''Land Beyond the Map'' is a short science fiction novel written by

Kenneth Bulmer Henry Kenneth Bulmer (14 January 1921 – 16 December 2005) was a British author, primarily of science fiction. Life Born in London, he married Pamela Buckmaster on 7 March 1953. They had one son and two daughters, and they divorced in 1981. B ...

. It originally appeared in the magazine ''

Science Fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientif ...

'' in 1961 under the title "The Map Country". It was subsequently enlarged and published by

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns, and soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first scienc ...

in 1965. It was published in an Ace Double, which also contained another short novel, ''Fugitive of the Stars'' by Edmond Hamilton, on the opposite side.

Plot summary

Roland Crane, a wealthy map collector and dilettante archaeologist, is visited by Polly Gould, a cousin of an army friend who has disappeared. She is obsessed with locating a map of Ireland, torn down the middle, that her cousin discovered just before he vanished. This same map had formerly been in the possession of Roland and his family, and transported them into a strange alternate dimension. Polly believes the map holds the key to recovering her cousin, and that Roland can help her find it. Roland reluctantly agrees to help. The two travel to Ireland and begin their search, soon learning that someone else, a mysterious and sinister man, also seeks the map. The mystery deepens when they witness the apparent abduction of another man by a strange "eye" in the sky. Finally they are offered the map at an enormous price by an old man who speaks of having used it to travel to another place, full of both treasure and terror. He fears to go back himself, as his son-in-law was trapped there. Accepting the challenge, Roland and Polly buy and follow the map, and when they reach the place corresponding to the tear in the map, they are transported into the alternate dimension hinted at. Though this novel bears some thematic similarities to Bulmer's later Keys to the Dimensions series, it is otherwise unrelated.

References

External links

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Ace Double Reviews, 68: Land Beyond the Map, by Kenneth Bulmer/Fugitive of the Stars, by Edmond Hamilton (#M-111, 1965, $0.45)
- a book review by Rich Horton 1965 British novels 1965 science fiction novels Novels by Kenneth Bulmer Works originally published in Science Fantasy (magazine) Ace Books books {{1960s-sf-novel-stub