Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series at Nightfall Books - Supernatural, Horror, and Fantasy Fiction

As I have written more than once here on this site, my most intense period of literary discovery coincided with a resurgence of speculative fiction literature in the marketplace in the mid to late 1960s and early 1970s. In large part, this was due to the efforts of Ballantine Books, who, from 1965 to 1969, reprinted classic fantasy titles by Mervyn Peake, David Lindsay, J.R.R. Tolkien, and E.R. Eddison in mass market trade paperback editions. In 1969, with fantasy writer Lin Carter brought on board as editor, they began publishing additional classic fantasy as part of their new Adult Fantasy Series (AFS). Over the next five years, at a rate of about one a month, Ballantine published 65 titles under the sign of the unicorn's head, the icon they had chosen to represent the series. Each title featured an introduction and notes - and occasionally maps - by editor Lin Carter, along with full color wraparound artwork by some of the finest artists working at the time, including Bob Pepper, Gervasio Gallardo, and Robert LoGrippo among others.

In the list that follows, I have noted all of the earlier titles I mentioned above that appeared prior to the first book published under the Adult Fantasy colophon. I have included these because they are considered by many, myself included, to be unofficial titles in the series. Below these I have listed all 65 of the titles from the series proper, arranged by year of publication; month of publication and cover artist are included for each one. I have also added two final titles from 1974 that were published without the colophon but were clearly intended as part of the main series.

Finally, for the sake of historical interest (and completeness?) I have added two titles by H.P. Lovecraft that were published in 1971 to the end of that section in the listing. Although neither of them carry the AFS colophon or have introductions by Lin Carter, they are identical in format and style of cover art to two other Lovecraft titles from the AFS that were published in the same year.

At right is a gallery of cover art for each of the books in the list below,; all but five of the images were scanned from my personal collection (my thanks to author James Stoddard for supplying those missing five covers). In the future I will add the full wraparound artwork for each title. Note: five of the AFS covers are missing from the gallery - although I eagerly awaited and then purchased each new title as it was published, somehow I missed these five when they were released!

