Warrior of Llarn

Llarn Cycle #1

by Gardner Francis Fox

Near Canopus there is a small red sun, around which eleven planets revolve. One of these is Llarn a world which resembles Earth in some ways, but in others is exotically different. There were men and women there, fallen empires, forgotten cities, and roving barbarians striving to rise. And there were the dreaded remnants of a hideous atomic disaster eons past--things that once were men with powers that bordered on the evilly miraculous.

Alan Morgan came to Llarn at the behest of one of these warped man-monsters to act as his envoy on a world-shaking mission. But Alan was no puppet...and the story of his extraordinary adventures on that world of swordplay and wonders is a constantly exciting novel.

Cover Illustration: Frank Frazetta

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Sword and Planet, Pulp, Sword and Sorcery

160 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Gardner Francis Cooper Fox was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. Comic book historians estimate that he wrote more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC Comics.
Fox is known as the co-creator of DC Comics heroes the Flash, Hawkman, Doctor Fate and the original Sandman, and was the writer who first teamed those and other heroes as the Justice Society of America. Fox introduced the concept of the Multiverse to DC Comics in the 1961 story "Flash of Two Worlds!"

Pseudonyms: Gardner F. Fox, Jefferson Cooper, Bart Sommers, Paul Dean, Ray Gardner, Lynna Cooper, Rod Gray, Larry Dean, Robert Starr, Don Blake, Ed Blake, Warner Blake, Michael Blake, Tex Blane, Willis Blane, Ed Carlisle, Edgar Weston, Tex Slade, Eddie Duane, Simon Majors, James Kendricks, Troy Conway, Kevin Matthews, Glen Chase

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice fun and quick read. If you are a John Carter fan you will enjoy this book. Recommended

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fox wrote two adventures set on Llarn which featured Earthman Alan Morgan. They're competent pastiches of/homages to Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter on Mars books, much as his Kyrik and Kothar series were Robert E. Howard inspired. They're both good pulp-influenced sword & planet adventures, and post-apocalyptic Llarn is a very rich background for Alan's escapades. The back cover reads: "Near Canopus there is a small red sun, around which eleven planets revolve. One of these is Llarn a world which resembles Earth in some ways, but in others is exotically different. There were men and women there, fallen empires, forgotten cities, and roving barbarians striving to rise. And there were the dreaded remnants of a hideous atomic disaster eons past- things that once were men with powers that bordered on the evilly miraculous." The cover is terrific, one of the most colorful Frank Frazetta ones you'll ever see.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another planet adventure!! This time Alan is the man's man who gets torn from our world and thrust onto Llarn. Great fun like any of Burroughs stories with a little twist of Alan Burt Akers. Although this predates any of the Dray Prescott books I wonder if Kenneth Bulmer took his pen name, Alan, from this story. Anyways there is Blue skinned horned barbarians, ancient ruins, highly evolved mutants, and airships galore. As always the women are beautiful and everything is an adventure.


6/3/18
3/5 Stars. The second reading was just not as spectacular as the first. This time around I was conscious of misspellings and the numerous dropped letters in names and places (Kharthol-Karthol).

Too many times I found myself thinking, 'well isn't that convenient', when Alan would find what he needed or his problem worked itself out. But Burroughs did this so why change anything?

Overall, my perception changed not the book. It is still a fun adventure on a strange new planet.
Still Recommended to anyone who likes Sword and Planet books.

[Jim Kuenzli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fox wrote a ton of stuff in pretty much every genre. This is the first in a two part sword and planet series similar to Burroughs style. Pretty standard for the the genre. Enjoyable, fun, fast paced. It’s what you would expect in this format. I’ve always enjoyed the genre, so 4 stars for me.

[James T · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely love Sword & Planet. It is my favorite genre of fiction. I picked this up because Sara Frazetta was tweeting about her grandfather’s art on the cover, which is awesome.

I have read a ton of Sword and Planet books. For all of contemporary critics complaints about ERB’s John Carter, Deja Thoris, Tars Tarkas being one-dimensional or flat, they are actually pretty compelling archetypes.

What basically ever S&P ERB clone gets wrong is their protagonists. They are always flimsier than ERBs and just not as lovable. What every S&P get’s right is creating fun absurdly pseudo-scientific worlds to adventure in. This is no exception. Fox’s world is really compelling and a bit unique compared to other S&Ps. The idea of doing a S&P in a post-nuclear fall out world is really awesome.

