New Arrivals 2-23

Just adding a few more titles from my collection to the reading list. 

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Norvel W. Page- Flame Winds 

Stephen Baxter- Silverhair; Icebones; Longtusk 

Brian Lumley- Clock of Dreams 

Juanita Coulson- The Web of Wizardry 
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"Witherwing" by David Jarret

Kicking off 2023 with an interesting fantasy novel. David Jarrett's Witherwing.
[Warner Books, 1979, 236 pages] This only took me a few days. Hopefully a bit of that momentum will continue in the coming year.

The awesome Frank Frazetta painting had me interested right away, portraying the pulpy adventure style of the novel. The vocabulary used by Jarrett here is impressive, yet not without its' flaws. There are a fair amount of spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes throughout. 

A useful map is provided at the beginning of the book, giving nice context, as much of the book concerns travel and survival in the wild. It's a bare-bones map, very easy to read. Not up there with Tolkien's cartography. But that kind of art isn't necessary. The world of Witherwing is not an overly complex place.

On to the story: It begins with the telling of King Rumi, of the city  of Tum-Barlum. While visiting the Tree-folk, a woman forced herself as his wife, bearing him a son. It is revealed that she is some sort of sorceress, called by the people of Tum-Barlum, The Queen of Dread. Rumi left her, to return to his city and his six other sons. To curse Rumi, she transformed his six sons into swans, seemingly to shock the princess. The princess of Tum-Barlum wove silver shirts for each of the sons, but did not have time to complete the left arm of the sixth, for the youngest. They were transformed back into humans, and the youngest child's left arm remained a swan's wing. The only name he is ever referenced by is Witherwing.

Witherwing's eldest brother, Harand, is next in line for Rumi's throne. Rumi sends him on a mission to the Flatlands, north of Tum-Barlum, that are being invaded by what men call The Horde. These seem like me to zombies, lifeless bodies wandering aimlessly in a herd. Witherwing joins Rumi and his party to repel the Horde from Tum-Barlum. They laboriously bait, lead, and herd the bodies through a certain eastward pass to avoid the city. This all takes place when Witherwing is still a child.

When he reaches adulthood, Rumi is visited by a man called Hess. He seems to be excited over the violent and bloody sports he witnesses on his tour of Tum-Barlum. A party, including Witherwing and Harand, are directed to the lands of the Forest Folk. Once they return from this strange meeting, a new party is appointed by Rumi, for a much longer journey: beyond the flatlands to the city of Karn-Ingli. This is home to Hrasp the Hunter, the antagonist that Witherwing is tasked to kill.

There are a few different races in the world of Witherwing: The Forest Folk, the Flatland Folk, and Karns. Over the course of the novel Witherwing copulates with one of each race, excepting the Karns, and including a member of the Horde. 

These races are referred to by Harand as mutants. The Forest Folk are certainly somewhat unnatural, or perhaps the opposite. Their bodies blend perfectly with the trees of their territory, and speak in a manner that sounds like rustling trees. Their city seems to be made of the trees branches and trunks, still living and growing. The Flatlanders are actually humans who live off the land, not some other species. Witherwing's future wife, Nada, is a Flatlander.

Witherwing's journey takes him far. Through swamplands, to Kryll the enchanter's tower at Lizard Lake, through snow passes and across barren mountains. But the most fantastic part of his journey takes place in some sort of portal-path, into what seems like a higher plane of reality. They were led there by Hess, who reveals to Witherwing that he is going to meet his Step-mother, the Queen of Dread. The Karns worship her as Mother Winter.

Hess, and Kryll, the enchanter characters, all speak of some Game that is being played between cosmic beings. There is a heavy sense of irony to their dialogue, speaking of things that humans have no comprehension of. Witherwing and Nada are brought into whatever dimension the cosmic beings live in. It is revealed that these beings are in eternal, deathless slumber, and have every event that has happened recorded in a file. They can enter the world of mortals, to 'play the game'. The Queen sleeps quite carelessly, not even wanting to remember what she has done outside of her slumber.

But Hess convinces her to come forth. In the end, she leads Witherwing to the valley of glowing stones, which supposedly hold some sort of great power, and is the reason Rumi sent Witherwing on this quest. Here he duels Hrasp, who was revealed to be one of the immortals. He is a giant man with antlers sprouting from his head, which he uses to impale his enemies. Witherwing bests him, in the end. He removes Hrasp's head, and proclaims himself the new master of the Karns. He commands them to lead him back home to Tum-Barlum in victory. The Karns follow him, being a primitive and dependent people. 

