The Sorcerer's Ship
Encyclopedia
The Sorcerer's Ship is a fantasy
novel
by Hannes Bok
. It was first published in the December, 1942 issue of the magazine Unknown
, and was first published in book form in paperback by Ballantine Books
as the ninth volume of the celebrated Ballantine Adult Fantasy series
in December, 1969. The Ballantine edition includes an introduction by Lin Carter
. The novel has also been published in translation in Polish
and Russian
.
-like abilities is employed by the other country known as Nanich to help aid them in the war, but will the sorcerer, and his magic be enough to save the land of Nanich from being overrun by Koph?
, he was on vacation swimming when in the middle of almost drowning he got sucked into another world. Throughout the book Gene Tries his hardest to fit in with the people who saved him from drifting in the ocean. Throughout the story Gene is very confused about the new world he has been dropped into, but tries his hardest to fit in.
Siwara : The princess of Nanich, a naive young woman who believes that there can be peace between Koph and Nanich, much to the disdain of her mentor Kaspel.
Kaspel: Siwara's Mentor. An old man who wears blue robes. A very logical, and calculating man but also a man with a kind heart, a fatherly love of Siwara, and an equal love of his country.
Froar: Another of Siwara's Mentors. A cold-hearted, treacherous, self serving man with a love for power. the book often describes that He has a very gravely voice and a wild stare. his motivation is the manipulation of Siwara to get what he desires.
Yanuk: An immortal chubby anthropomorphic fish-like creature with amazing psychic
abilities. Yanuk is very trusting and happy to have the company of other people after being alone for probably centuries by himself while he honed his powers. His amazing gifts were granted to him by a very powerful being named Orcher. at times he sees his gift of immortality as punishment rather than a blessing, and has been very, very lonely.
Orcher: A seemingly omnipotent being so powerful that he has supposedly made, and is in control of more than one whole universe
. Siwara summons him with the help of Yanuk to get his aid to help defend against the invasion of Koph.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Hannes Bok
Hannes Bok
Hannes Bok, pseudonym for Wayne Francis Woodard , was an American artist and illustrator, as well as an amateur astrologer and writer of fantasy fiction and poetry. He painted nearly 150 covers for various science fiction, fantasy, and detective fiction magazines, as well as contributing hundreds...
. It was first published in the December, 1942 issue of the magazine Unknown
Unknown (magazine)
Unknown was an American pulp fantasy fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1943 by Street & Smith, and edited by John W. Campbell. Unknown was a companion to Street & Smith's science fiction pulp, Astounding Science Fiction, which was also edited by Campbell at the time; many authors and...
, and was first published in book form in paperback by Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
as the ninth volume of the celebrated Ballantine Adult Fantasy series
Ballantine Adult Fantasy series
The Ballantine Adult Fantasy series was an imprint of Ballantine Books. Launched in 1969 , the series reissued a number of works of fantasy literature, which were out of print or dispersed in back issues of pulp magazines , in cheap paperback form—including works...
in December, 1969. The Ballantine edition includes an introduction by Lin Carter
Lin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft and Grail Undwin.-Life:Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida...
. The novel has also been published in translation in Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
.
Plot summary
A man named Gene finds himself cast into a new world by a powerful godlike being. Gene has been changed in such a way that he has every talent needed to survive this new world, including the ability to understand the language of its inhabitants. Gene is rescued from the seemingly endless oceans of this new world by a passing ship that is similar to the looks of a Viking galley. Aboard the ship he makes himself useful as best he can while meeting new friends and enemies. Eventually they come to an island where a mysterious creature who some see as a friend, and some see as an enemy, joins them aboard their ship to help deal with the threat of war from their neighboring kingdom known as Koph. The creature, utilizing his sorcererSorcerer
-Gaming:* Sorcerer , a 2002 tabletop role playing game made by Ron Edwards* Sorcerer , a 1984 interactive fiction computer game made by Infocom...
-like abilities is employed by the other country known as Nanich to help aid them in the war, but will the sorcerer, and his magic be enough to save the land of Nanich from being overrun by Koph?
Main characters
Gene Trevelli: The main protagonist of the story. Originally from New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, he was on vacation swimming when in the middle of almost drowning he got sucked into another world. Throughout the book Gene Tries his hardest to fit in with the people who saved him from drifting in the ocean. Throughout the story Gene is very confused about the new world he has been dropped into, but tries his hardest to fit in.
Siwara : The princess of Nanich, a naive young woman who believes that there can be peace between Koph and Nanich, much to the disdain of her mentor Kaspel.
Kaspel: Siwara's Mentor. An old man who wears blue robes. A very logical, and calculating man but also a man with a kind heart, a fatherly love of Siwara, and an equal love of his country.
Froar: Another of Siwara's Mentors. A cold-hearted, treacherous, self serving man with a love for power. the book often describes that He has a very gravely voice and a wild stare. his motivation is the manipulation of Siwara to get what he desires.
Yanuk: An immortal chubby anthropomorphic fish-like creature with amazing psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
abilities. Yanuk is very trusting and happy to have the company of other people after being alone for probably centuries by himself while he honed his powers. His amazing gifts were granted to him by a very powerful being named Orcher. at times he sees his gift of immortality as punishment rather than a blessing, and has been very, very lonely.
Orcher: A seemingly omnipotent being so powerful that he has supposedly made, and is in control of more than one whole universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
. Siwara summons him with the help of Yanuk to get his aid to help defend against the invasion of Koph.