Piers Anthony- "Hasan"

Another nice little quickie, this is from my June booklist. Hasan, a retelling of a Thousand-And-One-Nights story, by Piers Anthony. [TOR Fantasy edition, 1986, 242 pages] According to the afterword, the author had a hell of a time selling this novel back in 1969. Fourteen rejections and five sales, and by 1979 it was out of print. In the 80s, TOR reprinted most of his novels, probably due to the success of his Xanth series. Xanth looks kind of cheesy to me and I doubt I'll read it. But I'm interested in his Geoddysey series, which looks serious. 

On to the novel, Hasan. What an odyssey. The protagonist Hasan makes many journeys and many adventures throughout the novel. The setting is not stagnant, he is constantly traveling to different kingdoms and realms, sometimes even staying years at one of his by-way destinations (much like Odysseus himself). He is sort of a trickster figure or culture hero; he makes plots his plots often fail, or he is too trusting, forgiving, or naïve and is duped himself by another character, or he gives in to his passions and temptations very easily.

To begin, Hasan meets an alchemist named Bahram, and watches him turn a copper bowl into gold. Hasan sells this for riches, bringing them home to his mother. She is wary and distrusting of the alchemist. Nonetheless Hasan departs with Bahram, to learn the secret of his alchemy. Bahram binds Hasan to the mast of his small boat, and beats him for not cooperating. They soon reach land and travel to a mountain that is the roost of a Roc. Bahram guts a camel, and stuffs Hasan's body inside the husk. Soon the Roc picks him up and leaves him on the summit, where he obtains the wood (to be made into transformative powder), and throws it to Bahram at the foot of the mountain. Bahram abandons him to his fate, of death, Hasan soon learns after finding skeletons of many young men. He wanders around scarce mountain paths, to avoid the Roc's appetite. He finds a series of chains leading downward, and starts to climb them. A storm soon wells up as he is climbing. He falls, into a flash flood, saving him from a deathly impact. This example, an isolated tale in itself is only the first adventure among many that make up the overall narrative. Hasan has his vengeance on Bahram later in the book, but these events actually have little to bear much later in the story. 

Hasan wanders to a grandiose, mystical castle, where seven sisters live, sequestered by their father. Rose, the youngest of these sisters, adopts Hasan as their brother and gives him a place in their luxurious palace. He spends years here living with the sisters. Once, as they are away visiting their father, Hasan wanders into a door which Rose had deemed forbidden to him. Inside is more of the rich, magical palace to wander through, leading up to a roof where there is a large pool. He sees seven birds fly and take roost on the roof. Soon they transform into beautiful women, revealing that their feathered cloaks allow them to take the form of birds. As these women bathe, and laugh, and frolic, Hasan watches, unseen. He falls in deep infatuation for the most beautiful of these women. Here begins the true core of Hasan's story. 

Our hero plots to win the woman for himself. He hides behind the bench, and steals her feather suit, so that she cannot fly away, and Rose locks it away in a chest. Under Hasan's power, his love is taken into the palace and tended by Rose and the other princesses. She is known as Sana, and is taken for the most beautiful woman in the world. 

After seeing a vision of his mother, weeping before his tomb, (for he had been away for some years now, without so much as a letter) Hasan wishes to return home to Baghdad. Using a metal drum taken from Bahram, he summons many beasts of burden to carry them there. Sana goes with him. Rose and her sisters help load many riches to take home; he and his mother would never be poor again.

Hasan and Sana are married under Allah, and she bears him two sons. She learns that her feather suit still exists, locked in the chest, buried behind their small house. While Hasan is out she steals it, and takes their children with her back home to the isle of Wak. (Her lineage is revealed as the daughter of the sovereign of the Jinn. She is a significant and valued princess.) This breaks Hasan's heart and it isn't long before he wishes to go rescue her. This final journey is the longest, and ultimately the one that leads to the fiery climax of the novel. 

Hasan rides magical steeds, including an Infrit named Danaash. The Ifrits are some of my favorite characters. They speak of things Hasan cannot understand, and indeed many in the story would be oblivious to. They speak of scientific things, which the reader will recognize but mostly just confuse the other characters. Then they have to water down their statement so the human can comprehend it. This is how they communicate with those who either don't know or don't want to know the truth, and is the ultimate irony to the reader. As generations would go on, these truths would become well known, but for the purposes of the story, they matter very little; the mythology aspect is rarely played down, as from Hasan's point of view there is little other explanation. 

