paizo.com - The Ship of Ishtar (Trade Paperback)


Jeremiah T., Thu, Nov 13, 2008, 01:29 PM

Hello, Mr. Mona! First-time poster here---with a burning question to boot. First of all, I want to thank you and the other folks at Paizo for producing nice new trade editions of many a worthy classic of the fantastic. And you deserve double-thanks for the care you put into producing sound, definitive texts. I am especially excited about reading Otis Adelbert Kline in all his unmutilated glory. And while I'm on texts, I may as well segue to my question: What's the source text for your upcoming edition of THE SHIP OF ISHTAR? I'm not a scholar of such matters by any stretch of the imagination, but I do realize that there are a lot of variant texts out there when it comes to A. Merritt. This is partly because Merritt was an inveterate reviser, and partly because of meddling editors. In the case of THE SHIP OF ISHTAR, I suspect editors were responsible for the shape of the first book publication (Putnam, 1926), in which certain passages from the original ARGOSY--ALL STORY text were truncated. This abridgment, however slight, was apparently severe enough to create unnecessary confusion among readers about the behavior of John Kenton early in the story. (If I am not mistaken--and, as I am working from memory, I'm making no claims of infallibility---the Putnam edition purged significant passages which referred to Kenton being afflicted with shell-shock after his service in the Great War.) Unfortunately, this altered text is probably the most widely read one, as Avon later used the Putnam text for their mass market PB reprints of ISHTAR. The preferred text is apparently that of the Borden Memorial Edition (ca. 1949). Not only did the Memorial Edition feature some of illustrator Virgil Finlay's most gorgeous work; it also restored the full text of ISHTAR. Of course that leaves this question: did the Memorial Edition merely restore the ARGOSY text in its entirety? or did it feature emendations/additions by Merritt, perhaps derived by the editors from MS material? Merritt, after all, was always endeavoring to improve his work. Of course, I've never compared the texts, so I couldn't say---but it would be most interesting to look into. Anyway, just wondering as I wander (the 'Net that is). Many thanks! Keep up the great work!


Erik Mona (Publisher), Fri, Nov 14, 2008, 05:27 PM

I have not yet had the occasion to compare the Memorial edition and the Argosy edition (I don't have the latter, I'm afraid), but we will be going with the Memorial Edition, as it is thought to be the author's preferred text. It definitely has the bit about the shell shock cut from the Avon edition. I also have the "Famous Fantastic Mysteries" version of this book, but I've not yet done a textual analysis and comparison to the three or four other versions I do have. I can say this: The Memorial Edition is superior to the Avon edition in almost all ways, it's about a third again as long, and I'm confident it's the right one for the Planet Stories edition. By the way, you really know your stuff!


Jeremiah T., Fri, Nov 14, 2008, 09:56 PM

Erik, thank you for answering my questions. Just what I wanted to hear . . . and then you come out of nowhere and hit me with more Wellman, too! Well now, looks like I'm going to be pre-ordering a few more Paizo volumes . . . You, sir, obviously do your homework, too. And if you don't end up with some sort of award for your pivotal role in bringing this fine old stuff back into print, I wanna know the reason why! Best regards, Jeremiah


Erik Mona (Publisher), Tue, Nov 18, 2008, 02:56 PM

In lieu of awards, I will accept increased sales for the line. Your purchases help more than you know!


Blue Tyson (Planet Stories Subscriber), Tue, Dec 2, 2008, 03:53 AM

That is interesting, so which version is this from, anyone know? http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0601941.txt