C. J. Henderson and I often share panels at Ubercon, talking about the art and craft of writing fiction. I have much admiration for him, for he is considerably more prolific and successful and in many ways skilled than I, and although I do disagree with him at times, I have learned much from him. I also have read several of his books. He does not give these to me; I buy them. However, he discounts them (to everyone who buys from his table at the convention), and he always includes an e-mail address and the request that I let him know what I thought.
I could–perhaps I should–extol his Teddy London series. The Things that Are Not There takes the Lovecraftian conception of the universe, with ancient horrors attempting to cross dimensional boundaries to consume the earth, enticing humans into cultish practices with the promise of power, and brings hope to them. As he has sometime said, he tackled Lovecraftian horror, but found that his characters when faced with these terrific evils fought back. Detective Teddy London is drawn into just such a story, and in the end, at incredible cost, he saves the universe. Then in the first sequel, The Stench of Fresh Air, London is drawn into yet another lurking evil, Henderson’s own take on vampires. I eagerly await the re-release of additional volumes in this series. The publisher keeps promising next week, next month, next year–a song with which I am all too familiar myself, but it keeps hope alive.
It also keeps C. J. writing fresh material, and this past October I picked up two volumes from him both of which were kin to books of his I had already read. I enjoyed both, but am focusing today on the second I read, in no small part because it springs from the Teddy London world. He created a character within those pages, a psychronomist named Lai Wan. In his new book, Lai Wan: Tales of the Dreamwalker, he compiles a collection of original short stories, some co-authored with authors he admires (John L. French, Bruce Gehweiler, Patrick Thomas, and John Sunseri, edited with an introduction by William Jones), in which this mysterious Oriental recluse faces a variety of supernatural and paranormal enemies.
Wan is a fascinating character in large part because her gift is her curse. Awakening some years before from a near death experience, she immediately discovered her remarkable new ability in the worst way possible: by experiencing all the pain that had ever been suffered by every patient who had ever lain on that same bed. She does not leave the shelter of her New York home unless she perceives a very important reason to do so, and even there she is usually dressed in clothes that cover all but her eyes, to prevent her from coming into contact with any person or object that might flood her with unpleasant memories. Anyone seeking her help must first find a reason why she should care enough to take the pain of others upon herself. Yet such reasons are found, and she becomes involved in making a difference where she knows that only she can truly do so.
The stories are well written and interesting. Further, the nature of her battles keeps changing. In one place she is battling someone who uses the dreamplane to torture victims. In another, she is playing a social game with a vampire who has been working to unleash a demon. Yet again she is trying to get to the bottom of an experiment that has created monsters from drug addicts. She searches for a lost child who disappeared under peculiar circumstances. No two stories are quite the same, and within them she often reveals unusual ways of using her remarkable ability. Henderson shows genuine thought in exactly what someone so gifted could do, and what it would cost her.
I don’t know how far from home he travels. Attending Ubercon in north eastern New Jersey he commutes from New York City to keep costs down. If you live in the New York metropolitan area, you’ll want to visit one of the conventions where he is giving advice to authors (even if you are not an author but a gamer) and pick up some of his books. If not, stop by his web site, CJHenderson.com and take a look at his work there. Mention my name. It won’t get you a discount, but I’d like him to know someone reads what I write.