Hasan meets Shawahi, an old Amazon woman. He tells her of his quest, to reclaim his lost wife and sons, who were kept at the isle of Wak- she sympathizes and vows her aid in taking him to Wak. She helps him avoid discovery by the other Amazons, who are all dressed for battle. These women will make a strong appearance later in the novel. 

At last Shawahi and Hasan reach the city of the Queen of Wak. The Queen, whom Shawahi helped raise, educate and train her family, vows to assist Hasan finding his wife. This is before Shawahi reveals Hasan's identity. Every woman in the city is brought before Hasan, and he may choose any of them for his wife; but he does not find Sana. When he lays eyes on the Queen, he recognizes her as Sana, the most beautiful woman on earth. She strongly denies this, and Hasan receives torture at her hand. Turns out, the Queen is Sana's older sister, and virtually identical, except for age. When the Queen finds out Sana had married a mere merchant, Shawahi and Sana are beaten as well. It is revealed that the Queen had burned Sana's feather suit so that she could not return to Hasan; she had wished to return to him but was effectively hostage of her sister. 

A short encounter, seemingly unrelated at the time, has a huge bearing on the last part of the novel. Hasan finds two twin boys fighting. They are sons of a great enchanter, who died and left them two relics. One was a cap, which bestowed invisibility to those who wear it. The other is a rod that when struck upon the ground, summons forth the seven Kings of the Jinn to command. Both boys want the rod over the cap. Hasan throws a stone over the hill, and suggests that whoever retrieves it first shall have the rod, the other the cap. After the boys run off, he puts on the cap, from pure curiosity and temptation. When the boys return he learns that its power is real, and steals it for himself. He makes off with the rod as well, leaving the twins empty-handed. 

Using the cap, he rescues Sana, their sons, and Shawahi. The Queen pursues the escapees in force. Hasan uses the rod to summon the Kings of the Jinn; after learning about their many restrictions, the limits of their power, he commands them to muster a force of Ifrits and Jinn to fight off the coming hordes. This takes place at the foot of a volcano in Wak, which seems to Hasan an ordinary mountain. After a day of battle, it seems they are victorious. Though many Ifrits are slain, the enemy forces are weak. The Amazon army then strikes, having been kept in the Queen's reserve.

Hasan, curious about the mountain, inquires Dasaan about it. At first the Ifrit tries to explain how a volcano works, but Hasan having no knowledge of such geology does not understand. As Dasaan puts it in his second  explanation, a Marid sleeps within the mountain, his name Magma. Through the chaos of the Amazon assault, Sana and Hasan send their children back home only having one horse. Hasan commands Dasaan to wake the Marid by throwing a rock into the volcano. This he does, and soon the valley is in a cacophony of destruction, wiping out most of the Amazons, Ifrits, and Jinn still on the battlefield. The Queen survives and is remorseful toward those she tortured afterward; she is spared by Hasan. 

Hasan breaks the rod over his knee, releasing the three remaining Kings of the Jinn, who were once seven. The forces of the Jinn were severely weakened by this battle- perhaps events like this are responsible for the weakening of magic in the human world?

All in all, a great sweeping journey. True to the Thousand-and-One-Nights, there are many nested stories within this novel, short episodes within the story that consist of a story of their own. Well-told and well informed, Piers Anthony has imparted the tale well, injecting a little more detail to the stories without getting too realistic. Great quick read for those who love Thousand and One Nights, the Odyssey, the Aeneid, and that sort of thing. 

Tales within tales...

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T.W. Hard- "Oasis"

My newest read, this one taken from my May reading list. Oasis by T.W. Hard. [Dell Fiction, 1985, 315 pages] A tasty adventure story! The pages just flew by! Well-paced, and I love the characters. Many edge of your seat moments, and action scenes, really kept me coming back to the page. Chapters tend to be short and usually end on some sort of cliffhanger, making it gripping and easy to devour. 

