Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=50 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="043085a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Lone Mt Homestead</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lone Mt Homestead"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lone Mt Homestead"><U><B><IMG SRC="03b0e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>   </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14"><B>     </B><A HREF="id310.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Autumn Page 2"><U><B><IMG SRC="02f0e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14"></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="04507073.jpg"> <div> <I>Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series</I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B><U>Newest Review--#4: The Silver Stallion*</U></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B><U>Book Reviews from the Series</U></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>     Over the years I have read a number of the books in the </B></I><A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballantine_Adult_Fantasy_series" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballantine_"><U><I><B>Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series</B></I></U></A><I><B>, some more than once.  I am currently re-reading several of them, as well as discovering many more for the first time, and will post my own reviews here as I finish them, in the order the series was published.  I am also trying to collect all the volumes, and have had some recent success in that respect.  I am now missing only three of the books.  I got started reading them through my late Uncle Jimmy, who got me started on Tolkien.  He had also purchased the E.R. Eddison series and the Gormenghast trilogy, books he didn't seem to appreciate as much as I did.  These three series of books (Tolkien, Eddison and Peake) literally blew the lid off my teenage head, eventually leaving me thirsting for more.  C.S. Lewis was good, but didn't really inspire me the way those other series did.  Along came Lin Carter, editing a phenomenal series of paperbacks published one per month through Ballantine Books.  The first one I discovered and read was Morris' "Well at the World's End".  After reading this, I never looked back.  I was soon introduced to Lord Dunsany, H.P. Lovecraft, William Hope Hodgson and other masters of the craft.  Several books in the series were reprints of material appearing for the first time in paperback, while a few others were receiving their first publication ever.  All of them were obscure to the fantasy reader of that time.  Only now, as I attempt to complete my collection, do I fully realize the breadth and scope of what Lin Carter was attempting!</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>     Before the main series was underway, Ballantine had been publishing fantasy for some time, including the authorized paperback editions of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.  This "pre-series" is just as important to readers and collectors as the main series, and will be given equal consideration here.  These include the novels of Mervyn Peake and E.R. Eddison as well as Peter S. Beagle and David Lindsay.  Once Lin Carter began writing introductions, the books were considered to be part of the main series.  Sometimes in reprinting the earlier series, a unicorn was added to the cover, though Lin Carter's comments were never featured.</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B><U>PRE-SERIES</U></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>     This series was not introduced by Lin Carter, and the Unicorn symbol of the Adult Fantasy books only appeared on certain reprints.  It includes 18 separate volumes.  I will read and reread them all over the next few years, posting reviews as I go.</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>#15--Published February 1969</B></div> <div> <I><B><U>A Fine and Private Place</U></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Peter S. Beagle</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B><U><IMG SRC="13ac3a0c0.jpg" border=0 width="314" height="524" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></B></I></div> <div> <B>Cover by Gervasio Gallardo</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>      This is a superb work of fiction written by a 19 year-old wunderkind.  Although he has only written a handful of novels, Beagle is still one of the most important names in fantasy literature.  If you read this book you will know why.  Set entirely in a large New York cemetery, the book is about a man who lives there in a mausoleum.  He has retreated from society, is kept company by ghosts and is brought food fairly regularly by a raven.  It is such a beguiling work that I don't wish to say much more about the story.  However, there are so many nuggets of wisdom in these pages that it may just as easily be filed under "philosophy".  Take the story of the seagull told to Mr. Rebeck by the raven, for example.  