POSSESSIONS AND PURSUITS by John Howard and Mark Valentine (Sarob Press 2023)

 

Paul Lowe cover art, excellent as usual

Though warm my welcome everywhere,
I shift so frequently, so fast,
I cannot now say where I was 
The evening before last,

Unless some singular event
Should intervene to save the place,
A truly asinine remark,
A soul-bewitching face,

Or blessed encounter, full of joy,
Unscheduled on the Giesen Plan,
With, here, an addict of Tolkien,
There, a Charles Williams fan.

From 'On the Circuit' by W.H. Auden (About the House 1965)

Auden, the great poet of modernity and political engagement in his youth, later found solace in a more conservative (small C) and Christian worldview, which the writings of several Inklings helped him form. While the influence of Lewis and Tolkien on other writers has often been acknowledged, Charles Williams remains a somewhat shadowy figure. Fairly prolific, much admired, but seldom imitated. Too difficult in some ways, too mainstream in others, it has taken two Williams' fans and Sarob Press to produce what might be the only 21st century body of 'Williamsesque' fiction. 

This third and final shared volume includes two novellas by Mark Valentine and a short novel by John Howard. Their approaches differ, as in the previous book which I reviewed here. Valentine's stories are both playful and look at the numinous and strange intersecting with superficially mundane British life. 

'Masque and Anti-Masque' sees a small but ancient provincial university torn between modernisers and traditionalists over whether to continue with an odd custom. Meanwhile an eccentric scholar submits a book to the university's press which purports to reveal deeper truths behind the tradition. It wouldn't be a Mark Valentine story if I didn't learn a new word. This time it's Mazzaroth.

'The Prospero Machine' is set in an unspecified decade of the last century (probably) and concerns seaside slot machines that dispense fortunes, cookie style, in return for those old brown pennies. A poet on winter vacation falls in with the owner of the Prospero company and devises new rhyming couplets to keep things fresh. But when a local artist is recruited to add a touch of class to the little slips of cardboard things take a strange turn. 

'The Fallen Sun' is a multi-layered novel reminiscent (to this non-expert) of Williams' novels War in Heaven and All Hallows' Eve, in which a wide cast of diverse characters are linked by a strange phenomenon and/or mystical McGuffin. The setting is 'between the wars', the setting moves between London and Istanbul with Ataturk in charge. Thanks to the new, secular Turkey, restoration of the Christian murals at Hagia Sophia is under way. But a vital component appears to be missing.

 John Howard imagines (or discovers) the Mirror of Byzantium. This unique artefact is pursued by an array of characters for various motives. Its power involves transforming the users view of the world and revealing a parallel, hidden reality. But is this otherworld good, evil, or what? As the mirror journeys from Istanbul to London, there are revelations about its power and the innermost nature of the characters. 

This book is an absorbing read, full of strange erudition and wonderful imagery. Wherever he is, I think Charles Williams would be pleasantly surprised by how sincere and talented his admirers are. Perhaps he already is...