#61--Published September 1973
High Deryni
Katherine Kurt
Cover art by Alan Mardon
I first read the Deryni trilogy when each book first came out. For those of you who like doing math, I was twenty when I first read "High Deryni." I was into trilogies at the time, as was nearly everyone who read. Never did I feel more let down by an ending than I did in this series. The book held little interest for me at that time. There was far too much talking and petty politics, with nearly zero action scenes. All the way through the book we are led to believe there will be a climactic battle scene, possibly even two. Then the first battle is eliminated when the heroes sneak into the castle through a secret passageway (yawn), capture the enemy leaders and win them over to their side. Oh well, there is always the really big, final battle to look forward to. Then that one got cancelled. Instead, we will have four leaders from each opposing army have a battle to the death using magic. Harry Potter fans might be thrilled, but I remember feeling very let down again. Then came the magic showdown. That got cancelled, too. What the hell? The third book ended with a sputter, and I remember cursing the author's name and swearing never to read another of her books again.
Then along comes maturity, plus the fact that I am rereading all of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series, including many of them for the first time. So that means I have to reread the three Kurtz novels. Deryni Rising, the first of the trilogy and #19 in the series, received four stars from me. Deryni Checkmate, the second novel and #46 in the Ballantine series, was nearly as good, and received three and a half stars. Now we come to the third novel, the one I quite disliked as a young man. What do I think of it today? Drum roll, please.......! I think I dislike it more now than I did then. It is a huge disappointment. Lin Carter was stuck with a stinker, and I really wonder if he would have published any more Kurtz Deryni books had the series continued. Someone did. She has now published eighteen of them. I doubt I will ever read any of them, unless someone reading this review recommends one to me especially highly.
Kurtz loves to write. Her novel is filled with details. I find most of them uninteresting and often ill placed. To give only one example (though a crushing one, I admit), as she leads up to the big magic battle (after cancelling the two actual real battles, with armies) the author stops everything dead in its tracks to go through step by step how to set up a transfer portal. Now this may be critical information for the reader or not, but this is not the place to insert several pages of candle lighting and placement of ritual objects. One might put up with it if expecting a major magic battle, but as mentioned that battle never comes. I find that her Biblical quotations that begin each chapter rather tiring, too. And can anyone still believe that Kelson is fourteen or fifteen years old? Have you ever met a boy of that age? Filled with wisdom? I didn't think so.
There are some lovely moments in the book, such as the meetings between Morgan and Richenda, but not enough of them. In short, there is too much talking, planning, describing and overall detailing, and virtually no action to speak of. I cannot recommend this book, though if you read the first two you will probably read it anyway.
**stars. Reviewed Oct. 9th/2014
#62--Published October 1973
Hrolf Kraki's Saga
Poul Anderson
Cover art by Allan Mardon
Anything that Poul Anderson writes is worth reading, and probably should be reread. He is renowned as a science fiction author, but his work in fantasy is much less well known. Thanks to Lin Carter and the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series, we have two of the finest Norse mythology fantasies one could ever hope for. My earlier review of "The Broken Sword" (#24, above) spoke highly not only of the incredible story being told, but at how good the storyteller was in putting us there and making us believe what was happening. One of Carter's main ambitions with some of the older fantasy works (Orlando Furioso, for one) was to find someone who could tell, in clear, refined prose, a tale that would capture the reader from the beginning and hold his interest until the final page.
The current saga, as told by Lin Carter in the opening essay, only survives in fragments. Anderson spent years patching it altogether and putting it into story form. The history of prehistoric Denmark (I know that sounds odd) has found a hero in Anderson, who tells us a complete saga in eight parts, leaving us dumbfounded at both the quality of these heroic tales, which were told and retold throughout the centuries, and at their ability to reach us so directly many centuries later. I cannot overstate the brilliance shown here, and urge anyone who has not come across the Sagas to read both Anderson novels in this series. Follow that up with H. Rider Haggard's "Eric Bright Eyes," and, if you can find it, E.R. Eddison's version of one of the Sagas (It's now available; I have read it and it is really really fantastic)).
