Book Review: The Last Magicians

Book Review: 'The Last Magicians' by John Jakes

 

3 / 5 Stars

 

‘The Last Magicians’ (190 pp) was published by Signet books in September 1969. According to reader samaccat, Sandy Kossin supplied the cover artwork.

Cham is one of the last Red Magicians not sworn to the service of the godhead of evil, the ‘Unborn’, and his Arch Mage, the sorcerer Imm. While much of the world is in the grip of a destructive war between Imm and the upstart college of the Blue Magicians, Cham simply wants passage from the northern town of Lumina to Seastrand, his home across the ocean.

Unfortunately, despite his brooding and dangerous appearance, people have a habit of messing with Cham, and while in Lumina, he runs afoul of the local cut-throats.

What starts as some back-alley bladework quickly escalates into a forced alliance with King Balsto, who recognizes that a Red Magician is an asset when gathering an expedition designed to cross the ocean to confront Imm and his forces of darkness. 

But things get complicated when Cham meets the King’s stunning bride, Debra….and events take a turn that sends Cham into perils both natural and supernatural….

‘The Last Magicians’ is competent sword and sorcery from Jakes, who is better known for his ‘Brak the Barbarian’ character. Cham, unlike Brak, is less of a straightforward hack-and-slasher, although he does carry the soul-drinking sword ‘Red Slut’, in homage to Michael Moorcock’s ‘Stormbringer’.

Cham is a bit more cerebral than Brak, and a little more deliberate, which is helpful when spell-casting becomes the more important form of combat.

‘The Last Magicians’ has a darker tone to it than most sword and sorcery fiction of its era, incorporating some particularly loathsome monsters, a quasi-invincible army of zombies, and a debauched city flush with orgies and human sacrifice.

‘Magicians’ is worth searching out by sword-and-sorcery fans of the ‘Brak’ and ‘Conan’ novels.

Heavy Metal magazine, December 1981

'Heavy Metal' magazine, December 1981

It's December 1981, and the nights come earlier and the weather turns colder. 

On the 14th, Hall and Oates release a single off their album Private Eyes titled 'I Can't Go for That (No Can Do).'

By the end of the month, this song is ubiquitous on the radio airwaves and MTV, and by the end of January the song goes to No. 1 on both the Billboard pop and R & B charts - quite an achievement.

The December issue of Heavy Metal magazine is on the stands. The cover illustration is a photograph (taken by Chris Stein) of 'Blondie' lead singer Debby Harry, in makeup and costume designed by the artist H. R. Giger. The back cover is 'Weekends Are Made for Balibob' by Thomas Warkentin.

The feature article for the December issue, written by Harry and her boyfriend and band-mate Stein, is a photo essay about their adventures with Giger, who provided the cover artwork for Harry's solo album KooKoo, released in July 1981.

Indeed, more cynical readers could get the feeling that the December issue is a thinly veiled advertisement for KooKoo. However, as it turned out, 1981 was the high-water mark for both Harry and Blondie; the following year the band would go through a rancorous break up, and would not re-form until 1997.

Elsewhere in the December issue are ongoing installments of Segrelle's 'The Mercenary', Corben's 'Den II', Findlay's 'Tex Arcana', 'At the Middle of Cymbiola' by Schuiten and Renard, and the final episode of Bilal's 'The Immortal's Fete'.

There are two outstanding one-shot pieces in this issue: a fine comic from Caza titled 'Skull and Crossbones', and 'Mirror of Dreams' by Paul Kirchner, which I've posted below.

'Mirror' features Kirchner's meticulous, clean-lined draftsmanship melded with a well-researched depiction of Japanese landscape, architecture, and cultural themes.

Book Review: Daystar and Shadow

Book Review: 'Daystar and Shadow' by James B. Johnson

 3 / 5 Stars

 ‘Daystar and Shadow’ is DAW Book No. 427 (206 pp.), released in March 1981; the cover art is by Ken W. Kelly.

Its title is rather corny, and lends itself better to a romance novel than sci-fi, but ‘Daystar’ is actually a pretty good adventure novel. 

It’s set several centuries after WWIII has devastated America. Most of the central region of the nation is a desert wasteland, inhabited by venemous, sand- burrowing ‘fireworms’ that apparently are of extraterrestrial origin. 

Pockets  of civilization survive at El Paso, Taos, Santa Fe, San Diego, and other locales in the Southwest.

