Robin Marx's Writing Repository

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on September 15, 2022.

Rakehell: Issue 1

Edited by Nathaniel Webb – Young Needles Press – July 1, 2022

Review by Robin Marx

This is the first issue of what is promoted as “a modern magazine of swashbuckling adventure,” mentioning Robin Hood, the Three Musketeers, and Indiana Jones as touchstones.

The issue starts off strong, with “The Mortuary Sword” by H. R. Laurence. Featuring the heroine from the magazine's appealing cover artwork, it involves a highwayman who encounters a supernatural threat on the road. The tone of the story is pitch-perfect, and the low-key fantastic aspects add spice without overshadowing the swashbuckling swordplay.

“The Trans-Pacific Railway” by Mar Vincent follows. This is a vaguely steampunkish story with stuffy European aristocrats and academic types. The titular railway is set upon by kite-like jetpack-wearing Frenchmen, and the protagonists attempt to harness the occult to fend them off. I may have enjoyed this story more had I encountered it in a different context, but steampunk leaves me cold. The story also seemed to go out of its way to avoid thrilling sword combat and action in general. It felt out of place, given the magazine's mission statement.

“A Fool's Errand in Amberford” by Lawrence Harding involves a mercenary swordswoman escorting a reckless-seeming noncombatant client deep into a ghoul-infested city. There's a fair bit more action than the preceding piece, and I enjoyed the somewhat normalized portrayal of necromancy (the heroine ingeniously keeps paper packets of beetles in her pockets to squish, channeling their life force into magical effects) but it seemed like a straight-up fantasy story. None of the heroine's opponents are armed, making swashbuckling swordplay a non-starter.

Just as I'd begun to wonder if I'd picked up a general fantasy zine by mistake, it's “The Daisy” by T. K. Howell to the rescue! This historical adventure features Francis Drake as a teenaged deckhand trying to survive a mutiny sparked by a hidden cache of silver. This story has tense action, witty repartee, and was completely free of fantastical elements. It was exactly the kind of story I'd expected to find within the pages of the magazine.

“When Your Only Tool’s a Hammer” by J. B. Toner is a fun sword & sorcery story, in which a barbarian Cundar of Raelor goes to extreme—and otherworldly—lengths to halt a devastating war. I love sword & sorcery fiction a lot and found this to be an engaging addition to the subgenre. It wasn't much of a swashbuckler, though, and it may have felt more at home in a different venue.

The final story, “The Temple of the Ghost Tiger” by Dariel R. A. Quiogue, was the absolute highlight for me. Fantasy elements are present (the viewpoint character is a man transmogrified into a monkey through occult experimentation, for example) but restrained, with center stage yielded to hand-to-hand combat against pirates, a duel between well-matched opponents, and a desperate struggle against the titular Ghost Tiger. It's a fast-paced cinematic adventure in the tradition of The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and the primary characters are all appealingly rendered despite their relatively brief “screen time.”

While I enjoyed nearly all of the stories in this magazine, I was leaning towards a three star rating until “The Temple of the Ghost Tiger” blew the doors off at the very end, earning an extra star by itself. My main issue with the magazine was my expectations compared to what was delivered. To me, swashbuckling adventure suggests a Renaissance setting or thereabouts, rapiers and flintlocks, snappy dialogue, and acrobatics. I love general fantasy fiction, but that wasn't what I bought this magazine hoping to read. Perhaps my definition of swashbuckling adventure is too narrow, but it may also be that—being a new publication—the editor lacked an abundance of traditional swashbuckling tales to select from. Compared to general fantasy, swashbuckling adventure fiction is a bit thin on the ground. Hopefully, with future issues, Rakehell will be able to distinguish itself from competing magazines by developing a tighter focus.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #HistoricalFiction #SwordAndSorcery #Fantasy #Rakehell #NathanielWebb

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on July 16, 2017.