The story concerns the Jacobson family. Diana Jacobson is a dedicated photographer, exploring Africa for shots of nature, animals, and people. She goes missing in the Sudan early on in the novel. Two of her brothers, James and Jon Paul, set out to find and rescue her. They had received  a mysterious package from Diana, containing a small sapphire with a desert palm engraved on it. Their father is an airline executive, and able to send them on a plane to another continent on short notice. 

In search of a guide through the desert, James shows one man the jewel. Fighting breaks out in the bar once the jewel is noticed, everyone after the sapphire. They are rescued from this by one Lisiri, an African who had studied abroad, learning several languages. He is the one who ends up serving as their guide, and he's one of my favorite characters. 

The group is joined by  Ruth, an anthropologist from a museum in Nairobi who knew Diana and had heard from her earlier that year. They are outfitted as well, by connections of Lasiri's, with several mercenaries with hidden automatic weapons. They travel under the guise of an archaeology team in order to pass Border Patrol. Several Land-Rovers are their method of transportation. 

Reaching the oasis of Al-Jabbar, they learn where Diana was known to be. Jon Paul meets a young woman in the markets, her name Faedra. Due to language barrier, they never trade words except for their names. She definitely returns his attraction; she gives him a gazelle carved of ivory, which was her best piece. He gives a house key in return, something she had never seen before.

They come across the village to find it slaughtered. They don't find her body. After some digging through the area, another sapphire is found in the mouth of one of the bodies, which was buried in a grave instead of left to rot.(These jewels are only found by those from the lost city of Bogadez; only those who had been there kept them. When they were buried their jewel was placed in their mouth, and it was a curse for anyone to steal it.) Lisiri suspects Abyssinian raiders from Bogadez, suggesting they follow the course the caravan would have gone, westward across the desert. The Land Rovers are soon abandoned, unable to travel further through the sand. They find themselves on foot, following an ancient trade route, which was used heavily centuries before. 

The group, already weary from their travels, are captured by a Tuareg caravan. This is an arab group, led by Rassam, its Sheik. They are taken (not under good conditions) to the lost city of Bogadez, where James, Jon Paul, and Ruth are to be sold into slavery. During Rassam's interrogation of James and Jon Paul, the Sheik's translator Ibrahim had put Jon Paul through a test- letting a scorpion crawl on his arm, and if it stings him it is a sign that he is lying about his purposes there. The scorpion first crawls peacefully but Ibrahim spits on it, and Jon Paul is poisoned. 

He is nursed back to health over the next few days, and Faedra is one of his nurses. Rassam had taken her from her caravan to be his servant. She comes alone sometimes, kissing him, cuddling, one time making love to the young man. This could have been because she thought he might be castrated as penalty for lying to the Sheik. When Jon Paul is recovered, he is taken to a tent with another prisoner who is to be punished. Jon Paul befriends him, though as with Faedra, they share little words due to not speaking each others' language. He appears much later in the Novel.

At one point during capture James lashes out at the guards. For this they hang him upside down on a pole and leave him to die. He is soon saved from this brutal death and brought to the secret caves beneath Bogadez. This is an area known to be inhabited by lepers, thus rarely touched. Here James finds Lasiri hiding out, along with a few new characters. Solomon the mute, with his tongue cut out, strong and silent, had rescued James. and Isaiah, (with his cute pet monkey Alabaster) rescues Ruth from her slavery. For a few days they stay there, plotting the rescue of both Jon Paul and Diana. What little weapons and resources they can muster, is readied to rescue Jon Paul from being executed. They are severely short on weapons and ammunition, (Their store of automatic weapons long lost to the raiders) but have no other options but to use what they have.

There is a chaotic struggle throughout the oasis as Jon Paul and Diana are rescued. It's dealt with by jumping around several characters' perspectives. Not what I'd describe as 'epic', like some fantasy saga, but Oasis has a very thrilling and nail biting climax. In the end, Lisiri manages to get the Jacobsons on a few camels and off to Al-Jabbar. But Lisiri, realizing that the caravan pursuing them is going to catch them soon, devises one last plan to save the Jacobsons. He uses sticks to make dummies, places them on his camels as a decoy, fooling the caravan into following him, while the three circle around on foot and make their way to Al-Jabbar. The Sheik's warriors take the bait. Nearing the end of the novel, the Jacobsons are found wandering through the empty desert, trying to find their way after Lisiri's departure. 