In a few short paragraphs the author sums up what it is about life that messes everyone up.  To some extent, everyone is metaphorically lost in Iowa, searching for the ocean.  Every bit of water we come across, no matter how small, keeps up our hopes of finding our way back to the ocean.  </B></div> <div> <B>     Mr. Rebeck is eventually helped to his ocean by Mrs. Klapper, a woman he meets one day as she visits her husband's tomb in the cemetery.  The author has a sharp ear for dialogue and the local Jewish dialect spoken between these two people meeting and getting to know one another.  Besides the Raven, the only other main characters in this play (it could easily be adapted to the theatre) are Michael and Laura, both of whom are ghosts.  Mr. Rebeck is able to see and hear people who have recently died and been buried in the cemetery, but finds that they slowly drift off to sleep after a month or so.  He helps these ghosts adjust to their new habitat and type of existence.</B></div> <div> <B>     The novel is spellbinding and difficult to put down, and will remain in the reader's memory long afterwards.  Characters are deeply drawn, portrayed realistically and without resorting to gimmicks or caricature.  There is some delightful humour, inspiring conversations and thoughtful ideas.  Most of all, though, </B><I><B><U>A Fine and Private Place</U></B></I><I><B> </B></I><B>is a truly wonderful story about people searching for Truth, and finding at least a sizeable piece of it in the end.  The last line of the book, spoken by Mr. Rebeck, will have the reader scurrying for the seagull story once again.  Highly recommended.</B></div> <div> <B>***1/2 stars</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B><U>MAIN SERIES</U></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>     This series featured an introduction by Lin Carter, and the Unicorn symbol on the book cover.  It includes 65 separate volumes, many of which I have never read.  I plan to read and review the entire series.</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>#1--Published May 1969</B></div> <div> <I><B><U>The Blue Star</U></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Fletcher Pratt</B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="146331030.jpg" border=0 width="305" height="515" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Cover art by Ron Walotsky</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#006699" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>    </B></I><B> </B></FONT><B>I only recently acquired this book on a visit to Gardner Books in Tulsa, OK.  While there I also located a hard-to-find book by John Bellaire, a brilliant fantasy writer not represented in this series as his novels are usually aimed at older children.  I was eager to read the first actual book of the Ballantine series, and was hoping to find it a book I could really sink my teeth into.  After all, this story (the first with the Unicorn logo) was the flagship for the series.  People buying this book would certainly buy more if they enjoyed it.  However, if it was not up to their expectations, the series would likely be ignored.  No one could fault Lin Carter for his eclectic tastes in fantasy literature, and probably no one knew more about the subject at the time.  He was trying to establish an </B><B><U>adult </U></B><B>series, something to distinguish it from the Narnia books and The Hobbit (today, far too many young children attempt the Lord of the Rings).  Ballantine assumed there was a market, based on sales of Tolkien, Eddison and Peake at the time.  One never really knows how such decisions are made, but for reasons unknown to this reviewer Pratt's offbeat novel was chosen to lead off the series.  How instructive and fun it would be to interview Lin Carter on the subject of issuing this fine series with the hindsight of many years.  Alsa, it will never be.  </B></div> <div> <B>     The main reason for issuing this novel as the first of the series is likely to be because it is </B><B><U>adult.</U></B><B>  Carter wanted to emphasize that kids should not be reading this stuff.  They likely would not, giving up on the complicated world created by Pratt long before any sexual shenanigans begin.  I must admit that after reading Tolkien, Lewis, Eddison and Peake, it was refreshing to read about sex in fantasy worlds.  I was beginning to wonder how they kept the different species going!  Of course Pratt offers the willing reader much more than the occasional sexual romp (as does Fritz Leiber).  He brings us to a fully functioning (make that disfunctioning) world nearly as complex and filled with intrigue as Zimianvia, though smelling a bit more like Lankmar.</B></div> <div> <B>     My main complaint with the novel is in its characters.  Rodvard does not make a very gripping hero, and Lalette fails to engage me as the main heroine.  They even fail as anti-heroes, unable to do much of anything good or bad.  For much of the time they are either puppets of one side or another, or simply trying to run away from where they are.  Since most of the narrative concerns them, this is a serious flaw.  