A Halloween Reading List
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Ace Double #42900: Tower of the Medusa by Lin Carter, and Kar Kaballa by
George H. Smith (Ace Books, November 1969). Cover art by Jeff Jones and John Schoenherr
I’m working on a Halloween entry for the Swords & Planet League, and on a couple of posts about Jack Vance. In the meantime, I thought I’d run a few covers of books I’ve got in the house here but haven’t actually read yet.
First up are three doubles featuring Lin Carter, two from Belmont and one from Ace. The Tower of Medusa is from Ace, with the backing book being Kar Kaballa by George H. Smith. Some reviews call it S&P but a quick scan suggests more Space Opera to me. After I read it, if it’s S&P, I’ll discuss it further. Cover artist is listed as Kelly Freas but I saw someone claim it has a signature reading “Jones” and that it was Jeffrey Jones. This does not look like a Jones to me and I can’t find any signature on my book.
[Click the images for Halloween-sized versions.]

The Flame of Iridar is fantasy and features an ancient Mars. Not S&P but adjacent in some ways. One of Carter’s earliest novel publications (although not his first). Had a Leigh Brackett feel. Cover artist unknown.
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The Evil That Men Do by John Brunner and The Purloined Planet
by Lin Carter (Belmont Books, May 1969). Cover uncredited
The Purloined Planet leans far into SF. Published by Belmont in 1969. That cover painting doesn’t do much for me, I’m afraid.
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Flash Gordon: The Lion Men of Mongo by Con Steffanson (Avon Books, March 1974). Cover by George Wilson
Flash Gordon: The Lion Men of Mongo, Published in 1974 from Avon. I believe this is the first purely prose novel written about the character, though If I’m wrong I’m sure someone will let me know.
The writer is listed as Con Steffanson, who is really Ron Goulart. Cover art by George Wilson.
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Treasure of the Black Falcon by D.M. Ritzlin (DMR Books, September 24, 2022). Cover by Adam Burke
Treasure of the Black Falcon by John Coleman Burroughs, ERB’s son. Note the JC initials, as in John Carter. The cover is by Michael Aviano and has a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea vibe to me. I’ve had this on my TBR pile for a while.
Charles Gramlich administers The Swords & Planet League group on Facebook, where this post first appeared. See all of his recent posts for Black Gate here.