Childe Rolande and Elak, King of Atlantis

Published by Futura 1989

It's curious how Fate sometimes works in small ways. There are two books I reviewed some years ago which had been published by other imprints than my own - Futura Books and Pulp Hero Press respectively - which I never thought at the time I would eventually reprint as Parallel Universe Publications books.

The first was Samantha Lee's Childe Rolande, which Futura published in 1989 and which I reviewed on amazon in March 2022, not realising I would be reprinting this later that year. This is a link to my original review on https://www.amazon.com/Childe.../dp/1739832655/ref=sr_1_1....

The other, of course, is Adrian Cole's Elak, King of Atlantis, which I reviewed for Phantasmagoria magazine not long after the book was first brought out by Pulp Hero Press. https://davidandrewriley.blogspot.com/.../my-review-of...

I don't know whether this will ever happen again, but twice, I'm sure, is strange enough.

 

Published by Pulp Hero Press 2020

 

Published by Parallel Universe Publications 2022

Published by Parallel Universe Publications 2024

My original review from March 15th 2022 of Childe Rolande by Samantha Lee published by Futura Books

Some time before I was given the opportunity to reprint this novel under my own Parallel Universe Publications imprint this was a review I wrote and had published on amazon for its first publication in 1989 by Futura Books. 

CHILDE ROLANDE by Samantha Lee

Futura Publications 1989

Although this dark fantasy novel of a post-apocalyptic Scotland was published thirty years ago, it reads as fresh today, with issues that are just as pertinent now as they were in the 1980s.

Most of the story is told in the first person by Rolande her-or-himself. I say her-or-himself because, in the woman-dominating culture that rules Scotland in this future time, Rolande is that rarest of beings, a hermaphrodite, having both the genitals of a man and a woman. As only a handful of drugged, caged and pampered males are allowed to live intact as “breed beasts” in the Scotland of this story,  the dwarf Morangy, a eunuch as well as chief “healer” in the royal household, steals Rolande away and puts her in the care of a renegade male known as the prophet. Morangy realises that Rolande could be the fulfilment of a prophecy that a hermaphrodite will one day rise to become “the Redeemer”, who will end the vicious tyranny of the female rulers of Alba and restore equality between the sexes.

Rolande’s story becomes ever more complex as she grows older, especially after, as part of a travelling band of entertainers, she catches the romantic attention of the Maxwell, Chief Warlord of the Clans of Alba (Scotland), which results in her being brought into the royal household where she meets her twin sister, though neither know of their relationship yet or even that the other existed, as the events of Rolande’s birth were a secret known only to a few.

This is a complex novel, with some strongly delineated characters, and some of the fiercest violence and graphically described tortures and executions I have ever read, perhaps expected from a veteran writer of the Pan Books of Horror. Over and above this, though, it is an epic saga of a struggle to end a repressive tyranny, with perhaps one of the blackest, most evil villains I have come across in the form of the mad sorceress and high priestess, Fergael, who becomes uglier and psychotically more dangerous as time goes on. There is magic too of the darkest sort and the occasional monster, though both occur sparingly and are all the more credibly dramatic for it.

An excellent novel and one I would recommend unreservedly for anyone who loves the darkest of fantasies in a post-apocalyptic future - and a damn good story too.

Reviewed by David A. Riley

 

 

 

 

The Demon From Another World accepted for publication

The good news this morning is that I have just received word that another rather longish sword and sorcery yarn of mine has been accepted for publication. Unfortunately, I am not allowed as yet to reveal any more details about it other than that the story is called The Demon From Another World.

This marks the eighth new story chosen for publication this year.

The Complete World of Horror Volume 1

Just received one of the largest hardcover books in my posssession, Volume 1 of The Complete World of Horror, which contains a reproduction of the first three issues of that iconic magazine from the mid 1970s. Although I had nothing in these earliest issues, I did have a couple of stories in later ones, The Shade of Apollyon and Terror on the Moors, illustrated by Jim Pitts, which I hope to see eventually in volumes 2 and 3. 

The Complete World of Horror is published by Confessions Press, edited by Gent Shaw with a Foreword by John Probert. 

Anyone interested in buying a copy could use this link to Confessions Press.

My latest sword and sorcery story In the Temple of the Snake is in Crimson Quill Quarterly No 3

I am very pleased to be able to announce that my latest sword and sorcery story, an 8000 word yarn called In the Temple of the Snake, is in the latest issue of Crimson Quill Quarterly, along with some stellar contribributors.

Crimson Quill Quarterly is available as a papertback and kindle eBook. 

amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

A City of Phantoms (Part 2 of 2): Teel James Glenn - When their caravan is attacked, Dunal and Ada are captured and taken to the legendary city of Atlaztan, a frightening madhouse of magick and murder, and it is up to the two companions to not only survive - but escape against all odds!

Backed Up in Iber: Carl Ellis - Ceeon, wayward, once-retired thief, drowning in medical debt, takes on one final job in the hopes of rebuilding his life and reconnecting with his daughter. All he has to do is steal some items from one of the most heavily guarded vaults in all of Iber!

King of Killers: Mario Curic - The barbarian king Keroveh rules the former No Man's Land with the aid of an army of sellswords and an ancient relic of mysterious power. When another mercenary carries a similar gift arrives to offer his services, the ruthless warlord sees an opportunity to spread his reach, all the while plagued by a worm of doubt.

Trollslayer: Susan Murrie Macdonald - After being sent on what Vilne believed would be a boring errand, it was not long before he began to detect the presence of nearby trolls. After destroying their dwelling, he is set upon by a pair of the foul monstrosities. These monsters, however, may not be as mindless or heartless as legend has let on.

