The 4th book in Lin Carter's Zanthodon series and where his other series have tended to sag by this point, here Carter has put together a rollicking pirate adventure better than his earlier pirate-themed efforts 'Thongor And The Pirates Of Tarakus' and 'Sky Pirates Of Callisto'.

The story picks up from the end of the second book where Cro-Magnon gomad (princess) Darya was kidnapped (again) by the lust-crazed leader of the Barbary pirates. The two Cro-Magnon tribes split up to pursue separate searches, one for Eric Carstairs (taken by the dragon riders of Zar, this search is described in book 3 in the series) and the other for Darya.

The influence of Carter's notorious sword and sorcery porn novel 'Tara Of The Twilight' is apparent here as Darya is subject to a couple of whippings.

At the end of the book, the two tribes are reunited and the scene is set for the finale in this patchy series.

One of Carter's better efforts though, with less reliance on his usual cliches which marred some of his 70s output. ( )