The Face in the Abyss
An Andean Lost-Race Adventure of Hidden Kingdoms, Serpent-Women, Occult Science, and Ancient PowersBy Abraham Merritt
Length10h 42m
About this audiobook
Abraham Merritt's *The Face in the Abyss* is a sumptuous work of lost-world fantasy in which American adventurer Nicholas Gray is drawn into the remote Andes and a conflict involving Suarra, an ancient civilization, serpentlike powers, and the monstrous, quasi-divine entity concealed within the abyss. First published in 1923 and later expanded from an earlier novella, the novel combines archaeological adventure, occult romance, grotesque horror, and speculative mythmaking. Its luxuriant descriptions, melodramatic scale, and dreamlike transitions place it squarely within the tradition of early twentieth-century "weird" fiction, while its fascination with forgotten races and forbidden knowledge anticipates later sword-and-sorcery and cosmic fantasy. The book's imaginative excess is inseparable from the colonial assumptions and racial typologies of its period, which modern readers may approach critically rather than uncritically. Merritt (1884–1943), an American journalist, editor, and influential popular fantasist, wrote during the flourishing era of pulp magazines, when adventure fiction increasingly absorbed ideas from archaeology, Theosophy, spiritualism, and evolutionary speculation. His professional experience in journalism helped foster a talent for vivid scene-setting and rapid narrative movement, while his lifelong interest in the occult and the unknown encouraged him to imagine civilizations existing beyond the boundaries of accepted history. Like his other romances, *The Face in the Abyss* reflects Merritt's conviction that wonder could be generated through the collision of modern skepticism with archaic, terrifying powers. This novel is especially recommended to readers interested in the development of fantastic literature, pulp-era world-building, and the literary genealogy of cosmic and dark fantasy. Its ornate prose and sensational plot will appeal to those who value atmosphere as much as realism, while its cultural assumptions invite productive historical and ethical discussion. Read as both an adventure romance and a document of its age, *The Face in the Abyss* remains a striking example of how early popular fiction transformed occult speculation and imperial exploration into grand mythology.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.8 (919)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon, StoryGraph
GenreFantasy, Horror
Length10 hrs 42 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJun 13, 2018
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Treasure and Vengeance - Complete Trilogy (Annotated)
21 SUARRA
32 THE UNSEEN WATCHERS
43 THE WHITE LLAMA
54 THE THING THAT FLED
Show all chaptersShow less
65 THE ELFIN HORNS
76 THE FACE IN THE ABYSS
87 THE GUARDED FRONTIER
98 THE LIZARD MEN
109 IN THE LAIR OF HUON
1110 OUTLAWS OF YU-ATLANCHI
1211 THE DEATHLESS PEOPLE
1312 THE SECRET ANCIENT CITY
1413 CAVERN OF THE FROG-WOMAN
1514 SHADOW OF THE LIZARD MASK
1615 “LEND ME YOUR BODY, GRAYDON!”
1716 THE PAINTED CHAMBER
1817 TAKING OF HUON’S LAIR
1918 THE ARENA OF THE DINOSAURS
2019 THE SNAKE MOTHER
2120 WISDOM OF THE SERPENT MOTHER
2221 THE CAVERN OF THE LOST WISDOM
2322 THE FEAST OF THE DREAM MAKERS
2423 THE TAKING OF SUARRA
2524 BRIDE OF THE LIZARD-MAN
2625 THE COLLAR OF NIMIR
2726 RAGNAROK IN YU-ATLANCHI
2827 FAREWELL OF THE SNAKE MOTHER
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