In the Temple of the Snake: David A. Riley - To the snake charmer, the proferred journey to the Temple of the Snake by the secretive sorcerer Roannda Caltrani was barely a challenge to his abilities, and in the end it would make him wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. Little did he suspect that the horrors he would find inside the forbidden temple would be incredibly far worse than anything he could have imagined and would change his life forever.

Trail of Steel: Damir Salkovic - Having narrowly escaped a hanging, three unlikely companions rob a wealthy merchant, set free a chain of slaves, and become embroiled in a tribal feud as they flee civilization. Over the mountains, the unruly coast beckons, a frontier of sinister magic and hungry swords where they hope to escape their past misdeeds. But redemption has a price, and the dangers are many on the trail of steel.

The Drakvur Challenge: Rab Foster - In a temple dedicated to a mysterious deity known as Drakvur, at dawn on the longest day of the year, six prisoners are forced to take part in a ritual. They must race across a lake using stepping stones that weave between sinister statues and rise above shoals of hungry fish. Unfortunately, they have a seventh competitor to deal with: Drakvur itself... 

Book Review: The Instruments of Darkness by John Connolly

THE INSTRUMENTS OF DARKNESS by John Connolly

Hodder & Stoughton 2024, 450 pages

Available in hardcover

I am a big fan of John Connolly’s Charlie Parker novels, all of which I have read. This, unbelievably, is the twenty-first!

You would perhaps expect after so many tales for there to be a gradual lessening of originality but believe me The Instruments of Darkness reads as fresh as ever. With its subtle blend of crime and the supernatural, you are never quite sure where common criminality ends and worse takes over. And believe me however bad common criminality is the other is far, far worse. 

This is certainly the case here where Parker is hired to look into the guilt or otherwise of Colleen Clark whose young son has disappeared, either kidnapped or murdered. The local district attorney, out to make a name for himself in an upcoming election to higher office, and his equally ambitious assistant, out to take his place when he steps up, are determined to prove Colleen is guilty of murdering her son and hiding his body. Compounding how bad things look for her, her estranged husband finds a bloodstained blanket in the boot of Colleen’s car and is outspoken in his belief his wife is their son’s killer. Things, indeed, look bad for Colleen, but she is lucky in having recurring character Moxie Castin as her lawyer, who wisely asks Parker to investigate what happened.

And so begins a darkening tale of mysteries, intrigues and malign influences.

Connolly has again given us a great cast of vividly depicted characters, whether they’re people you love, pity, despise or hate. Plus plenty of action. And we also have other recurring characters we are used to expect in any Charlie Parker novel, such as Angel and Louie.  

The last Charlie Parker book, The Furies, was made up of two novellas, which I found less satisfying. Thankfully The Instruments of Darkness is one long, full-blooded novel, into which it is easy to become thoroughly absorbed. The only problem for me, despite being well over four hundred pages in length, is that I found it such a page-turner it didn’t take me long to finish it! Now I have at least another year, perhaps more, before I can dip into another.

 

This review was first published in Phantasmagoria Magazine Summer 2024 

Book Review: Germanicus, Lord of Eagles by Adrian Cole

GERMANICUS, LORD OF EAGLES (WAR ON ROME BOOK 2) by Adrian Cole

DMR Books 2023, 336 pages

Available in hardcover, paperback, and kindle

First of all I must make an admission of being a huge fan of anything to do with Rome, especially in the first century AD, during and after the emperor Augustus. One of my favourite series of novels are of Centurion Macro and his friend Cato by Simon Scarrow.

So you can imagine how much I was looking forward to reading this. And I was not disappointed. With Germanicus, Lord of Eagles Adrian Cole has embarked on an ambitious rewrite of Roman history in the early empire, in which events have been derailed from those we know by the sinister machinations of two competing secret cults steeped in sorcery, the Via Sinister and the Via Tenebrae, whose plots are as mysterious in their objectives as they are blatantly malevolent.

Our first glimpse of their malign intervention comes in the opening pages when the man who would have otherwise become Emperor Claudius in years to come is brutally murdered while still only a young man. As a result of these plots other players in Roman history either manage to live far longer than they did or meet different, sometimes horrifying fates.

Germanicus, Lord of Eagles has an impressively large cast of characters spread across the length and breadth of the Roman Empire, from the rain-drenched forests of Germania to the sun-baked cities of Egypt and Judea. As the plot has already deviated from historical fact there is, of course, the added tension of now not knowing what will befall anyone. Being rather pro-Roman I must admit to feeling concerned about the plot to assassinate Germanicus, next in line to be emperor after the aging Tiberius, so as to enable Caligula to succeed him instead. I won’t give anything away, as it’s all in the lap of the gods, so to speak. Or at least in the lap of Adrian Cole, who knows how to create wonderfully vivid characters and intriguing plots and has obviously made a thorough study of this period.

I won’t give away any plot details as this would spoil reading this book, except to say that it is eventful, vivid and thoroughly credible once you accept the involvement of the supernatural behind the scenes. There are many really likeable characters – and no shortage of the opposite, including the ever scheming, massively ambitious Sejanus, prefect of the praetorium guard, who I still remember from the BBC adaptation of Robert Graves’ I, Claudius, in which he was brilliantly portrayed by a young Patrick Stewart.

Germanicus, Lord of Eagles is a far cry from Adrian Coles’ Elak stories, with much less use of the supernatural, but when it occurs it certainly makes an impact. With so many individuals’ storylines still ongoing, and with the plotting of both Via Sinister and Via Tenebrae deepening I am looking forward to reading the next in this brilliantly conceived series. 

 

This review was first published in Phantasmagoria Magazine Summer 2024