – with the sounds of New York traffic just outside, to a brawny man of the open seas. Gods, magic, beautiful women, a Viking friend, a powerful dwarf who misses his hair, an insane king who doles out death as a reward, and you can see why Merritt has been mentioned as a source for Indiana Jones and the TV series, Lost. But what elevates Merritt beyond the standard genre stuff is his use of language. The characters themselves are fairly flat and predictable, but there are at least a half dozen times in Ishtar where Merritt’s lush prose and imagination push the novel into areas where poetry resides. The standout chapter, “The Gods and Man’s Desires,” with a hopeful lover masquerading as a god, passing through the various houses of the gods, is an outstanding example that is both visual and poetic. So much so that it runs the risk of throwing the novel out of balance. But there are other mystical and fantastical moments to enjoy, that can stand with anything in Fantasy literature. Merritt is largely out of print these days, but if you can find a copy, check it out.

[Julie Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Julie and Scott realized Jeff didn't invite them for a normal afternoon boating trip when he showed up with a cloak, a sword, and a toy ship. Episode #174 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast, with special guest Jeff Miller!

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This is more sword-and-sorcery than I normally enjoy but it was good! Well written, with plenty to talk about (surprisingly) from a Catholic point of view. And my library copy had some of the original illustrations of the priestess of Ishtar with doves and diaphanous scarves strategically placed — ooh la la!

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Ship of Ishtar," one of Abraham Merritt's finest fantasies, first appeared in the pages of "Argosy" magazine in 1924. An altered version appeared in book form in 1926, and the world finally received the original work in book form in 1949, six years after Merritt's death. In this wonderful novel we meet John Kenton, an American archaeologist who has just come into possession of a miniature crystal ship recently excavated "from the sand shrouds of ages-dead Babylon." Before too long, Kenton is whisked onto the actual ship, of which his relic is just a symbol. It turns out that the ship is sailing the seas of an otherdimensional limboland, and manned by the evil followers of the Babylonian god of the dead, Nergal, and by the priestesses of the Babylonian fertility goddess, Ishtar. A force barrier of sorts prevents the two parties from coming into contact with each other, and they have been sailing thus for...nobody knows how long. It seems that, centuries ago, a priest of Nergal and a priestess of Ishtar had been guilty of the sin of falling in love; this eternal cruise is the punishment that has been meted out by the gods. Kenton becomes embroiled in this ages-old strife; falls in love himself with Sharane, a Babylonian princess; eventually takes over the ship; and then goes in pursuit of the Black Priest of Nergal, after Sharane is kidnapped. He is aided in his quest by a sword-swinging Viking, a hugely strong and mace-wielding man of Nineveh, and by a scimitar expert from Persia. The quartet makes for one formidable team, lemme tell you! This is high fantasy done to a turn, and Merritt is at the peak of his game here. While "Ship" does not boast as much of the purple prose and hyperadjectival descriptions as his first two books, "The Moon Pool" and "The Metal Monster," there is still quite a bit, and in places the descriptions of various isles and temples almost reads like prose poetry. The story moves along briskly and builds to a pair of splendid set pieces: Sharane's rescue from the Temple of Seven Zones, in which each floor is dedicated to another Babylonian god and is decked out with its own color scheme, shrines and so on; and a very tense sea battle between the Ship of Ishtar and the Black Priest's bireme. The novel really is a stunning feat of imagination. I wonder if Merritt was perhaps influenced or inspired by the excavations at Uruk (now in southern Iraq, and one of the original cities of Ishtar worship) that had commenced in 1912. He may have also been inspired here by H. Rider Haggard's seminal fantasy work "She" (1887), in which Ayesha, head priestess of Isis, is given an eternal punishment for her own love dalliances. Whatever the inspirations, though, Merritt makes it all work, with great detail, color, action and character.

