Review of "Muscle and Other Stories"

My review of Matthew Hughes' "Muscle and Other Stories" is up at the Ottawa Review of Books.

https://www.ottawareviewofbooks.com/single-post/muscle-and-other-stories-by-matthew-hughes

"Ransom in the Woods" Published

My short story, "Ransom in the Woods," is out today in Neo-Opsis #36. As the title suggests, this is another in the Ransom and Friends series. And this is the first time I've shared a table of contents with Canadian national treasure, Matt Hughes, so that made my day. http://www.neo-opsis.ca/Thirty-Six.htm

My review of Matthew Hughes' Cascor

My review of Matthew Hughes' lastest short story collection, Cascor, is up at The Ottawa Review of Books (now in its 10th year!"

https://www.ottawareviewofbooks.com/single-post/cascor-by-matthew-hughes

9 Tales of Raffalon by Matthew Hughes

This is my favourite collection of Hughes short stories so far—which is saying something, because his collections have all been quite wonderful. Seven of these stories originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine (a significant guarantor of quality), one in a Gardner Dozios anthology (likewise, a good sign), and one is original to this volume—and frankly, a new Raffalon story is itself worth the price of admission.

The tales of Raffalon the Thief are not so much about thievery as they are about Raffalon extricating himself from one impossible predicament after another, often revolving around his involuntary involvement with various wizards. The stories in this volume fit together almost seamlessly, the characters or situations carrying over from one to the next, as we follow Raffalon's escapades to a surprisingly satisfying ending in "The Inn of the Seven Blessings". The individual stories are engaging mysteries, heists, or escapes set against Hughes' ongoing universe/magical system, and the characterization of Raffalon is delightfully twisted. Raffalon's ethical deficiencies seem entirely reasonable given the even worse characters against which he is pitted, and an age in which crime has been amusingly bureaucratized through the Guild of Purloiners and Purveyors.

It is, however, the dialog—and more especially, Raffalon's interior reflections—that sets Hughes apart from all others. "Droll" doesn't begin to cover it, because it is not merely witty, but reflects a worldview just completely off kilter. It all makes complete sense in the eccentric universe of Hughes' distant future, but one is left wishing both that people actually talked like that, and profoundly thankful that no one actually thinks that way.

Hughes' brand of dark humour is completely unique. A comparison with Jack Vance is often evoked to describe Hughes' work, but entirely misses that Hughes is often, as here, wincingly funny. I cannot recommend 9 Tales of Raffalon highly enough, to both long time fans and those not yet familiar with this grand master of the genre.

Runté reviews of some other Mathew Hughes books:

• A Wizard's Henchman (2016)
• Sprial Labyrinth (a Henghis Hapthorn novel)
• Template (2008)
• Matthew Hughes and the Archonate (2007)

Matthew Hughes A Wizard's Henchman

I have more than once called Matthew Hughes a national treasure, and regular Hughes fans won’t need me to urge them to pick up the latest collection set in the Archonate/Spray universe. Hughes is the Canadian/21st century Jack Vance, the oddly optimistic cynic, the seriously funny creator of a brilliantly original universe. This is the latest in the series which posits that the universe periodically swings between the fundamental principles of cause & effect and sympathetic association (magic). The book’s protagonist is Erm Kaslo, a top level confidential agent who suddenly finds that none of his skills are relevant when cause and effect no longer apply. As technology fails, civilization crashes, and powerful thaumaturges rise from the ashes, Kaslo falls in with one particular wizard as his henchman. If you are a fan of the Archonate or the adventures of Henghis Hapthorn, the collection of Erm Kaslo will be right up your alley.

I offer, however, two mild cautions: First. readers unfamiliar with the Archonate should start with another in the series, as the Kaslo stories are really the ultimate climax to everything else that has happened so far; better not to know how things end until you’ve read how they begin. But by all means, go find Fools Errant and enter the marvelous universe of the Acrhonate.

Regular Hughes fans may find that—as a collection of shorts/serialized novel (in Lightspeed magazine)—there is a certain amount of repetition as ‘chapters’ recap events in earlier ‘chapters’ because these were originally published separately. The repetition is only mildly distracting, however, and should not significantly detract from readers’ enjoyment.