Despite being situated in Denmark, the tales are universal in their appeal. Forgot Conan the Barbarian. Meet some of the heroes here, including none less than Beowolf, and the original Beorn and his son. This is the kind of book that as soon as it is finished, the reader is ready to begin it again. It is not difficult to see why these stories would have been retold many times in olden days over one's lifetime--it would have been by request and popular demand. They are adventurous, original, heartbreaking, and unforgettable. This volume, along with "The Broken Sword," are among the finest books in the series. No wonder Tolkien, Eddison and others looked to them for inspiration for their own masterworks.
**** stars. Reviewed Nov. 14th., 2014
#63--Published November 1973
The People of the Mist
H. Rider Haggard
Cover art by Dean Ellis
I have read almost all of Haggard's books, so you could call me a fan. However, I read most of them in my youth, enjoying his fantasy tales set in Egypt, Africa, Mexico and Iceland, among others. I had never come across the two volumes in the Adult Fantasy Series (see also #40). I had high hopes for this one. I was ready for a good boyhood adventure tale. Since it was written by an Englishman in the 1880s, I expected a good deal of racism and sexism, and indeed found some. However, the book is remarkably modern in tone and mostly free of gratuitous examples of them. I knew things could not be all bad when the main characters were a white male, a white female, a black dwarf, and a quasi-lesbian. The "n" word does appear once or twice early on, but it is only used by slavers, the bad guys of the story. The bad guys in the lost city are not black and white characters, either. They are complicated people and driven by customs and motives that are astonishing in this type of novel.
It all begins well, with a lengthy pre-story. We start out in England, then are soon swept into Africa, seven years later. The reader gets involved with the rescue of a white girl captured by slavers, as well as a number of natives who were also taken. This part of the story is filled with excitement and marvellous story telling, and if Haggard had only wrote this as his main tale it would have been a corker. This man can write adventure stories like no one else. Period. One of the most impressive things about Haggard is his use of logic when writing. Any time that a reader thinks he has found a flaw in the storyline, or thinks that Haggard has forgotten about something important, it always gets dealt with properly and logically. He is a true master, and there are no loose ends.
His descriptions of slavery and slavers, and how people were treated once they were captured, will be one of the most brutal things you will ever read. There is no gratuitous violence. A short paragraph with barebones description suffices for Haggard. Once the slavery story has been told, we are one third into the volume. Now it is time to look for the undiscovered People of the Mist. If the accurate cover illustration appeals to you (as it does me), then you wish to get there in a hurry. Slow down; it takes a while to get there. It's a long walk. However, once we are in the hidden city Haggard really begins to show us his stuff as a writer. There was a point when I was convinced that the best part of the story was already over (slavers), but it soon kicked into high gear once again, and I found myself reading far beyond my allotted two chapters per day. The lost city story begins slowly, but gains momentum and literally flies along after a while. No wonder I loved this stuff as a youngster! And I am happy to say I still love it. It is pure escapism, like the old Saturday afteroon serials at the bijou. But it is the most well-written escapism you will ever come across. It is no surprise that many, many movies have been made from stories by Haggard.
Reading it you may think "Oh, I've read stories like this before." You probably have. And guess who started them all, and is still better than everyone else who followed? Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote dozens of them, after going gaga over Haggard. If you enjoy this book, then dive into his King Solomon's Mines series, as well as the Ayesha Egyptian series. His Aztec story and Icelandic one are also top knotch.