The book is a fantasy classic, but still, Merritt makes some small booboos. Thus, the gold bracelet on Kenton's left arm is on his right arm several pages later. Kenton is said to have disappeared from his NYC apartment at 8 PM, while later Merritt tells us that is was 9 PM. Sargon of Akkad (an ancient Mesopotamian ruler) is said to have ruled 6,000 years ago, whereas in actuality, it was more like 4,300. Merritt, in the course of the book, is also guilty of some fuzzy writing. But these little glitches should in no way interfere with anyone's enjoyment of this rousing tale. I should perhaps mention here that "The Ship of Ishtar" has been included in Cawthorn & Moorcock's overview volume "Fantasy: The 100 Best Books," and that I personally have no problem with that inclusion. It really is a fantasy for the ages.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abraham Merritt was another pulp legend, editing and writing “weird tales” and proto-science fiction during the 1910′s and the ’30s on the pages of Argosy, All-Story, and in the case of The Ship of Ishtar, in the magazine which combined the previous two, Argosy All-Story Weekly. He even managed to have his name on his own pulp magazine for a short time before the pulp market died out. To add even more pulp street cred, the interior art pieces are the original illustrations by pulp artist grandmaster Virgil Finlay. Paizo really outdid themselves this time.

The story focuses on John Kenton, wounded and disillusioned World War I vet, who starts off by receiving a package from an archaeological expedition he’d sponsored. Inside is a large block of stone, and inside that is a bejeweled toy ship. Soon enough, Kenton is sucked through both time and space to enter the ship itself, a golden Babylonian vessel upon which clergy of the black god of death Nergal and beautiful goddess of love Ishtar war eternally. It turns out Kenton is exempt from their rules, and could potentially break the stalemate between the priest and priestess, ending the feud forever. Kenton is enslaved as a galley rower, and must break free to claim the ship (and the beautiful priestess) as his prize.

The Ship of Ishtar was written in 1924, right in the middle of the swashbuckling Errol Flynn era. There’s plenty of that in here, amazing swordplay and bloody battles, adventure with an epic backdrop. But it also has this odd reflection of the “lost generation,” in that its protagonist just couldn’t exist in the post-World War society, almost like he was looking for a way out. He certainly doesn’t question the fantasy realm into which he is thrown with the ship, never worrying about his sanity or questioning reality. Some of the other sensibilities are very 1920′s as well, namely the treatment of women: there are warrior maids, after all, but Sharane, priestess of Ishtar, is horribly objectified, just another thing for Kenton to acquire, with a definite “the woman’s place…” attitude.

While the first third of the book crawls along, it’s really just building up steam; soon enough, the blood flows in buckets, and the book really leaps into a stunning crescendo of swashbuckling action adventure. Merritt had a good handle on creating tension, and doesn’t just draw the reader in, but grabs the reader by the shirt and throws you at the action. Merritt uses (perhaps overuses) dashes, question marks and exclamation points to get this through, but it’s all part of the pulp charm. I should also note that while the prose is antiquated (again, 1924) and may be off-putting to some, it’s not as dry and antiquated as, say, Lovecraft, so if you can get through that you can read Merritt with ease. The Ship of Ishtar is a surprisingly smooth and pleasant read.

(Full review found here.)

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not good, and not bad. It's really just 100 % pulp fantasy including the traditional good and bad things that go with the genre. Chracter development was inconsistent and the plot was a bit hard to follow since Merritt's treatment of human emotions and desires are both alien and exaggerated. Racism sexism and other problems from the 1920's marked the pages like pox scars. Howard, Lovecraft and Smith have some trouble with this too but I've found it within myself to forgive them since their writings were superb but Merritt's is just good enough to not be considered a "waste-of-time-book". It doesn't stand out by yesterday's or today's standards and I would only recommend it to someone interested in it for a more historical perspective of pulps. When all is said and done, I'm still interested in reading Merritts' Moon Pool one day.

[Frederick Heimbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This earned 4 stars for its flashes of brilliance. On average, though, this is a 3 star read. Merritt provides lots of exotic detail but much of it is decorative and lacks substance. Pretty much all the scenes on the eponymous ship, until the exciting ending, were of little interest to me. The main character, Kenton, has the ability to move from the mundane world to the fantasy world according to laws that are never explained. And the backstory of the model ship that is the conduit to the fantasy realm has to be explained to Keaton in a vision, which feels like cheating.

OTOH...

The metaphysics of the inciting incident is extremely interesting, even if Merritt somewhat bungles the presentation: two gods, one of light and one of darkness, are in eternal opposition, but when they possess the bodies of their priest and priestess while the two are making love, they are thrown into a destabilizing situation that leads, by a long path, to the adventure recounted in the book. And one chapter stood out, "The Lord of the Two Deaths," as a short story within the novel having real mythic power. These are the flashes of brilliance I have to credit.

[James T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second time reading this classic work of fiction. I did not realize the old 60s paperbacks were abridged and appreciate DMR publishing the original text.