Not only that, but the Blue Star itself seems ineptly used in Rodvard's care.  By searching a person's eyes, the wearer of the Star can read their thoughts.  Rodvard isn't very good at this game, and doesn't seem to improve much with practice.  Lalette isn't allowed to be much of a witch, either.  With all sides practically forbidding the use of witchcraft, she only seems to resort to it when made suddenly angry and she is unable to control her temper.</B></div> <div> <B>     The politics is sometimes confusing, too.  There are several groups vying for power in one part of the world, and another group in power in another, though not, it seems, fully in control.  Again, the author doesn't seem to make us care much about any side.  It seems he is writing without conviction.  Pratt seems to have created a world where bad things happen to mediocre people.  As a result, I felt relieved when the book ended, as if I had been released from bondage, or awoken from a dream that had been annoying me.  The concept of the story is good (ignoring the useless framing device Pratt uses to introduce and conclude the tale): someone hired by the Court can read people's thoughts, keeping the ruling party informed.  Knowing one's enemy can go a long way to keeping one side in power.  Pratt attempts to develop the idea into a story, but the story lacks colour and life--it seems as if we are looking at browns and greys too much of the time.</B></div> <div> <B>     Coming on the heels of Lord of the Rings and E. R. Eddison's books, perhaps Carter was trying to show a completely new side to fantasy writing.  I just think it was a little early in the series to be doing it, and it may have a potential audience away from the Unicorn.  Not recommended for young readers.</B></div> <div> <I><B>**1/2 stars.</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>#2--Published June 1969</B></div> <div> <I><B><U>The Kind of Elfland's Daughter</U></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Lord Dunsany</B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="146e27ea0.jpg" border=0 width="295" height="490" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Cover art by Bob Pepper</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>    </B></I><B> I am one of Lord Dunsany's greatest fans, and find most of his fantasy writing to be high and above virtually every other writer of the genre.  He has a magical way with words and phrases that brings dreaming into our conscious thoughts.  Ballantine Publishers and Lin Carter, with the first two releases, have already shown the path that the series will travel.  There will be newer fiction from living authors, as well as many other stories brought to light from some of the greatest fantasy literature never seen before in paperback and/or not available to readers for many years.  I think trying to link any of these volumes to Tolkien is an example of wrong thinking, though it is especially true of Dunsany.</B></div> <div> <B>     Despite its obvious strengths , I did not care very much for this novel.  Again, it comes down to characterization.  Dunsany is unmatched in his descriptive prose, as the following short excerpt from Chapter XXXII illustrates:</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>          "</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>He [the King] opened the coffer with a spell, for it opened to no key, and taking from it an ancient parchment scroll he rose and read from it while his daughter wept.  And the words of the rune as he read were like the notes of a band of violins, all played by masters chosen from many ages, hidden on a midsummer's midnight in a wood, with a strange moon shining, the air all full of madness and mystery; and, lurking close but invisible, things beyond the wisdom of man.</B></I></FONT><B>"</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     Now that is magical prose, and there is plenty more where that came from.  Dunsany seems to have no limits in his ability to create mood and setting.  Where his limits affect the quality of writing is in his depiction of character.  In a short story (Dunsany wrote many), a one-dimensional character can be allowed if the setting and story are brilliant enough.  However, in a novel exceeding 235 pages, we require more than shadows and wisps.  The King is a man who does not want to lose his daughter.  The hero, Alveric, loves the princess but only on his terms, never once allowing her to be who she wants to be.  The princess is torn between love for her father and love for her son, Orion.  Orion is a mad hunter who runs around with huge packs of dogs killing unicorns (an offensive fairy tale prince if there ever was one).  We learn everything we need to learn about each character almost the first time we meet them.  </B></div> <div> <B>     The exceptions are Lurulu the troll, a delightful character full of charm and mischief (though his simple mind certainly has definite limits) and the witch Ziroonderel, possibly the finest depiction of a witch in fairy tale fiction, apart from Terry Pratchett's creations.  Without them we would be hopelessly adrift.  