Sweet Sequels Out of Print Collection

A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay with cover art by Haleigh DeRocher

This is the complete and unabridged text of David Lindsay’s novel, A Voyage to Arcturus. Formerly out of print, this book is available exclusively in the Sweet Sequels shop. This beautiful hardcover edition features original cover art. It measures 6×9.

Read more about the Out of Print Collection here.

David Lindsay was deeply inspired by the works of George MacDonald, and the work Lilith specifically inspired him to write his first novel, A Voyage to Arcturus, which was published in 1920. Lindsay, a Scot like MacDonald, had just returned from the war and on a whim decided that he wanted to become a writer. A Voyage to Arcturus is thought to be the first fantasy novel that takes place on another planet; some consider it to have laid a significant foundation for the science fiction genre. It was one of the most philosophically advanced fantasy novels of the time, and has been hailed by some critics as the “greatest novel of the twentieth century”. In spite of this, the novel never achieved wide readership due to its strangeness and metaphysical preoccupations. Of note, Arcturus was a central influence on C.S. Lewis, who wrote his Space Trilogy as a Christian response to Lindsay’s Gnostic approach to morality and the nature of existence. J.R.R. Tolkien, too, said he read the book “with avidity”. 

From the back:

“Feelings which flourish on illusions, and sicken and die on realities, aren’t worth considering.”

Maskull, a man longing for adventure, suddenly finds himself traveling across space in his search for the meaning of life. After landing on the planet Tormance in a different body, Maskull embarks on a fantastic adventure across the untamed landscape of a faraway world, where the inhabitants, though human-like, are dictated by a completely different set of rules. As he travels across this feral plain, he learns about the nature of good and evil and how moral law affects existence.

Published in 1920, A Voyage to Arcturus combines fantasy, philosophy, and science fiction, and is thought to be the first fantasy novel that takes place on a different planet. The novel was a central influence on C.S Lewis’s Space Trilogy, which was written as a Christian response to Lindsay’s Gnostic approach to morality and the nature of existence. J.R.R. Tolkien said he read the book “with avidity”. Despite its pointed influence, the novel never achieved wide readership due to the strangeness and metaphysical preoccupations of its storyline.

This exciting title is now available with beautiful cover art by Haleigh DeRocher, found exclusively at sweetsequels.com.

Books are ready to ship, but may be back-ordered if they sell out. Ready to ship books will ship within one week; back-ordered items can take up to one month. Please take note of the item in cart to see if it is on backorder.