I think this book is the birthplace of Sword and Sorcery. Kull and Conan may have solidified the genre but this is its inception. This book is gorgeously written. The prose is poetic, yet also action packed and direct, as the situation calls for a wonderful mixture of blood and art.

The characters and themes are elemental and larger than life. The sense of wonder is enticing yet frightening. It is blood and thunder with a looming philosophical/spiritual shadow that haunts the otherwise Adventurous feeling of the story like a hoary specter.

Appreciate the forward and afterwards unique to this edition and bonus art. If you haven’t read this book, you probably should, there’s a strong chance it influenced one of your favorite books and you didn’t even realize it. For me it influenced almost all my favorite books…but it also stands on its own as more than just a historical landmark but a timeless adventure or perhaps a timeless nightmare.

[Snood · Rating 3 out of 5]

A. Merritt seems to me like the Lovecraft of sword and sorcery. His purple prose is gorgeous to read, but his politics are very much of his time, or even before his time. The treatment of women as trophies to be taken and the modern day (1920) protagonist’s complete acceptance of slavery really hurt the enjoyment of the story.

But like Lovecraft, if you pick around the unpleasant bits, there is a lot to like here. The story follows John Kenton, an archaeologist who is sucked into a pocket dimension and caught between the bickering of two ancient Babylonian gods. Adventure, sword fights, ship battles, and a lot of wordy descriptions ensue. This is very much a pulp story. The characters have little depth and the worldbuilding has its flaws, but it’s a really fun time if you can handle the overwrought verbiage calling to mind the prose of centuries lost, a time of gods and devils, men and beasts, meandering sentences that please the ear but mean little... that is to say, Merritt really likes to hear himself talk.

[Ferio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una historia pulp sobre burgueses de principios del XX que se transportan mágicamente a pasados de espada y brujería donde todas las antiguas civilizaciones coexisten y los diferentes sacerdocios combaten entre sí porque, si no lo hicieran, la historia no tendría ningún conflicto que desarrollar.

No me ha tocado el corazón. Es una pena porque tenía todos los ingredientes adecuados: un autor del círculo extendido de H.P. Lovecraft, brujería, acción, oscuros cultos a deidades de civilizaciones desaparecidas... Pero no ha terminado de llegarme al alma, creo que el Sword & Sorcery y yo ya no nos llevamos tan bien como antaño.

La edición, por otra parte, maravillosa: un papel grueso y satinado de la mejor calidad, una tipografía adecuada y, supongo que en su momento (a mí este ejemplar me llegó de rebote), un precio elevado por que, junto al reducido nicho de público objetivo, pondría alguna barrera de acceso a su difusión. Ah, las leyes de mercado y sus perfidias...

[Ignacio Senao f · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despertar en una nave condenada a navegar por siempre y dominada por un hechicero oscuro da mucho miedo joder. Pero nuestro protagonista querrá hacerse con ella e ir a una isla dominada por hechiceros. Todo sea por amor.

La Fantasía-Terror que ya no se hace aquí la encontraremos. Pura acción, pura aventura, un no parar de sucesos.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

High fantasy, with a mediocre plot (modern man swept into a fantasy world, it has been done before), and a rather surprising ending (I must admit, I had suspected a totally different outcome).

That being said, I rather enjoyed reading this tome, for the same reason I usually enjoy this type of books: the language. It is so elaboratly descriptive, with beautiful, nowadays underused words, it gives the whole story a bit of a mystical air (like these 2 sentences found on page 163:
Kenton, climbing, heard thunderings like the clashing of armied shields; clanging of countless cymbals, tintamarre of millions of gongs of brass. Ever louder grew the clangor as he ascended; with it mingled now the diapason of mighty winds, staccato of cataracts of rain.)

[Laura Gaelx]

Cuando empecé a leer fantasía épica de preadolescente, me encontraba con frecuencia libros así de machirulos, donde las mujeres son solo el trofeo del héroe y objeto de violencia sexual constante. Menos mal que también estaba la Dragonlance. Porque, todavía hoy, no hay nada que disfrute más en el mundo.

[Per · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.ph...