Still, the descriptions and landscape are nearly enough to save the book, but in the end not quite.  Alveric's quest to rediscover Elfland and find the princess again is a good analogy for anyone who has lost something irreplaceable and does not realize its value until it is gone.  Madness can follow quickly, and here indeed it does.</B></div> <div> <B>     Children would be unlikely to last through this long wash of lovely dream-like prose, and in that sense it is an adult fairy tale.  The hunting of unicorns with dogs would certainly be upsetting to them (and to many adults), though there is nothing stopping young readers from plowing through Dunsany's novel.  I would send them to some of his finer short stories first.  Not recommended for young readers.</B></div> <div> <I><B>**1/2 stars.</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>#3--Published July 1969</B></div> <div> <I><B><U>The Wood Beyond the World</U></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>William Morris</B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="147813c80.jpg" border=0 width="275" height="456" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Cover Art by Gervasio Gallardo</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>     </B></I><B>William Morris is one of the greatest fantasy writers who ever lived, and I enjoy reading him as much as I do Tolkien.  Tolkien also enjoyed reading the Morris fantasy tales.  This novel is a great introduction to Morris' medieval fantasy style, and Carter did well to publish this one first.  It's a simple tale, but with enough weird twists and some welcome humour to keep one reading till the very end.  The story is in several parts, with each section displaying Morris' imagination to the fullest except, perhaps, the very last.  Morris also leaves a lot of mystery behind, not really telling us much at all about the Maiden, and even less about the King's Son and the Queen.  Our hero never does return to his native land to settle scores, nor does he journey back to the Castle in the Wood.  Who built the castle, and why?</B></div> <div> <B>     While the ending is a bit pat and inexplicable, at least Morris feels compelled to give a proper ending.  Sequels were not the rage in the 1800s, and authors usually like to tie things up in one go.  Still, there is room for some fanfic writing here, especially the early years of the Maiden's life, her capture by the Queen, and even some early history of the Queen herself.  Like a really good fairy tale, there is a lot left to the imagination.  While there is no doubt that the novel is intended for adults, there is little here that a younger reader would find objectionable.  The story moves along quickly, and Morris does not get into his 'story within story' themes very much.</B></div> <div> <B>     I can't say that I have a favourite part or passage.  I enjoyed all of it, and found the book difficult to put down.  The author's attempt at a type of medieval prose works like magic.  There is little magic in the story, but there is some.  It is significant, perhaps, to adult readers that the Maiden loses her ability to perform magic on her wedding night.  Morris continues to be a top favourite writer for me, especially in this particular series.</B></div> <div> <B>Suitable for younger readers.  </B><I><B>***1/2 </B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>*</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" ><B>#4--Published August 1969</B></FONT></div> <div> <I><B><U>The Silver Stallion: A Comedy of Redemption</U></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>James Branch Cabell</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="14b727ea0.jpg" border=0 width="295" height="490" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Cover art by Bob Pepper</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>     </B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" ><B>Reading this novel is reminiscent of stories from The Decameron, The Canterbury Tales, and even The Arabian Nights, though it's major influence is obviously from Don Juan.  The chuckles are a little more rib-tickling, however, and the morals a little more absurd.  Cabell has created a stunning masterpiece that completely dissects religion and blasts it full of holes, then quietly builds it back up and informs us as to why we need such comfort in our lives.  The novel goes well beyond blasphemy, something that would have gone over well in the late 1960s.  Fifty years later it is just as much of a "must" read, as people in the know realize that times do not really change, and that religious causes continue to cause more misunderstanding, death and destruction in the world than any other single thing.  It always has and it probably always will, at least if Cabell is right.  The volume is divided into ten "books", each a self-contained adventure, though loosely connected overall.  Manuel is a great and fearless leader of men who has recently departed this earth.  His many loyal disciples refuse to accept his death, and all prepare for his second coming, or else go in search of him.  