**** stars. Reviewed December 10th/2014
#64--Published February 1974
Kai Lung Unrolls His Mat
Ernest Bramah
Cover art by Ian Millar
This novel, and the one by Haggard that comes just before it, is a perfect illustration of why the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series was so great. Two novels of such different approaches to fantasy cannot be found anywhere else. Whereas the Haggard tale is a blustery and straight forward adventure tale that would have a wide appeal to many fantasy readers, the Bramah novel is much more restrained, and doubtless would have far less appeal. Several of the series entries are fantasies that seem like they would appeal to a very narrow, highly discriminating readership. No doubt sales of such books would reflect this fact. However, Lin Carter continued until the very end to give us fantasy stories that we could find nowhere else. No such series could ever succeed in today's market, and it barely hung on back in the golden years for fantasy during the Sixties and Seventies.
It would be a shame to miss out on this volume because the printing is very small and the language peculiar to Bramah and his Orientalist tales. I read this one slowly (as I do most books in the series), lingering over many exquisite phrases and readily enjoying the sly, subtle humour each tale contains. There are ten tales contained within one connecting storyline, much in the way of The Arabian Nights. However, the connecting story is quite well developed, and just as fun and intriguing as any of the inner tales. When he encounters a person of interest who might help him on his journey, Kai Lung unrolls his mat, sits and begins a story. This is how he pays his way along the road. We walk along with Kai Lung as he goes in search of a kidnapped wife, taken by an arch-enemy from the previous book (see #45, above). I cannot single out any particular story for extra praise, as they are all top-notch. If you do not wish to read the whole book, however, you might try the tale on P. 75, "The Tale of Tong So, The Averter of Calamities." A 20 page story in four chapters, it is easy to read and will give a very good idea of Bramah's genius. I can imagine Fritz Leiber reading this one and being completely delighted, as there is a Lankmarian flavour to it. If you enjoy this tale, I suggest going back to the beginning and reading the entire book. This is one of my favourite volumes in the entire series.
**** stars. Reviewed January 6th/15
Note: Beginning on page 181, my copy of the book has the printing crammed into the inside margin for quite a few pages. While annoying, it is still possible to read. This is the first time I have run into this problem, as least as far as I can remember.
Only one more novel remains in the main published Ballantine series. However, I will review two more volumes afterwards that were next in line to be published, and eventually were when Del Rey and Ballantine published them without the unicorn symbol. After these two, I have one more related Lin Carter fantasy series to tell readers about, so I won't be going away soon. Once the Ballantine series was cancelled, he began a new series publishing short fantasy stories. I shall briefly discuss those books, too.
#65--Published April 1974
Over the Hills and Far Away
Lord Dunsany
Cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
We have come at last to the final published volume of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series. Knowing how popular fantasy is these days, it is a shame that the series did not carry on indefinitely. At least there should be a revival of the basic idea by some publisher. Enough with the teen vampire books, please. The next two books in the series were all lined up and waiting to be published, and they were; just not under the sign of the unicorn. So at least two more reviews will follow this one. After that, we will see where things take us.
At least the series ended very strongly. The collection of short stories and plays contained within this volume are magnificent! Lin Carter has divided it into four main sections, and I will review the book by section. I read only two or three of these stories at each sitting. Like a box of fine chocolates, you could devour the whole thing at one go if you wished. It depends on your particular style of eating. I prefer a few at a time...
Section 1 is called "Tales of the World's Edge." Carter titled this book himself, as well as the individual sections.
"The Journey of the King." The first story, at 35 or so pages, is the longest in the volume. A king summons several mystics and philosophers, posing a question to each one of them. What happens to me when I die? The answers that come forth are fantasy writing as its best. If you still think that the Bible is great literature, wait until you try this stuff. I loved every one of the replies, but they get better and better as they go along. A gem of a tale!
"The Fall of Babbulkund." This story was also published in New Worlds For Old, #35 in the series. It is essentially a description of a vast city that must be seen to be believed, and some travellers tell their tale of voyaging there in order to see it for themselves. They encounter other travellers and hear of its greatness. Unfortunately, they never get to see it. This is a story to read slowly, and should be an inspiration to calendar artists everywhere.
"The Bird of the Difficult Eye." This tale of a jewel thief will delight fans of Fritz Leiber and Lankmar.