The final chapter is a fast forward to 15 years after. The Jacobsons had all visited Africa at some point, to study and explore further, unable to forget about their experiences. However, they find Bogadez empty of caravans upon their return, and the remaining cave dwellers wish no help from the outside world. 

Oasis really ramps up the more you get into it. Action scenes are well played out and hit hard. Gritty violence at times, (people die from- or in some cases survive- heavy wounds from swords, bullets and leprosy) but still. James, the architect by trade, obsessed with finding his sister, able to joke around in even the darkest situations; Jon Paul, the teenage younger brother, who his father sees as somewhat of a slacker (He disproves this over the course of the novel); Ruth, the learned researcher, sticking out the journey in her middle age and with a bad hip, is just as much out for study as for rescue; Lisiri, one who knows the way of the desert, and knows his cultures and languages. It's a great cast of characters to spend time with. Lastly, and central to the plot, is Diana, the motivated photographer who ironically and tragically ends up blinded by Rassam, as punishment for disobedience. She isn't in very many scenes, it's a mystery what happened to her until well into the novel. But she is a trooper, continually defiant to the Sheik even after being blinded. (After their rescue, she receives top notch surgery in the U.S. and regains most of her eyesight, making a successful career for herself over the following decade.)

This is to-the-point writing, nothing artsy. This is a satisfying adventure novel, not a clunker at all. Somehow it felt much shorter than 300 pages. Very thrilling action moments, great cliffhanger-chapters, great characters. 

Till the next one!

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"Sword of the Demon" by Richard A. Lupoff

Damn, what an epic journey. Not too long, but definitely heady, this book is a unique experience. Richard A. Lupoff's Sword of the Demon. [224 pages, Avon printing, 1978] Having never heard of this author, I picked this up randomly at a bookstore out of town, and I'm glad I did. 

The setting of Sword of the Demon is not stationary, it is very linear. It depicts a long journey through and back through many places, with new, unforeseen events at every turn. It is written in present tense, and with no quotation marks around dialogue. It gives a vivid here-and-now feeling behind the events. These are existential realms, not grounded in reality; this is a purely fantasy tale. Still, many of its elements are taken from Japanese mythology. There are a lot of Japanese armour, weapons, and clothing detailed throughout. Japan itself is never mentioned. 

The protagonist is born of some primeval chase between two beings: One both male and female, who is being chased, and one of neither gender, who is the pursuer. This takes place on some plane of existence beyond space and time. The pursued flees from this realm, and is born in the body of a woman.

She wanders through fantastical settings for a while. She is poisoned by a massive spider and is saved by one who comes to be known as the Aizen-Myu. He is in fact a God, who chose to take mortal form in order to seek enlightenment. He takes her through a deep ocean, on the back of a magical beast.

After some travels Kishimo boards the great wooden ship Ofuna. This ship is owned by the Miroku, who is an adult but his body resembles an infant's. This form is a curse put on him by the Aizen. Miroku speaks to the woman, naming her Kishimo, the 'sent one', and says she will help him reach the land of Tsunu, to reclaim it and rule there. Kishimo knows nothing of this prophecy. It is soon revealed that the Aizen wishes to rule there as well. Kishimo, her life saved by Aizen, is not so mistrusting of him as Miroku is; she doesn't see him as the flat out enemy that Miroku does. She travels with him through the Sea of Mists, and down to the sunken city of Yomi in the Land of Gloom. This is where souls lost in the ocean make their home for eternity. A chamberlain of Yomi, Suzanu-wu, leads Kishimo and Aizen up a staircase leading back to the surface.

Okinu-nushi, the Spirit Master, is a powerful being Kishimo meets, able to call upon other deities and spirits to do his bidding. He joins them on their journey, careless in his divinity. 

The group reaches the land of Izumo, where a village is under the grasp of a demon, a serpent with eight heads, all of different colors. Every eight years he demands that eight children be sacrificed to him, and this has gone on for generations. Suzanu-wu is descended from those who once owned the sword called Kuzanagi, which was stolen by the same serpent. This sword is almost a character in itself. I see some parallels to some of the Elric stories by Michael Moorcock, especially with Kuzanagi. The sword has a mind and a life of it's own much like the runeblade Stormbringer. (Elric journeys through realms, comes upon demons, spirits, and deities as well.) 

