Callisto series

The Callisto series is a sequence of eight science fiction novels by Lin Carter, of the sword and planet subgenre, first published by Dell Books from 1972-1978. They were written in homage to the Barsoom and Amtor novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

American soldier and helicopter pilot Jonathan Dark crashes in Cambodia near the ruins of the lost city of Arangkhôr. Exploring the ruins at night, he discovers a well-like structure at the center that teleports him to Callisto, one of the moons of Jupiter – or Thanator, as the moon is known to its inhabitants. There he encounters a human civilization originally linked to that of ancient Cambodia via the well. The inhabitants render his unfamiliar name as "Jandar." On Callisto, Jandar contends with monstrous creatures, savage insect men, barbarian hordes, sky pirates in flying ships, and the dangerous Mind Wizards of Kuur while seeking to rescue and win the heart of the beautiful princess Darloona of Shondakar (a homage to the similarly named Martian lost city in Leigh Brackett's The Last Days of Shandakor).

The texts of the first five volumes of the series are ostensibly transcripts of first-person narratives by Jonathan Dark recounting his adventures, written with native materials and transported back to Earth via the well. These come into the hands of Lin Carter, who "edits" them for publication. In the sixth novel, Carter himself visits Arangkhôr, falls into the well, and experiences a Callistan adventure as "Lankar." The remaining volumes, again purportedly by Dark, recount the stories of other protagonists. The chess-like Callistan game of Darza, depicted in Renegade of Callisto, was inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoomian game of Jetan, or Martian Chess.

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