Meanwhile, a legend of his life springs up in his home province of Poictesme, and it isn't long before the real Manuel (a nearly useless man and only a leader by chance) is competely forgotten for the god-like figure that emerges from peoples' hearts and false memories of him.  The ten short books--all with several short chapters--mostly tell of the hilarious adventures of the followers of Manuel, and they tell a most satisfying story well within the reaches of this fantasy series.  Lin Carter has put forward his best discovery with the four Cabell books published within the series.  </B></FONT></div> <div> <B>     This book is so good that I want to reread it already!  One of the very funny scenarios that recur is that of the husband and wife relationship.  This is not as one-sided or male-dominated as one might first suppose.  Besides the humour, a lot of truth is brought to the fore about married couples, though certainly in a cartoon-like manner.  Is Cabell really dissing the wives as much as first seems?  Hardly, though he does keep us laughing as he makes his point.  And what of Manuel?  Did turning him into a god do any harm?  Only to the Truth, which, as we know from vast historical experience, is bendable.</B></div> <div> <B>     It is not an easy book to read.  It requires some concentration, especially at the beginning.  Once Cabell's prose and humour has been figured out, the reader is in for a superb treat, and perhaps even a well-prepared lecture or two.  Not recommended for young readers due to somewhat difficult prose and adult themes.</B></div> <div> <B>****stars.</B></div> <div> <B>       </B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>#9--Published December 1969</B></div> <div> <I><B><U>The Sorcerer's Ship</U></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Hannes Bok</B></I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="13922bf60.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="502" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <B>Cover art by Ray Cruz</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     As the Ballantine Fantasy Series slowly emerged under the leadership of Lin Carter and began to attract notice and a loyal following of readers, the monthly publications were undoubtedly anticipated with great enthusiasm and expectation by fans.  Imagine a book being published every month that had the potential to rival Tolkien or Eddison!  Holding a new copy of Bok's novel, with it's remarkable cover art and promise of a magical voyage, must have seemed a dream come true to aficionados of the genre.  While the novel, which can be read very quickly, likely did not disappoint, it probably didn't really inspire readers too much either.  The narrative is straight-forward and uncomplicated, and suitable for young readers (not in the least being "adult").  Main characters are kept to a minimum, and there is no question as to who is good or who is bad.</B></div> <div> <B>     The first part takes place on board a ship and is handled quite well.  Bok can carry a story with the bare minimum of a setting, and we feel the confines of the ship ourselves.  Strangeness is only hinted at, as in the electric shimmering of the daytime sky and the stars at night.  The story leaps off the page when the ship finally reaches land, after being blown off course by a gale.  Bok's description of an abandoned city with temples so large they could not have been built by humans captures our imagination and grips us, forcing us to keep turning pages well after lights out.  And those little clay figures!  Yanuk, the only living human-like being living there, despite being so alien remains a puzzlingly un-engaging character (he is the “Sorcerer”).  We spend a lot of time hearing about his magic deeds, which are somewhat helpful to our heroes, but the main thing he actually does is introduce the princess (why is she so plain looking--a poke at fairy tale princesses perhaps?) to the God-like Orcher.  Here is a character so terrible and mighty that he would be a good stand-in for the Old Testament God.  His only way to stop the war between cities was to frighten the combatants so badly they would not wish to ever fight again.</B></div> <div> <B>     Bok's book is very much like an ancient sea voyage--long periods of relative calm punctuated by moments of absolute activity and life-threatening actions.  One of the best descriptions of a sword fight in literature of any form is given in the main battle aboard the ship, and remains a highlight of the novel.  The description of the abandoned city (D'Ni?!) is also unforgettable.  The author is not afraid to have important characters die, or even to destroy one of the main cities of the land and many of its citizens.  War is not glamourized.  However, why this story outranked others in the series in publication order is a bit mystifying.  What was Carter's rush to get this one published before some of the others?  While an enjoyable read, I don't feel it belongs in the same league as many of the other books in the series.  I would recommend it to young people getting started in fantasy, though there are no children depicted in the book.  