Lost World of Time

by Lin Carter

Destined to fulfill an ancient prophecy, the warrior Sargon strode through the gates of Chalsadon-the last refuge of a once-proud empire. Only Sargon, a Barbarian and an Outsider, could stem the slaughter. Only he could wield the deadly golden maul, covered with the dust of centuries. Only he was fated to test the necromancy of Shadrazar, the beautiful Black Lord of Chaos. But Sargon was mortal....

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction

Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1969

About the author

Lin Carter was an American author, editor, and critic best known for his influential role in fantasy literature during the mid-20th century. Born in St. Petersburg, Florida, he developed an early passion for myth, adventure stories, and imaginative fiction, drawing inspiration from authors such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, and J. R. R. Tolkien. After serving in the U.S. Army, Carter attended Columbia University, where he honed his literary skills and deepened his knowledge of classical and medieval literature, myth, and folklore — elements that would become central to his work.
Carter authored numerous novels, short stories, and critical studies, often working within the sword-and-sorcery and high fantasy traditions. His own creations, such as the “Thongor of Lemuria” series, paid homage to pulp-era adventure fiction while adding his distinctive voice and world-building style. His nonfiction book Tolkien: A Look Behind The Lord of the Rings was one of the first major studies of Tolkien’s work and its mythological roots, and it helped establish Carter as a knowledgeable commentator on fantasy literature.
Beyond his own writing, Carter was a central figure in bringing classic and forgotten works of fantasy back into print. As editor of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series from 1969 to 1974, he curated and introduced dozens of volumes, reintroducing readers to authors such as William Morris, Lord Dunsany, E. R. Eddison, and James Branch Cabell. His introductions not only contextualized these works historically and literarily but also encouraged a new generation to explore the breadth of the fantasy tradition.
Carter was also active in the shared literary universe of the “Cthulhu Mythos,” expanding upon the creations of H. P. Lovecraft and other members of the “Lovecraft Circle.” His collaborations and solo contributions in this genre further cemented his reputation as both a creative writer and a literary preservationist.
In addition to fiction and criticism, Carter was an active member of several science fiction and fantasy organizations, including the Science Fiction Writers of America. He frequently appeared at conventions, where he was known for his enthusiasm, deep knowledge of the genre, and willingness to mentor aspiring writers.
Though sometimes critiqued for the derivative nature of some of his work, Carter’s influence on the fantasy revival of the late 20th century remains significant. His combination of creative output, editorial vision, and scholarly enthusiasm helped bridge the gap between the pulp traditions of the early 1900s and the expansive fantasy publishing boom that followed.
Lin Carter’s legacy endures through his own imaginative tales, his critical studies, and the many classic works he rescued from obscurity, ensuring their place in the canon of fantasy literature for generations to come.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lost World of Time is a sword (or hammer in this case) and sorcery story from relatively early in Carter's career. It's more of a Robert E. Howard pastiche than of E.R. Burroughs in flavor, though it is set on a different planet. Carter's prior work in 1969 when it appeared had been posthumous collaborations with Howard (with L. Sprague de Camp, of course), and a couple of more science fiction oriented solo novels. It's a pretty standard genre adventure. The character names tell you all you need to know: Emperor Zimionadus, The Warrior Princess Alara, Shadrazar the Warlord, Lord Choys of Kanthedon, Bialkin the Bandit, Mingol of the Black Hordes, and our hero, Sargon the Lion of Zarkandu. At the bottom of the page, it says: The Beginning. OOOOh....

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent Conan knockoff. Sargon is practically the exact same person as Conan but with a fresh coat of paint. After a certain point in the story, it introduces so many undeveloped characters, war heroes and contradicting elements that it became somewhat difficult to interpret what was going on. The way Princess Alana was set up in the beginning for example made her out to be a tomboy with an interest in becoming a warrior, but she quickly became a damsel in distress archetype that seemed to have no interest in that sort of thing at all. Her character contradicted itself without any real reason rather quickly and several other characters followed suit. The battle scenes were flashy, abundant and entertaining, but it's not really worth reading for any other reason than for the incredibly vivid combat.