The Hacienda: How Not to Run a Club

By Peter Hook – Simon & Schuster UK – October 1, 2009

Review by Robin Marx

This is the first of three books written to date by ex-Joy Division and New Order bassist Peter Hook. It chronicles how he and a motley crew of other Factory Records idealists managed to create a now legendary nightclub that played a central role in Manchester's music scene despite a comical lack of business acumen and competency.

While an entertaining read, I found this to be the weakest of Hook's three books. There was a great deal of overlap between this book and his other two, with many of the most memorable anecdotes covered in more depth in his Substance: Inside New Order book. Fans without a nostalgic connection to the Hacienda and/or Madchester music scene in particular can safely skip this book in favor of his more engrossing Joy Division and New Order memoirs.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Nonfiction #TheHacienda #PeterHook

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on June 19, 2021.

The Eye of Sounnu

By Schuyler Hernstrom – DMR Books – May 2, 2020

Review by Robin Marx

The stories in this collection hearken back to the golden age of pulp sword & sorcery and science fantasy. Images and themes occasionally remind the reader of Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, and even maybe a bit of Gene Wolfe but happily the author avoids well-trodden ground. These stories share the spirit of the classics without aping them outright.

Particular stand-outs include “The First American,” in which a barbarian tribesman enlists the scientific aid of a stranded US astronaut to rescue a captured woman from reptilian adversaries, and “Mortu and Kyrus in the White City,” about a motorcycle-riding warrior and his monastic monkey companion encountering an idyllic metropolis hiding a dark secret.

I look forward to reading more by Hernstrom and DMR Books!

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #SwordAndSorcery #Fantasy #SchuylerHernstrom #DMRBooks #TheEyeOfSounnu

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on May 8, 2011.

Midnight Sun: The Complete Stories of Kane

By Karl Edward Wagner – Night Shade Books – September 15, 2003

Review by Robin Marx

This volume is packed with excellent sword & sorcery yarns in the tradition of Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock. The Kane short stories are even better than the novels (collected in another Night Shade Books companion volume).

I appreciated the inclusion of the modern-day horror Kane stories. They're quite different from the “barbarian fantasy” tales, and the transition from those to the Clive Barker-style stories was a bit abrupt, but Kane's presence just somehow works. Karl Edward Wagner's essay regarding the creation of Kane was also very enlightening. It's absolutely tragic that he didn't live to write dozens more stories.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #KarlEdwardWagner #MidnightSun #Kane

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on September 13, 2021.

The Time of Contempt

By Andrzej Sapkowski, David French (Translator) – Orbit – August 27, 2013

Review by Robin Marx

Second in the main series, the titular Time of Contempt refers to the war sweeping the Continent and the ensuing treachery and cruelty. The Nilfgaardian Empire continues to grind northward, and the divided kingdoms in its path both cooperate with and defect upon one another, each seeking some marginal advantage. Geralt, the Witcher, attempts to remain neutral in the conflict, but finds himself inexorably drawn in as he attempts to protect his young magically talented charge Ciri from those who wish to possess her.

This volume introduces a great deal of turmoil to the nations and organizations seen in previous books, upending the tenuous status quo. Ciri takes center stage for most of the narrative, with Geralt and sorceress Yennefer in prominent supporting roles. The events of the story are epic in scale, but I appreciated that—rather than through dry exposition—the author tended to relate events filtered through the eyes of messengers, spies, and mercenaries. This kept the human, ground-level perspective intact throughout.

Geralt gets comparatively little exposure in the narrative and he doesn’t do any monster-slaying, which may disappoint some readers. I enjoyed the tumultuous plot and Ciri’s school of hard knocks-style introduction to the wider world, however. This book left me excited for the next volume.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Fantasy #AndrzejSapkowski #TheTimeOfContempt #TheWitcher

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on May 28, 2019.

