The Wizard of Zao

1978 novel by Lin Carter

The Wizard of Zao

cover of The Wizard of Zao

Author| Lin Carter
Cover artist| Carl Lundgren
Language| English
Series| The Chronicles of Kylix
Genre| Sword and sorcery fantasy
Publisher| DAW Books

Publication date

| 1978
Publication place| United States
Media type| Print (Paperback)
Pages| 176
ISBN| 0-87997-383-8
Preceded by| The Quest of Kadji
Followed by| Kellory the Warlock

The Wizard of Zao is a fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the second book of the Chronicles of Kylix series. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1978.[1]

## Plot

[edit]

Each volume of the Chronicles of Kylix is set on a different world in the magical solar system of the fictional star Kylix in the constellation of the Unicorn. The system consists of the five planets Zao, Olymbris, Thoorana, Zephrondus and Gulzund. The Wizard of Zao takes place on Zao.[2]

Oolb Votz, the titular wonder-working wizard, fat, green and full of himself, makes an unlikely hero, but nonetheless has a humorous romp of a quest he must undertake. He is accompanied on his journey by the 15-year-old Wild Girl Ooo, his newly purchased chela, who assists him as servant, apprentice and concubine. Strange beasts and stranger people are encountered along the way. The true identity of the wizard, a mystery in itself, is revealed in a surprise ending. The narrative is spiced with authorial asides and footnotes.

## Reception

[edit]

Robert M. Price, while noting that The Wizard of Zao was "Carter's favorite among his own novels," judges the book "ingenious, but badly written, ... As in the sloppy Gondwane books, Carter lamely explains away various inconsistencies, or he claims to be guessing the answers, as if he, too, is merely a reader of his sources and cannot be any more consistent than they. [But w]hat is really unforgivable is the way Carter just chucks out all his critical canons for literary 'world-making' as set forth in Imaginary Worlds. Sword & Sorcery is supposed to be set in a pre-industrial era, yet here is Oolb Votz talking about 'enzymes' and 'blowing fuses.' ... Our narrator, too, is free in his comparisons of various things to a 'locomotive' or a 'dive bomber.' ... Perhaps he reasoned that the rules were different in a fantasy burlesque, but I cannot think him correct. If it's all right to have Chianti and locomotives, why bother setting the story on a fantasy world in the first place?"[3]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ The Wizard of Zao title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
2. ^ Price, Robert M. (1991). Lin Carter: A Look Behind His Imaginary Worlds. Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House, Inc. p. 69.
3. ^ Price, pp. 73-74.

## External links

[edit]

* Fantastic Fiction entry for The Wizard of Zao

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Works by Lin Carter

Callisto|

* Jandar of Callisto (1972)
* Black Legion of Callisto (1972)
* Sky Pirates of Callisto (1973)
* Mad Empress of Callisto (1975)
* Mind Wizards of Callisto (1975)
* Lankar of Callisto (1975)
* Ylana of Callisto (1977)
* Renegade of Callisto (1978)

Green Star|

* Under the Green Star (1972)
* When the Green Star Calls (1973)
* By the Light of the Green Star (1974)
* As the Green Star Rises (1975)
* In the Green Star's Glow (1976)

Mars|

* The Flame of Iridar (1967)
* The Man Who Loved Mars (1973)
* The Valley Where Time Stood Still (1974)
* "The Martian El Dorado of Parker Wintley" (1976)
* The City Outside the World (1977)
* Down to a Sunless Sea (1984)

Zarkon|

* The Nemesis of Evil (1975)
* Invisible Death (1975)
* The Volcano Ogre (1976)
* The Earth-Shaker (1982)
* Horror Wears Blue (1987)

Zanthodon|

* Journey to the Underground World (1979)
* Zanthodon (1980)
* Hurok of the Stone Age (1981)
* Darya of the Bronze Age (1981)
* Eric of Zanthodon (1982)

Thongor|

* The Wizard of Lemuria (1965/69)
* Thongor and the Dragon City (1966/70)
* Thongor Against the Gods (1967)
* Thongor in the City of Magicians (1968)
* Thongor at the End of Time (1968)
* Thongor Fights the Pirates of Tarakus (1970)
* Young Thongor (2012)
* The Sword of Thongor (Robert M. Price) (2016)