There are many references made to the work of bards; Witherwing knows that their tales aren't exactly as things went and often wonders what a bard might say of his current situation. There are a few poems and verses throughout the novel, with some interesting rhyme schemes. 

Overall, I enjoyed it. A somewhat Conan esque, swashbuckling fantasy adventure. Near the end, when the immortals are concerned, an almost Science fiction vibe is given to their vocabulary, speech, and technology; yet there are plenty of questions about the immortals and 'the game' that are truly unanswered and unexplained. I like this kind of cosmic fiction, which seems to be Fantasy but turns out to have some sort of Sci-Fi action behind it.

Witherwing was a good first book of the year! Looking through my collection to find the next one, coming soon. 

Hello 2023!

Oh man... A lot has happened this past year, and I drifted away from reading for a long time, not finishing a single title all year. I was travelling and focusing on other endeavors, and dealing with an injury that transpired. Recently I have regained access to my book collection, and have been reminded of some great books I've read, as well as ones I'm excited to read. I am back to try and knock out more of the reading list I've amassed over the last few years.

Keep an eye out for future reports!

Hello 2022!

Here's going into a new year of reading! I have read and reported 18 books in 2021. For (my) easier reference I will repost the remainder of my 2021 reading list. This is closer to 40 titles... Hopefully I'll be able to top that 18 this year and put a dent in this list. Still more titles will come in as the year goes by. Here's the list. 

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January:

Donna Gillespie- The Light Bearer

Robin McKinley- The Blue Sword

Robert Holdstock- The Broken Kings; Mythago Wood

Michael Moorcock- Elric: Song of the Black Sword (Anthology)

Judith Tarr- Kingdom of the Grail

Lynn A. McKee- Touches the Stars; Keeper of Dreams; Walks in Stardust

Harry Harrison- Stonehenge: Where Atlantis Died

May:

Robert Silverberg- Lord of Darkness

Diana L. Paxson- The Wolf and the Raven

Judith Tarr- Isle of Glass

Barry Hughart- Bridge of Birds

Avram Davidson- Ursus of Ultima Thule

June:

David Jarrett- Witherwing

Kenneth C. Flint- Isle of Destiny

Casey Flynn- Most Ancient Song

Judith Tarr- King and Goddess

Joan Lesley Hamilton- The Lion and the Cross

Diana L. Paxson- White Mare, Red Stallion

Dave Smeds- The Sorcerer Within

July:

Joy Chant- Red Moon and Black Mountain; The Grey Mane of Morning

Elizabeth Ann Scarborough- The Harem of Aman Akbar

Michaela Roessner- Walkabout Woman

Fred Saberhagen- The Face of Apollo

Kenneth C. Flint- A Storm Upon Ulster

Harry Harrison- To the Stars (Omnibus)

August:

Poul Anderson- Hrolf Kraki's Saga

Parke Godwin- Firelord

Henry Treece- Red Queen, White Queen

Robert Jordan- The Conan Chronicles (Anthology)

Nicholas Yermakov- Fall Into Darkness

September:

Michael Williams- Arcady

Elizabeth Ann Scarborough- Nothing Sacred

Joy Chant- The High Kings

Diana L. Paxson- The Serpent's Tooth

November:

Phyllis Ann Karr- The Idylls of the Queen

John Clagget- Cradle of the Sun

Thorarinn Gunnarsson- Song of the Dwarves

Ardath Mayhar-  People of the Mesa

T.J. Bass- The Godwhale

December:

Rob Macgregor- Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils; Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants

L. Sprague De Camp- The Honorable Barbarian

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Watch for new reports. New arrivals about every month. Next report coming soon.

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New Arrivals (12/21)

I only picked up a small few titles this month, and not a whole lot of time for reading. Here's the last additions to the 2021 arrivals.

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Rob MacGregor- Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils; Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants. Usually I don't do movie tie-in novels, but these actually sounded pretty cool. 

L. Sprague de Camp- The Honorable Barbarian. Looks like a bunch of small, fun adventures packed into one story. 

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Hopefully I can put another tally on 2021's reading list, but the end of the year is quick to come. Till next.

