Customer Reviews

Lord Darcy (Complete Series in One Volume)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had the pleasure of knowing Randall Garrett, and he was an incurable punster. Be warned, he really cut loose in this one.
This book is fun. The protagonist, Lord Darcy, and his Forensic Sorceror, Master Sean, serve the Plantagenet Empire, which in this time-line still exists. (Richard the Lion Heart recovered from that crossbow wound and founded an empire.) Together they solve many cases of murder and espionage. The stories are clever and good mystery stories in their own right. The "gimmick" is that in this time-line magic has been developed as a science, and we get to see a forensic Sorceror apply the laws of magic to crime scene investigation. Lord Darcy then applies his deductive talent to the evidence. They make a good team.
All the Lord Darcy stories are here, from the very first one, "The Eyes Have It," to "The Napoli Express." "Too Many Magicians" is a great fun read, long enough to develope several characters and fill in a lot of the background of the Empire.
In these stories Randall threw in as many puns and allusions to spy and mystery novels and series as he could. Nero wolf and Archie Goodwin, James Bond, the Man From Uncle, The Pink Panther, they're all here, as well as many more.
Finally we have "The Spell of War" an atypical story in that it is a war story, and takes place early in Lord Darcy's life, when he is a young officer in the Imperial Army in the war of '39.
Aside from that one the dates in the stories are approximate to the date they were written. Randall gives the impression that the stories were happening at the time of writing, in a parallel universe.
Highly recommended.

When I started reading science fiction and fantasy one of the first books I read was _Too Many Magicians_ by
Randall Garrett. Over the years I read other Lord Darcy stories that were collected in various volumes, but as time passed I lost my copies of those books. Thus, it was with great pleasure that I discovered that Baen Books had reissued all of the Lord Darcy stories, including the novel _Too Many Magicians_ in one volume.
The book is organized into three sections, the first is the Lord Darcy stories written before _Too Many Magicians_, the second section is _Too Many Magicians_ and the third is the Lord Darcy stories that were written in the 70's. Finally there is an appendix that contains the last Lord Darcy story that Garrett wrote, which details the first meeting of Lord Darcy and his sorcerer, Sean O'Lochlainn. If you like mysteries and fantasy then this book is for you.

It's great to see paperback publishers bringing out "unitary editions" of OP classics for the benefit of those who were too young to know them when they first appeared (or have read their original copies to rags), and Garrett's Lord Darcy trilogy is one of the best choices this particular house could have made. In a splendidly imagined and explicated parallel/alternate 20th-Century world where magic not only works but has been officially codified and where the milieu takes off from recognized historical events (Richard Lionheart didn't die at the Siege of Chaluz in France in 1199, and his descendants went on to create the Anglo-French-speaking Angevin Empire, where physics, not sorcery, is the stuff of fairy tales--the internal-combustion engine and wired communications have never been invented, yet magic operates according to mathematical theory), Garrett seamlessly brings together sf, fantasy, espionage, and murder mystery in the adventures of Lord Darcy, Chief Investigator for the Duke of Normandy, and his friend and assistant, Master Sorcerer Sean O Lachlainn. "Too Many Magicians" is a full-length novel with elements of international intrigue lent by the machinations of Casimir IX of the Polish "quasi-empire," who, like Hitler, dreams of continental (if not world) domination, while "Murder and Magic" and "Lord Darcy Investigates" are collections of short stories originally published in various sf magazines in the '60's and '70's. Garrett (now, sadly, deceased) was obviously a student of history, and he's also a skilled and ingenious plotter who shows a real mastery of what used to be called the "locked-room mystery." Though some of his characters' explanations of how and why magic works may seem a bit tedious, your patience in reading them through will be rewarded--everything in them contributes to your understanding of Lord Darcy's reality. And he throws in some great curve balls too: while "Mechicoe" is a duchy of the Empire's New World possessions, it's still administered by a (Christianized) descendant of the Montezumas. I can think of no similar book that's as good apart from Poul Anderson's "Operation" stories. These books can truly be appreciated as examples of more than one genre and should reach a crossover audience.

In an alternate universe where magic works and Richard the Lionheart founded a dynasty that lasted for centuries, Lord Darcy investigates murder and espionage assisted by his able forensic sorcerer, Master Sean O Lochlainn.

The magic in these stories does not provide a deus ex machina for the writer to extricate himself from overwrought plotting. The magic (which obeys strict scientific laws) is used to solve murders, not commit them. Although forensic magic (which is much more helpful than real world forensic science) plays a pivotal role in solving the crimes, none of them would be solved without Lord Darcy's deductive powers.

"Lord Darcy" collects between two covers all the independently published Lord Darcy stories, including "Too Many Magicians," "Murder and Magic," "Lord Darcy Investigates," and two additional short stories. When these stories first appeared in book form in the early 80's, I was a science fiction fan and a mystery foe. Consequently, I missed almost all Garrett's allusions to the mystery genre. I could see Sherlock Holmes and James Bond, but the rest went right over my head. Regardless, I still thoroughly enjoyed the stories and I still have the well-thumbed paperbacks I bought approximately 20 years ago.

