Atlantis: Isaac Asimov's Magical World's of Fantasy 9

Magical Worlds of Fantasy #9

by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), Charles G. Waugh (Editor)

A collection of fantastic tales from some of the world's finest science fiction writers brings to life a lost world that still holds out the promise of magical secrets or fatal traps for the curious or unwary

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Science Fiction Fantasy, Anthologies

350 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1988

About the author

Works of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles, The Foundation Trilogy (1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.

Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.

Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).

People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.

Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.

Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably this is really 3 and a half stars. I bought it for the Clark Ashton Smith and Robert E. Howard stories, but there is some other decent stuff there. It's short stories with an Atlantis theme.

[Andrew Hale · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a 3.4 than a 3 rating but you can't pick such ratings.

My biggest exposure to Atlantis was through Howard's Kull adventures and that's how I generally like to read about the theme. The ancient sword-and-sorcery type tales appealed to me though Pollard's quick fishing tale about a struggling aquatic race held awe and was original to me. Lanier's story reminds me of Edgar Rice Burroughs, who he relates in his tale and I wanted to enjoy but I felt too much was unrevealed with this story. Anderson and Whitehead lacked action and atmosphere, relying heavily on their own dialogue to drive the story. Whitehead had moments of enjoyable action but it was minimal. Hamilton's Ulios' was told in a quick and enthralling way, with a mixture of science-fiction and sword-and-sorcery that I could get into, though the characters were all a bit selfish and abusive. Le Guin's story didn't fit in with the theme to me though I can understand the echoes of Atlantis against the fascist society. It was too wordy with little action, forcing you to ponder longer on things that shouldn't take so long. I enjoyed C. A. Smith's ancient macabre horror, Wellman's psuedo-romantic Kardios, De Camp's cosmic Lovecraftian curse, Kuttner's fantastical brutal lands and dark dealings, and Howard's unrivaled poetic and timeless yearning for adventure. Howard, though showing much tragedy, always seems to offer an ongoing hope for the fighter.

Treaty in Tartessos by Karen Anderson 2.5/5
Not much happens here but a quick debate between two warring representatives. The new men, the colonizers and farmers, have been at war with the natives, the hunters. Both sides are weary and ready for common ground but men and centaurs don't mix well, especially since one side wants to farm the land and the other wants to hunt it, two things that can't mix. Iratzabal is willing to take a specific and unknown land, called Atlantis, as the centaur's new home, a deal that Commander Kynthides begrudgingly accepts.

The Vengeance of Ulios by Edmond Hamilton 3/5
This tale spans 6,000+ years, in quick succession, and with glimpses at historical figures and wars.Though it involves four Atlanteans, the chase is beyond that environment and into the wide world. There's no one to directly cheer for, considering the disregard for life among the four MCs and their zeal for Atlantis over the rest of the world, but the promise of vengeance drives the story. Ulios, Guardian of the Force, greatest scientist of Atlantis. Etain, Ulios' wife, half noble, half barbaric tribe, all beauty. Karnath is assistant to Ulios and the Force housed on Atlantis. Sthan is Ulios' servant, loyal to a fault. Atlantis holds their science to a regal and pious position. Ulios and Sthan transfer from body to body to chase down Karnath and Etain, who destroyed Atlantis with the Force, and betrayed Ulios' love for Etain. All four leave a trail of corpses through their transfers, effecting history in ways, like Tiberius and Caligula, that begs the question: where do all the discarded brains go and what would the world be like if the advanced race/society of Atlantis thrived on?

Scar-Tissue by Henry S. Whitehead 3/5
Mainly a conversation between three men about what could possibly be a yarn, Atlantis doesn't play much of a role in this tale. Naval surgeon Dr. Pelletier converses with our narrator, Canevin, and a man they picked up in port, Joe Smith. Joe has ancestral memories where he thrice now recalls living in a past age, one of which was as a Lemurian gladiator slave among the Ludektan army of Atlantis. The action takes place in this recalled memory and also when Joe meets his past gladiator foe in modern day.

The Double Shadow by Clark Ashton Smith 4/5
Necromantic sorcerer Avyctes lives away from the city of Poseidonis, last surviving pupil of the dead tyrannical Malygris, summoning spirits and demons to his estate, a haunting place that his servant, narrator Pharpetron, fears is their demise when they happen upon an alien artifact. Avyctes has experienced the dark lore of Atlantis, Thule, Mu, and Mayapan, but he thirsts for even darker incantations. Using the alien artifact and engaging a prehistoric ghost named Ybith, an Atlantean mummy warrior named Oigos, and the archaic demoniac summonings of serpent men, Avyctes opens the gates of hell, shadowed by cosmic horror.

The Dweller in the Temple by Manly Wade Wellman 4/5
Kardios is the last-surviving Atlantean, causing it's destruction by fulfilling the myth of kissing Queen Theona. Kardios carries a sword from the stars and a harp, both gifted by tribes and towns that he defeated a monster for. In his travels, the priests and royal guard hail him as a prophesied king for the kingdom of Nyanyanya. Kardios will meet many beauties but Yola will service his heart and soul. Kardios will also see how deeply rooted the people are to the ancient "god", Tongbi.

Gone Fishing by J. A. Pollard 4/5
The Atlanteans appear to be an underwater race, struggling to survive. They eat the lifeless catches of their nets when cast above the waves, where the Old Ones say that death awaits all living creatures. But are the Old Ones right? Frago and Hilyar are surprised to find a living catch inside their net. What sort of creature is this from above the waves? How many of these have been eaten by the Atlanteans? Are they the reason the Atlanteans have less haul each season?