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The Great Hunt (12/21)

The eternal bookhunt continues. Came up with this list over the last few months. Dusting off the rest of the old list as well for easy reference. 

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Diana L. Paxson- The White Raven 

Gillian Bradshaw- Hawk of May (An Arthurian novel,) & Horses of Heaven 

Joy Chant- When Voiha Wakes

Richard Herley- "The Pagans Trilogy" #1 (The Stone Arrow) & #3 (title unknown)

Barbara Hambly- The Witches of Wenshar (Sun Wolf #2)

Jack Vance- Lyonesse

Henry Treece- The Great Captains

David Zindell- The Lightstone

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From prior lists:

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Frank Herbert- Destination: Void (One of the few Frank Herbert books I don't already own)

Patricia Kennealy- The Oak Above the Kings (A Tale of Arthur Volume 2)

Piers Anthony- Isle of Woman 

Guy Gavriel Kay- A Song For Arbonne

Michael Moorcock- "Elric: Stealer of Souls" (#11 of the Eternal Champion Omnibus series)

L. Dean James- Sorcerer's Stone

Michael Williams "From Thief to King" Trilogy #1 The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Donna Gillespie- Lady of the Light

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Richard Monaco- "Journey to the Flame"

Pulled this from my June list. This is the third Richard Monaco book I've read this year. A novel set in what I've figured out to be the year 1915. Journey to the Flame [Bantam Spectra, 1985, 260 pages] was a strange novel. I like the premise, but the reading itself made me uneasy at the least... I can't really recommend reading this book.

The adventure rides on the idea that H. Rider Haggard's novel She depicts a real place. An occult order known as Thule seeks out and kidnaps the author- and enlists, or rather threatens him into finding Kor, the lost African city from his book. They are convinced that Kor exists while Haggard denies it. I thought it was an interesting idea in itself- the artist becoming trapped within his own creation. But the novel didn't focus in on this idea as I expected it to.

The main antagonists are the members of Thule, several Europeans including German officials who are superiors and mentors to Hitler. Hitler himself has almost a cameo appearance early in the novel(he is in his twenties). The Antagonists weren't characterized very well; none of them were extremely memorable and are easy to get confused.

Haggard's nephew Woody is another central character. He works on planes, and has built a two engine biplane, which he flies to Africa in pursuit of Haggard's captors. A lot of the great action sequences have to do with this aircraft: takeoff, landing, and flight itself are all dangerous business. There is an armed gunfight between the plane and a German blimp; natives chase down the plane as it takes off; pilot loses control of the plane. These are some of my favorite moments here. 

The parties land, and are forced to slug through a deep dark swamp. A dense layer of smoke blocks out the sky and begins to descend into the swamp. As they get closer to the lost city of Kor, the entire group starts fading in and out of some dream world, or alternate timeline or dimension. There is an ancient battle concurrently happening in the temple where the events as the protagonists. The characters are all somehow phased into alternate personas from the past, and can see both. So each character now has a second name, as their 'ethereal counterpart' if you will. It got so confusing as the narrative jumped around between all of these different characters, viewpoints from both the past and present. It was hard to tell what was actually going on during some of those chapters! Ayesha, or She-who-must-be-obeyed, from She, makes her own appearance, to face off a demonic lord known as Relti, who seeks to consume all (in the ancient past). The ancient struggle has to do with the descendants of the Atlanteans making war with Lemurians. Pretty far flung, definitely went out of bounds in some places.

The Flame itself is found within the temple of Kor. This flame provides the only light through the dark smoke that the characters are fighting through. This is where the climax of the novel takes place; most all of the characters end up in the chamber of the Flame. Here is what I love about Richard Monaco- he can find a way to get many points of view to converge at the same time and place, and builds up to this very well. 

Finally, I have to say, this book is pretty racist, overrun with extreme stereotypes. The Germans are all portrayed as scheming, world domination types. From their mouths, racial slurs are said in dialogue on many occasions. Getting into the minds of these German politicians during the decades leading up to WWII is bound to be nasty stuff. There are anti sematic outcries as well. 'Historical accuracy', I guess you could say, but it doesn't result in something I actually want to read. 

Don't read it. Certainly did not live up to my expectations and was not even all that readable. Sorry, Mr. Monaco, but thumbs down on this one!

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