Conan|

| Novels|

* Conan of the Isles (1968)
* Conan the Barbarian (1982)
* Conan the Buccaneer (1971)
* Conan the Liberator (1979)

|

Short
works|

* "Black Sphinx of Nebthu" (1973)
* "Black Tears" (1968)
* "The Castle of Terror" (1969)
* "The City of Skulls" (1967)
* "The Curse of the Monolith" (1968)
* "Death-Song of Conan the Cimmerian" (1972)
* "The Gem in the Tower" (1978)
* "The Hand of Nergal" (1967)
* "The Ivory Goddess" (1978)
* "The Lair of the Ice Worm" (1969)
* "Legions of the Dead" (1978)
* "Moon of Blood" (1978)
* "Red Moon of Zembabwei" (1974)
* "Shadows in the Dark" (1978)
* "Shadows in the Skull" (1975)
* "The Snout in the Dark" (1969)
* "The Thing in the Crypt" (1967)
* "The Witch of the Mists" (1972)

Collections|

* Conan (1967)
* The Conan Chronicles (1989)
* The Conan Chronicles 2 (1990)
* Conan of Aquilonia (1977)
* Conan of Cimmeria (1969)
* Conan the Swordsman (1978)
* Conan the Wanderer (1968)
* Sagas of Conan (2004)

Kull|

* "Exile of Atlantis" (1967)
* King Kull (1967)

Gondwane|

* The Warrior of World's End (1974)
* The Enchantress of World's End (1975)
* The Immortal of World's End (1976)
* The Barbarian of World's End (1977)
* The Pirate of World's End (1978)
* Giant of World's End (1969)

Terra Magica|

* Kesrick (1982)
* Dragonrouge (1984)
* Mandricardo (1987)
* Callipygia (1988)

Kylix|

* The Quest of Kadji (1971)
* The Wizard of Zao (1978)
* Kellory the Warlock (1984)

Other|

* Tara of the Twilight (1979)
* The Tired Tailor of Oz (2001)
* The Merry Mountaineer of Oz (2004)

Collections|

* Beyond the Gates of Dream (1969)
* Lost Worlds (1980)
* The Xothic Legend Cycle: The Complete Mythos Fiction of Lin Carter (1997)
* Lin Carter's Simrana Cycle (2018)

Anthologies
edited|

| BAFS and
Doubleday
anthologies|

* Dragons, Elves, and Heroes (1969)
* The Young Magicians (1969)
* Golden Cities, Far (1970)
* New Worlds for Old (1971)
* The Spawn of Cthulhu (1971)
* Double Phoenix (1971)
* Discoveries in Fantasy (1972)
* Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy I (1972)
* Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy Volume II (1973)
* Kingdoms of Sorcery (1976)
* Realms of Wizardry (1976)

|

Flashing
Swords!|

* Flashing Swords! #1 (1973)
* Flashing Swords! #2 (1973)
* Flashing Swords! #3: Warriors and Wizards (1976)
* Flashing Swords! #4: Barbarians and Black Magicians (1977)
* Flashing Swords! #5: Demons and Daggers (1981)
* Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! #6 (2020/21)
* Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! #7 (2023)
* Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! #8 (2023)

Year's Best
Fantasy|

* The Year's Best Fantasy Stories (1975)
* The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 2 (1976)
* The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 3 (1977)
* The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 4 (1978)
* The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 5 (1980)
* The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 6 (1980)

Weird Tales|

* Weird Tales #1 (1980)
* Weird Tales #2 (1980)
* Weird Tales #3 (1981)
* Weird Tales #4 (1983)

Other|

* The Magic of Atlantis (1970)

Nonfiction|

* Tolkien: A Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings" (1969)
* Lovecraft: A Look Behind the "Cthulhu Mythos" (1972)
* Imaginary Worlds (1973)

Poetry|

* Sandalwood and Jade (1951)
* Galleon of Dream (1953)
* Letter to Judith (1959)
* Dreams from R'lyeh (1975)

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