"The Secret of the Sea." This story also has a Lankmarian bent. We almost learn one of the greatest secrets ever.
"The Compromise of the King of the Golden Isles:" A very short play, telling the tale of a mere king who dared to defy the Emperor. This would be fun to stage at a fantasy con.
Section 2 is called "Tales of Far Away."
"The House of the Sphinx." Something wicked this way comes, and it's coming for the Sphinx. I love how the author leaves undescribed what actually happened at the end. The world is full of mystery.
"Blagdaross," though it has a happy ending, is one of the saddest stories I have ever read. Have you ever felt any emotion for a discarded cork, an old broken kettle, or a piece of worn rope? This story is a 4 1/2 page wonder, showing that Dunsany's imagination is nearly limitless.
"The Lonely Idol." What happens when all those gods who were once worshipped are abandoned? Some of them don't seem to lose their influence, at any rate. One page in length. This story could be a metaphor for people who still discover and read the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series.
"An Archive of the Older Mysteries." Another one-page story detailing the creation and existence of a jade figure.
"The Loot of Loma" is a story of Native Americans who dare to loot and destroy a city rooted in old gods. Another great ending, where we have no real idea of what happened to the looters. We have strong hints, however.
"The Last Dream of Bwana Kubla", in which London materializes in a most unusual location.
"The Queen's Enemies" is the second short play featured. It is even better than the first one. It tells of how much the Queen hates to have enemies. She invites them to a banquet, and despite their wariness they are unable to outwit her.
"How Plash-Goo Came to the Land of None's Desire". How did Plash-Goo get there? Unexpectedly.
"The Prayer of Boob Aheera." He who prays first prays best.
"East and West," in which an unusual carriage race is observed by an unconcerned bystander.
"How the Gods Avenged Meoul Ki Ning." Otherwise known as how the gods almost avenged Meoul Ki Ning.
"The Man With the Golden Ear-Rings." This short fragment is concerned with the near extinction of pirates.
"Poor Old Bill." Bill is the only survivor of a cursed sea voyage. Poor old Bill.
Section 3 is called "Tales of Near at Hand."
"The Bad Old Woman in Black" is reminiscent of an Eastern European folktale. Omens come in strange forms.
"The Field." One of several London stories in this section. There is a lot of history around that city, much of it known, some of it unknown.
"Where the Tides Ebb and Flow" is as close as Dunsany comes to writing a pure horror story. Imagine this one as a short film! A dead man tries to find some peace.
"The Little City" describes a view from a train window. Only half a page long.
"The Highwayman" is another little tale of horror, as friends of the robber try to give his body a decent burial. Wonderful ending.
"In the Twilight" describes the near-death experience of a man who falls overboard in a narrowboat canal.
"The Ghosts" is yet another little horror gem, following upon a heated discussion between brothers on the existence of ghosts.
"The Doom of La Traviata" tells of several disobedient angels.
"The Narrow Escape" is the story of a magician who lives in the bowels of London, and has decided that it is time to end it all. Not his life, but London's. He needs a special ingredient to make his potion, and sends his familiar on a year-long quest. London survives, but it's unlikely if the familiar does.
"The Lord of Cities" is essentially a discussion between a road and a brook. Which is more important, the sea or cities?
"The Unhappy Body" wishes only for rest, but the soul craves so much more.
"The Gifts of the Gods" is a poor man's version of War and Peace, in under four pages.
"On the Dry Land" is a very short story involving Love, Death, a marsh and an old man. I don't wish to give away too much.
"The Unpasturable Fields", at half a page, is a short discussion between mountains and clouds.
Section 4, the final one, is called "Tales Jorkens Told," invoking a particular type of British tale told at that pillar of male society, The Club.
In Dunsany's "Curse of the Witch," what is it that is causing the hounds to howl in such fear? If you love dogs, you may not appreciate this little piece of horror.
"Hunting the Unicorn". What is the one word that casts doubt that Jorkens ever did hunt a unicorn?
