A. Merritt – författare

On the island of Ponape in the South Pacific, the cold light of a full moon washes over the crumbling ruins of an ancient, vanished civilization. Unleashed from the depths is the Dweller, a glittering, enigmatic force of monstrous terror and radiant beauty that stalks the South Pacific, claiming all in its path. An international expedition led by American Walter Goodwin races to save those who have fallen victim to the Dweller. The dark mystery behind the malevolent force is Muria, a forgotten, mythic world deep within the earth that is home to a legendary people intent on reclaiming what was theirs long ago. This commemorative edition of The Moon Pool features an introduction by Robert Silverberg, a review of the first edition, and a glossary of the Murian language.

One of the most gripping fantasies ever written, The Moon Pool embodies all the romanticism and poetic nostalgia characteristic of A. Merritt's writings. Set on the island of Ponape, full of ruins from ancient civilizations, the novel chronicles the adventures of a party of explorers who discover a previously unknown underground world full of strange peoples and super-scientific wonders. From the depths of this world, the party unwittingly unleashes the Dweller, a monstrous terror that threatens the islands of the South Pacific. Although Merritt did not invent the lost world novel, following in the footsteps of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Burroughs and others, he greatly elaborated upon that tradition. This new edition includes a biography of the author, and an introduction detailing Merritt's many sources and influences, including the occult, mythological, and scientific discourses of his day.

The Moon Pool (1918) is a novel by A. Merritt. Originally published as a pair of short stories in the Argosy All-Story Weekly, Merritt’s novel is an influential work in the tradition of lost world fantasy, a subgenre pioneered by Edgar Rice Burroughs and Arthur Conan Doyle. Thought to have influenced H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu,” The Moon Pool is widely regarded as Merritt’s finest work. “Now the Thing was close to the end of the white path; close up to the barrier of darkness still between the ship and the sparkling head of the moon stream. Now it beat up against that barrier as a bird against the bars of its cage. It whirled with shimmering plumes, with swirls of lacy light, with spirals of living vapour.” While on a seafaring expedition, Dr. Goodwin, a brilliant scientist, first makes contact with a being known to some as the Dweller, and to others as the Shining One. Created by a lost race residing in the Earth’s core, the Dweller soon broke free from its masters and took on a capacity for evil. Now, all that remains of the once vibrant and advanced underground civilization are the three Silent Ones, wise and immortal beings whose duty—if they can fulfill it—is to destroy the Dweller once and for all. Joined by pilot Larry O’Keefe, Dr. Goodwin voyages underground to learn more about the creature he first saw by the light of the moon. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of A. Merritt’s The Moon Pool is a classic of American fantasy fiction reimagined for modern readers.