Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Ship of Ishtar
The Ship of Ishtar
The Ship of Ishtar
Ebook285 pages6 hours

The Ship of Ishtar

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

The Ship of Ishtar was written in the year 1924 by Abraham Merritt. This book is one of the most popular novels of Abraham Merritt, and has been translated into several other languages around the world.

This book is published by Booklassic which brings young readers closer to classic literature globally.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherBooklassic
Release dateJul 7, 2015
ISBN9786155573675
The Ship of Ishtar
Author

Abraham Merritt

Abraham Grace Merritt (January 20, 1884 – August 21, 1943) – known by his byline, A. Merritt – was an American Sunday magazine editor and a writer of fantastic fiction. (Wikipedia)

Read more from Abraham Merritt

Related to The Ship of Ishtar

Related ebooks

Fantasy For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Ship of Ishtar

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5

2 ratings1 review

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book was on the "Seven-League Shelf"--a list of the "cream" of fantasy literature in A Reader's Guide to Fantasy. Originally published in 1924, the style feels antique, and the romance beyond antiquated. That style... well, we're definitely talking about the color purple--mind you, that sometimes has its beauties. The hero, John Kenton, a veteran of the first world war, is transported to a ship divided into two warring factions each representing a Babylonian God--Ishtar, Goddess of Love, and Nergal, God of the Underworld. The device through which Kenton is transported is an ancient artifact shipped to him from an archeological dig, a model of the ship. Here's how the model is described:It floated high on a base of curving waves cut from lapis lazuli andfoam-crested with milky rock crystals. Its hull was of crystal, creamyand faintly luminous. Its prow was shaped like a slender scimitar, bentbackward. Under the incurved tip was a cabin whose seaward sides wereformed, galleon fashion, by the upward thrust of the bows. Where thehull drew up to form this cabin, a faint flush warmed and cloudycrystal; it deepened as the sides lifted; it gleamed at last with aradiance that turned the cabin into a rosy jewel.There's only one way that style above is atypical. No exclamation points. I can't recall ever reading an author more fond of them--several in each page. More on one page than almost all contemporary authors would put into an entire novel. It was an annoying tic, but not nearly annoying as the romance within the pages. Here's another quote--that makes contemporary romance aisle bodice rippers seem enlightened and restrained in comparison:"Yea--dear lord of me--even you do not know how greatly I love you,"whispered Sharane again, eyes worshipping, arms fettering his neck. Hislips clung to hers. Even in the sweet fire of their touch he marvelled,blind to his own renaissance, at this changed Sharane--Love's changelingsince that time he had carried her within her bower, disdaining her asgift, taking her by right of his two strong arms.Swift memories shook him; of Sharane--conquered; of some unearthlywonder that had flamed over the shrine and with fingers of pure fire hadwoven his soul with hers in threads of flaming ecstasies!Oh, gag. Sharane aka Miss Love Object I found pretty insipid, Kenton too stupid to live and a victim of testosterone poisoning. I much preferred the secondary characters--the Assyrian Gigi, the Persian Zubran and the Viking Sigurd. Yet, I admit it. By and large I enjoyed this. The colorful characters, the lushness of the mythological trappings, the swashbuckling daring do. It was a rip roaring yarn told in bright primary colors that I sped through happily turning the pages, even if the characters were paper thin. This doesn't make me want to read more of this author--for this type of adventure story I'd recommend H Rider Haggard over Merritt. But melodramatic pulp fiction it might be, it was cheesy fun.