The first-person narrator is Robin, aka Daystar, abandoned as an infant in the desert by his family due to his autism. Far from being devoured by the fireworms, Robin is able to establish a telepathic link with them, and not only survives his ordeal, but becomes an accomplished dowser and all-around desert survival specialist. 

Early in his wanderings he encounters Daystar, an autistic girl, and together they become colleagues in identifying underground water sources for exploitation by thirsty cities.

As they progress in their wanderings, Daystar and Shadow grow increasingly aware that the religious sect ruling postapocalyptic America, the New Christian Church, has a particular animus against autistics. There are gruesome public executions of Blasphemers, rumors of abductions, and tales of secret redoubts in the depths of the wastelands. 

What are the New Christians hiding ? What is the reason for their crusade against the autistic segment of the population ? When Daystar and Shadow embark on a  quest to answer these questions, they uncover a conspiracy that involves the fate of the planet…..

Author James R. Johnson writes with a clear, easy style and keeps his chapters short and filled with action. At the same time, ‘Daystar’ has a more imaginative tenor to its narrative than the usual postapocalyptic adventures stories featuring ‘Radioactive Rambos’ (‘The Survivalist’, ‘Endworld’, ‘Death Lands’, etc.). 

Readers who liked classics like ‘Damnation Alley’ or ‘The Postman’ may want to give ‘Daystar and Shadow’ a try.

Welcome to Cityville by Caza

'Welcome to Cityville' by Caza

from the December 1979 issue of Heavy Metal

a downbeat tale for the start of the Winter season......

Book Review: Death in Silver

Book Review: 'Death in Silver' by Kenneth Robeson

3 / 5 Stars

‘Death in Silver’ originally appeared in the October, 1934 issue of Doc Savage magazine; the author was Lester Dent. Bantam re-issued ‘Silver’ as series paperback No. 26  in July 1968.

‘Silver’ is the very first Doc Savage book I ever saw, back in the late 60s when I was 9 or 10 years old, on the shelves in the small library in the upstate New York town where I lived. The great cover artwork by James Bama was of course eye-catching, and has remained in my memory for those 40+ years. 

‘Silver’ deals with the depredations of the Silver Death’s-Heads Gang, who commit crimes clad in unusual garments of silver fabric, with headgear that obscures their faces save for skull-like openings for the eyes, nose, and mouth.

As the novel opens a shipping magnate named Paine Winthrop discovers he has earned the wrath of the Death’s- Heads. A tremendous explosion in the skyscraper housing Winthrop’s offices draws the attention of Monk and Ham, and in due course, Doc Savage himself. 

There are some bloody encounters with members of the Deaths-Heads as Doc and his team struggle to learn why Winthrop was targeted. The activities of the gang are difficult to unravel, but seem to be centered among the slum warehouses on the city waterfront. 

It transpires that the Deaths-Heads are led by a sinister genius named Ull, and he and the Deaths-Heads aren’t too pleased to discover that they have earned the scrutiny of the Man of Bronze. Ull decides that they have to eliminate Doc Savage and his team as soon as possible- and if the deed requires excessive violence, Ull is happy to oblige…

Lester Dent was in pretty good form with ‘Death in Silver’. The action moves at a brisk pace, and Ull is a worthy adversary in terms of his ability to counter Doc’s scientific wizardry.  As with many of the early Savage novels, there are some red herrings introduced early in the plot, and the revelation of the identity of the criminal mastermind is withheld until the last few pages.

‘Death in Silver’ is one of the better Savage novels of the 30s and if you spot a reasonably priced copy on the used bookshelves, it may be worth picking up.

'The Gray Man' by Enki Bilal

from the September 1985 issue of Heavy Metal

'Conquering Armies' by Gal and Dionnet

from the May 1977 issue of Heavy Metal

Book Review: Stormqueen

Book Review: 'Stormqueen !' by Marion Zimmer Bradley

 2 / 5 Stars

‘Stormqueen’ is the quintessential PorPor Book: the front cover (art by Michael Whelan) has a red-haired woman in a tight-fitting dress perched in a dramatic stance on the battlements of a castle, while lightning rages about her.

‘Stormqueen’ is DAW Book No. 292 (364 pp), published in June 1978.

Although Stormqueen is not the second Darkover novel to be published, it is arguably the second book in the series’ internal chronology, following the events outlined in ‘Darkover Landfall’ (1972).

