Bulmer continues to rely on witches and their curses to move the action forward in Witches of Kregen, the 34th book in the Dray Prescott fantasy series (1985), though there is a grand traditional battle as well. The opening chapter's rain of frogs is unique in fantasy literature, as I'm sure is the attack of stinging wasps. Other plagues are thrown at Dray until he finally agrees to meet the female witch face to face. It appears she has a crush on him, so we'll have to see how that turns out. All of Dray's main warrior buddies are collected in this story for the first time, so I assume that nothing mortal could stand up to them when fighting together. Thus the need for witches and their abominable black curses. Fair enough, I suppose. The Star Lords summon Dray yet again, unexpectedly as usual, but there is a neat twist this time around once he has completed his task. This event sweetens the story somewhat, distasteful as the witchcraft is becoming. Better than the previous book by far, but still a bit sub par for the series.
#15 in the Dumarest series (The Spectrum of a Forgotten Sun) sees Earl besotted by a beautiful woman.
Does she really love him, or is she working for the evil Cyclan? We
visit several new planets (this series never seems to return to previous
worlds) and Earl makes more tiny bits of progress in his search for
Earth and the Sun. Tubb must have sensed his fans' frustration with the
series, but he never allowed Dumarest to reach Earth. In this
reviewer's opinion this was a tragic mistake. Finally reaching Earth
did not have to be the end; a good writer could have made it into an
entirely new adventure series. But Tubb seemed blind to the
possibilities as he kept cashing his paycheck for writing these books
with no end. Once again Earl has to fight in a death match while a
bloodthirsty crowd watches. This has become a cliche of the series so
far, happening far too often. While the books are still fun to read,
and I am continually amazed at Tubb's ability to write good stuff, I
weary of much of it. Whereas Bulmer manages to keep my interest fairly
high in his nearly endless Dray Prescott series (more fantasy than SF),
Tubb can't seem to get past a certain wall, making his readers suffer. A
good entry in the series, but not the best.
Moving now to the Delphi Classics Series, I began the month with a short play by Samuel T. Coleridge called The Fall of Robespierre, written in 1794. Co-written with Robert Southey, it was meant more for recitation than stage performance. There seems to be little sympathy for the man who began the purge of traitors to France and ended up accusing nearly everyone of that crime. eventually fate caught up to him, though not soon enough for many victims. French history is filled with rogues like this who thought they were saints. Easily read at one sitting.
Wilkie Collins is a favourite writer of this reader, and his 1857 epic novel The Dead Secret is a somewhat readable story with Gothic overtones. The big secret can be guessed by most modern readers very early on. Since the story was written as a magazine serial, it tends to go on and on. This would fit the category of women's fiction in its day. I was hoping for a more supernatural spin to the story, but it never came. The ending (it is in six "books") is very drawn out and very long. Cut by about a third this could have been a much more effective book. Not a favourite novel of mine by this author.
Next came Typhoon, a novella by Joseph Conrad from 1902. Like the Collins story, it was first serialized in a magazine. Unlike the Collins tale this one is to the point, with no extra words, sentences, or chapters present. The adventure novella takes place on board a British built steamer plying the China Sea. Good descriptions of the captain, the ship and some of her crew preface the stormy weather, and preparing us for what is to come. On board the ship are 200 Chinese workers returning home after a 7 year stint abroad. They are all returning with money earned and saved. In an introduction by the author, her stresses that it wasn't the storm or the captain that he wanted to highlight, but what went on below deck during the storm involving the 200 Chinese men. Conrad says very little about them in the story, leaving a lot to the imagination (even it was something so terrible that I would rather not imagine it). The storm is a major one, and as usual Conrad gives vivid pictures of what the ship and crew (and passengers) are up against. The storm is so bad that it is difficult to imagine what it would be like, but we are given a rather good idea. Parts of the storm are so bad that it seems almost comical, or so beyond normal comprehension that one can only laugh or cry. If there is a lesson to be learned here, it is to trust the barometer. This captain, greatly changed by his experience, could have taken measures to avoid the storm. However, his reasons for not dodging it are given in his own words, and, being the captain, his word is law on board the ship. Highly recommended, especially if you have ever been in a bad storm.
F. Marion Crawford's novel A Roman Singer from 1884 takes readers to sunny Rome. The story is told by Cornelio Grande, step father to young Nino Cardegna. As a child Nino loved to sing, eventually studying with a good teacher and becoming something of a sensation as a tenor on the opera stage. He falls in love with a German girl and courts her. Her Prussian ex-soldier of a father totally disapproves and removes her to a secluded location far from Rome. It's up to Cornelio to track down her whereabouts while Nino is singing in Paris and London. The novel reads much like a Gothic opera plot, complete with dark castle in the hostile mountains of northern Italy. While not a great novel, it certainly isn't a bad one. There is much humour in the telling, as Cornelio is against Nino's singing as well as his courting. A older wandering violin virtuoso, who is also a rich Russian banker, also has hopes of landing the daughter for himself, after falsely pledging to help Nino win her. It was a fun book to read, though hardly one that I would casually recommend. There are better ones by the author.
Lastly this month comes Lord Dunsany's 1935 novel Up In The Hills. The entire novel is told tongue in cheek by the narrator, but is true to its source. The novel has a totally bizarre opening, with several archaeologists from Liberia descending upon a lonely bog outside a tiny village in Ireland. The events take place in 1922, just after the country has won its independence from England. The Black explorers end up digging up human bones along with the pottery and spear tips that they find. This brings out the local wise women, who put daily curses on the diggers. This makes everyone in the village terribly afraid of the near future. The young local lads (around 20 years of age) decided to take to the hills for a spell until the dig has ended or the curses have come true. It doesn't take them long to become in a "war" with a neighbouring army. Micky, the young leader of his army of 9 souls, is up against a true fighter who was renowned for fighting the British and his 100 or so lads. But both armies are interrupted by the arrival of the more official Irish army, after reports of shots fired in the hills have come down to them.
Dunsany has an ear for how the Irish would talk, and it is both humourous and musical to read parts out loud to oneself. Conversations, even serious ones, tend to be pretty funny in this story, especially the ones young Mickey has with his grandfather, a wise old one who advises Mickey throughout the story. Highly readable, chalk this one up as just another truly odd story I have come across and dutifully reported to you, my readers. Recommended, though even Dunsany fans may be surprised by this one. Pleasantly surprised, I would hope.
Mapman Mike
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