The Urth of the New Sun

By Gene Wolfe – Orb Books – November 15, 1997

Review by Robin Marx

In this follow-up to The Book of the New Sun, Severian, the Autarch of the Commonwealth of Urth, journeys deep into space. His goal is to acquire the New Sun, a star/energy source/person (or perhaps all of these), which is capable of replacing his planet's dying sun. While his success will ensure the survival of his planet, it carries with it a terrible price.

Much like the preceding four volumes that comprise The Book of the New Sun, I enjoyed this book but I do not feel like I entirely comprehended it. The imagery throughout the book is fanciful and layered. The narrative also has a mythic cast that reminded me a bit of Frank Herbert's Dune Messiah. Wolfe was apparently a devout Catholic and allusions are hidden in the text, but the alienness of the characters and events makes the story feel closer to esoteric Eastern mysticism than familiar Christian biblical scripture.

Adding more layers to the puzzle is the fact that Severian has absorbed the memories (and perhaps identities) of previous Autarchs, his interstellar journey appears to involve time dilation, and even after returning to Urth he encounters and reunites with various characters at different non-chronological points in their lives.

Not only is the story dense and cryptic, it is related by a narrator who is both unreliable and somewhat aloof from events. The reader is often told that he wept or contemplated suicide after some bleak or unexpected turn of events, but everything is related with a baffling degree of clinical dispassion. Severian is basically a messiah figure, but one that is not to be entirely trusted.

Whether or not a reader will enjoy this book depends a great deal on their tolerance for confusion. If vaguery and cryptic dialogue aren't turn-offs, there's a lot to enjoy here. And if you like re-reading and puzzle-solving, this series rewards it. But be certain to read this book soon after The Book of the New Sun, when it's fresh in your mind.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Fantasy #ScienceFiction #DyingEarth #TheUrthOfTheNewSun #GeneWolfe #TheBookOfTheNewSun

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on March 17, 2013.

Elric at the End of Time

By Michael Moorcock – DAW – May 7, 1985

Review by Robin Marx

I enjoy Moorcock and his Elric stories a great deal, but despite the “Seventh Book of Elric of Melnibone” billing on the cover this particular collection is pretty random and weak. It includes the title story, “The Last Enchantment,” a pair of Elric-related essays, a pair of Jerry Cornelius essays, the Sojan the Swordsman stories, and a short short called “The Stone Thing.”

Elric at the End of Time is a crossover between Elric and Moorcock's Second Aether stories. The pseudo-Victorian Second Aether stuff has never done anything for me, and the team-up here struck me as kind of clumsy. Not an essential work.

“The Last Enchantment” is much better, however, one of the better late Elric stories. Unlike some of the more out-there and psychedelic tales, it fits in well with the earlier Elric canon. Elric's dealings with the Gods of Chaos are intriguing, and the premise is original.

The essays were brief and not particularly essential. It also seemed odd having two essays devoted to the Jerry Cornelius character when no Cornelius stories appear in the book.

The Sojan the Swordsman stories were the highlight of the book for me. They represent Moorcock's earliest published writing and were featured in a Tarzan fanzine. The stories themselves are pretty generic sword & planet. Moorcock was probably influenced by Burroughs' Barsoom stories, but they read more like Lin Carter's Thongar the Barbarian tales. They're pretty poor, to be honest. The plotting is pretty simplistic, the dialogue laughable, and with no major setbacks Sojan's adventures tend to be tension-free cakewalks. Still, the goofy enthusiasm in the writing was fun, and it was also fascinating from a historical perspective seeing these stories. If one of the greatest living fantasists started out writing stories this silly, maybe I've got a chance, too.

“The Stone Thing” is an extremely brief joke story. It's funny, but kind of a weird note to end a book on.

This book seems like a bit of a cash grab, a way to make some extra money on a mix of lesser work. It's worth a read for hardcore Moorcock fans, but only half the book is Elric-related and all the good stuff has been re-released in Del Rey's collections. Sojan the Swordsman was fun, but not something casual fans would be incredibly interested in. Far from essential Moorcock.

