Customer Reviews (1)

A Good Beginning
Unfortunately, even if Avram Davidson were still alive, we'd probably never see the rest of the proposed trilogy that THE ISLAND UNDER THE EARTH was to begin.Fortunately, what's here is entertaining and worth reading. The mood here is similar to that in the PEREGRINE books, althoughconsiderably less playful: eclectic fantasy, portentious hints of things tocome, interesting characters, and Davidson's offbeaterudition.

Davidson's "false starts" are certainly betterreading than much "finished" fantasy published each year. ... Read more

Product Description
MUTINY IN SPACE began as a novella entitled "Valentine's Planet," which appeared in the August 1964 issue of Worlds of Tomorrow. "To space opera of the time, the character of the captain was as important as that of the king was to Shakespeare. He (the captain was always a "he," even when the author was female) was the model and exemplar for society, the man with the right stuff, he who made the tough decisions and enforced discipline? ... Read more

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Set during the reign of the Aztecs in Mexico, two alien forces, dormant for centuries, enter a confrontation on a remote mountain that will decide Earth's fate. The Great Old Ones benevolently ruled before the cruel Aztecs were shaped by the Huitzil, who came from the Evil Stars and taught the Aztecs how to conquer and demanded endless human sacrifice. ... Read more

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Jerrod Northi, pirate and rogue, is desperate for the Craftsman to transform his appearance. It costs 100,000 units, steep for even Northi to pay, but because of his powerful enemies he'll find a way. Since being attacked by deadly leeris, he knows the cost of missing this opportunity for refuge in Tarnis may cost his life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

conventional mid-60s SF features Davidson's wordy prose
This 1979 paperback, with a cover illustration by Olivia, is a rather sneaky effort to repackage two of Avram Davidson's mid-60s SF novelettes (both published in 1966) as modern-day `fantasy' stories. In truth neither `Reign' nor `Rogue' are fantasy tales with spells and wizards and warriors, but rather conventional SF adventures set on a vaguely Vance-ian far-future Earth.

In `The Kar-Chee Reign', Earth is depleted of both population and resources; most of humanity has since left to colonize other systems, and knowledge of the Mother World has long since dissipated. What few people remain on Earth eke out a living in pleasant, if medieval circumstances. Things go sour with the arrival of the Kar-Chee, a race of mantid-like aliens who scour planets for traces of metals and minerals.

The sophisticated mining operations of the Kar-Chee cause the Earth to be continually subjected to massive tidal waves and earthquakes. Unfortunately the human tribes are unable to respond with more than fatalistic acceptance, because the Kar-Chee have brought with them `dragons', another race of alien beasts that are used to snap up any troublesome humans, much as a terrier might be used to keep down the rat population.

Liam, a young man from a doomed settlement in what used to be the British Isles, refuses to acquiesce to the rule of the Kar-Chee. Defying the philosophy of the tribal elders, he embarks on a dangerous journey into the depths of the Earth and a Kar-Chee mining center. Liam simply hopes to learn what the aliens are doing in the bowels of the planet, but when an opportunity to strike back at the invaders presents itself, Liam must make a fateful choice to risk his life and the life of his companions for a blow at freedom.

`Rogue Dragon' is set several generations after the events of `Reign'. The colony worlds have rediscovered Earth and its `dragons', which now serve as the object of elaborate hunting expeditions organized for the entertainment of off-world aristocrats from the Federation. Jon-Joras, a young aide to one such aristocrat, is sent to Earth to arrange for a visit by his employer. However, on an introductory dragon hunt things take an unexpected turn, and suddenly Jon-Joras finds himself alone and unarmed in a hostile country.

Jon-Joras gradually realizes that the native peoples resent seeing their world reduced to a `fantasy island' for wealthy types, and rebellion is in the air. It's up to Jon-Joras to survive the hazards of the wild places where the dragons roam, and return to civilization to prevent more bloodshed as a resurgent Earth confronts the excesses of the Federation.

Both novels suffer (if I can use the word) from Davidson's writing style, which I never have been much impressed with. The narrative is little more than a device upon which he can hang his self-indulgent use of overly wordy prose, repetitive syntax, and clever turns of phrase. It doesn't help matters when the reader is asked to look up words like `mulcted', `epithalamion', and `eructation'.

`The Kar-Chee Reign' and `Rogue Dragon' will appeal to Davidson fans, but anyone else probably won't need to add this volume to their reading list.
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Customer Reviews (3)

Some gems and one clunker
Davidson is one of my favorite authors, and this selection includes one of his best stories, "The Lord of Central Park."

However, I was disappointed by the title novella. I got the impression that Davidson was trying to imitate Michael Moorcock at his most ideosyncratic. The writing was sparkling, as usual, but I just wasn't enthralled by his point.

I recommend interested readers to start elsewhere, perhaps with "the Investigations of Avram Davidson" or "The Phoenix and the Mirror," great short stories and a staggeringly original novel, respectively.

Erudite and Whimsical Fiction
This collection - originally published in 1978 - was my introduction to the writing of Avram Davidson, and perhaps the best thing I can say about it is that I will definitely be seeking out more of his work.

There are six pieces included here ("Sacheverell", "The Lord of Central Park", "The Grantha Sighting", "The Singular Events", "Dagon" and " The Redward Edward Papers") and each is followed by an afterward written by the author in which he expounds, albeit cryptically at times, upon the origins of each story.

I would describe Davidson's style (at least as represented by these stories) as erudite and whimsical. All of the pieces in this book contain these two elements - erudition and whimsy, that is - except, perhaps, for "Dagon".A terse and rather sinister little tale about a Western military man running afoul of Chinese magic, "Dagon" in my opinion is the standout story in this bunch. Another highlight for me is "The Lord of Central Park" - a delightful literary romp involving an expatriate European adventurer (the lord of the title who resides is a secret cave in New York's Central Park), Dutch river pirates, the Mafia, the Nafia (who operate a string of gumball and Indian nut machines), and assorted other characters in a plot to blow up the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Davidson's afterward to the entire book - in which he deals with the art of writing and the subject of finding one's own voice in that art - was also one of my favorite bits.

The title piece is longer than the others and is really closer to a novella than a short story. It is perhaps the least accessible of the stories in this book - a basically plotless, non-linear, pseudo-autobiographical narrative concerning the exploits of the title character.

It seems that Davidson is remembered primarily as a science fiction writer but don't let that classification fool you. Most of the tales here, while generally unclassifiable, run closer to fantasy than science fiction.

A stimulating, amusing and enjoyable read, all in all.

Hilarious
Half of this book is very good short stories that also appear in several other collections.The rest is the complex & very funny Redward Edward papers, which are a series of short stories leaping around from variousparts of Rufous Edward's life to earlier bits & to later bits. Wonderfully written & one of the best Davidson anthologies. ... Read more