Classic Fantasy Tales

In my last post, I wrote that I wasn’t too familiar with contemporary fantasy. I do like classic fantasy, in that it often overlaps with Gothic and Victorian ghost and horror stories. For a few years now Barnes and Noble has offered leather-bound collections of classic tales for a pretty good price ($25.00 for most titles). I’m a sucker for attractive editions of books, so I’ve picked up a few. Barnes and Noble has NOT compensated me in any way for this free plug, by the way. I am happy to support one of the few brick and mortar booksellers that hasn’t been put out of business by Amazon. I still miss Borders Books.

Each collection features lots of classic stories that are in the public domain, which means you can find all of them for free online. There are some excellent yarns in them, like W. W. Jacobs’ “The Monkey’s Paw”. The Penny Dreadful collection is a hoot – it has the original Sweeney Todd story, published as “String of Pearls”.

Anyway, this post is about book number 14 of 2024: Classic Fantasy Stories:

I’m cheating a little here, since I started reading it before 2024, but since I read the majority of the stories in this year, I’m counting it!

Even though it calls itself classic fantasy, it could just as easily be called a collection of Gothic horror. There are some terrific stories in it – one of my favorites is Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Bottle Imp”, which is a cautionary tale of being careful what you wish for! Theophile Gautier’s “The Mummy’s Foot” is just what it sounds like: a mummy’s foot that has a life of its own and bedevils an archaeologist.

Quite a few are more light-hearted, such as E. M. Forster’s “The Celestial Omnibus”, about a bus that magically appears in a blind alley and is discovered by a young boy. I wonder if J. K. Rowling was familiar with this story when she was writing the Diagon Alley scenes for her Harry Potter series. John Kendrick Bangs’ “The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall” is likewise tongue-in-cheek, about a very damp ghost that is more annoying than frightening.

Seabury Quinn’s “The Phantom Farmhouse” is much creepier – a man recovering from surgery in a Maine sanitarium comes across a pleasant country family while he is taking restorative walk. He falls in love with the beautiful daughter, but there are strange things about her and her family. They all have red fingernails, their index fingers are longer than the other fingers, and when the moon is full he hears mournful howling as three houndlike creatures hunt down hapless sheep.

The book closes with novella by Francis Stevens, “Claimed”. It is the tale of a mysterious box that is discovered on an island that suddenly appeared when an underwater volcano in the Atlantic erupted. It is made of some indestructible green substance, and even though a seam can be seen, it is impossible to open. There are some red words inscribed in one side, and whenever they are on top, the box inexplicably places them on the bottom. A greedy and unsavory millionaire businessman acquires it and ends up in a battle of wills with Poseidon himself. Fortunately, his loyal niece and his young, handsome, personal physician are there to make sure things work out for the best. It sounds cheesy, and it is, but Stevens is a fairly good writer, and I can see how H. P. Lovecraft claimed her as an influence.

Classic Fantasy Stories is a great book to keep on the side table next to your favorite reading chair. When you’re at a loss for something to read, and you don’t want to get into something heavy, you can pick this one up and read one or two stories. And when you’re done, it looks very nice on your bookshelf!

V. E. Schwab’s Dark Fantasy: A Darker Shade of Magic

I’m not very familiar with contemporary fantasy, having only read (and loved) The Lord of the Rings and some Stephen Lawhead works. However, I taught Ms. Schwab precalculus years ago, and she was a wonderful student. She even gave me a copy of William Blake’s collected poems when she graduated. I asked my daughter what would be a good V. E. Schwab book to read, and she recommended A Darker Shade of Magic which is the first of a trilogy of fantasy novels.

A Darker Shade of Magic is a very engaging book with a fascinating premise: there are four different “Londons” that exist in four different worlds, and only a few persons are able to travel between them. They are called Antari, and the main character, Kell, is one of them. In addition to his gift of interdimensional travel, he has one blue eye and one that is entirely jet black. The one black eye is the distinguishing physical characteristic of all Antari.

The four Londons are Red – Kell’s world, which is suffused with magical power; even the Thames river (called the Isle on this world) is crimson; White – ruled by the sadistic and powerful Athos and Astrid Dane who use magic in forbidden ways to control people; Grey – our mundane world with no magic (at least none that we know of); and Black – a ruined world that has been forever closed off due to its succumbing entirely to the dark aspects of magic. As Kell explains, “The people fed on the magic and the magic fed on them until it ate their bodies and their minds and then their souls.”

Kell uses his ability to pass through virtual doorways from one world to another to deliver messages to the respective rulers. The novel is set in the late eighteenth century – in an early chapter he visits the insane George III. He is the adopted son of the king and queen of the Red London, and their natural son, Rhy, is like a true brother to him.

The other primary character is Lila Bard, a nineteen-year-old pickpocket and vagabond who lives in Grey London. Hers and Kell’s paths cross, and they end up being reluctant allies in a desperate quest to return a relic from Black London that has the potential to destroy the delicate balance between the Londons and bring destruction to the universe. In that respect, the story owes a lot to The Lord of the Rings.

Each London has the same “bones”, but they are all very different in all other ways. One of the few constants – besides the river that runs through them – is a tavern that is located in the same spot in each of the three worlds. Kell keeps a hidden room in each one. On a side note, in his Grey London room Kell keeps a worn and treasured copy of Blake’s poetry!