***

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[Jim Kuenzli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed most of this book outside of the “Final Battle.” It’s a decent sword and sorcery piece where an island barbarian enters the last remnants of a dying empire. His journey with the young princess is more to my liking. Adventure loaded, meets a jovial bandit group, etc. The writing turns south when Carter describes the battle. There were plenty of classic Carter lines, enough to give this 3 stars. This world and history had many possibilities, and unfortunately, they weren’t realized.

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, Lin Carter. You make me wish that the Goodreads "Become A Fan" button had an "It's Complicated" option. The second question(*) I always have about his books is about its publication date: the later in his career, the more of a chance of it being lazy, slapdash, and entirely too self-aware. The earlier works, while not great, usually have a solidness and energy about them that reveal the author's interest beyond the paycheck it represents. In either case, though, Carter's mistakes are always interesting, if only in the sense of highway traffic slowing to rubberneck at a grisly accident.

The Lost World of Time of the title is Zarkandu, which in dim ages past was the planetary body residing between Mars and Jupiter, before being torn into the asteroid belt well before the appearance of humans on Earth. At the time of this story, the Sacred Empire of Chalsadon is a shrunken remnant, reduced to a few provinces around the capital city. The dilapidated city is almost empty, inhabited only by a few thousand decadent courtiers surrounding an aged, dissipated emperor.

It goes on like that. I like the start, though Carter has used the "rotting, half-empty city" in at least two other places, one of which was The Quest of Kadji. And like that story, here the action moves away from the city and off to someplace far less interesting. It settles into heroic battle in the vein of The Iliad, filled with warriors on either side that the reader barely meets long enough to care about.

By that time, something has been squandered. The Black Hordes opposing the Sacred Empire are banal in their barbarous and destructive evil--the frightening imagery at their disposal is a skull, with horns and fangs!--and despite the implications of being on an ancient world filled with wonders, nothing about them is unique or particularly interesting. The appearance of their Son of Chaos, Shadrazar (Carter loves his "z"'s, and adds them everywhere), a beautifully alien evil presence in the Lucifer / Sauron vein, is effective but has no satisfactory follow-through. He appears long enough to threaten and be weird, but nothing else.

Of all the things in this story to complain about, I didn't think it would be that the bad guys are boring.

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(*) The first question is usually "How soon until Carter goes pervy, describing a somewhat-too-young woman admiring her naked self in a little too much detail?" (A: Within two pages, not including the introduction.) In this case, however, the first question was "Does the cover really show Sargon the hero defending himself with a novelty balloon on a stick?"

[Johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

If Lin Carter’s Jandar of Callisto series is his tribute to Edgar Rice Burroughs where Jandar channels John Carter of Mars, Lost World of Time must be his tribute to Robert Howard because his Sargon, the barbarian of this novel, seems to channel Howard’s Conan (which Carter also had a hand in editing, finishing, and writing). At times, Carter even seems to use the conceit of archaic phrasing to add to the feeling of Howard’s sometimes artificial-sounding prose. Of course, I also love it when I learn new words and “armigerous” was new to me. A character is described on page 46 as at least being worthy of a “coat of arms” whether his official nobility was recognized or not (“He may have been of noble or at least of armigerous birth, …”).

Lost World of Time isn’t about a previous age on our Earth. Rather, Carter sets this story on the theoretical planet destroyed to make the asteroid belt. Hey! It beats ERB’s decision to use planets for which advancing astronomical knowledge would destroy the illusion as time advanced. Carter’s civilization isn’t real, but proof against it isn’t in your face everyday such as Mars discoveries and the realities of Venus’ atmospheric composition.

