7.4 /10 1 Votes
Country United States Publication date 1984 Pages 180 pp Cover artist Stephen Marchesi | 3.7/5 Goodreads Language English Media type Print (Hardcover) Originally published 1984 Publisher Doubleday Preceded by The Wizard of Zao | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Series The Chronicles of Kylix Genres Sword and sorcery, Speculative fiction Similar Lin Carter books, Sword and sorcery books, Other books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kellory the Warlock is a fix-up fantasy novel written by Lin Carter, the third book of the Chronicles of Kylix series. Its seven episodic chapters were originally written as short stories, but only one, "In the Valley of Silence," had been previously published (as "Vault of Silence," in the anthology Swords Against Tomorrow (1970)). The book was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in April 1984. It was reprinted in hardcover by Wildside Press in 2007.
Contents
Plot
Each volume of the Chronicles of Kylix is set on a different world in the magical solar system of the fictional star Kylix in the constellation of the Unicorn. The system consists of the five planets Zao, Olymbris, Thoorana, Zephrondus and Gulzund. Kellory the Warlock takes place on Zephrondus.
Kellory is the last survivor of the Black Wolves tribe, descended from the Lost Kings of Illyriod. His people were massacred by the Thugoda Horde, who burned his father alive and held his own sword hand in the same fire so he could live to tell the tale but never raise a sword against his tormentors. He dedicates his life to revenge against the horde, becoming a warlock since he is no longer able to be a warrior. In time, he achieves his dark goal.
Contents
The young Kellory seeks the castle of the Green Enchanter, the world's most powerful mage, in hope of becoming his apprentice to be able to employ magic against the Thugoda Horde in place of his lost sword arm. The enchanter's castle lies within an active volcano, protected by sorcery from the heat.
Some years later, now possessed of a staff to focus his magic power, Kellory saves a female captive from a band of Thungoda. He is searching for a legendary spell book, the Book of Shadows that he believes will help him destroy the whole horde. He seeks it futilely in the abandoned tower of its original owner.
Kellory and his companion are captured by desert tribesmen, whom they win over. Together they enter a lost city, where the tribesmen hope to find treasure and Kellory the Book of Shadows. Instead they encounter a supernatural menace.
Reviews
The book was reviewed by Jackie Cassada in Library Journal, v. 109, issue 5, March 1984, p. 599, and Paul M. Lloyd in Fantasy Review, v. 7, no. 8, Sep. 1984, p. 26.