Scottish author David Lindsay's book A Voyage to Arcturus was initially released in 1920. An interstellar adventure serves as the backdrop for a story about travel through fascinating realms. The action takes place in Tormance, a fictional planet that orbits Arcturus, a double star system made up of the stars Branchspell and Alppain in the book but not in reality. As the main character, Maskull looks for the purpose of existence, and the lands the characters pass through reflect philosophical systems or mental states. The book explores the nature of good and evil and their interactions with existence by fusing fantasy, philosophy, and science fiction. The "best work of the twentieth century," as described by critic, author, and philosopher Colin Wilson, was a major inspiration for C. S. Lewis's Space Trilogy and, through him, for J. R. R. Tolkien, who claimed to have read it "with avidity." It was dubbed "a masterpiece" and "an outstanding effort" by Clive Barker. Despite having dismal sales during Lindsay's lifetime, the book was reissued in 1946 and numerous times after that. At least six different languages have been translated into it.