''The Wizard of Venus'' is a science fiction novella by American writer

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...

, as well as the title of a collection in which it was later published together with an unrelated story. "The Wizard of Venus" is the final story in Burroughs's

Venus series The Amtor or Venus series is a science fantasy series consisting of four novels and one novelette written by American author Edgar Rice Burroughs. Most of the stories were first serialized in '' Argosy'', an American pulp magazine. It is som ...

(sometimes called the "Carson Napier of Venus series"). Written in 1941, the piece remained unpublished until 1964, fourteen years after the author's death. Burroughs intended it to be the opening piece in a sequence of stories to be brought together later in book form, as he had done in the instance of the previous Venus volume, ''

Escape on Venus ''Escape on Venus'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fourth book in the Amtor, Venus series (Sometimes called the "Carson Napier of Venus series"). It consists of four interconnected stories published in '' ...

''. He began the first follow-up tale, only to abandon the project in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor; the text of the aborted sequel is now lost. "The Wizard of Venus" was first published in the 1964 Burroughs collection '' Tales of Three Planets'' together with the unrelated tales "

The Resurrection of Jimber-Jaw "The Resurrection of Jimber-Jaw" is a 1937 short story by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, about an unfrozen 50,000-year-old caveman. The story was originally printed in ''Argosy'' magazine, and later reprinted as one of three stories in the ...

", " Beyond the Farthest Star" and "Tangor Returns". Afterwards it appeared in the collection ''The Wizard of Venus'' (Ace Books, August 1970). This also included the unrelated pirate adventure "Pirate Blood." A subsequent British edition (New English Library, 1975) omitted the unrelated story.

Plot summary

*"The Wizard of Venus". Carson Napier is trapped in the castle of an insane Venusian "wizard" who holds the local population in thrall through the use of hypnotic powers. Napier, who is possessed of comparable powers he has hitherto utilized solely to transmit his account of his Venusian adventures back to Earth, successfully counters the tyrant and frees his victims. *"Pirate Blood". Johnny LaFitte of Glenora, California, a 20th-century descendant of the New Orleans pirate

Jean Lafitte Jean Lafitte ( – ) was a French pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time used "Lafitte". Thi ...

, finds himself thrown by a bizarre set of events into his ancestor's profession. The author's depiction of modern-day piracy is replete with cold-blooded murder and rapine, but overall the tale is a semi-serious takeoff on the theory that heredity equals destiny.

References

External links

*
ERBzine.com Illustrated Edgar Rice Burroughs Bibliography for ''Wizard of Venus''
* ttp://www.erblist.com/erblist/ven5sum.html Edgar Rice Burroughs Summary Project page for ''Wizard of Venus'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Wizard Of Venus 1964 fantasy novels 1964 science fiction novels 1964 American novels Ace Books books American fantasy novels American science fiction novels Fantasy short story collections Science fiction short story collections Venus novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs