But in Part II, Weyland’s camouflage is pierced, and he falls into the possession of a band of disreputable opportunists. Had it not been for Mark, a 14-year-old streetwise, kindhearted-but-not-naïve kid, Weyland’s time with these “devil nuts”—Satanists, High Priestesses, and brainless worshipper girls whose “shapeless torrent of ‘wows’ and ‘terrifics’ and other general terms of awe … kept [them] from ever concluding a thought or a sentence”—might well have resulted in his demise.
Weyland is caged and ailing. Through conversation and mutual need, Mark and Weyland strike a wary, delicate rapport, and Mark’s empathy for Weyland is unmistakable: “He knew how it felt to pretend composure and confidence in a situation where you were at the mercy of other people. It felt horrible.”
A cryptic event is being planned for Weyland on the celebratory night of “May Eve” by these self-interested revelers. Mark is the voice of reason shouting out unheard pleas for common sense and decency. It is Mark’s youngster level-headedness and humanity that throw into relief the adults’ absurdity and special cruelty.
The most successful and penetrating section of The Vampire Tapestry, Part II flows with ever-increasing tension and momentum until its frantic, blood-sucking end. It tempts you to feel something more kindly than repulsion for this creature who feeds on humans at will. It also invites reflection on a poignant dilemma: who is more the animal? the bestial anomaly in the cage, or the one who cages the beast?
Dr. Floria Landauer stars as Part III’s foil to Dr. Weyland. An overworked, overwrought clinical psychologist, Landauer takes on a new client who seems “to have fallen victim to a delusion of being a vampire.” On the day of the client’s appointment:
He entered the office on the dot of the hour, a gaunt but graceful figure. He was impressive. Wiry gray hair, worn short, emphasized the massiveness of his face with its … high cheekbones and granite cheeks grooved as if by winters of hard weather. His name, typed in caps on the initial information sheet … was Edward Lewis Weyland.
In a premise that lacks persuasiveness and never really feels authentic, Charnas has Weyland baring all to his emotionally fragile therapist. While Charnas’ writing of the psychological banter between Landauer and Weyland is nothing short of brilliant—and in Floria, Charnas has certainly created a most believable character—sentimental self-indulgence runs rampant. Floria is enticed by “the lure of the great outlaw” and Weyland finds himself “expos[ing] an unexpected weakness.”
As Charnas has laid out, however, the vampire must be an ever-evolving creature if he is to survive, and perhaps it is inevitable that he must do more than mimic the humans among whom he lives and off of whom he feeds. Parts IV and V—which bring Weyland back into daily and professional contact with his prey, and even have him contemplate the artistic side of humankind, represented here by the “love story” / “vulgar thriller” opera, Tosca—pursue the intriguing transformation Charnas has set up for Weyland. “He was disturbed by a sense of something new in himself,” Charnas tell us eerily.
Weyland’s necessary evolution leads him to a defining moment in which he must make a fundamental decision. The Vampire Tapestry’s conclusion exhibits finesse and precision. Charnas chooses not to end with the clichéd gore-drenched wrap-up. That would be too easy, and wouldn’t fit into this creative, polished tale of modern dread. Charnas’ methodical pen taps an exceptional vein in the mythological narrative of the vampire. Those who feast on her words will be left satiated.
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Amy O’Loughlin is an award-winning book review columnist and freelance writer. Her work has appeared in Worcester Magazine, The Boston Book Review, Calyx, Moxie, and American History. She is a contributor to the upcoming reference work The Encyclopedia of the World Press and the anthology of women’s writing Women Forged in Fire. Her previous publications at Strange Horizons can be found in our archive.
Robert Lynn Asprin’s Myth-ion Improbable: A Classic Series of Comic Fantasy Revived
Reviewed by Paul R. F. Schumacher
1/14/02
Let’s face it: a good prequel is harder to write than a sequel. You have to get your story to jibe with the other works, just like with a sequel, but the end result is laid out for you already by your own work, meaning you can’t simply decide to kill off a character here, or insert a major plot point there. And yet, you have to somehow make the story interesting, meaning you can’t just rehash character pre-history and not add anything new. For all of these difficulties, writing a book to go between two already previously written works has the challenges of both a sequel and a prequel.
This is why, upon opening the new Asprin book, Myth-ion Improbable, I groaned inwardly. I have a great respect for Mr. Asprin’s writing ability, but I was afraid that this work, which is chronologically placed between Myth Directions and Hit or Myth, would fall prey to the usual prequel problems. I was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to pull it off with the panache and style I was accustomed to in this series. The other reason I was unhappy was that, like most readers of the series, my brothers and I have been left hanging for quite some time at the end of Sweet Myth-tery of Life, and wanted to continue the series. Let me also mention that I am a stickler for continuity and internal consistency, a trait which has annoyed my family and friends time and again. Fortunately, as I read, I found that my fears were unfounded.
First, let me say that, as in all the Myth books, Asprin is very careful to make sure that this book can stand alone. It is more rewarding if you’ve read the three books before it for context, but enough little bits of background are given along the way that the first-time reader will not be left lost. As usual, he keeps these unobtrusive enough not to annoy the dedicated fan, who knows exactly who these people are, and what they’re about.
By my count, this book is the twelfth Asprin has written for the series, and for those of us who haven’t read the others in quite some time (or at all), here’s a quick recap. The Myth-Adventures series follows Skeeve, a young wizard, and his unique companions, including his mentor Aahz, a scaly dimension traveller from Perv. (He’s a pervect, not a pervert, thank you very much.) In the series, we get to watch as Skeeve grows from a bumbling and naive apprentice to a somewhat naive but competent wizard. Along for the ride is a cast of colorful characters, including his accidentally-acquired baby dragon, Gleep, and Tananda, a curvaceous member of the Assassin’s Guild. In Myth-Directions, Tananda and Skeeve go shopping for a birthday gift for Aahz, find something utterly ugly and unique, and get themselves in a mess of trouble over it, and involved in “The Big Game.” The events in this book start on the heels of that adventure.
The book starts with Skeeve and company in The Kingdom of Possiltum, right after the incident with The Big Game, trying to deal with boredom. Skeeve produces a map that had slipped his mind during the excitement in rescuing Tananda in the previous story, and it turns out to be a magical treasure map. Asprin neatly avoids the concerns of continuity because the idea of overlooking a small detail in the previous tale is easy for the reader to accept.
In the map, though, he’s done more than provide an adventure hook. He’s given us another one of his delightfully silly ideas that make this series so much fun to read. Sure, the book has all the elements that I love about the series: irreverent dialogue, good (and bad) puns, humor in the naive way Skeeve sees things, and the humorous mis-quotes that start every chapter. But the idea of the map is one that I’m going to inflict on my Dungeons & Dragons players as soon as I get the chance.
The idea behind the map is simply this: it shows a convoluted path to a treasure, with lots of choices along the way. There’s only one catch. Every time the characters progress along a path, the map changes. To make things worse, they’re going to unfamiliar dimensions and so, in order to avoid getting irrevocably lost, are getting directions from a Shifter. A Shifter that’s charging them 5% of the final take for each visit.
The book is a quick read (another hallmark of the series), and has enough twists and turns that you won’t want to put it down until you’re done. Asprin wraps things up neatly, avoiding the prequel problem, but does it in such a natural way, that it is only on reflection that one realizes that it had to be that way.
This is not to say that the book is empty fluff, however. While it is “mind candy,” as my father calls it, it doesn’t simply rework old ground. First, it gives us further insight into the relationship between Aahz and Skeeve before they progressed to the mutual admiration of partners. Secondly, unlike some of the other books, this one goes further away from simply parodying the fantasy genre, and actually introduces some interesting ideas of its own. To my mind, the map is both: a parody of the standard fantasy/adventure cliche of the ubiquitous treasure map, and, at the same time, a new riff on the idea. At least, it was new to me. Finally, Asprin’s filled out his world a bit more: he adds some new denizens—the Shifter, for example—and explains more about the way magic works. While the book is completely consistent with what we’ve seen before, it gives a bit more insight into how his system works. As a reader and a gamer, I always love to see the inner workings of fantasy magic.