The Ship of Ishtar

<b>From the back cover of the 1991 Collier paperback:</b> The ship in the stone - When John Kenton first gets the shipment from an ancient Babylonian site, he finds a block of stone nothing more. But when he strikes the stone, it answers with a strange sound that challenges him - summons him - to release whatever secret lies buried within. <p>When he finally manages to crack open the rock, a mist escapes. When the air clears the stone is gone except for its hidden contents: a perfectly sculpted Babylonian ship riding atop the turquoise waves of a turbulent sea. Before he knows what happened, Kenton is swept away from the room in which he stands, to the deck of the ancient ship, alive, with the priestesses of Ishtar and the priests of Nergal agape before him. <p>This is but the start of an adventure that will consume John Kenton and seize his life forever. One look at the radiant beauty of the Goddess's favored servant, Sharane, and he knows that he must possess this woman, no matter what terrible trials lie in his way.

First serialized in the "Argosy-All Story" magazine in 1924.