[Tamar · Rating 1 out of 5]

So. If this wasn't so sexist and racist and the love story wasn't so effin disgusting for most of the book, it really would've been a 4 star. Maybe. I wouldn't bet on it though.
Jon Kenton gets a block of cement from his archaeologist friend, who needs some help deciphering the old mesopotamian writings on that block.
And guess what. The block contained a magic miniature ship, which transports Kenton on the actual magical kinda-suspended-in-time vessel.
The first time he goes on the ship is weird, but the second(or third, I may have forgotten) time he stays long enough to find out that Sharana is Ishtar's priestess, who has to be 'possessed' by the goddess in order to battle another guy(whose name I may have mentally skipped), who is being 'possessed' by another god(whose name I may have also skipped, but bear with me).
This is basically how Kenton and Sharana interact:

Sharana:" I am yours, do whatever you want with me!'
Kenton:"I will have you whether you want it or not."

This might be an actual passage in the book, but I can't be bothered to check, tbh.
Now, who here can actually say they don't enjoy toxic romances between some dude and the woman he's forcing himself onto, who immediately realises she did actually want him and subsequentlly succumbs?
(discreetly covers camera as hopefully everyone raises their hand)
Oh, and the only POCs in the books are slaves. Makes you wonder why.
Also, everyone is so stereotypical and only acts in ways that either:
a. goes against the better judgement of our resident Gary Stu, clearly making them a villain
b. helps this plain slice of white bread of a man, pretty much always resulting in their sacrifice
I *did* like the ending. (cue evil laughter that sounds more like a chocked goat)

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Modern American (well, from the 20s, anyway) finds himself pulled into a mystical Ancient East that has itself been pulled out of time. There he finds a ship torn between two warring deities, crewed by slaves and home to human pawns of the godly game. Falling for a beautiful priestess, the American becomes warrior and embarks on a voyage of - adventure!

Yeah, ok. I concede the language is a refreshing balm in this one. Merritt happily writes in a lush, baroque style throughout. It is not a modern prose piece, this. He does sometimes get carried away and the characters can suddenly find themselves talking like - Yoda! But overall this is an enjoyable read.

Unfortunately, the novel's crew is one of stereotype and cliche. Perhaps this was not so in 1924, but it certainly is in 2014. The hulking Viking sailor, the jaded eastern soldier, the black-hearted and black-robed villain, the gorgeous, plucky-yet-submissive priestess, and above all the void that is the lantern-jawed hero. One does wonder where the modern man disappeared here. The transition between New Yorker and savage pirate warrior is as abrupt and all consuming as Norman's Tarl Cabot (oh, and there are other parallels to be drawn between these works as well).

But it goes on at a rollicking pace with little downtime, it is not terribly long and it has some good illustrations throughout.

A piece of its time. Read it with that in mind.

Rated M for frequent violence, some torture, supernatural themes, some adult themes and some nudity. 3/5

[Ana-Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

What started as an interesting historical fantasy, ended as a very long erotic story about the desire of Kenton for Sharane. The details of atmosphere were nice, pretty accurate as it resulted from the historical research, but very boring at some point. Probably I would have enjoyed it at an earlier age, even though I do not know what to say about the love part, which was pretty explicite at some point

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pulp fantasy writer A. Merritt once had a huge following in America. Times have changed. His writing style and themes are no longer relevant to contemporary readers. His most famous novel, The Ship of Ishtar, is not a great piece of writing but may be of interest simply because it does not transcend the time it was written in.

The first half of the novel is a fairly entertaining read. An archaeologist named Kenton receives a package at his New York City home. It contains a stone box from a colleague that contains a carved ship. Without warning, he gets transported through space and time to the deck of the ship that is fated to sail eternally. Kenton now lives in an ancient time when Babylon ruled as the dominant empire of the Middle East. The inhabitants are, on one hand, led by a woman named Saharane and her consort of bare breasted beautiful women. The other half is inhabited by Klaneth, an evil priest and his followers. The two groups are able to see each other on their respective halves of the boat but they can not cross into the others’ territory since Ishtar, the goddess of love and creation agreed to this arrangement with Nergal, the god of destruction. Sharane and Klaneth are mortal representatives of Ishtar and Nergal.

The other people on board the ship are slaves who work below the deck as oarsmen. Kenton gets seized by Klaneth and set to work as a slave but while chained to the oars he befriends a Viking named Sigurd. Kenton breaks free and leads a rebellion against Klaneth with the help of Sigurd and two of his henchmen who take sides against the evil priest. This battle happens after a particular kinky passage in which Kenton binds Sharane to her bed and gags her with silk cords so she can not interfere with the fight. When the little war is over, Sharane falls madly in love with Kenton and they retreat to her cabin while Sigurd stands guard outside, polishing his sword. Really.