"The Pale Green Image" takes us to Tunis, where a curse is still a curse, no matter who you are.
"The Sacred City of Krakovlitz" was once thought to have been destroyed. And yet it appears to live on.
"At Sunset" is a short poem used to finish the volume, and it makes a wonderful coda to all of the wonders seen within these pages. I guess if the series did have to come to an end, it could not have ended any stronger than this volume, and this little poem.
**** stars. Reviewed February 8th/15
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APPENDIX A
#66--Published June 1974
Merlin's Ring
H. Warner Munn
Cover art by Gervasio Gallardo
This book was the next one in line to be printed, but the series was cancelled. Everything about the book is exactly the same, except there is no unicorn on the cover. The intro by Lin Carter is there, and is written as if the series were still well underway. The cover is another brilliant one by Gallardo. All seems well. Except it wasn't. Mercifully the book still got published by Ballantine, and it is a fine story, too.
As much as I love the story, I find it oddly dispassionate, as if the author could spin a really good yarn, but could not quite master the art of building a lead character and making him loved by readers. Gwalchmai does all the right things, and carries out many heroic deeds, and remains faithful to one woman for hundreds of years. It's just that when all is said and done, he is not really missed much. We don't feel as attached to him as we should, especially after such a long, involved tale in which he features prominently in every act.
The volume covers much of medieval history, including happenings in Asia. Authors today would wring four or five books out of these ideas, but Munn covers it neatly in one. There are four or five different major events within the pages, linked together by Gwalchmai's pursuit of his goal, which is to give away the secret of the existence of North America to a Christian leader. While Merlin's Ring plays an important role in the proceedings, Gwalchmai, as Merlin's apprentice/messenger, plays a bigger one. Gwalchmai is the Man, though he is such a cardboard character (think of some of the lesser Hercules-type movies you have seen) that my feelings for him do not run very strong. Perhaps you will feel differently.
At any rate, this is a must-read book, one of the best stories I have ever read. It would make an epic TV series, too, involving Norsemen, early medieval times, Rome and the catacombs, Genghis Khan (the Gobi Sea interlude is a highlight), Samurai, and the 100 Years' War between England and France. The on-going love-story is potent and well written, and the character of Corenice, late of Atlantis, is beautiful and believable. Fantasy meets the real medieval times. Highly recommend reading.
**** stars. Reviewed March 4th, 2015
#67--Published November 1974
Prince of Annwn
Evangeline Walton
This volume not only completes our journey through Ballantine Fantasy's Golden Years of the late 60s and early 70s, but it also completes an important and stunningly written four-volume series on the Welsh tales known as The Mabinogian. Ms Walton is up to her usual brilliant storytelling tricks in Prince of Annwn, retelling the First Branch this time around. The tale is a bit less dark than the other three branches (see also Volumes 18, 33, and 51 of the Adult Fantasy Series), but is filled with both magic and humanity once again. These four books are all easy to read, and very immersive. Next in line for publication after Merlin's Ring (see above), when the series was cancelled this one nearly missed making it to light. Published under the Del Rey Fantasy logo that uses a winged griffin, Ballantine must have been pursuaded by Lin Carter to finish off the Walton series when this new branch of the publisher got rolling. There is an introduction, though not by Carter. It's a reprint from the Saturday Review by Patrick Merla, and it's quite good.
This story is divided into two main sections. "Descent into the Abyss" tells a frightening tale of underworld adventure as Prince Pwyll of Dyved is highjacked while out hunting, and convinced to do the bidding of Arawn, King in Annwn, land of the dead. This section sees the hero battle several creatures, all testing his worthiness to rule. He passes many tests, each one more demanding than the previous one, but is given some help along the way. In part two, "Rhiannon of the Birds," Pywll is returned to his people, eventually facing more tests of his strength of mind and spirit. He wins a wife, then loses her, then wins her back in a tour de force of imaginative storytelling that is both gripping and exciting. It is a difficult book to put down.
**** stars. Reviewed March 23rd, 2015
