James Stoddard

100 Best Fantasy Novels (Latest Additions)

Dark Entries by Robert Aickman

I’m not a big fan of the horror genre. Too much of it is inclined toward trying to creep the reader out through gore; and honestly, as an adult, how often do you read a scene that actually frightens? So when I recently found praise for Robert Aickman’s short stories, I was skeptical. I purchased the ebook version of his Dark Entries collection at random (He has several anthologies available) and was both delighted and astonished by his stories. In this particular volume, the story Ringing the Changes is the closest any writer has come to ever actually frightening me. The mood is one of sheer suspense. Nor would I classify his work as straight horror. True, his stories involve ghosts and the supernatural, but Aickman never considered himself a “horror writer.” Rather, he wrote strange, fantastic tales, unlike anything else. He died in 1981 and I’m really surprised I never ran into his work before now.

The Green Kingdom by Rachel Maddux

I read this book several years ago, and as I sometimes do, put it aside for possible inclusion in this list, waiting to see if it would “call” to me. Since then, it has indeed done so, and I re-read it in 2018. The author, Rachel Maddux, is more widely known for general fiction rather than genre works, and her novel, A Walk in the Spring Rain, was made into the 1970’s Columbia Pictures movie of the same name. Nor does The Green Kingdom have any fantasy elements other than the Green Kingdom itself, with its exotic plants and animals, but the world-building is very well-done, and the struggles of the five characters who leave civilization to seek it makes for a compelling work. Maddux has much to say about the creative impulse and the trials of both men and women in the 1950’s. But be warned: in many ways, this is not an easy book; the characters often suffer, and through the suffering, grow and change.

The Gap in the Curtain by John Buchan

John Buchan was an author, a lawyer, an historian, and a politician (including Governor General of Canada in the last years of his life). In his writing career he is perhaps best known for his 1915 spy-thriller, The 39 Steps, which was made into a movie by Alfred Hitchcock in 1935. His work sometimes drifted into the borders of fantasy, and The Gap in the Curtain follows a simple premise to an interesting conclusion. Led by an Einsteinian professor, five characters are able to see a copy of The London Times one year in the future. Through the eyes of the narrator, we follow the resultant reactions of each of the five. This is a fascinating novel depicting the British culture in the aftermath of World War I and our limitations in dealing with a single glimpse ahead. Followers of Downton Abbey may find the book especially interesting.

The Last Coin by James P. Blaylock

I read The Last Coin a number of years ago, and kept it because I felt it might be worth a re-read. I finally did so recently and feel it deserves a place on my Best Fantasies list. The idea is intriguing: The thirty pieces of silver paid to Judas Iscariot to betray Christ possess world-destroying mystic power. In Blaylock’s novel, Judas was not allowed to hang himself, but was made immortal. In penance, he must insure that the coins are never all brought together in one place, lest the universe end. Andrew Vanbergen is the hero Judas has chosen to stop the evil Pennyman from collecting the coins. Lazy, clueless, with the attention span of a cocker spaniel, Andrew’s only concern is getting his newly-purchased inn and restaurant up and running. The book is quirky, sometimes irritating, and often funny, begging the question: “How do you save the universe when you don’t have the faintest idea what’s going on?”

The Incredible Umbrella by Marvin Kaye

Usually, when I read a whimsical or funny novel, I find it lacking in suspense. This is understandable because it’s hard to be both humorous and serious at the same time. To make the stakes high in comedic situations takes a lot of skill, something Marvin Kaye manages to do quite well. Not that this book is riveting the way an action movie can be, but it quickens the pulse enough to where I was honestly concerned about what would happen to the hero.

It has a lot of humor and a nice touch of romance. When Professor J. Adrian Fillmore acquires a magic umbrella that pulls him though realms of Victorian fantasy, alternate universes where Frankenstein, genies, the Gilbert and Sullivan plays, Dracula, and Sherlock Holmes are all real. It’s been compared to Pratt and de Camp’s The Incomplete Enchanter, but I honestly think it’s much better than that. It’s just a fun read. Not being familiar with Gilbert and Sullivan, I didn’t find that part as amusing. It appears near the book’s beginning, but don’t let that put you off.

Kay wrote a sequel called The Amorous Umbrella, but I haven’t read it, so can’t tell you whether it’s too much of a good thing, or as good as the first book. The novels are apparently both out of print, but used copies can be found at a reasonable price.

When the Birds Fly South by Stanton A. Coblentz

In 1884, H. Rider Haggard’s book, King Solomon’s Mines, created the “Lost Race” novel, an enormously popular sub-genre driven by that century’s public fascination with its numerous archeological finds. Tons of novels followed in which a party of explorers led by a handsome, fearless hero, encounters a hidden civilization, always containing a beautiful woman. The hero and the woman fall in love; the bad guys plot villainy; the hero gets the girl in the end. Writers such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, A. Merritt, and Robert E. Howard all used variations to considerable success. (King Solomon’s Mines would later inspire a little movie called The Raiders of the Lost Ark.)

I had heard of When the Birds Fly South (1945) for a number of years, but had avoided reading it, thinking it would be too similar to other lost race novels. I tried it this week and thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing style is lovely; the main character, rather than a superman, is flawed and very human. The gigantic image of the goddess, Yulada, is used to excellent effect. I don’t want to say too much and give away the story. I came away from the book contemplating the difference between men and women more than the difference between two races. Sadly, this book is out of print. If you buy the 1980 Newcastle paperback edition, don’t read the author’s introduction, which contains spoilers.