It must be obvious by now that there is nothing unique about Merritt’s story. What makes it stand out, just a little bit, it the writing style. While the characters are as stereotypical as they can possibly be, the descriptions of their appearances is one of the stronger points. Klaneth and his friends look like impish devils from one of Brueghel’s apocalytpic canvases. Sharane and her followers are reminiscent of the Art Nouveau stylizations of an Alfonse Mucha painting. The king of Emakhtila could be a character straight out of Fellini’s Satyricon. The Ship of Ishtar is more style than substance. The language is also something in and of itself. Sentences are long and wordy with lots of adjectives and some odd syntax that might make you want to reread some lines just to make sure you understand what they say. It is like reading classic epic poetry that has been translated by an amateurish Victorian author. This may be interesting for some while being pretentious and annoying for others. On the bad side, some of the descriptions, especially of the ship and the Temple of Bel in Emakhtila are not well described and hard to visualize.

The second part of the novel is not as interesting and as the narrative starts to run out of steam. True to her status as a trophy wife, Sharane gets kidnapped by Klaneth after he escapes from the ship. He imprisons her in the Temple of Bel in the city of Emakhtila. Also true to his stereotype, Kenton is the muscle-bound action hero who must go and rescue her. Once they get back to the ship, Kenton has a mystical vision where his identity as an emissary for Nabu, the god of wisdom, is revealed while he sees the ship’s spiritual counterpart with Ishtar and Nergal’s faces in the sky.

Kenton’s big hallucination is unique to this type of story. What it reveals is that a theme of tension between the secular and the divine runs throughout the narrative. Kenton resists the sleep-inducing magic of a trumpet by putting ordinary objects in his ears so he can not hear. His companions complain about the stupidity of the gods. The king of Emakhtila claims his power over the city is the result of his disbelief in magic, superstition, and religion. Kenton and his crew win all their battles with strategy and strength rather than magic and Klaneth’s magic does nothing to hold them back. When the gods command Kenton to make a judgment about life, he curses them for causing so much human suffering. Although the voice of Nabu speaks to Kenton at times, this supernatural guidance serves a more explanatory narrative purpose rather than being useful as magic to increase Kenton’s prowess in battle. In the smoke and mirrors of all the mysticism and hallucinatory imagery, The Ship of Ishtar hints at a secular dissatisfaction with the religious side of life.

A. Merritt’s novel strives to be better than an ordinary sword and sorcery fantasy tale. It injects a touch of modern existential angst into a flowery, sometimes overwrought writing style. But this novel does not go far enough. With a little more effort this could have been a book with more staying power but, as it is, it feels just a little dated. But maybe this is part of its charm; it might be interesting because it is like a good museum piece or an interesting object in an antique store, existing now but hopelessly trapped in the 1930s.

https://grimhistory.blogspot.com/

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK pulp era story. I was not as impressed with this story as I have been by the other books by Merritt I have read. Recommended

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

JOHN KENTON privea fix blocul mare de piatră. Era puţin nedumerit şi vag tulburat. Ciudat, gândea el, într-adevăr ciudat: toată neliniştea lui, toate năzuinţele neformulate, toată nefericirea ce-l bântuia păreau să se îndrepte spre acesta. De parcă blocul le atrăgea ca un magnet din piatră… Exista, oare, şi o promisiune ascunsă în această focalizare?

Se mişcă nerăbdător şi scoase din nou scrisoarea lui Forsyth. Primise cu trei zile în urmă mesajul bătrânului arheolog care, datorită averii lui Kenton, cernea ― pentru a afla secrete pierdute în negura vremii ― praful a ceea ce fusese cândva atotputernicul Babilon.

Kenton îşi dorise şi plănuise cu înfocare să participe la această expediţie. Toată viaţa simţise că trecutul îl cheamă şi răspunsese mereu acestei chemări. Călătorise prin locuri uitate; dormise în vetrele unor civilizaţii de care nu-şi mai amintea nimeni, ale unor imperii moarte şi ale unor oraşe părăsite. Lăsase dragostea, toţi anii aceia, să treacă pe lângă el. Se înfiorase mai degrabă în faţa poveştilor de dragoste fantomatice decât a celor reale. Studios, pe jumătate ascet, chiar dacă nu ştia nimic din învăţăturile inimii, înmagazinase însă alte feluri de cunoştinţe, şi era suficient de pregătit pentru a-i face pe savanţi să-i asculte părerile cu respect.

