Kellory the Warlock

Kellory the Warlock is a fix-up fantasy novel written by Lin Carter, the third book of the Chronicles of Kylix series. Its seven episodic chapters were originally written as short stories, but only one, "In the Valley of Silence," had been previously published (as "Vault of Silence," in the anthology Swords Against Tomorrow (1970)). The book was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in April 1984.[1] It was reissued in hardcover and trade paperback by Wildside Press in October 2007, and in trade paperback and ebook by the same publisher in April 2016.[1]

Kellory the Warlock
dust cover of Kellory the Warlock
AuthorLin Carter
Cover artistSteve Marchesi
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesThe Chronicles of Kylix
GenreSword and sorcery Fantasy
PublisherDoubleday
Publication date
1984
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages180 pp
ISBN0-385-17315-6
Preceded byThe Wizard of Zao 

Plot

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. Kellory the Warlock takes place on Zephrondus.

Kellory is the last survivor of the Black Wolves tribe, descended from the Lost Kings of Illyriod. His people were massacred by the Thugoda Horde, who burned his father alive and held his own sword hand in the same fire so he could live to tell the tale but never raise a sword against his tormentors. He dedicates his life to revenge against the horde, becoming a warlock since he is no longer able to be a warrior. In time, he achieves his dark goal.

Contents
  • 1. Dark Palace of the Flame

The young Kellory seeks the castle of the Green Enchanter, the world's most powerful mage, in hope of becoming his apprentice to be able to employ magic against the Thugoda Horde in place of his lost sword arm. The enchanter's castle lies within an active volcano, protected by sorcery from the heat.

  • 2. In the Valley of Silence

Some years later, now possessed of a staff to focus his magic power, Kellory saves a female captive from a band of Thungoda. He is searching for a legendary spell book, the Book of Shadows that he believes will help him destroy the whole horde. He seeks it futilely in the abandoned tower of its original owner.

  • 3. The City Where Death Was King

Kellory and his companion are captured by desert tribesmen, whom they win over. Together they enter a lost city, where the tribesmen hope to find treasure and Kellory the Book of Shadows. Instead they encounter a supernatural menace.

  • 4. Shadows in the Dark
  • 5. The Smile on the Face of the Beast
  • 6. Lord of the Shadows
  • 7. The Gray Enchanter

Reviews

Jackie Cassada in Library Journal writes "[t]hough Kellory himself has a certain grim appeal, there is little in this unsubtle Conan-type adventure to recommend it to anyone other than hard-core sword-and-sorcery fans."[2]

The book was also reviewed by Paul M. Lloyd in Fantasy Review, v. 7, no. 8, Sep. 1984, p. 26.[1]

Notes
  1. Kellory the Warlock title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
  2. Cassada, Jackie. Review in Library Journal, v. 109, issue 5, March 1984, p. 599.

References
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