1965
*	THE HOBBIT J.R.R. Tolkien August; 287 pp.; cover art by Barbara Remington
*	THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING J.R.R. Tolkien October; 527 pp.; cover art by Barbara Remington
*	THE TWO TOWERS J.R.R. Tolkien October; 447 pp.; cover art by Barbara Remington
*	THE RETURN OF THE KING J.R.R. Tolkien October; 544 pp.; cover art by Barbara Remington
1966
*	THE TOLKIEN READER J.R.R. Tolkien September; cover art by Pauline Baynes
1967
*	THE WORM OUROBOROS E.R. Eddison April; 520 pp.; cover art by Barbara Remington
*	MISTRESS OF MISTRESSES E.R. Eddison August; 403 pp.; cover art by Barbara Remington
1968
*	A FISH DINNER IN MEMISON E.R. Eddison January; 319 pp.; cover art by Barbara Remington
*	THE ROAD GOES EVER ON J.R.R. Tolkien February
*	TITUS GROAN Mervyn Peake February; 543 pp.; cover art by Bob Pepper
*	GORMENGHAST Mervyn Peake February; 568 pp.; cover art by Bob Pepper
*	TITUS ALONE Mervyn Peake February; 284 pp.; cover art by Bob Pepper
*	A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS David Lindsay November; 287 pp.; cover art by Bob Pepper
1969
*	THE LAST UNICORN Peter S. Beagle February; 248 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
*	A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE Peter S. Beagle February; 256 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
*	SMITH OF WOOTTON MAJOR & FARMER GILES OF HAM J.R.R. Tolkien March; 156 pp.; cover art by Pauline Baynes
*	THE MEZENTIAN GATE E.R. Eddison April; 275 pp.; cover art by Barbara Remington
	A.F.S. Begins
1.	THE BLUE STAR Fletcher Pratt May; 240 pp.; cover art by Ray Cruz
2.	THE KING OF ELFLAND'S DAUGHTER Lord Dunsany June; 242 pp.; cover art by Bob Pepper
3.	THE WOOD BEYOND THE WORLD William Morris July; 237 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
4.	THE SILVER STALLION James Branch Cabell August; 284 pp.; cover art by Bob Pepper
5.	LILITH George Macdonald September; 274 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
6.	DRAGONS, ELVES, AND HEROES Lin Carter, ed. October; 276 pp.; cover art by Sheryl Slavitt
7.	THE YOUNG MAGICIANS Lin Carter, ed. October
8.	FIGURES OF EARTH James Branch Cabell November; 290 pp.; cover art by Bob Pepper
9.	THE SORCERER'S SHIP Hannes Bok December; 205 pp.; cover art by Ray Cruz
1970
10.	LAND OF UNREASON Fletcher Pratt & L. Sprague de Camp January; 240 pp.; cover art by Donna Violetti
11.	THE HIGH PLACE James Branch Cabell February; 234 pp.; cover art by Donna Violetti
12.	LUD-IN-THE-MIST Hope Mirrlees March; 273 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
13.	AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Lord Dunsany March; 238 pp.; cover art by Ray Cruz
14.	PHANTASTES George Macdonald April; 212 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
15.	THE DREAM-QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH H.P. Lovecraft May; 241 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
16.	ZOTHIQUE Clark Ashton Smith June; 319 pp.; cover art by George Barr
17.	THE SHAVING OF SHAGPAT George Meredith July
18.	THE ISLAND OF THE MIGHTY Evangeline Walton July; 368 pp.; cover art by Bob Pepper
19.	DERYNI RISING Katherine Kurtz August; 271 pp.; cover art by Bob Pepper
20.	THE WELL AT THE WORLD'S END, Vol. 1 William Morris August; 320 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
21.	THE WELL AT THE WORLD'S END, Vol. 2 William Morris September; 242 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
22.	GOLDEN CITIES, FAR Lin Carter, ed. October; 299 pp.; cover art by Ralph Iwamoto and Kathleen Zimmerman
23.	BEYOND THE GOLDEN STAIR Hannes Bok November; 209 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
1971
24.	THE BROKEN SWORD Poul Anderson January; 207 pp.; cover art by George Barr
25.	THE BOATS OF THE GLEN CARRIG William Hope Hodgson February; 176 pp.; cover art by Robert LoGrippo
26.	THE DOOM THAT CAME TO SARNATH H.P. Lovecraft February; 208 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
27.	SOMETHING ABOUT EVE James Branch Cabell March; 288 pp.; cover art by Bob Pepper
28.	RED MOON AND BLACK MOUNTAIN Joy Chant March; 268 pp.; cover art by Bob Pepper
29.	HYPERBOREA Clark Ashton Smith April; 319 pp.; cover art by Barbara Remington
30.	DON RODRIGUEZ: CHRONICLES OF SHADOW VALLEY Lord Dunsany May; 274 pp.; cover art by Bob Pepper
31.	VATHEK William Beckford June
32.	THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY G.K. Chesterton July; 205 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
33.	THE CHILDREN OF LLYR Evangeline Walton August; 221 pp.; cover art by David Johnston
34.	THE CREAM OF THE JEST James Branch Cabell September; 275 pp.; cover art by Brian Froud
35.	NEW WORLDS FOR OLD Lin Carter, ed. September; 326 pp.; cover art by David Johnston
36.	THE SPAWN OF CTHULHU Lin Carter, ed. October; 274 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
37.	DOUBLE PHOENIX Edmund Cooper & Roger Lancelyn Green November; 210 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
38.	THE WATER OF THE WONDEROUS ISLES William Morris November; 366 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
39.	KHALED F. Marion Crawford December; 207 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
*	FUNGI FROM YUGGOTH & OTHER POEMS H.P. Lovecraft February; 208 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
*	THE SURVIVOR & OTHERS H.P. Lovecraft February; 208 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
1972
40.	THE WORLD'S DESIRE H. Rider Haggard & Andrew Lang January; 239 pp.; cover art by Vincent di Fate
41.	XICCARPH Clark Ashton Smith February; 319 pp.; cover art by Barbara Remington
42.	THE LOST CONTINENT C.J. Cutliffe Hyne February; 274 pp.; cover art by Dean Ellis
43.	DISCOVERIES IN FANTASY Lin Carter, ed. March; 243 pp.; cover art by Peter Le Vasseur
44.	DOMNEI James Branch Cabell March; 219 pp.; cover art by Brian Froud
45.	KAI LUNG'S GOLDEN HOURS Ernest Bramah April; 242 pp.; cover art by Ian Miller
46.	DERYNI CHECKMATE Katherine Kurtz May; 302 pp.; cover art by Bob Pepper
47.	BEYOND THE FIELDS WE KNOW Lord Dunsany May; 299 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
48.	THE THREE IMPOSTERS Arthur Machen June; 194 pp.; cover art by Robert LoGrippo
49.	THE NIGHT LAND, Vol. 1 William Hope Hodgson July; 244 pp.; cover art by Robert LoGrippo
50.	THE NIGHT LAND, Vol. 2 William Hope Hodgson July; 243 pp.; cover art by Robert LoGrippo
51.	THE SONG OF RHIANNON Evangeline Walton August; 208 pp.; cover art by David Johnston
52.	GREAT SHORT NOVELS OF ADULT FANTASY #1 Lin Carter, ed. September; 278 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
53.	EVENOR George Macdonald November; 210 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
1973
54.	ORLANDO FURIOSO Ludovico Ariosto January; 208 pp.; cover art by David Johnston
55.	THE CHARWOMAN'S SHADOW Lord Dunsany February; 213 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
56.	GREAT SHORT NOVELS OF ADULT FANTASY #2 Lin Carter, ed. March; 248 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
57.	THE SUNDERING FLOOD William Morris May; 238 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
58.	IMAGINARY WORLDS Lin Carter June
59.	POSEIDONIS Clark Ashton Smith July; 319 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
60.	EXCALIBUR Sanders Anne Laubenthal August; 236 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
61.	HIGH DERYNI Katherine Kurtz September; 269 pp.; cover art by Alan Mardon
62.	HROLF KRAKI'S SAGA Poul Anderson October; 261 pp.; cover art by Bob Pepper
63.	THE PEOPLE OF THE MIST H. Rider Haggard December; 365 pp.; cover art by Dean Ellis
1974
64.	KAI LUNG UNROLLS HIS MAT Ernest Bramah February
65.	OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY Lord Dunsany April; 234 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
*	MERLIN'S RING H. Warner Munn June; 366 pp.; cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
*	PRINCE OF ANNWN Evangeline Walton November; 179 pp.; cover art by David Johnston

The original AFS colophon, as it appeared on the first six titles in the series. Thereafter, all AFS books carried the revised colophon shown at the top of this column.

PRE-AFS TITLES, 1965-69


		THE ROAD GOES EVER ON



Adult Fantasy Series
1969



1970





1971






1972





1973




1974


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