Customer Reviews

The Honorable Barbarian

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I have been familiar with the name of L. Sprague de Camp for some time, but I am only now delving into his fiction. This book is a little peculiar; I can name several things I didn't love about the book, but overall I found it an interesting, enjoyable read. Kerin is our honorable barbarian (branded the latter for the sole reason that he travels to the east in his recorded journey) whose family sends him on a business trip immediately after the father of the supposedly "virginal" Adeliza (she is colorfully described by one character as having "a hot notch in her crotch") catches him in a hayloft with his daughter. He journeys to Kuromon to retrieve information on advanced clock technology. The journey is not an easy one. After bartering his way on to a ship, he is forced to flee from the jealousy of the captain's lust for the female navigator. After enduring some months with the talkative, self-exiled wizard Pwana on an otherwise deserted island, he finds himself in the hands of nasty pirates intent on buggering him and eventually killing him. Managing to escape unbuggered, he continues his journey with a princess rescued from the clutches of the dastardly pirates. All too soon, though, the princess falls into the clutches of Pwana, who intends to sacrifice her to his god. As if rescuing princesses is not enough, Kerin must also deliver a secret message to the Kuromon government, evade the continuing threats and attacks of the evil wizard Pwana, and abide the torment of the sprite Belinka who was hired on behalf of Adeliza to keep him away from other women (particularly the comely princess) while he is away from home.

One thing that hinders the flow of the narrative, particularly early on, is the dialect of the characters, each of whom speaks like a second-rate Shakespearean actor, with "methinks," "cansts," "thankees," and the like permeating the narrative. Everyone also makes a habit of referencing strangely-named gods in their rather numerous exclamations. This is standard fantasy fare, though, and it does tend to give the novel a more exotic, otherworldly feel. I must admit I was surprised by the amount of carnal references in these pages; there are a number of lewd jokes and loaded statements, but these are largely pretty subtle, often quite humorous, and in no way gratuitous. The conclusion lacks oomph, I feel, and it somehow seems to be rushed without really feeling rushed. Some of the things I viewed as most important early on ended up being rather trivial by the end, which was a little disconcerting. Even more disconcerting was the introduction of roller skates into this seemingly medieaval fantasy world, but such a little shock to the system is by no means a bad thing.

The Honorable Barbarian does seem to be an offshoot of sorts of de Camp's The Reluctant King trilogy of novels, but ignorance of these other novels takes absolutely nothing away from your enjoyment of this story. This novel was captivating enough to convince me to read these other works and to continue exploring the fictional worlds of L. Sprague de Camp. There is just something about de Camp's writing style that distinguishes him from the crowd of modern fantasy writers, and this particular novel is certainly an enjoyable, eccentric read.