Having said that, I would really enjoy reading a sequel in which the three main characters develop a bit more and undergo further adventures.  Here lies an opening, perhaps, for a fanfic devotee.  Recommended for young readers.</B></div> <div> <I><B>*** stars</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>#15--Published May, 1970</B></div> <div> <I><B><U>The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath</U></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>H.P. Lovecraft</B></I></div> <div> <IMG SRC="13902bec0.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="492" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>Cover by Gervasio Gallardo</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     This is only one of two volumes completely authored by Lovecraft in the Ballantine Fantasy Series, and the stories within are very much in the tradition of Lord Dunsany.  The title novella and several of the short stories that follow trace the dreaming adventures of one Randolf Carter.  To quote Lin Carter from the introduction:</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>“…for herein we see Lovecraft as a master of singing and crystalline prose, richly studded with exotic and evocative names, and with little of the dark horrors of the later tales.”</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>     The narrative, sometimes difficult to keep in focus, wanders through many strange and fabulous cities, though the finest part begins during the second half when Carter enters Ngranek and the darker visions of dream.  Beyond lies Pnoth, possibly the darkest area of dream ever imagined, and one has to wonder how much opium might have affected Lovecraft, either self-induced or learned from other `travelers'.  Perhaps not as dark as some of his later horror tales, the blackness encountered in this little fantasy novella is wonderfully disturbing enough.  The reader must allow himself to be carried along, much as in a truly magnificent dream.  By surrendering oneself to the narrator, the journey will remain unforgettable.</B></div> <div> <B>     </B><B>The Silver Key, </B><B>a short story connected to several of the others in this book</B><B>,</B><B> is Lovecraft's outspoken defense of dreaming and dreamers, and should be read once a year by most adults.  Recommended.</B></div> <div> <B>     The final story is </B><B><U>The Strange High House in the Mist </U></B><B>and </B><B>could very well be the finest short fantasy story ever written!  Read this one slowly, and savour every moment.  It certainly begs an illustration or two, but probably the best pictures will come from inside the reader's head, and will remain there long after the story is at an end.  This is a spectacular conclusion to a very worthwhile book, and proves that Lovecraft holds a very high place within the Fantasy genre.  Not recommended for young readers.</B></div> <div> <I><B>***1/2 stars</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>#20--Published August 1970</B></div> <div> <B><U>The Well at The World's End, Volume One</U></B></div> <div> <I><B>William Morris</B></I></div> <div> <IMG SRC="139423e70.jpg" border=0 width="291" height="487" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>Cover art by Gervasio Gallardo</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>        William Morris was in the forefront of the Arts and Crafts Movement in England, and had his artistic hand in many pies in the 1800s.  Learning a bit about him and his environment (Red House in Bexley, London is a good place to begin) will go a long way in gaining an appreciation of his writing.  The biggest influence on his medieval fantasy fiction were the </B><A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Raphaelite_Brotherhood" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Raphael"><U><B>Pre-Raphaelite painters</B></U></A><B>, best represented in the Tate Britain gallery in London and elsewhere.</B><B>   A glance at several of these masterpieces and Morris' novels will suddenly come into sharp focus.  </B></div> <div> <B>        This is the book that got me hooked on the Ballantine Fantasy Series, and I first read it at about 17 or 18 years of age.  No doubt lured to the book by the astonishing wrap-around cover art (three panels when both Vol. 1 and 2 were combined) Ralph, the hero, was as much an inspiration to me as was Aragorn or Tarzan or Lessingham.  Rereading it nearly forty years later, what could I expect?  Would the book be just a teenager's inspiration, leaving an older, far more cynical adult unmoved?</B></div> <div> <B>       Morris is a magical story-teller of the first rank, and I rank him up there with Tolkien, who was apparently inspired greatly by the books of Morris, as was C.S. Lewis.  Being a lover of maps, I do long for a large colour map of Morris' wonderful world described so aptly here, but other than this oversight I can find no fault with Vol. 1.  There are two books within the volume (Tolkien again?), and the leisurely start to Book 1 again puts us in mind of The Fellowship of the Ring.  