Phalanxes of Atlans — Francis Van Wyck Mason

Only in Dim Legends Did Mankind Remember Atlantis and the Lost Tribes―Until Victor Nelson's Extraordinary Adventure in the Unknown Arctic

Francis Van Wyck Mason was born on November 11th 1901.

His early years were spent in Berlin and Paris before returning to live in Illinois. As a teenager he left for the European battlefront of World War One in 1917 initially to serve as an ambulance driver. He then managed to enlist in the French Army and received various decorations for fighting as an artillery officer including the Legion of Honour.

On Armistice Day, he celebrated his 17th birthday and was now a Lieutenant in the United States Army.

After the war he went to preparatory school then on to Harvard University. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1924.

Unable to follow up in his chosen career of the diplomatic corps he started an importing business and spent the next several years scouring the world buying antiques and rugs. These adventures and experiences would prove exceedingly useful for his writing.

In May 1928 he had his first story published and sold a further 18 before he received his first rejection. The magazines paid well, and he was a good writer. He soon had enough to build a home just outside of Baltimore, Maryland.

His first novel ‘The Seeds of Murder' was published in 1930, and introduced the character of Captain Hugh North, an agent of U.S. Army Intelligence.

He had now settled into writing both novels and short fiction to which he occasionally added historical novels. The next few years he published prolifically and was paid handsomely. He had a glowing reputation as well as residences in Bermuda and Nantucket, as well as Maryland.

He also found time to rework some earlier pulp serials and publish them under the pseudonym Ward Weaver.

With the attack at Pearl Harbour he re-enlisted and apart from some youth-oriented war stories under the pseudonym Frank W. Mason put a halt to his writing. He worked as Chief Historian on General Eisenhower's staff, and was promoted to the rank of Colonel, and received several awards for bravery. His main responsibility was to document the war for future generations, but he was ever eager to be there documenting it from the front line.

After the war, he settled into a more leisurely lifestyle of a one book per year, which he was to maintain for the next quarter of a century.

He drowned on August 28th, 1978, while swimming in Bermuda. His final novel, Armored Giants, was published posthumously in 1980.

Index of Contents

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

Chapter VI

Chapter VII

Chapter VIII

Chapter IX

Chapter X

Chapter XI