A. Merritt's "Adventurer Archaeologists"
A. Merritt helped create and define the 'adventurer archaeologist' trope. Without his influence, we might not have the likes of Indiana Jones, Dirk Pitt or Lara Croft.
Read MoreCentennial Edition of A. Merritt's Ship of Ishtar Coming in November
On November 8, 1924, The Ship of Ishtar by A. Merritt hit the stands. Drenched in blood, sex and the supernatural, nothing like it had ever seen print before in American popular culture. On November 8, 2024, DMR Books will release a special Centennial Edition of Merritt’s classic proto-sword-and-sorcery novel.
Read MoreA. Merritt and The Ship of Ishtar
A. Merritt's landmark heroic fantasy novel, The Ship of Ishtar, still resonates a solid century after its first publication. Since that time, it has inspired classic tales from the likes of Robert E. Howard, Leigh Brackett and Michael Moorcock.
Read MoreMore Merritt in 2024!
Finishing up the 2024 Guest Bloggerama, Doug Ellis has some bombshell news for A. Merritt fans!
Read MoreHoward Days 2007, Chris Hale and The Ship of Ishtar
Some readers of the DMR Books Blog may remember my recent post on the sword-and-sorcery/heroic fantasy legacy of Chris Hale. Well, as it turns out, pics from the trip Chris and I made to Howard Days 2007 have survived. Those photos, plus other cool stuff, can be found in this post.
Read MoreChris Hale: A Fallen Warrior
Chris Hale was a student of sword-and-sorcery. He left this world far too soon, but he achieved notable things in the field of Howard Studies/S&S/Heroic Fantasy. I’m going to look at those achievements in this blog post.
Read MoreSailing the Seas of Fantasy on “The Ship of Ishtar”
Regular readers of the DMR blog should be well acquainted with A. Merritt, whose 137th birthday we celebrate today. In his heyday from the late teens of the twentieth century to the early 1950s, he was arguably the most popular fantasy author in America. His novel, The Ship of Ishtar was voted by the readers of Argosy as the most popular story to have appeared in the pages or Argosy or All Story, consigning Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan of the Apes to second place.
Read MoreThe Flame Even the Gods May Not Destroy: A. Merritt and The Ship of Ishtar
The Ship of Ishtar is a thorough and beautifully-written exploration of one man’s journey in search for honor, courage, and love, after living in a world that has forgotten them. You’re going to want to place it proudly alongside your well-loved copies of Robert E. Howard, J.R.R. Tolkien, and other timeless fantasists.
Read MoreA. Merritt and the Irish
For Saint Patrick’s Day, I thought I’d look at how A. Merritt viewed Ireland and the Irish. A. Merritt's ancestors came from the southwest of England, but he had a sincere admiration for the Emerald Isle.
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