The Gaming Outpost

I have over the past year or so reviewed a couple of C. J. Henderson’s books, mentioning that I know him through sharing panels at Ubercon.  I have also mentioned my fondness for the Teddy London stories.  The Things That Are Not There is still the best answer to Lovecraft I have encountered.  The sequel, The Stench of Fresh Air, was also excellent, with an innovative take on the concept of vampirism and a significant development of the characters, and particularly the hero.  Knowing that there were additional books in the series which had gone out of print but were slated to be republished, I occasionally nagged him about when the next would become available.

Whether for my nagging, or for my complimentary reviews of Lai Wan:  Tales of the Dreamwalker and To Battle Beyond, I have been rewarded.  Henderson has penned a new London story under the title The Sleep that Rescues to insert between The Stench of Fresh Air and whatever was the original third tale in the series, and while his publisher struggled to bring the book to print he favored me with a preview, an opportunity to read in draft form that for which his fans are eagerly waiting.  I promised in turn to have this review ready by the time the book went to print, which was an easy enough promise to keep, as the book is another page-turner which kept calling me back to learn what would happen next.  Not only did I finish reading the draft and writing this review in plenty of time, I also had time to go back and re-read the two previous entries in the series, and to drop him a note about this review, and to wait for him to greenlight the posting.

Drafts being drafts, they usually have errors in them; that’s the point of sending drafts to editors, and although that was not the point of sending a copy to me I did drop him a note with the few problems I would have corrected.  I say few, and indeed, these were surprisingly few.  I have read published books which were less well edited than this draft, and I expect whoever is doing the real editing will have caught the same few typos as I.  Even if not, the craft in Henderson’s art is quite good.

I also feel compelled to mention that some of my readers might be disturbed particularly by the opening chapters here.  It took me a while to find exactly the right word to describe what is not only several key scenes but also an undercurrent through several others.  That word is erotic.  It is not pornographic, and indeed there is no literal sex in this book (there was such an encounter in the early sections of The Stench of Fresh Air)–hugs and kisses the limit in the real world.  However, the events that connect to an out-of-control emotional relationship spill into the dream plain, and although again there is no sex, the combination of nudity and intimacy would gain the story an R rating were it rendered to a movie screen.  For those who find such eroticism discomforting, I should say first that once it reaches its early peak it remains subdued thereafter, even mostly evaporating as the story unfolds, and second that it becomes a necessary aspect of the story, not only for its impact on London’s relationship with the ever-faithful and supportive Lisa Hutchinson but also for the ultimate resolution of the primary story.

The antagonist is another Lovecraftian horror from another dimension, a monster trying to fight its way into our world to enslave and devour the entire universe starting with humanity, this time via the dream plane.  Yet Henderson again surprises.  It is not cultists who are unlocking the doors to admit the horror, but a scientist, an engineering researcher in a video game development company who thinks he has taken the next step in total immersion gaming but whose test subjects keep dying.  The police are baffled, but being made aware of London’s involvement in fighting the inexplicable, they involve him in finding the cause of death of a large number of mostly young men whose comas baffle the medical establishment.

Those familiar with London will be pleased to see the usual cast of characters.  In addition to unconsummated love interest Lisa Hutchinson (whom he rescued from the horror from another dimension for which her father intended her as sacrifice), we have the faithful sidekick Paul Morcey (former maintenance man who saved London in his first encounter with the inconceivable); psychometrist Lai Wan (whose very tense relationship with London balances her realizations that he usually causes her and everyone else a great deal of trouble against that he does it incidental to saving the universe); Professor Goward (expert in ancient beliefs about the supernatural); and Pa’sha (powerful Jamaican mercenary whose team of Murder Dogs are always ready to destroy anything that needs destroying).  New characters also find important roles here, including the Pirate Queen, Joan de Molina, an international cat burglar who gets entangled quite by accident but stays to complicate London’s life.  Captain Cantalupo also debuts in this book, although he has appeared in connection with Lai Wan in previously-published later stories.

The hero’s abilities are expanding.  This at first unsettled me.  In the beginning of the series, London was very much an ordinary private investigator sucked into an extraordinary case, and he was forced to rely on mostly ordinary people to assist him.  However, his brushes with the supernatural have impacted him, giving him power and helping him realize how to use it.  This began in The Things That Are Not There with the discovery that having been attacked on the dream plane he could track his enemy there.  It continued in The Stench of Fresh Air, as he realized he could sense and know things he could not before, and that the millions who were now dead at his hand (collateral damage in the salvation of the universe in the first book) could speak to him.  He does not hear them now, but he has begun learning how to control his use of the dream plane, similarly to but not the same as Lai Wan.  His efforts create trouble for him more than once, as he is still a novice, but gradually he improves.  It should not surprise that someone who brushes against the supernatural as frequently as he does will start to understand it and even to integrate his own efforts into it.  In this connection, he also introduces Paul Morcey to the use of the dream plane, so we might see more supernatural accomplishments from him in the future.

It is not just that this is a great adventure, though.  Henderson crafts his words well.  Quite a few times I was taken by a particular turn of a phrase, a way of saying something that was both clever and clear.  I was tempted to steal some of these; better, then, that you should encounter them in the text itself, and enjoy them for yourself.  The only thing worse than a movie trailer which gives away the best parts is one that gives away the story; let this review not do so, but instead alert you to the fact that there are some excellent lines you may wish to steal yourself, tucked into a story well worth reading if you enjoy stories of Lovecraftian horrors being resisted and repelled by human efforts.

What will be most interesting for me to see as a writer will be how well this story integrates in this space before the next one.  Morcey is just one example of people and things changing in significant ways.  The relationships London has Lai Wan and Lisa Hutchinson have advanced.  Henderson has here written a piece that should fit between two existing pieces; to know how well he has accomplished that, I will have to await a copy of the next story.

On the other hand, he has again written an excellent adventure, in which unimaginable horrors meet determined humans, and the humans manage to pull through as the winners.  If for some reason you have not had the pleasure of reading The Things That Are Not There and The Stench of Fresh Air, this book stands well on its own, adequately providing the pieces needed to understand the histories of its characters.  I continue to enjoy this series, and to look forward to future entries.

Henderson’s work can be found wherever he manages to make an appearance; I hope to pick up a copy of the now published version of the story when I see him at Ubercon XII.  For those unable to catch him in person, The London Agency Official Home Page is his web site, complete with a store in which to find all the books mentioned here.

At the time this went to publication, the book was not yet listed on the web site store.  Henderson is limiting his attendance at Ubercon this year to Friday night, November 6, 2009; other appearances are usually announced on his web site.