Once the journey is underway, the reader becomes seduced by the description of landscape, the cities and villages, the people and their deeds.  Unlike Tolkien, it is hard to determine for a long while who is on the side of good (besides Ralph, of course) and who is evil.  I greatly admire how Morris can tell stories within stories.  He will often take up several chapters having Ralph listen to a story from another character.  This goes some way to slowing the main narrative, but the weaving and interweaving of the additional stories makes the tapestry that much richer and more colourful.  Besides, the reader is not in any hurry to get to the World's End as long as Morris weaves his medieval magic.</B></div> <div> <B>     The story is a long one, and the printing in both volumes is miniscule.  Undoubtedly it would have been better to publish the series as four books, the way Tolkien wanted his trilogy to be six.  The first volume leaves Ralph at the end of the known world, though not yet at World's End, having traveled to places of more and more peril.  Having lost his first true love earlier in the story, he is now pursuing his second.</B></div> <div> <B>     Like a long journey, I prefer covering the novel in shorter sections, and usually read only two chapters each day.  This gives the work a grand epic feel, which I think it more than deserves.  My second reading is proving to be at least as captivating as the first, and I can't wait to begin Volume Two once more.  It's nice to know that at least in some ways I haven't changed very much, and that I still admire chivalry and genuine goodness in a person.  It should also be said that Morris' women are very strong heroines.</B></div> <div> <I><B>**** stars</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>#21--Published September 1970</B></div> <div> <I><B><U>The Well at the World's End, Volume Two</U></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>William Morris</B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="13a916c50.jpg" border=0 width="278" height="453" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <B>Cover art by Gervasio Gallardo</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>      It takes Morris three quarters of the two-volume story to finally arrive at the Well, which occurs right at the end of Book 3.  I like this pacing; it feels right.  It also respects the Golden Mean rule, and allows plenty of time to get back home.  Tolkien was also impressed by this pacing, and was likely influenced enough to take time to write about the adventures that still await the Hobbits once they returned home at the end of Return of the King.  </B></div> <div> <B>      Book Three takes Ralph from his thralldom to the Lord of Utterbol, to the off-road adventure of a lifetime with Ursula, the maiden from Bourton-Abbas he met at the beginning of his journey.  This part of the novel is very much a travelogue of their adventures crossing mountains, plains, deserts and lava fields, until at last they arrive at the sea and discover what it was they came to find.  Before arriving, they spend an entire winter living in a cave in the Vale of Chestnuts.  Even more memorable than their visit to the sacred Well was their discovery of the Dry Tree and the poisonous pool of water, depicted so imaginatively by Gallardo on the cover of both books.</B></div> <div> <B>     In Book Four the happy couple, now even more god-like than before drinking from the Well, make their return journey to Upmead.  They make it back as far as the abode of the Sage near Utterbol before winter arrives once again, and they tarry until spring.  From here they move towards Utterbol, and though a new and friendlier ruler now dwells there, we are still not destined to enter those walls, even as in Volume One.  However, Ralph does meet all his old allies here, and Morris does a remarkable job of tying up loose ends in this part of the world.   In fact, some serious work needs to be done back in Upmeads, as the land is in the process of being invaded as the couple return (Tolkien).  Morris does a great job of keeping the interest level high to the very end of the series by having Ralph face this threat.  The book could have easily ended at the Well itself, or simply drifted into nothingness with a simple return home.  Tolkien took notice of Morris' ending when he had Hobbiton overcome by invaders at the very end of Lord of the Rings, who were soon sent on their way by our Halfling heroes.</B></div> <div> <B>       In conclusion, Morris is a master storyteller who knows his way around characters, places and plot.  A second reading confirms what I knew when I was 17--this is one hell of a good read for lovers of medieval fantasy, and in fact was the origin for the genre!  Savour each chapter and each story within story.  I predict a third reading for me at some point.  The material is appropriate for younger readers, though the writing style likely won't appeal to them.</B></div> <div> <I><B>**** stars</B></I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>  <script type="text/javascript"> var sc_project=4981791; 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