Schwab does a wonderful job of making the characters of Kell and Lila real – there is a lot of mistrust between them initially, and even by the end of the novel they aren’t completely comfortable with each other. I love Schwab’s willingness to spend time fleshing out incidental characters. For example, Barron is a large man who runs Grey London’s aforementioned tavern, and he lends Lila room and board when she needs it most. She resents his charity, but he continues to keep an eye out for her and give her good advice. Calla is a woman who runs a clothing and jewelry booth in Red London, and even though she only appears briefly, I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of her. And there is Tieren, the mentor who taught and trained Kell. He is only around for a few pages, but it’s clear he perceives much about Lila that is hidden.

The villains are truly evil – White London’s brother and sister duo of Athos and Astrid make the reader’s skin crawl with their casual cruelty. They have enslaved another Antari named Holland who is Kell’s nemesis. He is an interesting character; we’re never sure how much his evil actions are compelled by the Danes or natural to him.

Schwab is an excellent storyteller – I zipped through the 300 pages of A Darker Shade of Magic in no time, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy: A Gathering of Shadows, and The Conjuring of Light. If you’re looking for something entertaining to escape into, A Darker Shade of Magic is a great choice.

The Weird Christianity of Charles Williams’ War In Heaven

C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien are two of my favorite authors, and when I read Joel Miller’s essay about fellow Inkling Charles Williams, my curiosity was piqued. His first of seven novels was War In Heaven, and it almost wasn’t published. His 1926 manuscript was rejected, but his secretary found it in a box of papers he had told her to throw away. She sent it to another publisher, who stayed up all night reading it and eventually publishing it.

Thank goodness for Mr. Williams’ secretary! War In Heaven is a fantastic story that, while I didn’t stay up all night reading it, kept me riveted from beginning to end. It has one of the best opening sentences ever: “The telephone bell was ringing wildly, but without result, since there was no-one in the room but the corpse.” What starts out sounding like an Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers whodunit, very quickly veers into supernatural territory. As a matter of fact, the corpse in question doesn’t even return to the story until late in the book.

The story centers on an unassuming Anglican Archdeacon, Julian Davenant, some employees at a small publishing house that specializes in occult titles, and a quartet of spectacularly evil persons. Archdeacon Davenant reminds me a lot of G. K. Chesterton’s Father Brown. Everyone around him underestimates him, including the primary villain, Gregory Persimmons, retired owner of the aforementioned publishing house. Davenant’s small country church at the village of Fardles just happens to house the Graal, more familiarly known as The Holy Grail.

The Graal is desired by Persimmons for some literally Satanic purposes, and he thinks he can easily obtain it from the seemingly weak and ignorant Archdeacon. His allies are Sir Giles Tumulty, an expert in antiquities and a thoroughly repellent person; Manasseh, another Satanist, devoted to destruction; and Dmitri Lavrodopoulos, a chemist (pharmacist) and Satanist devoted to the utter negation of all things.

Against these forces of evil are Archdeacon Davenant, Kenneth Mornington, an employee at the publishing house, Lord Ridings, a devout Roman Catholic, and a mysterious stranger who might be the mythical “Prester John”. Together, they battle Persimmons’ attempts to gain control of the Graal.

Williams’ does an excellent job of creating an atmosphere of creepy weirdness. Early in the story, Lavrodopoulos gives Persimmons some ointment that he intends to use to enter a metaphysical realm and connect with other practitioners of black magic.

Slowly, very slowly, he undressed, looking forward to he knew not what, and then — being entirely naked — he took from a table the small greasy box of ointment and opened it. It was a pinkish ointment, very much the colour of the skin, and at first he thought it had no smell. But in a few minutes, as it lay exposed to the air, there arose from it a faint odour which grew stronger, and presently filled the whole room, not overpoweringly, but with a convenient and irresistible assurance. He paused for a moment, inhaling it, and finding in it the promise of some complete decay.

Charles Williams. War in Heaven (Kindle Locations 1032-1036). Delphi Classics. Kindle Edition.

Gregory Persimmons is a monstrous character, maintaining a façade of polite gentility while sadistically delighting in tormenting innocent people, including his own adult son who now runs the publishing house. Needless to say, the odds of defeating him and his companions in evil do not look good. However, the humble Julian Davenant has hidden reserves of strength. His favorite thing to do is to recite Psalms under his breath:

“Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious; for His mercy endureth for ever.”

“I beg your pardon?” Gregory asked at the same moment that Sir Giles said, “Eh?”

“Nothing, nothing,” the Archdeacon said hastily. “Merely an improvisation. The fine weather, I suppose.”

Charles Williams. War in Heaven (Kindle Locations 1176-1179). Delphi Classics. Kindle Edition.

There is much pain and loss before the tale is concluded, but the ending is quite beautiful and uplifting. The closest thing to War In Heaven is probably C. S. Lewis’ wonderful novel, That Hideous Strength, where truth, goodness, and beauty overcome a “scientific” think-tank that is trying to promote evil in a bucolic English community.

As I mentioned before, Williams was an Inkling along with Lewis and Tolkien. Unfortunately, he died relatively young in 1945, having published seven novels, some plays, and some poetry. War In Heaven is definitely one of the creepiest and weird books I’ve read – no “cozy mystery” here! I highly recommend it though, and I’m looking forward to reading his other novels. You can get all of his works in electronic form for $2.99 at Delphi Classics. War In Heaven is worth that price alone.