Dwellers in the Mirage

#8613.71 adjusted 3.87 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking

Books 1 book Status Complete 1932 Reading commitment Low A. Merritt Last reviewed 2026-11-02

Overview

A. Merritt's Dwellers in the Mirage was serialized in Argosy beginning in January 1932 and published in book form by Horace Liveright the same year. American Leif Langdon discovers a warm hidden valley in Alaska where two peoples, the Little People and a branch of an ancient Mongolian race, worship the evil being Khalk'ru. They take Langdon for the reborn hero Dwayanu. It is a single standalone novel. The valley's people regard the evil being Khalk'ru as a power from another dimension that they call up for sacrifice.

Mythic fantasy · For Adult

Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking

Dwellers in the Mirage A. Merritt

WorkYearInternal chron.CanonRating
Dwellers in the Mirage19321core3.71 (478 ratings)

A standalone lost-valley fantasy novel set in Alaska.

Quick answers

Why is it ranked #861?

Ranked #861 in the official ranking.

How the ranking works →

Why explore this universe?

Rated · 1 book · Complete · 478 ratings · Ranks #861 overall

Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.

Reading order

A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.

Awards (verified)

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Suggestions computed from what Dwellers in the Mirage and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.

Official resources

Research details

Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.71 across 478 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.

How do we know this?

Admission: Canon Extension: 29 universes; Inda widened to Sartorias-deles; 5 candidates ruled out accepted 2026-11-02

Sources: (see source tier definitions)

Last reviewed: 2026-11-02

Rule: Core Canon = Dwellers in the Mirage (1932).

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