Synopsis
Planetary secret agent Lanarck places himself in the power of Laoome, weird creator, and plunges into perilous dream worlds on the difficult quest for a lovely girl fugitive!
History
First publication: Thrilling Wonder Stories, Summer 1945
Review
Good, but not good. That is the best summation of this story. Overall it is standard space opera of the sort common in Thrilling Wonder or Planet Stories with the hero dedicated to duty and to Right, the beautiful girl who instantly falls for him, she is in danger of course and he has to get her out of it. All of it very much the stock plot and cahracters of early science fiction adventures. But in the midst of this is a very imaginative situation of a God who creates worlds with his mind and can send people into them. So we get to go to a fantasy planet. But then the god has seizures which affect his fantasy worlds and create havoc. The imagination and description here is awesome. If only this had been in the hands of a more experienced writer! This story has the potential richness of a novel or even a series. I wanted more, more detail, more time with the characters, more development of this world and all of the other fantasy worlds. So much potential, but then it ends. I think this would be bothersome for readers who came to the genre through more sophisticated works, but for those who enjoy those simple old space operas of the past, you will probably like this one.