★★☆☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #MichaelMoorcock #ElricAtTheEndOfTime #EternalChampion

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on August 28, 2012.

The Collected Fiction, Vol. 1: The Boats of the “Glen Carrig” and Other Nautical Adventures

By William Hope Hodgson – Night Shade Books – August 1, 2005

Review by Robin Marx

While I missed out on the gorgeous Night Shade Books print volumes, the e-book edition is a worthy substitute for those unwilling to pay the high secondhand market prices.

This first volume includes the novel The Boats of the 'Glen Carrig', followed by a host of short stories broken into the following thematically-related sections: the Sargasso Sea Stories, the Exploits of Captain Gault, the Adventures of Captain Jat, and the Stories of Cargunka.

The Boats of the 'Glen Carrig' is a rather gripping survival horror story that follows the crew of a pair of lifeboats, sailors adrift after the sinking of the titular 'Glen Carrig.' Hodgson wastes no time getting into the action; the shipwreck itself is covered in basically a single perfunctory paragraph, and events start getting strange and deadly very quickly.

The Boats of the 'Glen Carrig' is similar to his other novels, The House on the Borderland and The Night Land, in that they're basically a linear narrative following the protagonist through a number of bizarre episodes. They read more like travelogues than carefully plotted novels, but the events are interesting enough that this isn't much of a complaint.

The story is written in an intentionally archaic style, with no quoted dialogue and few named characters, but it's fast-paced and packed with engrossing imagery. Stylistically it's a much more approachable read than The Night Land, which—while challenging—I also enjoyed considerably.

The Sargasso Sea stories share a very similar tone with The Boats of the 'Glen Carrig'. From the “Tideless Sea Part 1” and “Tideless Sea Part 2: More News from the Homebird” are genuinely chilling. They're desolate and unnerving, like the very best of Hodgson's work. Unfortunately, the rest of the Sargasso Sea stories aren't quite as stellar, with Hodgson recycling basically the same core premise (a ship encounters a strangely-fortified derelict craft enmeshed in Sargasso weeds, and terror ensues).

While vastly different in tone from his supernatural fiction, the Captain Gault stories were an unexpected highlight in this volume. Captain Gault is a smuggler, and these humorous tales are all “howdunit” mysteries about him sneaking contraband past customs. Read consecutively (rather than periodically encountered in anthology magazines as they would have been originally), the formula they follow becomes a little apparent, but they're clever, punchy, and offer enough diversity to keep the reader engaged.

The Adventures of Captain Jat were intriguing, if perhaps not fully realized. There are only two stories in the cycle—perhaps a poor reception led to Hodgson abandoning the character—but both are interesting. Jat is an alcoholic, abusive sea captain with a taste for women and treasure, and the exquisitely named Pibby Tawles is his put-upon cabin boy and the only companion he trusts on his gold-seeking adventures. Though almost entirely unlikeable, Hodgson adds an interesting twist to the character of Jat by showing him act gruffly tender towards his young accomplice at surprising moments. Pibby, too, isn't simply a victim. He's equipped with a fair amount of sneaky cunning, often profiting at his master's expense. The dynamic between the characters is interesting and the stories themselves are fun supernaturally-tinged adventure. It reminds me a bit of Indiana Jones, if Indy was a boozer that beat on Short Round. It's unfortunate Hodgson didn't write any more stories featuring these two.

The two Stories of Cargunka are probably the weakest in the volume. D.C.O. Cargunka is a wealthy pub-owner that purchases ships and accompanies them on profit-seeking expeditions. While self-aggrandizing romanticist Cargunka himself is a fun character, the stories seemed overlong and plots weren't quite as appealing as the Gault or Jat stories. “The Bells of the Laughing Sally” has some nice ghostly moments, but except for some humorous dialogue, “The Adventure With the Claim Jumpers” is a mostly forgettable heist yarn.

