Dr. Goodwin

Dr. Walter T. Goodwin is sailing back to New York after a botanical expedition to the South Seas when he meets his old friend, Dr. David Throckmartin. The heartbroken Throckmartin relates a haunting tale to Dr. Goodwin-a tale of a tropical island and a strange stone door through which a hypnotic otherworldly light shines. Throckmartin tells of how the light had captured his companions and of his own powerlessness to stop it. When his friend disappears, Dr. Goodwin sets out to find the source of the mysterious moonlight. Little does he realize how formidable a foe he has pitted himself against. First published in 1918, The Moon Pool is commonly considered to be the inspiration of the ABC series Lost. Now, Overlook is pleased to introduce this classic of science fiction. Lynnette Porter, Ph.D., bestselling author of Unlocking the Meaning of Lost, has provided an all-new introduction.

This early work by Abraham Grace Merritt was originally published in 1919 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Moon Pool' is a fantasy novel set on the island of Ponape amongst ruins of an ancient civilisation. It tells the tale of adventurous explorers who discover an unknown world. Abraham Grace Merritt - also known by his byline, A. Merritt - was born on the 20th January, 1884 in New Jersey, America. Merritt's stories typically revolved around conventional pulp magazine themes. His heroes are gallant Irishmen or Scandinavians, his villains treacherous Germans or Russians and his heroines often virginal, mysterious and scantily clad. Merritt married twice, once in the 1910s to Eleanore Ratcliffe, with whom he raised an adopted daughter, and again in the thirties to Eleanor H. Johnson.

Dr. Goodwin is on a botanical expedition in the Himalayas. There he meets Dick Drake, the son of one of his old science acquaintances. They are witnesses of a strange aurora-like effect, but seemingly a deliberate one. As they go out to investigate, they meet Goodwin's old friends Martin and Ruth Ventnor, brother and sister scientists. The two are besieged by Persians as Darius III led when Alexander of Macedon conquered them more than two thousand years ago. The group is saved by a magnificent woman they get to know as Norhala. She commands the power of lightning and controls strange metal animate Things, living, metallic, geometric forms; an entire city of sentient cubes, globes and tetrahedrons, capable of joining together and forming colossal shapes, and wielding death rays and other armaments of destruction.

This early work by Abraham Grace Merritt was originally published in 1920 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Metal Monster' is a fantasy novel about Dr. Goodwin's travels in the Himalayas and the mysterious metal beings he encounters there. It tells the tale of adventurous explorers who discover an unknown world. Abraham Grace Merritt - also known by his byline, A. Merritt - was born on the 20th January, 1884 in New Jersey, America. Merritt's stories typically revolved around conventional pulp magazine themes. His heroes are gallant Irishmen or Scandinavians, his villains treacherous Germans or Russians and his heroines often virginal, mysterious and scantily clad. Merritt married twice, once in the 1910s to Eleanore Ratcliffe, with whom he raised an adopted daughter, and again in the thirties to Eleanor H. Johnson.