"Black Moonlight " by Lin Carter (1976)

Originally appeared in Fantastic, November 1976.

Plot: Thongor takes his pirates to a haunted jungle island of Zosk to find the blood pearls of a lost civilization. His scout ends up dead. Thongor finds him, searching by himself. The dying man writes a warning about black moonlight in the sand. Thongor presses on to find a pool with the legendary pearls. He is attacked and captured by beastmen, the last survivors of the lost race. He is tied up overan altar and an old priest of the beastmen casts an evil spell using a magic wand. The spell reverses the sky so that stars are black and the sky white. A tall pillar of stone changes in the magical light, becoming a humanoid giant of stone. The statue is about to crush Thongor when his pirates show up and free him. The pirates begin killing the beastmen. The wizard sends the gigantic statue to crush the pirates. Thongor knocks him off his perch and steals his wand, which he throws at the giant. the stone in the wand smashes, ending the spell and the giant's life. The statue crumbles to boulders on top of the wizard. The pirates leave, sad to have found no treasure. Thongor cheers them up, taking three handfuls of pearls from his boot where he hid them.

Monsters:

The beastmen - This lost race of Zosk is degenerate, hairy and slit-eyed. Pretty standard ape-men.

The Stone Giant - this animated rock is referred to as the beastmen's god, though it is controlled by their priest's Rod of Power.

History: Thongor as a pirate is obviously inspired by Conan's days as a pirate, since both barbarians are so well-liked by their captain. Equally inspired by Ray Harryhausen's Sinbad and Jason movies. This story is nothing new, even in 1976, reading like a Conan the Barbarian comic. That it appeared in Years Best is a little embarrassing.

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