7.6 /10 1 Votes
Language English Media type Print (Hardback) OCLC 1929358 Genre Fantasy literature Country United States of America | 3.8/5 Goodreads Publication date 1932 Pages 295 Originally published 1932 Page count 295 Publisher Horace Liveright | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar Works by A Merritt, Fantasy books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dwellers in the Mirage is a fantasy novel by A. Merritt. It was first published in book form in 1932 by Horace Liveright. The novel was originally serialized in six parts in the magazine Argosy beginning with the January 23, 1932 issue.
Contents
Plot introduction
The novel concerns American Leif Langdon who discovers a warm valley in Alaska. Two races inhabit the valley, the Little People and a branch of an ancient Mongolian race; they worship the evil Kraken named Khalk'ru which they summon from another dimension to offer human sacrifice. The inhabitants recognize Langdon as the reincarnation of their long dead hero, Dwayanu. Dwayanu's spirit possesses Langdon and starts a war with the Little People. Langdon eventually fights off the presence of Dwayanu and destroys the Kraken.
There are variant endings of the work. In the original, Leif's love dies, but the publisher inartistically has her survive. The original tragic ending has been reinstated in some/many recent reprints.
Critical reception
Boucher and McComas described Dwellers in the Mirage as attractive to "those who love wild adventure even when shallowly written."