The Lamp by L.Sprague De Camp 3.5/5
Alfred Ten Eyck, a loser in regards to living, is barely getting by on his family's lumber and camp property, supposedly hated by the natives, cursed in all ventures, and buying funny things here and there. Funny things like an ancient archaeological lamp that he has our narrator, Wilson Newbury, pick up in Paris. Ten Eyck's personal cook/lumberjack, Mike Devlin, is the only other fixture not sold off or stolen, unless you count Robin Hood the raccoon. Ten Eyck has been told by Ionides, his Paris contact, that this is lamp is Atlantean and that nightmares will come to them of Yuskejek, an Atlantean god, a cosmic horror. Atlantis' demise might be better understood on the Ten Eyck island.

The Shadow Kingdom by Robert E. Howard 5/5
Howard paints a vivid picture of the shadowed and masked lives of civilizations and their hierarchies. Kull of the pagan tribal Atlantean people, a barbaric mountain and valley folk of god Valka that disowns him, now reigns as the warrior king of ancient Valusia of the Seven Empires, usurped from a tyrant. Brule, the Spear-slayer, a rival Pict that would initially see Kull speared, becomes his most loyal man in their shared battle against shadowy figures and ancient foes.
1. King Comes Riding
2. Thus Spake the Silent Halls of Valusia
3. They That Walk the Night
4. Masks

The New Atlantis by Ursula K. Le Guin 2/5
Le Guin's witty social commentary that seemed to poke fun at the causes and concerns of modern society was entertaining. To also think, whether intentionally or not, that an advanced society like Atlantis sunk into the ocean and made way for the world as we know it, and for us to picture our own society as more advanced than ever, only for it to slowly sink while a New Atlantis rises, is kinda ironic and a testament against how we glamorize the past as something so distant and romantic while preaching our own time as the way the last should have behaved. But this isn't a story of Atlantis as much as it is a criticism against the System. Crony quasi-capitalists, head-in-the-cloud socialists, monopolies and centralized resources controlled by the State. There welfare and right of health being enforced and regulated by a self-pious government. It's a bleak and depressing tale in the perception of Ursula, the same environment you get from EarthSea and other Le Guin stories.

Dragon Moon by Henry Kuttner 4/5
In Atlantis there are different kingdoms: northern kingdom Cyrena, where the dragon throne passes through blood lines, but Wolfish Elak has forsaken the lineage for adventures with Lycon, where they currently find themselves in Poseidonia entertaining drink, lust, and brawls. Dalan, druid of god Mider, on the other hand, has a fiery focus on the other kingdoms and figures of Atlantis: southern kingdom Kiriath and its king, Sepher, possessed by alien-like Karkora, the Pallid One, as well as the helping hand of Aynger and his Helm-Breaker war-hammer from the western kingdom Amenalk and Mayana from the sea-race, wife to Sepher.
1. Elak of Atlantis
2. Dragon Throne
3. The Gates of Dream
4. The Shop Sails North
5. Aynger of Amenalk
6. Mayana
7. Karkora
8. The Dragon's Throne
9. The Hammer of Aynger
10. The Black Vision

The Brigadier in Check - and Mate by Sterling E. Lanier 3/5
There's a mystery here that I excitedly anticipated, compared and contrasted with the ape men of Tarzan, the lost city of Opar, Sasquatches, bigfoots, and Atlantis. I just don't feel there was much of a reveal and that the start of the story (the First Move chapter) didn't match with the end (the bulk of the tale and the Counter Move chapter). I wasn't sure if the Brigadier's tale was partially true, mainly because of his wife's myaterious origin, and the tragedy of "his cat lady". Was I meant to assume or is this just a snippet of a larger tale? I loved his set-up and the history/mystery of many cultural myths partnered with classic literature. That the last surviving colony of the Atlanteans can be the origins of bigfoot and the ape men that inspired the Tarzan mythos, is a new take on Atlantis for me, and a neat one to explore.
- Jim Parker - pulp magazine writer
- Donald Ffellowes - British Army Brigadier General with tales that Parker writes about under unidentifiable details
- "Lioness Diva" Phaona - mysterious wife to Donald

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of Atlantis-related short stories, containing:

Introduction: The Lost City • Isaac Asimov
• Treaty in Tartessos • Karen Anderson • ss F&SF May ’63
• The Vengeance of Ulios [“The Avenger from Atlantis”:] • Edmond Hamilton • nv Weird Tales Jul ’35
• Scar-Tissue • Henry S. Whitehead • ss Amazing Jul ’46
• The Double Shadow • Clark Ashton Smith • ss The Double Shadow and Other Fantasies, Auburn Journal: Auburn CA, 1933; Weird Tales Feb ’39
• The Dweller in the Temple • Manly Wade Wellman • nv Swords Against Darkness #2, ed. Andrew J. Offutt, Zebra, 1977
• Gone Fishing • J. A. Pollard • ss
• The Lamp [Willy Newbury:] • L. Sprague de Camp • ss F&SF Mar ’75
• The Shadow Kingdom [Kull:] • Robert E. Howard • nv Weird Tales Aug ’29
• The New Atlantis • Ursula K. Le Guin • na The New Atlantis, ed. Robert Silverberg, Hawthorne, 1975
• Dragon Moon [Elak:] • Henry Kuttner • nv Weird Tales Jan ’41
• The Brigadier in Check — and Mate [Brigadier Ffellowes:] • Sterling E. Lanier • na The Curious Quests of Brigadier Ffellowes, Donald M. Grant, 1986


Read in 1990, Siuslaw High School library copy.