HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Flight to Opar'' is a
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
novel by American writer
Philip José Farmer Philip José Farmer (January 26, 1918 – February 25, 2009) was an American author known for his science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. Obituary. Farmer is best known for his sequences of novels, especially the ''World of Tiers ...
, first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1976, and reprinted twice through 1983. The first British edition was published by Magnum in 1977; it was reprinted by Methuen in 1983. It was later gathered together with a preceding novel, ''
Hadon of Ancient Opar ''Hadon of Ancient Opar'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Philip José Farmer, first published in paperback by DAW Books in April 1974, and reprinted three times through 1983. The first British edition was published by Magnum in 1977; it wa ...
'', and a sequel, ''The Song of Kwasin'', into the omnibus collection ''Gods of Opar: Tales of Lost Khokarsa'' (2012). The work has also been translated into French. It and the other books in the series purport to fill in some of the ancient prehistory of the lost city of Opar, created by Edgar Rice Burroughs as a setting for his
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
series.


Plot

In this continuation of Hadon's adventures in the ancient Africa of 12,000 years ago, the last-ditch defense of the High Priestess he and his allies mounted against the tyrannical King's evil schemes segues into a perilous chase through various exotic cities, seas and islands. Hadon undertakes to take his mate, now pregnant with his child, to safety at his native city of Opar, but is pursued by members of a dark cult in the service of the king. The book ends as the war just gets seriously going, and with only tantalizing glimpses given of various interesting locations. Hadon's beloved clearly appears destined to a crucial future role which is never quite reached. Plainly, Farmer provided for further sequels which were never written. He has stated that he intended to have Hadon's son emigrate to the south in the wake of the catastrophe that would ultimately destroy the
Khokarsa Khokarsa is a fictional empire in ancient Africa that serves as the primary setting for Philip José Farmer's prehistoric fantasy novels ''Hadon of Ancient Opar'', ''Flight to Opar'', and ''The Song of Kwasin'' (the Khokarsa series). Literary or ...
n civilization in which the series is set, there to found the city of Kor that would afterward become the setting of H. Rider Haggard's fantasy novel '' She''.David Pringle's introduction to H. Rider Haggard's ''Allan & the Ice Gods''
— in which he quotes from an interview with Farmer on the latter's original intentions for the subsequent direction of the Opar series.


See also

*
Matriarchy Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property. While those definitions apply in general ...
*
Khokarsa Khokarsa is a fictional empire in ancient Africa that serves as the primary setting for Philip José Farmer's prehistoric fantasy novels ''Hadon of Ancient Opar'', ''Flight to Opar'', and ''The Song of Kwasin'' (the Khokarsa series). Literary or ...


Notes


External links


Fantastic Fiction entry
Adaptations of works by Edgar Rice Burroughs American fantasy novels Novels set in Africa Novels by Philip José Farmer 1976 American novels 1976 fantasy novels Novels set in prehistory DAW Books books {{1970s-fantasy-novel-stub