I picked up "Lord Darcy" because it promised to give an additional story I hadn't read. You can imagine my chagrin as I re-read the Darcy canon, recognizing further allusions to the mystery genre. My Lord de London turned out to be, not Mycroft Holmes (as I thought upon my original reading of the stories), but Nero Wolfe. "The Napoli Express" became "Murder on the Orient Express," and other allusions abounded. I'm still not much of a mystery fan, so I'm sure many of the allusions still escape me. But other reviewers assure us that they're there for the mystery connoisseur to unearth and enjoy. Happy hunting.

Mystery fans will have a special appreciation for the stories, but the non-mystery fan will enjoy them just as much without recognizing the allusions.

The Lord Darcy stories are set in an alternate universe where magic works and King Richard I lived longer, leaving Britain and France still under the control of the Plantagenet family. Lord Darcy is the chief criminal investigator for Richard, the Duke of Normandy, and Master Sean O'Lochlainn is his sidekick and forensic sorcerer. They are called in to investigate crimes in which magic has been used. It is a series of short mystery stories, including locked room puzzles and a knockoff of Murder on the Orient Express. The writing is a little repetitive--in particular, I grew very tired of the phrase "the tubby little Irish sorcerer". But overall, these stories are just incredibly fun.

In the 1960's of an alternative universe and with elements of Nero Wolfe, Sherlock Holmes and The Man from U.N.C.L.E., you have a delightful combination of fantasy and who-done-it. The stories - The Eyes Have It, A Case of Identity, The Muddle of the Woad, and Too Many Magicians - made me laugh, and think and marvel at the talent and imagination of Randall Garrett. I shouldn't read them back-to-back as they can get to be a bit much. If you enjoy Jasper Fforde, you might enjoy Lord Darcy as well.

Many mystery writers have created more memorable characters and have been better at constructing plots, but what makes Randall Garrett's work stand out is the setting. He imagines a Europe and America largely ruled by the British Empire, an Empire that never fell and has discovered magic along the way. Thus, we are treated to the adventures of a detective whose work takes place in a society totally different from our own. The existence of magic makes for an interesting x-factor in the stories. All in all, it makes for a fun read.

I am an ardent fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories as well as a frequent reader of fantasy, so when I found this book in a library I was hoping it would be a decent read. It has ended up being one of my favorite books of all time. Randall Garrett does a masterful job of creating mysteries in a world that is very different from our own, yet eerily familiar. This complex alternate universe, with its laws of magic and religion rather than science and industry, is a well done backdrop to the mystery solving duo of Lord Darcy and Sean O'Lochlainn.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves Sherlock Holmes, fantasy, or magic.

These stories star Lord Darcy and his sourer side kick Sean. The alternate universe is one where the Plantagets kept rule of England and the Empire into the 60s. The laws of magic were discovered early (contagion--things in contact remain in contact) are prevalent. Lots of allusions and puns: for instance the head of the sourcer's guild is Sir Lyons Grandalopuhs Gray, and the Too Many magicians is something of a send up of the Before Midnight: A Nero Wolfe Mystery (Mystery Masters Series) mysteries are still popular and I highly recommend them. A very good attempt to apply the codified laws of magick to an imaginary world and an excellent series of deceive stories. Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe is paralleled by the Marquis of London and while Nero Wolfe's side kick is Archie Goodwin the Marquis' is Lord Bontriomphe. In another story a man is killed and the Kaplin-Sheinwold (bridge writers) test shows that a short club (bridge convention) could not have been used.

Overall a great read with compelling well done characters, excellent plots and nice sometimes sly humor.

Lord Darcy is Chief Special Investigator for the Duke of Normandy and, as such, he's called in to solve particular crimes perpetrated against members of the aristocracy. Much like Holmes had his Watson, Darcy has his O'Lochlainn: Master Sorcerer Sean O'Lochlainn, to be precise. Magic works in a sort of alchemy meets science manner. There are Laws of Magic and symposiums, all regulated by the government; sorcerers must be licensed to practice else face severe penalties. There is also Black Magic, outlawed and dangerous. Darcy and O'Lochlainn most definitely have a tangle or two with practitioners of this dark form of sorcery.

Lord Darcy is a collection of short stories. While some are clever, others are so brief it's hard to immerse oneself in them. There is the novella "Too Many Magicians" which I found kind of droll--much of it is told through dialog and it quickly wore me down and I really found it confusing at times.

Lord Darcy himself and others come across as flat, and I think this is the biggest flaw with the entire collection. The characters have histories--Darcy himself is in his 40's (I'm guessing)--but we're never given much of a glimpse into his past or anything about his personal life. It's all about the crimes and the ease at which he sees what no one else can. This unfortunately is the fatal flaw in this book for me. I never cared a whole lot whether the crime was solved or not, the murderer discovered, or the conspirators brought to justice. Sorry, but that's just not good.