Lin Carter Books in Order
76 books are credited to Lin Carter, published between 1965 and 2012; 1 of them appeared after Lin Carter's death in 1988. The first book is Thongor and The Wizard of Lemuria (1965) and the newest is Young Thongor (2012). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 76
- Published
- 1965–2012
- Confirmed
- 1 of 76 titles
- Pages on record
- 8,416 in 43 of 76 books
- Reading time
- 140–210 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 8,416 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 43 of 76 titles with a page count on record.
Lin Carter, born Linwood Vrooman Carter on 9 June 1930, was an American science fiction and fantasy author, editor and critic who died on 7 February 1988. Carter also wrote as Grail Undwin and as H. P. Lowcraft, the name used for a parody of H. P. Lovecraft. During the 1970s Carter edited the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, which introduced readers to overlooked fantasy classics. The catalogue lists 76 books from Thongor and The Wizard of Lemuria (1965) onward. Thongor, Callisto, World's End, Green Star, Zarkon and Terra Magica are among the series, and Lemuria appears in the subjects.
How many Lin Carter books are there?
Lin Carter has 76 books, released between 1965 and 2012. 1 of them were published after Lin Carter's death in 1988. They include 13 series and 15 titles listed outside any series.
Lin Carter Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 76 Lin Carter books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 119651572/4
- 21966–2/4
- 3The Star Magicians1966 · confirmed 2/41966–2/4
- 41966–2/4
- 51967–2/4
- 61967–2/4
- 7The Flame of Iridar1967 · confirmed 2/41967–2/4
- 819671572/4
- 91968–2/4
- 10Tower at the Edge of Time1968 · 144 pages · confirmed 2/419681442/4
- 1119681602/4
- 1219681582/4
- 131968–2/4
- 14Beyond the Gates of Dream1969 · confirmed 2/41969–2/4
- 15Tolkien1969 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/419692242/4
- 16Tower of the Medusa1969 · confirmed 2/41969–2/4
- 17Lost World of Time1969 · confirmed 2/41969–2/4
- 181970–2/4
- 1919701602/4
- 2019711922/4
- 211971–2/4
- 2219722242/4
- 2319721242/4
- 2419722082/4
- 25Lovecraft1972 · confirmed 2/41972–2/4
- 261973–2/4
- 271973–2/4
- 281973–2/4
- 291973–2/4
- 30Imaginary Worlds1973 · 278 pages · confirmed 2/419732782/4
- 3119731892/4
- 32The Black Star1973 · 236 pages · confirmed 2/419732362/4
- 3319741642/4
- 3419741922/4
- 3519742242/4
- 361974–2/4
- 3719741922/4
- 38Time War1974 · confirmed 2/41974–2/4
- 39Dreams from R'lyeh1975 · 72 pages · confirmed 2/41975722/4
- 4019752192/4
- 4119751962/4
- 4219751962/4
- 4319751722/4
- 441975–2/4
- 451975–2/4
- 4619762742/4
- 4719761602/4
- 4819762282/4
- 4919761942/4
- 5019772242/4
- 511977–2/4
- 521977–2/4
- 531977–2/4
- 5419781762/4
- 5519781732/4
- 561978–2/4
- 571979–2/4
- 581979–2/4
- 59Tara of the Twilight1979 · confirmed 2/41979–2/4
- 60Lost Worlds1980 · 176 pages · confirmed 2/419801762/4
- 611980–2/4
- 6219812883/4
- 6319811922/4
- 6419811732/4
- 6519812502/4
- 661982–2/4
- 6719822242/4
- 6819821752/4
- 691982–2/4
- 7019841802/4
- 711984–2/4
- 72Found Wanting1985 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/419852242/4
- 7319872232/4
- 7419871742/4
- 7519882522/4
- 7620122182/4
Lin Carter series in order
Each series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Thongor books in order 8 books
- Callisto books in order 8 books
Lin Carter books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
World's End in order
6 booksGreen Star in order
5 booksFlashing Swords! in order
5 booksZarkon - Lord of the Unknown in order
5 booksEric Carstairs of Zanthodon in order
5 booksMysteries of Mars in order
4 booksTerra Magica in order
4 books- 1. Kesrick
- 2. Dragonrouge
- 3. Mandricardo
- 4. Callipygia
Great Imperium in order
3 booksChronicles of Kylix in order
3 booksHautley Quicksilver in order
2 booksL. Sprague de Camp Short Stories/Novellas
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy in order
1 bookWeird Tales in order
1 bookConan (Lancer/Ace) in order
1 bookStandalone books
15 books15 Lin Carter titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Lin Carter books in order?
You only need to read Lin Carter books in order within each series: the books listed here span 13 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Lin Carter
Start with the first book of the Lin Carter series you want to read: Thongor starts with Thongor and The Wizard of Lemuria (1965) and Callisto starts with Jandar of Callisto (1972). The earliest catalogued title overall is Thongor and The Wizard of Lemuria (1965).
What is the newest Lin Carter book?
Young Thongor (2012) is the newest Lin Carter book released so far.
Is there a new Lin Carter book coming?
No next Lin Carter book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Award nominations for Lin Carter
Wikidata records 4 nominations for Lin Carter. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Locus Award for Best Anthology1982Shortlistedfor Flashing Swords! 5: Demons and Daggers
- World Fantasy Award for Best Collection1977Shortlistedfor Flashing Swords! 3: Warriors and Wizards
- Locus Award for Best Original Anthology1974Shortlistedfor Flashing Swords! 1
- Nebula Award for Best Short Story1966Shortlistedfor Uncollected Works
Lin Carter at a glance
- Died
- Lin Carter died in 1988, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Lin Carter are still being published after Lin Carter's death in 1988; the newest appeared in 2012.
- Release pace
- Lin Carter books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 8,416 pages across the 43 of 76 books with a recorded length, a median of 192 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Lin Carter books, 42 of 76, were published in the 1970s.
What the Lin Carter books are about
35 of the 76 Lin Carter books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: science fiction is tagged on 17 of 35. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Science fiction 17 of 35 books
- Fantasy 9 of 35 books
- Lemuria (imaginary place) 4 of 35 books
- Thongor (fictitious character) 4 of 35 books
- Fiction in English 3 of 35 books
- History and criticism 3 of 35 books
- Dying Earth 2 of 35 books
- Fantasy fiction, history and criticism 2 of 35 books