While there are a few limp stories (inevitable in a collection of this size), Hodgson nevertheless maintained an incredibly high standard of quality throughout his brief but prolific career. I maintain that he's one of the more underrated figures in early 20th century horror fiction, and this collection also reveals how adept he was in other genres as well. Wholeheartedly recommended.

★★★★★

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Horror #NauticalFiction #TheBoatsOfTheGlenCarrig #WilliamHopeHodgson

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on March 6, 2019.

The Conspiracy Against the Human Race

By Thomas Ligotti – Hippocampus Press – September 1, 2011

Review by Robin Marx

In the words of John Lydon, “Ever feel like you've been cheated?” Horror writer Thomas Ligotti certainly does.

In this essay, Ligotti passionately argues that sentient life is “MALIGNANTLY USELESS” (emphasis his). Among the animal kingdom we are in a unique position to comprehend our suffering and mortality, but rather than join hands and together voluntarily march into extinction, we are self-deluding prisoners and simultaneously jailers who punish those who call attention to the grimness of existence. We're all inmates, but an extra helping of woe to those who point out the bars.

Much of the text draws heavily from the work of Norwegian philosopher Peter Wessel Zapffe, who also argued that humanity's over-developed awareness of the human condition was a source of suffering and existential angst. Rather than succumb to despair, humans cope by excluding negativity from their thoughts, seeking distraction, anchoring themselves in something larger (e.g., a family, a religion, a nation), or channeling their feelings into creative outlets. The defining trait of humanity is consciousness and self-awareness, but that comprehension leads to despair and attempts to become less aware (and therefore less human).

Ligotti illustrates Zapffe's premise with numerous examples from life and art (the cosmic horror of H. P. Lovecraft is given special attention), all the while raging about the absurdity and cruelty of it all. This book shares a similar topic and conclusions (non-existence is less harmful than our current state, and voluntary human extinction is worthy of consideration) with Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence, but the vehemence with which Ligotti argues his points sets the two books apart.

This is a passionate book about a bleak topic. The readers drawn to it likely already agree with the conclusions, and those who uncomfortably dismiss it out of hand can likely be shown to be relying on Zapffe's coping mechanisms.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Nonfiction #Philosophy #CosmicHorror #TheConspiracyAgainstTheHumanRace #ThomasLigotti

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on February 9, 2015.

Bridge of Birds

By Barry Hughart – Del Rey – April 12, 1985

Review by Robin Marx

Set in mythic China, Bridge of Birds is a picaresque fable with similarities to The Princess Bride, the Sherlock Holmes stories, and Jack Vance's tales of Cugel the Clever. While it starts off with a rather simple premise—involving a search for a magical medicine for afflicted village children—the book's final chapters reveal that the entire story was no simple MacGuffin fetch quest, but in reality something far more original and carefully constructed.

All of Hughart's characters, including the crafty scholar Master Li Kao and earnest bumpkin Number Ten Ox, are well-drawn and appealing, if generally amoral. The heroes are Magnificent Bastards in a corrupt world. Still they manage to do a tremendous amount of good in between heists, swindles, and the occasional murder. The setting is colorful as well, encompassing both the exotic and decadent heights of the imperial lifestyle and the grubby desperation of the peasant class. The book hand-waves historical accuracy, set in “an Ancient China that never was”, but Hughart still presents a fascinating world that I enjoyed spending time in.

Packed with cliffhangers and abrupt reversals of fortune, Bridge of Birds is (to borrow cheesy movie review-speak) a romp from beginning to end. I found myself grinning at many points during the story, and never wider than during the book's conclusion, which was thoroughly satisfying. All loose ends are tied up neatly, with characters and locales revisited in such a way that it highlights just how far we've traveled with Li Kao and Number Ten Ox. I rarely give out five stars, but this book is definitely worth sharing.

★★★★★

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Fantasy #HistoricalFantasy #Mystery #HistoricalMystery #BarryHughart #BridgeOfBirds #TheChroniclesOfMasterLiAndNumberTenOx