Help me identify a pulp sci-fi/fantasy book from around the 1970's
January 11, 2011 11:46 AM
Help me identify a pulp sci-fi/fantasy book from around the 1970's w/a male protagonist who ends up in a fantasy land and can "shift" objects to make them appear when he needs them.
Identifying characteristics:
Main character is an adult male who lives in the real world in a boarding house. He "shifts" himself into a fantasy realm. There is a princess and a pretender to the throne who wants to marry the princess. There is also a wizard/advisor.
If the main character doesn't "know" that something isn't there he can make it appear - ie. if he checks his right pocket for a key and it isn't there he can focus hard on the "fact" that it IS in his left pocket and when he reaches in it will be there.
There is a scene where he's in a secret passage and he reaches onto a shelf in the dark, doesn't find a key and focuses and reaches further and the key is there.
There is a desert, and at some point he makes a dragon or dinosaur appear in the desert.
The wizard/advisor is NOT from the land they're in, and uses a modern telephone at some point, in the end it turns out that the main character is the lost prince from this land.
Identifying characteristics:
Main character is an adult male who lives in the real world in a boarding house. He "shifts" himself into a fantasy realm. There is a princess and a pretender to the throne who wants to marry the princess. There is also a wizard/advisor.
If the main character doesn't "know" that something isn't there he can make it appear - ie. if he checks his right pocket for a key and it isn't there he can focus hard on the "fact" that it IS in his left pocket and when he reaches in it will be there.
There is a scene where he's in a secret passage and he reaches onto a shelf in the dark, doesn't find a key and focuses and reaches further and the key is there.
There is a desert, and at some point he makes a dragon or dinosaur appear in the desert.
The wizard/advisor is NOT from the land they're in, and uses a modern telephone at some point, in the end it turns out that the main character is the lost prince from this land.
it is not the Amber series, but you're right that does sound very similar.
I always got the feeling that this book was part of a series as well, but I don't know that.
Also, there is a part about 2/3 of the way through the book where the wizard explains that the stuff he's making appear has to come from somewhere real, and that he's creating a deficit or debt - then the main character gets booted back to the 'real" world, he try's to call the wizard from a phone booth to get back to the land.
posted by dadici at 12:06 PM on January 11, 2011
I always got the feeling that this book was part of a series as well, but I don't know that.
Also, there is a part about 2/3 of the way through the book where the wizard explains that the stuff he's making appear has to come from somewhere real, and that he's creating a deficit or debt - then the main character gets booted back to the 'real" world, he try's to call the wizard from a phone booth to get back to the land.
posted by dadici at 12:06 PM on January 11, 2011
You're looking for the Lafayette O'Leary series, by Keith Laumer.
The first novel is Time Bender.
posted by notbuddha at 12:27 PM on January 11, 2011
The first novel is Time Bender.
posted by notbuddha at 12:27 PM on January 11, 2011
That's it! I've been looking for this book for 3 years, you solved it in less than an hour, I'm really excited to see that there are more books in the series!
Thanks so much
posted by dadici at 12:35 PM on January 11, 2011
Thanks so much
posted by dadici at 12:35 PM on January 11, 2011
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posted by edgeways at 11:53 AM on January 11, 2011