The intrigues in Stormqueen take place during the Ages of Chaos, an era prior to the arrival of the Terrans, when the world’s various ruling families and factions engaged in myriad small wars and border conflicts. Intermarriage and even incest are encouraged in order to heighten the psi powers (precognition, telekinesis, etc.) possessed by selected clans, although this has a deleterious effect on infant and adolescent survival.

The ‘Stormqueen’ of the title is Dorilys, the daughter of Mikhail, Lord of Castle Aldaran, a principality located in the rugged and remote mountain country; the novel revolves around her birth and maturation into a teenager gifted with the ability to command storms and lightning.

An intersecting narrative deals with the travails of Allart Hastur, whose family becomes allied with Aldaran when conflict breaks out between Mkhail and his avaricious brother, Lord Scathfell.

The bulk of the novel is concerned with the various personality clashes, and emotional intimacies, of the rather large cast of characters; in this respect, Stormqueen is more akin to a romance novel than hardcore sci-fi or fantasy.

Bouts of adventure and action periodically pop up here and there, including some initial skirmishes, involving an unpleasant derivative of napalm, between warring houses. There is also a tense episode when our lightly-equipped heroes find themselves caught in a mountain blizzard. But for me, the novel only really gained momentum in its last 60 pages, when the enmity between Scathfell and Aldaran comes to a climax.

While I can’t say I found the book to be boring, I suspect that readers who are not fans of the series will find ‘Stormqueen’ to be slow going at times; this one is best recommended for Darkover enthusiasts only.

'The Bus' by Paul Kirchner

The Black Dragon

'The Black Dragon', by Chris Claremont and John Bolton

Marvel / Epic Comics, 1985

 

‘The Black Dragon’ was published by Marvel’s Epic Comics line as a six-issue miniseries from May through October 1985.

The story is set in England in 1193. The plot centers on Scottish knight James Dunreith, exiled from his country by order of the King, Henry Plantagenet.

With Plantagenet’s death Dunreith decides to end his exile and return to England, where he is recruited by the Queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine. It seems rumors are circulating that a West Country nobleman named Edmund de Valere is planning a rebellion against the realm, even as Henry’s successor, Richard the Lionheart, is off adventuring in Palestine. 

James Dunreith knows de Valere well, having been the nobleman’s boon friend and comrade-at-arms. Dunreith, doubtful of the allegations against his friend, decides to allay the Queen’s fears and makes plans to visit Edmund at Glenowyn Castle.

Once at the Castle Glenowyn Dunreith finds it even harder to believe that de Valere is plotting to overthrow the King. Is a conspiracy underway to pin the blame for an insurrection on de Valere ?

Who is responsible for massacres and atrocities committed on the people living in the countryside around de Valere’s holdings ?

And why are the original inhabitants of the British Isles, the Little People, and their allies among the disgruntled Saxons of Wales, whispering that de Valere has entered into a pact with dark forces ?

Before long, James Dunreith finds himself in the middle of a bloody conflict between Norman and Saxon, between the supernatural and the natural, with the future of Merrie Olde England at stake.

‘The Black Dragon’ is an interesting effort at taking the authentic medieval setting and visual style of ‘Prince Valiant’ and melding them with a narrative full of modern fantasy and horror themes. 

John Bolton’s artwork is very good, despite suffering from the limitations of comic book printing as it stood in the mid-80s. Bolton’s draftsmanship carefully reproduces the environment of late 12^th-century England, and yet provides his own visual flair to the battle and fantasy scenes.

 

I had reservations about Chris Claremont’s writing duties for ‘The Black Dragon’, as Claremont is overly prone to putting together overwritten, overwrought narratives that tend to collapse under their own weight. 

Sadly, this is true of ‘Dragon’. The first four issues are well done in regard to plotting and the management of a large cast of characters, including historical personages such as Robin Hood. However the series’ final two issues suffer from too many plot threads vying for panel space; too many lengthy, stilted speeches by one character after another; too many convenient rescues and deathbed resuscitations; and an underwhelming ending that relies on a contrived act of spell-casting.

 

Despite the flaws of its scripting, Bolton’s artwork makes ‘The Black Dragon’ worth picking up. It’s also worth investigating for its treatment of classical English folklore, particularly in comparison to the contemporary approaches to this topic, such as Mignola’s recent Hellboy series, ‘The Fury’.