A Sorcerer of Atlantis with a Prince in the Kingdom of Ghosts

A Sorcerer of Atlantis introduces two adventurers—Brimm and Snoori—who find themselves in Atlantis battling as array of bizarre monsters in the company of warrior Princess Selinn of Ur. But as Brimm becomes intimate with Maitha, the queen of Atlantis, he senses that even more baleful creatures—including the menancing People of the Deep—threaten to doom the fabled continent.

Also included is the novella “A Prince in the Kingdom of Ghosts.” Korean-American Kerrin Kim, shattered by his father’s death, is himself murdered—and finds himself in an afterlife realm where he must assume the responsibilities of a prince in a land of ghosts, elemental spirits, and other supernatural threats.

The pair of tales, written in the tradition of Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Fritz Leiber, and Jack Vance, reveal John Shirley’s exuberant imagination, his skill at portraying vivid and memorable characters, and a narrative pace that carries the reader from beginning to end with breathless excitement. Chilling terror mixes with wry humor aa Shirley makes his fantasy worlds unescapably real.

John Shirley on A Sorcerer of Atlantis:

A Sorcerer of Atlantis is a sort of celebration of the Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague De Camp, Fritz Lieber, and Michael Moorcock sword-and-sorcery subgenre of fantasy. I do it my way—I always try to bring something original to any genre I work in—but it’s still a classic fusion of horror and fantasy and heroic adventure. It’s something I always wanted to do so I just went ahead and did it.

Publishers Weekly Review of A Sorcerer of Atlantis with a Prince in the Kingdom of Ghosts

In A Sorcerer of Atlantis, the diverting short novel that’s the centerpiece of this fantasy pairing from Shirley, Brimm, a would-be sorcerer, and his companion, Snoori, are lured to Atlantis by Princess Cleito’s promise of gold to whoever can slay a minor demon on her behalf. Upon arrival they quickly find that things are not as they seem: the offer of gold is false, Cleito turns out to be a particularly nasty demon herself, and dark deeds are afoot. Brimm and Snoori soon become embroiled with dark magic, rival gods, spirits of the dead, and the menacing People of the Deep, all of which foreshadow the destruction of Atlantis itself. In the novella “A Prince in the Kingdom of Ghosts,” Kerrin Kim, a Korean American from New Jersey, is murdered and awakens to find he’s a prince in the afterlife, where his father, also murdered, has ruled as king. As prince, Kerrin must assume responsibility for both solving his and his father’s murders and dealing with a threat to the spirit realm of which they’re a part. A brisk pace and distinctive characters make up for the lack of anything groundbreaking in these two tales. Fans of L. Sprague de Camp’s lighter sword and sorcery fantasies will be pleased.