Any time Hughes puts pen to paper is a reason to celebrate, and the Adventures of Erm Kaslo do not disappoint.

Matthew Hughes and the Archonate

Having recently hosted a virtual book tour here, I thought I'd participate in another book promotion, this time by one of my favorite Canadian SF authors, Matthew Hughes.

Hughes first SF book (I'm still looking for a copy of his first ever book, Downshift, which was a mystery) was Fools Errant. I picked it up out of my self-imposed duty to read every Canadian Sf ever written, but immedately fell in love with his writing. Fools Errant is a highly entertaining novel of the far future when the sun is slowly diming and the humanity has largely been everywhere and tried everything and those left on Earth are suffering a kind of drole enui. In this, the first of the novels set in the Archonate, we follow the adventures of one Filidor Vesh, a rather fopish young gentlemen press ganged into an adventure that in spite of his initiall shallowness, causes Vesh to rise to the occasion and well, turn out to be a decent enough fellow after all. The adventures were continued to good effect in the sequel, Fool Me Twice

Practically every reviewer on Earth has compared Hughes to author Jack Vance, and his Archonate series to Vances "Dying Earth". Well, okay, I do kind of get that; it does fit. But the comparison that first came to my mind was not Vance, but H.H.Munro, better known by his pen name, Saki. Any one of Munro's macabre Edwardian protangonists would have found themselves very much at home in the Archonate. Think of Saki's continuing characters, Clovis Sangrail or Reginald, and you pretty much have everything by Matthew Hughes.

Let me give you a quick for instance. In this opening scene from Fools Errant Filidor is trying to slip out the back door of his club to avoid receiving a summons:

"I believe you to be Filidor Vesh," said the dwarf.

"You are entitled to your beliefs, however ill-founded," Filidor replied. "No doubt you will wish to search further for this Vesh, rather than impose your presence upon a man called hence by urgent affairs."

The dwarf transferred his grip from Filidor's mantle to his arm. His gaze swept quickly over the young man's features. "This belief is supported by the evidence, since you answer to a point the description furnished me."

"You are plainly the dupe of some prankster, who abuses the dignity of your years by sending you on a fool's errand," said Filidor. "Were I you, I would seek out the rascal and thrash him."

Who talks like this? (Besides Saki's sly young protagonists, Clovis and Reginald, I mean?) But wouldn't it be a much more interesting world if people did?

Both books are highly recommended, and were subsequently issued in the omnibus volume, Gullible's Travels
Next, I subscribed to Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine, for the sole purpose of reading Hughes Guth Bandar novellettes. in which monk-like order of scholars explores the collective unconscious of humanity in its physical manifestation as "The Commons". Journeying through the Commons is both dangerous for our protangonist, and hilarious for the reader, as we encounter archtypes with which the reader is more familiar than our hero -- he wanders into the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs at one point, for example, but in the adult-what-our-subsconscious-really-meant-by-it-all kind of way. Very good stuff! (The complete Guth Bandar saga in novel form, The commons is forthcoming from Robert J. Sawyer books later this month!).

Hughes next novel, Black Brillion, was a bit of a cross over, with some of the ideas from the Commons entering the world of the Archonate, but it worked pretty well. Here we meet for the first time in book form, Luff Imbry is your basic master criminal/con man, pressed into serving the forces of the law, at least temporarily.

Hughes other series concerns his master detective, Henghis Hapthorn. A number of Henghis Hapthorn stories first appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine, and were subsequently collected as "The Gist Hunter & Other Stories", It too is set within the Archonate, but with the difference that magic is intruding into their world, disrupting the rationale causation that is the basis of Henghis' investigations. Think Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes set in Vance's Dying Earth, and you pretty much get the idea. But Hughes solves the eternal problem of how to have someone to explain the mystery to (i.e., his Watson character) through the unique approach that Henghis has a split personality with whom he argues his cases. The first novel, Majestrum concerns a plot against one of Earth's leading families; the second, Spirial Labyrinth, follows Henghis into a world dominated by magic. Both books are again, highly recommended, and are independent of the other series.

All in all, a Canadian author well worth checking out!

Here is a link to Hughes' website, the Archonate.com and a link to an audio of a CBC interview which captures his personality pretty accurately, from what I've seen from him online.