I think where this book fell short was the plot and characters were flimsy, even for genre. It excelled in creating a cool world, and it’s a fun place to have an all too familiar adventure in.

For genre diehards it’s worth checking out. Honestly, for the asking price of a used paperback it’s worth having to show off the Frazetta art alone.

[Benjamin Chandler · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't have anything against pastiche*, but this book adhered so close to "A Princess of Mars" it was a little disappointing. A man is called to another world, arrives there naked, then encounters some monstrous-looking people and a beautiful, lost princess who crashes her airship and requires saving. The planet-traveler is a master swordsman, capable of great athleticism due to the planet's lower gravity—it seems only natural that he must fight for his princess's hand and save her kingdom.

Fox throws in some non-Barsoom ideas which I think could have used additional exploration; they were more interesting than the parts of the book that remained close to Burroughs. The world of Llarn is post-apocalyptic, crumbling in the ruins of an ancient nuclear war. As a result of the war's latent radiation, different mutations of humanity emerged, some with unique telekinetic and telepathic powers. But these folks are mere plot points in the slog to the story's finish. I wish more was done with them to enrich the world—especially the being that calls the earthling to Llarn—but Fox was clearly more invested in describing swordplay and having his hero overcome insurmountable odds.

*I mean, I've even written one.

[Michael Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stands out amongst other Barsoomian imitators

While beginning essentially as a John Carter clone, this pulp-novel stands out for having a few unique and interesting SF/F conceits of it’s own and some really well-paced sword-and-planet action and adventure. For fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard this will be a fun romp about an alien world.

[Aricia Gavriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some books age better than others, and fantasy always fares better than SF. Gardner F. Fox turned out a spin on John Carter of Mars, and did it in about 40,000 words flat! There was a lot to like about this little book when I was 12 years old, and there still is. In fact, I like parts of the setup better than the world of John Carter (yes, I know, that's heresy, Aricia). This kind of fantasy travels well because it doesn't depend on technology; and it's a rip-snorter of a story. It could easily have been twice as long -- and would have been had Fox been writing a couple of decades later. For sheer nostalgia's sake, I'm going to give this four stars, a nudge and a wink.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in a two book sword & planet series that I thought was pretty good. I actually liked the second book, Thief of Llarn, better, though.

[Brian Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great classic Scifi in the vein of Edgar Rice Burroughs. I enjoyed this old style story and will seek out the second book to read.

[Severius · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a typical sword and planet story that doesn't break the mold in any way. But for all that, I enjoyed it immensely! The story was exciting, the characters were interesting and the world compelling. The pacing was great and I plowed through the book in a day and a half. Highly recommended to fans of Sword and Planet fiction.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old School Fun, But the E-book Has Issues

A fun enjoyable read in the style of Edgar Rice Burroughs. I would have given it four stars, but the version I read (e-book/Kindle) is filled with transcription errors. It’s obvious no one bothered to proofread this when it was converted to an electronic/digital format.

[Hal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sci-Fi September continues to surprise me.
This is a competent copy of A Princess of Mars , which just so happens to be my favorite Sci-fi novel of all time (thus far), as made by the guy who created DC comics Justice League of America. If you liked A Princess of Mars give this a go.
Well worth the time spent in Llarn.

[Roman Audi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d recommend this to someone interested in Planetary Romance pulp stories. Not as obviously dated in its attitudes as its contemporaries and predecessors. It delivers a ton of action and neat ideas set to the backdrop of a sweeping one-dimensional romance that actually ends up more endearing than most romances in the sub-genre.

[John Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fox churned out these Burroughs knockoffs while writing some solid science fiction superhero comic books for DC. This one was too derivative of ERB to really get into, but I recall digging his Conan styled Kothar books quite a bit when I was young. Might seek those out instead.

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this so freakin much.

Man not born of Llarn, fights his way across the entire world to rescue his princess. I would too if my princess was Tuarra.

Pure chef's kiss. The writing is excellent, the world is excellent and Alan Morgan is a truly likable hero.

[Rainer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's decent, very pulpy but it's a good read for when you're waiting in lines, it'll take you away to a weird place called Llarn.