Dar, chiar în ajunul plecării, America intrase în războiul mondial… Iar Kenton trebuise să accepte ca Forsyth să plece fără el… A urmat apoi o şcoală militară, a luptat pe front şi a fost rănit în pădurea Belleau, a fost reformat şi trimis acasă. Se întorsese chinuit de coşmaruri neliniştitoare. Atitudinea sa faţă de viaţă, ca şi a altor mii de oameni, se schimbase profund.

Lumea pe care o cunoscuse îi devenise indiferentă şi nu ştia unde s-o găsească pe aceea în care ar fi putut fi fericit. Nici măcar n-ar fi fost în stare să-şi închipuie cum ar fi trebuit să arate o asemenea lume… Războiul schimbase prezentul, îl transformase în nisipuri mişcătoare. Mai mult, distrusese acea punte spre trecut pe care până atunci se bucurase s-o străbată.

Ceva din scrisoarea lui Forsyth reactivase un interes pe care-l crezuse mort, evocase spectrul unei treceri, cândva familiare, între trecut şi prezent. Trezise în el ecoul unei voci îndepărtate, slabe, care-l chema, cerându-i vechiului său eu să se trezească ― să se trezească şi să se păzească!

[JoeK · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two-and-a-half stars.

I was interested in Merritt's work mostly because he was hugely popular in his day (and an interesting guy to boot). He was popular enough that a magazine dedicated to reprinting his stories was started after six years after he died and ran for five issues. He also seemed to be very popular among his peers as well as some current authors that I read.

This is my second novel by Merritt, and probably my last. I very much enjoyed parts, but also found myself skimming through sections (which I rarely do). I don't know if I should blame the author or the format. Because this was originally published as a serial, that meant that each segment had to reach a certain word/page count. Because of this I think the story suffers from a basic unevenness. Rushing, violent action followed by a plodding pace with too much exposition and not enough progression.

It also suffers from time. The romance amounts to a woman rejecting a man, who then pushes himself on her after a rescue and suddenly love blooms. The same can be said of some terminology that was used. The evil priest being called a "black dog" repeatedly (although this is not his skin colour).

Two big issues that seem to get glossed over in reviews that really bothered me were that Kenton, our archaeologist, receives a giant block with glyphs on it and immediately hits it with a hammer, destroying it to reveal a model of a ship. Pretty ridiculous. Considering how he dies with the block gone and dressed weirdly having committed suicide with ancient arrows (that's how it will look with all those servants as witnesses) it would certainly light up the society pages (which were a thing back then).

The second thing is that when Kenton arrives on the ship, Sharane explains that the whole reason for the conflict of the gods on the Ship of Ishtar was that love (Ishtar's domain) should not be able to conquer death. The gods set up a contest and their two avatars proved that love conquers all before they died. The contest should have been over. In the last few chapters it seems that Nergal wasn't happy with the outcome, but the whole thing wasn't adequately explained, like the author lost track of the story and didn't want to rewrite it.

Generally entertaining, but something young me would have eaten up while old me tries to avoid this kind of thing whenever possible.

[Jim Dooley · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE SHIP OF ISHTAR is a pulp novel designed for fans of “Amazing Stories” and “Weird Tales.” There is a strong flavor of the Edgar Rice Burroughs fantasy novels such as the “John Carter” series, especially in the breathless action sequences and clothing descriptions that frequently leave women’s breasts uncovered.

In general, stories that dwell on the practices of mythic gods, contain flowery speeches lamenting lost lands that no human eye has ever seen, and are filled with ardent clinches whenever two people are attracted to one another tend to leave me cold. And, in point of fact, there were occasional times when I was aware of my eyes glaring over while reading this one.

Yet, THE SHIP OF ISHTAR has its intriguing points:

* The model of a ship found encased in stone at an ancient digging that mysteriously transports our hero back and forth from his “real” world to a mystical one;

* A cursed ship that blocks access by its inhabitants to different areas on it, significantly increasing the tension between those sailing aboard;

* A jolly king who is religion-neutral, and who cheerfully dispenses either slow or quick deaths to others as either a punishment or a reward;

* Some very exciting battle scenes.

The majority of chapters just flew by. I did find the ending to be unsatisfying even though it reasonably flowed from the events leading up to it.

I’m probably not the target audience for this type of story. Fans of short fantasies based on mythical lands will likely find plenty to enjoy.