Wednesday Jan 28, 2015

The Appendix N Podcast - Episode 12 - Dwellers in the Mirage

A Viking and an American Indian walk into the Alaskan wilderness. If that sounds like a joke, you haven’t read Dwellers in the Mirage, the thrilling sci-fi adventure story by A. Merrit. Listen to my guests and I talk about this story that features a Cthulhu-esque deity, a Conan-esque warrior king, and half-naked warrior women in a hidden mountain valley.

www.nobleknight.com

Merrit, A.: CREEP, SHADOW, CREEP; MOON POOL; DWELLERS IN THE MIRAGE; et al

“The most immediate influences upon AD&D were probably de Camp & Pratt, R. E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, H. P. Lovecraft, and A. Merrit” — Gary Gygax

Abraham Merrit

born 1884, died 1943

Wikipedia names H. Rider Haggard, Robert W. Chambers, Helena Blavatsky and Gertrude Barrows Bennett (writing as Francis Stevens) as “heavy influences.”

He was a major influence on Appendix N authors H. P. Lovecraft and Michael Moorcock. He was referenced in the Lensman series by E. E. Smith.

Born in Beverly, New Jersey. Primarily a journalist. Assistant editor of The American Weekly from 1912 to 1937 and then editor until his death in 1943.

Merrit’s first fantasy story was “Through the Dragon Glass” (1917)

Dwellers in the Mirage was originally serialized in six parts in the magazine Argosy beginning on January 23, 1932.

For the article references in this show: http://skullsinthestars.com/2009/02/22/a-merritts-dwellers-in-the-mirage/

Co-host:

Jeffrey Wikstrom

website - jeffwik.com

email - jeffwik@gmail.com

My guest:

Jeremiah McCoy

website - https://thebasicsofthegame.wordpress.com

tumblr - http://thebasicsofthegame.tumblr.com

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/brothersaul