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=                           The_Moon_Pool                            =
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                            Introduction
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'The Moon Pool' is a fantasy novel by American writer Abraham Merritt.
It originally appeared as two short stories in 'All-Story Weekly':
"The Moon Pool" (1918) and its sequel, "Conquest of the Moon Pool"
(1919).  These were then reworked into a novel released in 1919. The
protagonist, Dr. Goodwin, would later appear in Merritt's second novel
'The Metal Monster' (1920).

Although Merritt did not invent the "lost world" novel--he followed in
the footsteps of Bulwer-Lytton, Burroughs, Conan Doyle, and
others--this work extended the tradition.


                            Plot summary
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The plot concerns an advanced race which has developed within the
Earth's core. Eventually their most intelligent members create an
offspring. This created entity encompasses both great good and great
evil, but it slowly turns away from its creators and towards evil. The
entity is called either the Dweller or the Shining One.

Eventually, of the race which created it, only three are left; these
are called the Silent Ones, and they have been 'purged of dross' and
can be described as higher, nobler, more angelic beings than are
humankind. They have also been sentenced by the good among their race
to remain in the world, and not to die, as punishment for their pride
which was the source of the calamity called the Dweller, until such
time as they destroy their creation--if they still can. And the reason
they do not do so is simply that they continue to love it.

The Dweller is in the habit of rising to the surface of the earth and
capturing men and women whom it holds in an unholy stasis and who, in
some ways, feed it. It increases its knowledge and power constantly,
but has a weakness, since it knows nothing of love.
The scientist Dr. Goodwin and the half-Irish, half-American pilot
Larry O'Keefe, and others, follow it down. Eventually they meet a
woman, beautiful and evil, named Yolara, who in essence serves the
Shining One, and the 'handmaiden' of the Silent Ones, beautiful and
good, named Lakla. Both want O'Keefe and eventually battle over him.

There is also a race of very powerful and handsome Polynesian-like
'dwarves' and a race of humanoids whom the Silent Ones developed from
a semi-sentient froglike species.

There develops a battle between the forces of good and evil with not
only the entire world, but perhaps even the existence of good itself
at stake. But can the forces of good prevail using fear as a weapon?
Or will they have to rely upon love expressed by willing sacrifice?


                        Publication history
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The book has been published a number of times:


* 1919, US, G. P. Putnam's Sons, Pub date 1919
* 1944, US, Avon, Murder Mystery Monthly #18
* 1993, US. Carrol & Graf, "Masters of Fantasy" series
* 2001, US, University of Nebraska Press, , Pub date 2001, Paperback,
Bison Frontiers of Imagination series, with introduction by Robert
Silverberg
* 2004, US, Wesleyan University Press, , Pub date 2002, the Wesleyan
Early Classics of Science Fiction series, with introduction by Michael
M. Levy
* 2009, US, Overlook Press, , Pub date 2009, with introduction by
Lynnette Porter


Collections
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"The Moon Pool" has been collected in numerous general anthologies,
including Volume 2 of 'The Road to Science Fiction' (the 2002 edition
by Scarecrow Press only) and Book 1 of 'The Ancient Mysteries Reader'
by Peter Haining. The original story was reprinted in 'The Mammoth
Book of Fantasy' by Mike Ashley.


                             Reception
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In its review of 'The Moon Pool', the 'New York Times' called the
novel "a shimmering, glittering web of imagination" and that "the
author's energy and fertility of imaginative resources never seem to
lessen."

'Analog' magazine considers 'The Moon Pool' to be the author's "most
celebrated novel".


                               Legacy
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'The Moon Pool' is sometimes cited as an influence on "The Call of
Cthulhu" by H.P. Lovecraft, which may in turn have itself influenced
Merritt's later story 'Dwellers in the Mirage' (especially the monster
Khalk'ru). In particular, 'The Moon Pool' is partly set on Nan Madol,
a location which would, some claim, later inspire Lovecraft's R'lyeh.

Doug Skinner has highlighted Merritt's work, starting with 'The Moon
Pool', as a major influence on the American writer and artist Richard
Shaver:


                             Copyright
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The copyright for this story has expired in the United States and,
thus, now resides in the public domain there.  The text is available
via Project Gutenberg.


                              See also
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* Dweller of the Threshold


                           External links
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*
*
*[http://www.sfsite.com/07a/mp107.htm Featured Review: 'The Moon
Pool'], the SF Site
*


License
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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moon_Pool