Richard Monaco (1940–2017)

New Age Thriller.

What an odd concept, no? Or perhaps it's a thing that used to be rather common but now has kinda gone the way of the 90's. Of course, that's kinda the point. This one was first published in '79 and is now being re-released.

So how was it? Well, I came into it thinking I'd be falling under the spell of a cult, New Age or otherwise, with possibly a bit of trouble extricating myself and/or family getting all up in arms with my predicament, but how would I have guessed that this would be a murder mystery and eventually a blowout epic tale of politics and mysticism and bright glowing things? I couldn't!

In point of fact, this is a New Age Thriller, with all the old concepts of astral projection, aura reading, manipulation of time and space and cheating death and above all, energy, energy, energy. :) It winds up being a hell of a wild ride that reminded me of some [a:Depak chopra|11175500|Depak chopra|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] novels later on down the timestream. Really wild.

And I was also reminded, amusedly, of Umberto Eco's [b:Foucault's Pendulum|17841|Foucault's Pendulum|Umberto Eco|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1396645125s/17841.jpg|11221066] for what it has to say about any book that brings up the Templar Knights. Or the Spear of Longinus.

I'm just not sure if this novel is quite to the point where its outdated, because most of it could work quite well as a modern rendition with a bit of squinting, but for the primary tale, it still works pretty well.

It also feels like a blast from the past. Or if you folks have never really encountered a New Age Guru before, but always wanted to, then come on in! The water's fine! :)

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC!… (más)

Richard Monaco's Parsival is, it seems, rather forgotten these days when it comes to Arthurian fiction, which is strange, since it is a very well written, dreamlike story.

This is partly based on the epic Arthurian romance Parzival, by Wolfram Von Eschenbach, a German knight and poet who himself based it on an unfinished tale by Chretien de Troyes. The story of Parsival is that of the Holy Fool, the innocent who seeks, and finds, the Grail Castle.

Monaco is a good writer and this tale features some familiar names (Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, Gawain) in a slightly unfamiliar setting. England (or Albion) is never mentioned, so the story unfolds in an unnamed land as we follow the entirely innocent, unworldly (otherworldly?) Parsival as he leaves his home and experiences the world for the first time. His progress from innocent to Knight to weary melancholy is handled in a series of dreamlike sequences, full of horror and blood. There is war here, unremitting, gruesome war. The bodies are literally piled high.

Monaco, as a counterpoint to his protagonist, also follows three "peasants", Broaditch, Waleis and Alienor, as they move through a landscape of horror and death trying to find Parsival. The narrative leaps forward twenty years at one point to find Broaditch telling the tale to his children.

It's a classic good versus evil story, with the dark wizard Clinschor seeking the Grail and Merlin trying to guide Parsival with cryptic, rather unhelpful, hints. Chivalry is nowhere to be found here.

What the Grail actually is is never defined and it is only at the end that Parsival comes to realise what he's been seeking. And also the point that Broaditch, after a question from his son regarding Parsival's fate, sets out to find him, thus setting the scene for a sequel.

A strange, unsettling book well worth your time.… (más)

A complex and dark Japanese medieval mystery.

1552. Three shipwreck survivors wash up on the Japanese shoreline and are immediately embroiled in a struggle for lordship and supremacy amongst the Japanese clans.
Jiro Tazeko, a classless samurai detective finds himself embroiled in the same unrest.
The daughter of a lord's house has been murdered. One of the foreigners has been accused. However, Tazeko discovers some very odd facts, including the suspicion that the dead girl is not the Lady Osan.
As plots are overlayed by more plots the end spirals out of control. All is revealed as this feudal world explodes in a fiery ball and then is reignited by a typhoon.
Who wins is moot. What is left is ash and wind.
I do like Tazeko, the hard boiled, hard drinking,16th Century Sam Spade type character.

A NetGalley ARC… (más)