Book preview

The Ship of Ishtar - Abraham Merritt

`1^book_preview_excerpt.html\ےƑ̓^w M,3kzfWEH.͡ 0ɞs2vKv&BUV^N/>q_|8)PNs}3\^)t՟8y6LS_\*7~W/~k/a8 ]\s{cN.q~4zxaڌ00ss'ZP pCr.3ؽJ4w"|n/##`NXSv b,k۫I~ E<.gv_p` .fADn1ŪZq6u_0y2]%dCE6`1tr;qt8_SbQ+]\:־4+ub2`+NC,VLmy !HNR21L Ƹ85nҧ1 K}!m07O⁝/\pe*9Sl彘G9rD79!wڀMBNJ7}S6?! `?<=c\h&4]o+M T#=۷(uY7 %Et_\bɘS7,?J|m@%\r;1Ϡ)`4 D= *eg*XpNH>a~+NdW%LR;q".øRF3H.~B - ^&Ckt1gRCm%sQzWo C'&k={"7%Z >w1;^jR{WD֯Lk]HdxAj>k׺+uMʏu.(Wϸ (d~\M^f&SCl:&z}(TT°Ё. mD=W&t*hyC-LKw1ihHS1;k-Jd$JCHїAz=ފNjY6oPVb2CƖK{J0}2S3' ey7s ͂\:C$eUC8%f3-p΂5W 0dRrxlocsYu 7!ugː /,D,hc[\rֲ0I5䡸Oy%ZܹH$(Z69H${Cta|8産Ql9VL/\C$z2?Ӆy|%@`щOPCqO\ArWl[DkS5! x̂p>VX)UѬHIƸR mev]#Hp֐aW`[=QzݻWU/026 d%YtEHa ;O脦G2# 炥7VZفźS Hʊ6S^{ׅ&L !JS\hXIK`£=i# KOFҞ߷ёX+5"TE"(cm~s= VUtG SD_lL-s>.n2}jS"pmD*ax-/o`R8 b.i|G憂[ب qm2U,S]‘MS>s?:5ZjkuMUѳbeɐ ` >۔A,Fh%$o<D/<,JQkn#&#M HB#0Vϒ_&Lu`7[y8i%eȐJGs8KG<~QXHȩ;O(f.9[&\Xx#a pOvaQH麺Aԓ jTզ:,ߟ-O;eUW^*˼t}92^NZzǭ4&MYU}J#i\C\J,i  (ѪA,Us% e2n+^3LF{Rffrf%ÃO܍-ۥ"bϫ]ѡ=mny *.9-!f1='d(HY  E* 8n;P QvKL';b.C{HigCqhONj"GemAYG/%wKin>S!I$ X{Jve7DT%[8)D]7 +5XZb[*z,+Z!z #a!*R)"] {VH~7:4;rqCB;NHF9P ~y9`k, ?;kDrҝa?`]%d!R@?zf%{6oL)s%7 je{sj/mYZ(:n[{A㔟9 D@mފc邽ExDY^4` SRzJOWf3{Mf36fdCv~~M9:k+:0]: 1l,dOT @~b:Z*oT_C0HCGء3jQ!2Vaae+3Δ.F4iMj)Kc @b)>)]أ'ٳ1)4J^7﹡Oˡ,LA³1ݶB؉MOdm "0;oHSiɔYsbiCMV4B%'8K)IUJ&mj7*ӬRèlbYW\@T1l3iTtW}lvTTq ֏/Pk6FVtB䆀x^3{֍$-?IHcE!(7{tqV7:e c{ v}5:xV|JηaF^=;{9aoW {JF*'+tVܭ+ۍYpV.L&ݗHوјj:ۖi;=\r}Ud< zy[]Nd ǮH:eSgx-sVL+9hCYj0_G~zF8ku`ܝUg͆xxOg[g(ER dۆ #U9RfYe{So) 0pjLNx[yreCq!_X/0 2#CHNm vFZS>{6(Vh>Dh)(JJ&7˭z!MVwM0XMdGtmamY܅j9aAJ\2cO3]ҺBwƶ9}{eT&~CY'd@o(fTÁԥ(QfsO)ukhޖcFz=cكLi&PKK{U?gD C;)Af8,[Um7UxyϾ3mZCA0vϢ*=[Kպ}Vέ,_sQó^n ?{?f x-èNo{ ||>3V ^+69F;YMz9Z#dެhpH;|C¤.ot]3n[`RS% E9qonR^Wzml.텯&yx77X6ܖbO{Ҷ0ԋuY˳:sʑb_pLìvu3ΑmsOڨ@'Jع[.LT7GK ٕ J} fsvpg;xK/! &5yK,q{@jZ7uGAǖ*1-2w/ڔehow{$[M$ڻg]7vʨߓ HnD1yvv8PQc^F;9Mb'LV/&;*"^o0;9moQx4vu(=f} >G$s a9`đw nlαB?Fh,uFcЍ֩I=P>һ_B<@O6ЄpZ+?!(>!lnwr<ȟ>BfA>a^p8qT e8+]S?tFއ/bY_qH_f%#Ezۂ ]li eD i; l>.>={ƴ _DrIu2gn\_6Ԝ2j:urjHx˫ ,Ey1M-F+ҰȸT{+ܴi\mv՟ .(=aQ٠03yr^zx(21grfp/ ~]v_vYwij |;jR St(MBn ?2ZW ;f^:|hU GaCI)V*)ζ=w׆p)_hz~&-E#GBm^kVwKS8:7ubdWF59U zsMusi{t" C d0玶sXrsS#'}_Ŕ]ȲbQmz >^zs\~kCkK ^&}T17S4Pcd~ ƞ&e]˖d#YD 24%o~m1Stz[{٦KGۀ+َNh!5Vpy".S~Sw͸JV(]%PwGS
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1