With the help of Kishimo and Aizen's powerful enchanted jewels (these have the power to make waters flow and recede), they approach the terrible monster. Suzanu-wu calmly confronts the serpent, addressing it as Lord Serpent, and providing cups of sake to intoxicate each head. Eventually he steals the sword back; he slays the beast, one head at a time. Having attained his sole quest, and regained his family's honor, he commits hara-kiri. Kishimo ends up with the sword Kuzanagi.

After the serpent is slain by Suzano-wu, from the serpent's belly comes forth all of the children that had been sacrificed, a new generation now free to complete their disrupted lives. Aizen makes his leave on the back of a Kirin, leaving Kishimo with both enchanted jewelsOn this note, Kishimo, and the Spirit Master continue on their journey.

Kuzanagi seems to have the power to open portals between different states of being. Many times, the characters travel through a sort of limbo-state, where there is no up or down, forward or back. With a swipe of the sword Kishimo can transport them away, to some unknown destination. After all this, Kishimo ends up aboard the ship Ofuna again. Miroku is freed from his bondage to the infant body, and retains his form as Issun-Boshi, or Little One Inch, a hero of old legend.

Approaching Tsunu, the group watches over a massive battle on its' beach: sailor-soldiers pouring out of Ofanu, to assault the army of defending shikome, minions of Aizen. This battle is evenly matched- the two forces annihilate each other until only the few god-beings remain in the land of Tsunu. Kishimo, Aizen, Little One Inch, and the Spirit Master are made to settle things on their own terms. It is suggested that perhaps the end of a journey takes away meaning from the journey itself, and it is pondered that perhaps they should leave the land of Tsunu rather than settling there. (Is this the enlightenment the God-Aizen sought?) The Spirit Master, having used much of his power assisting Kishimo, dies, his form spreading out thin into vapor until he disappears. From here, the other three make their own choices. The fate of Tsunu, who shall rule it, and how the battle shall continue are left unanswered.

I would say Kishimo holds the greatest power at the end of the novel, due to Kuzanagi and also the jewels. The Spirit Master can call forth power, but only power less powerful than himself. Aizen seemed to have given up his God-powers to experience humanity. And in the end, Kishimo is the one who attains the ultimate peace.

Me being a fan of swordplay, I enjoyed a couple cool duels: the first, two warriors in a gladiator style battle. They chop off each others' appendages. The severed arm returns to its owner, levitating where it was once attached, allowing him to counter strike, and it ends in a decapitation. It is revealed that they are immortal, and duel every day for eternity.

Another duel is between two prophets. They have told conflicting prophecies: One foresees doom for Kishimo and her companions, the other foresees success. The two fight it out over this issue in front of the Spirit Master when Kishimo first meets him.

The writing is great and intriguing, very vivid (and at times very wordy), otherworldly. There's no way to predict what may happen next. It just takes you for a cosmic ride through exotic experiences, pulling you along just like Kuzanagi guides Kishimo.

Good read! Where will my journey take me next I wonder??

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New Arrivals (8-21)

This month's additions. 

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Poul Anderson- Hrolf Kraki's Saga

Parke Godwin- Firelord (Arthurian)

Henry Treece- Red Queen, White Queen  

Harry Turtledove- Prince of the North

Robert Jordan- The Conan Chronicles (Short story anthology. I've read The Further Chronicles of Conan (Volume 2) already, I know Robert Jordan can spin a good Conan tale)

Nicholas Yermakov- Fall Into Darkness (More Science-Fiction here)

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Poul Anderson- "Fire Time"

Man, it's been a while since I've read a full Science Fiction novel. Decided to give Poul Anderson a try. Fire Time was originally published by Ballantine in 1974. The edition I read is the 1984 Baen Books printing [284 pages]. I own a copy of each, and both are posted for reference.

Indeed, the book cover is what originally drew me to Fire Time. The premise is so epic and otherworldly. 

It takes place on the planet Ishtar, which is influenced by no less than three suns. The system is called Anubelea, after the stars: Bel, Ea, and Anu. Anu is known by many names; the Demon Star, the Death Star, the Rover. This is a huge star with an elliptical orbit, and every millenium Anu draws close, scorching dry an entire continent. There are simple but useful maps included. Valennen, is the continent above the equator while Beronnen is the continent below. Every thousand years, during this Fire Time (as the Ishtarians call it) the Tassui from Valennen venture south to escape the blazing light of the Demon Star, growing ever and ever closer.

