This is a fascinating book which is hard to describe in a few sentences. The short version is that a man (Maskull) is transported to a strange and fantastical world (the planet Tormance in orbit around the star Arcturus) where he has many strange adventures.

The book is very episodic - Maskull travels through many different landscapes and meets many different people, then moves on to another place and meets more people. There is nevertheless an unfolding spiritual quest that Maskull follows, though the conclusion it comes to, though highly memorable, is very unexpected.