The goddess of love and beauty was adrift on an enchanted ocean in a magic world. The myriad forces of satanic evil plagued the vessel of the red-haired, passionate goddess. Only one man, John Kenton, the American adventurer, WWI vet and archaeologist, could save Ishtarâs priestess from the black magic which divides her world from ours. Written in 1924, âThe Ship of Ishtarâ is a universally hailed classic of the fantasy novel by A. Merritt and is, on surface at least, an obvious early product of Pulpâs Golden Age. Merritt was influential upon the science fiction and fantasy world primarily through the imaginative power he displayed in the creation of desirable alternative worlds and realities.