Lin Carter. Resurrected Post.
Here is another entry in my irregular series on Appendix N. Today I���m considering Lin Carter.
Those of us who enjoy fantasy of a bygone era, pulp or otherwise, owe a debt to Lin Carter. Many consider his great contribution to the field to be his collating and editing of past masters, either in anthologies (e.g. ���Flashing Swords���) or in reprints from the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series. I doubt I would have encountered James Branch Cabell so early had it not been for Lin Carter championing the great writer.
As a writer himself ��� well, a man���s reach should exceed his grasp. Right? I certainly am not going to cast the first stone, despite sitting through more than one Thongor of Lemuria story. I haven���t got around to any of the Callisto books. I���m not in any particular hurry to do so.
But what I think of when the name Lin Carter flashes across my mental radar is ���Tolkien: A Look Behind the Lord of the Rings.��� I picked up a copy of the paperback at a yard sale when I was a kid. A pristine copy. I must have read it through cover to cover three or four times. It is still in pristine condition ��� I was a fastidious custodian of my paperbacks back then, less so now. But what a great book. I���ve since heard rumblings about the accuracy of his scholarship, but at the time that book opened up new literary vistas for me. I���ll be forever grateful to Mr. Carter for it.
That���s all for today. Still dealing with the aftermath of water damage, so back to manual labor.