What really worked for me in this novel was the conceit of having the events to take place in the book prophesied in vague, typical apocalyptic visions before they happened. But, here’s the twist, we not only see the prophecies heralding victory for one faction but we see the prophecies promising victory for the opposing faction. Lest one think this removes the suspense of the overarching plot, it most assuredly does not. To be sure, Carter uses the occasional disappearance and cliffhanger chapter conclusion to bring about tension and suspense, a technique not likely to fool readers of pulp novels where John Carter can proclaim, “I still live.” Somehow, one suspects that disappearing characters still live. But like a nice vacation trip, getting to the reveal is more than half the fun.

Lost World of Time isn’t the finest pulp adventure in my personal library, but it was far from a waste of time. And in the midst of the familiar tropes, it was a pleasant excursion.

[Steve Dilks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lin Carter can be hit and miss. His early books had a lot of passion for the heroic fantasy genre and, although not up there with the greats, were entertaining enough. LOST WORLD OF TIME is a conventional Carter novel. It plays to the themes of an imperilled princess, a mighty thewed Barbarian (with a capital "B") and a kingdom in need of a saviour. Sargon of Barbaria (yes, really) is that saviour.
There are parts of this short novel that I really enjoyed. A moonlit tryst by the feisty princess with a long dead king on an island of tombs. The Errol Flynn style bandit chieftain in the woods with his band of merry men. The gnarly hordes of savages based on the Mongols intent in wiping out civilisation. The incredible coincidences and escapes... if ever there was such a thing, then this is vintage Lin Carter. The whole book essentially revolves around a mighty battle at the wall of the world where the last bastions of a once mighty empire do battle with the vast tides of savagery that threaten to drown said world in blood and chaos. Enter the prophesied hero, Sargon, who must wield the weapon of the gods- a mighty war hammer forged in ancient times.
And here I give pause. If there was one thing that niggled me, it was Carter's choice of weapon for his hero. A hammer? Really? I guess Thongor got there first with his mighty Valkarthan blade, and Chandar had already swept up the axe in his Ace double paperback outing, THE FLAME OF IRIDAR. Oh, well, all the same, I just wish Carter had gone with a really cool sword.
Anyway, that aside, LOST WORLD OF TIME is a typical example of Carter's output that was being published in the late '60s and early '70s. It's fast moving, has lots of corn, and is a homage to the old glory days of pulp. There are some good purple prosed passages that could only work in a novel of this genre. There is even some Tolkien mixed in with the Burroughs and Howard influences. More or less, it's THONGOR AT THE BATTLE OF HELM'S DEEP. If you can get your head around that then you'll love it.

[Dave White · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a good book by any stretch of the imagination - there's not an original idea to be found, the characters and situations are utterly cliched, and the prose is so far beyond purple that it's practically ultraviolet. But it's not a bad book either and if you're in the mood for some light cheese it might just hit the spot.

[Joe Santoro · Rating 1 out of 5]

Plot: At the edge of the solar system, the tenth planet is home of a once mighty empire, now fallen to decay. Princess Alara has little chance to hold against the Hordes of the living god of chaos, but a prophesy from the long dead court wizard says the Lion will come and wield the hammer of heaven and save the empire. Enter Sargon...

Analysis: I like Carter's Conan OK, and I assume that he's got at least a few good books, since he's written a million of them. This one, however, is pretty much garbage... it reads like a 12 year old Conan fan fic, with ridiculously long descriptions, and FAR too many 'heroes', especially since the theme is there are no more heroes, do to the empire being in decay. The actual hero, Sargon, isn't present for the main battle, but instead saves the princess and leaves the defenders on their own. Oh, and LOTS of bad sort of machismo, too. Just a terrible book. No wonder it didn't become a series (though it ends with 'The Beginning')

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Carter standalone. Mostly sword & sorcery. Pretty standard fare for Carter. If you liked his other books you'll probably like this one.

[Jorge Palacios Kindelan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a fun, quick fantasy read full of all you could expect. The action scenes are really well written, and the characters are interesting. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.