Here I shall describe the Ishtarians. In body structure, they resemble Centaurs; four legs, an animal body, with a humanoid torso where the head would have been. The Ishtarians have little in common with horses, however; their animal parts seem to be more in line with a lion or a cougar. They can live over 300 years old; their anatomy and biology are completely alien to earthly life. They have two hearts, for example, and subsist on completely different nutrients from human beings. A lot of detailed world building is going on in this novel, considering its short pagecount. Poul Anderson has a clear vision of the world she has created.

Humans from earth are present on Ishtar, and have been for about a century. There are even people who were born on Ishtar and have never left the planet, such as Jill Conway, who studies animals and other life found on Ishtar. Humankind is present on other planets, as well, and can only provide so much attention and so many forces to Ishtar. This becomes more problematic as Earth forces are caught up in the Ishtarians' struggles.

As Fire Time approaches, Arnanak, a Valennenian leader from the settlement of Ulu, begins to muster forces to move his people south. Early in the novel he takes over control of the city of Tarhanna, as his first move taking over south Valennen.

Now, I'll say here, that Arnanak is my favorite character in this book. He is not the protagonist, but from the beginning he is a victim, and just doing what he has to do for the survival of his race. I really felt for him, very valiant and strong willed character.

Humans have lived in south Beronnen since their arrival on Ishtar, studying the life and environment of the planet. The Sci-fi aspect is stronger than I expected. If you ask me, too much focus on the humans and too little of the Ishtarians. But I can see why it has to be, to give context to how alien Ishtar is. It goes into comparative figures between the two planets. For example, the surface gravity is greater than on Earth. 392 Earth days equals 510 Ishtarian days. Ishtar, while being slightly larger than Earth, has much more water and less land on its surface. Poul Anderson has some well thought out world building going on here. Due to the three suns, the environment of Ishtar is almost ethereal. The four other planets in the Anubelea system are close enough to make vivid appearances in the skies of Ishtar. Ishtar's moons are just as prominent. Double shadows, prolonged nights without darkness. Even a scene where one half of the sky is night, with stars showing, while the other side of the sky is morning or day. The detail here really transported me to another world.

Jill is well acquainted with Larekka, the Ishtarian leader of the Gathering, nicknaming him her Uncle. The Gathering is the faction that controls Beronnen and parts of south Valennen, and are friendly to humans. At first, humans wish to stay out of what is called the "Uncivil War". During a naval encounter between the Gathering and the Tassui, Jill is captured by Arnanak's forces, and kept in Ulu as a hostage, while Arnanak figures out what to do with her. The humans are then reluctantly drawn in to the struggle. Ian Sparling offers himself as a second hostage, so that he can be with Jill and plot her escape. He smuggles supplies into Ulu, allowing him to contact forces in Port Rua, and so they can pinpoint the location of Ulu, a secret well kept by the Tassui. After some time they are rescued, not by Earth forces but by a connection within. After contacting Ian and Jill, Yuri Dejerine steals some Earth explosives and comes in an aircraft to Ulu to rescue them. 

In Fire Time, human technology is light years beyond what the Ishtarians have. The armies of Arnanak and Larekka use swords, bows, knives, and siege weapons. This is the kind of battle I wanted to see when I picked up the book! There are a couple epic struggles between the Gathering and the Tassui, one of them resulting in Larekka's death. This hits Jill rather hard.

The humans make their power known to the Ishtarians through guns, aircraft, and explosives. Personally I'd have preferred fewer or even no humans in this book, which would have resulted in more of a Fantasy novel. The Ishtarians are the best part of this book! I can see why Poul Anderson wrote it this way though, it's to provide comparative context for the alien world she created. 

Without spoiling the conclusion, I'll just say that it's definitely not what I wanted nor is it very satisfying. All in all not a bad read though. I'm kind of opening my tastes back to sci fi, which in prior years I used to read a lot more of. Great premise, but the execution is surely not exceptional.

Another one down. and I see many more horizons to be crossed...

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