Lin Carter’s Followers (150)

Lin Carter

Born

in St. Petersburg, Florida, The United States

June 09, 1930

Died

February 07, 1988

Genre

Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror

edit data

Linwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H.P. Lowcraft (for an H.P. Lovecraft parody) and Grail Undwin.

Carter had a marked tendency toward self-promotion in his work, frequently citing his own writings in his nonfiction to illustrate points and almost always including at least one of his own pieces in the anthologies he edited. The most extreme instance is his novel Lankar of Callisto, which features Carter himself as the protagonist.

As an author, he was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers the Black Wi Linwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H.P. Lowcraft (for an H.P. Lovecraft parody) and Grail Undwin.

Carter had a marked tendency toward self-promotion in his work, frequently citing his own writings in his nonfiction to illustrate points and almost always including at least one of his own pieces in the anthologies he edited. The most extreme instance is his novel Lankar of Callisto, which features Carter himself as the protagonist.

As an author, he was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers the Black Widowers. Carter himself was the model for the Mario Gonzalo character. He was also a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA), a loose-knit group of Heroic fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose work he anthologized in the Flashing Swords! series. Carter is most closely associated with fellow author L. Sprague de Camp, who served as a mentor and collaborator and was a fellow member of both the Trap Door Spiders and SAGA.

Carter served in Korea, after which he attended Columbia University. He was a copywriter for some years before writing full-time. Carter resided in East Orange, New Jersey, in his later years, and drank and smoked heavily. It may have been his smoking that gave him oral cancer in 1985. Only his status as a Korean War veteran enabled him to receive extensive surgery. However, it failed to cure the cancer and left him disfigured.

In the last year before his death, he had begun to reappear in print with a new book in his Terra Magica series, a long-promised Prince Zarkon pulp hero pastiche, Horror Wears Blue, and a regular column for the magazine Crypt of Cthulhu. Despite these successes, Carter increased his alcohol intake, becoming a borderline alcoholic and further weakening his body. His cancer resurfaced, spreading to his throat and leading to his death in Montclair, New Jersey, in 1988.
...more

Combine Editions
Lin Carter’s books

Average rating: 3.93 · 43,007 ratings · 2,092 reviews · 460 distinct works • Similar authors

	Conan the Buccaneer (Conan, #6) by Lin Carter, L. Sprague de Camp, Frank Frazetta (Illustrator) 3.99 avg rating — 2,868 ratings — published 1971 — 41 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tolkien: A Look Behind the Lord of the Rings 3.74 avg rating — 935 ratings — published 1969 — 48 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Flashing Swords! #1 by Lin Carter (Editor/ contributor), Fritz Leiber (Contributor), Jack Vance (Contributor) 3.92 avg rating — 598 ratings — published 1973 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria (Thongor, #1) 3.46 avg rating — 404 ratings — published 1965 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Under the Green Star (Green Star, #1) 3.51 avg rating — 285 ratings — published 1972 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jandar of Callisto 3.54 avg rating — 237 ratings — published 1972 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Thongor and the Dragon City (Thongor, #2) by Lin Carter, Vincent Di Fate (illustrator) 3.34 avg rating — 213 ratings — published 1966 — 22 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Thongor Against the Gods (Thongor, #3) 3.41 avg rating — 180 ratings — published 1967 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Warrior of World's End (Gondwane Epic, Bk. 1) by Lin Carter, Vincent Di Fate (Illustrator) 3.63 avg rating — 167 ratings — published 1974 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sky Pirates of Callisto 3.57 avg rating — 156 ratings — published 1973 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Lin Carter…

Series by Lin Carter

Thongor (8 books)
by

Lin Carter,

Adrian Cole,

Robert M. Price

3.42 avg rating — 1,185 ratings

Callisto (8 books)
by

Lin Carter

3.55 avg rating — 934 ratings

Green Star (5 books)
by

Lin Carter,

Lin Carter

3.51 avg rating — 796 ratings

World's End (6 books)
by

Lin Carter

3.47 avg rating — 539 ratings

Gondwane Epic (6 books)
by

Lin Carter

3.47 avg rating — 539 ratings

More series by Lin Carter…

Quotes by Lin Carter (?)

“He said it aloud, in a great ringing voice.
Yuth-Kaathak ngom'm! Ygar naa Ithorthak! Sh'ayaa Ubb nagarr'nya Ib! Ib-nya gryalak!”
― Lin Carter, The Flame of Iridar

1 likes

“Philosophy is all very well,” said the Bazonga bird. “For philosophers! But we are adventurers, bound on a quest of derring-do and all that sort of thing. Less chitchat and more action, say I!”
― Lin Carter, The Warrior of World's End

0 likes

“Muldoon referred to an invention that Menlo Parker was currently working on, designing a miniaturized portable radio-telephone which the Omega operatives could carry on their person at all times, and by which they could always get in touch with one another, and also tap into the public phone lines to contact the police, fire department, or ambulance. The invention was by no means yet perfected.”
― Lin Carter, Zarkon, Lord of the Unknown, in The earth-shaker: A case from the files of Omega

0 likes

See all Lin Carter's quotes »

Polls

Random Sci-Fi for June

Consider Phlebas, by Iain M. Banks

54 votes, 23.7%

Kindred, by Octavia E. Butler

42 votes, 18.4%

The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, by Robert A. Heinlein

36 votes, 15.8%

Prey, by Michael Crichton

20 votes, 8.8%

Slow River, by Nicola Griffith

19 votes, 8.3%

Heavy Time (Company Wars, #1), by C.J. Cherryh

18 votes, 7.9%

Woman on the Edge of Time, by Marge Piercy

16 votes, 7.0%

The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story, by Stephen R. Donaldson

12 votes, 5.3%

Under the Green Star, by Lin Carter

7 votes, 3.1%

In War Times, by Kathleen Ann Goonan

4 votes, 1.8%

228 total votes

7 comments

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Pulp Magazine Aut...: Ballantine Adult Fantasy	4	87	Nov 24, 2008 07:20AM
Glens Falls (NY) ...: What are U reading these days? (PART SEVEN) (2011) (ONGOING THREAD for 2011)	838	45	Jan 03, 2012 01:06PM
Reading with Style: WI 11-12 Completed Tasks	1114	403	Feb 29, 2012 08:44PM
The Seasonal Read...: Winter Challenge 2011: Completed Tasks -DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC	2888	769	Feb 29, 2012 09:03PM
Ph'nglui mglw'naf...: Favorite Mythos Authors Other Than Lovecraft, Howard, or Smith	16	205	Jan 18, 2013 01:01PM
The Sword and Laser: What go you started?	57	389	Jan 30, 2013 06:18PM
Sword & Sorcery: ...: Sword & sorcery anthologies	38	113	Feb 07, 2013 07:03AM
The Next Best Boo...: The Last Letter Game	2246	2321	May 30, 2013 12:41PM
The Next Best Boo...: The Title Game	20238	14473	May 30, 2013 12:53PM
Sword & Sorcery: ...: 2013 1-2 Anthologies	105	66	Jul 19, 2013 02:24PM

More…

Lin Carter’s Followers (150)

Lin Carter

Combine EditionsLin Carter’s books

Series by Lin Carter

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
Lin Carter’s books