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52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
solid trio of stories, November 28, 2007
The good news is that we didn't have to wait long after Gabaldon's fine work Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade: the bad news is that we are going to have to wait a while for Lord John and the Scottish Prisoner [Jamie Fraser, I presume]. Hand of Devils is 3 independent tales of John Grey from 1756 to 1758: two novellas and a long short story. All three tales have very different flavors: I'd give the first two a solid 4 stars, and the third 5 stars. Those who enjoyed Brotherhood of the Blade should enjoy this book as well, those who found parts of Brotherhood offensive will not find as much to offend here.
Hellfire Club is the first story, the shortest (less than half the length of the other two) and the most conventional. Succubus, set in Prussia, has, by and large, a similar feel to the part of Brotherhood that also take place in Prussia, but Succubus certainly takes some strange turns, and there are some very funny scenes centering on how the soldiers try to ward off the succubus. Haunted Soldier is the most satisfying of the three tales: it has the best historical flavor and interest of the stories. You learn about the making of gunpowder, some of the politics, military life, and morality of the time. There's a wonderful line here--when Lord John goes before a 3-man investigatory commission: "All three of them looked suddenly at him as one, like a phalanx of owls eyeing a mouse". Great writing!
Brotherhood of the Blade is a fine historical novel: Gabaldon had the leisure to develop an excellent sense of time and place--manservant Tom was always busy cleaning the ubiquitous grime of London off Lord John's clothes. The stories in Hand of Devils do not have quite the same leisure to achieve a similar depth. There is a fine historical flavor to the stories, but it's not as rich as that in Brotherhood. It's still a very worthwhile book: I put aside the other two books I was reading in order to finish it, and it was with considerable reluctance that I left for work and left the book unfinished. When I got home, supper had to wait until the book was done. Entertaining and enjoyable!
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful trio of stories about Lord John ..., December 3, 2007
The book contains 3 short stories about Lord John, two of which were published previously. The first, "Lord John and the Hellfire Club," previously appeared under the title, "Hellfire," in the anthology "Past Poisons" (Headline, 1998). It's the shortest at about 37 pages. In the chronology of Lord John books, it comes first (before "Lord John and the Private Matter").
"Hellfire" takes place in 1756, shortly after Lord John's return from Ardsmuir (the prison that held Jamie Fraser in "Voyager"). It deals with the murder of a young man invited to meet with the secretive Hellfire Club. No one knows much about it. But John receives a sobbering induction, is framed for murder, and saved by Harry Quarry (his predecessor at Ardsmuir) all in the space of about 8 pages - a major feat for Gabaldon.
The second story, "Lord John and the Succubus," is clever. It previously appeared under the same title in the anthology, "Legends II: New Short Novels by the Modern Masters of Fantasy." In the chronology of Lord John titles, it falls between "Private Matter" and "Brotherhood of the Blade."
The story takes place during 1756 and 1757, when England was at war against France and Austria. While serving as a major in the English army, Lord John investigates rumors and deaths attributed to succubi.
I can't speak to the story's cleverness without giving it away, but suffice it to say that the "devils" in this story are quite human and the hand controlling them quite present today and since the beginning of time.
The third, "Lord John and the Haunted Soldier," is an original publication. In the chronology, it comes after "Brotherhood of the Blade." It takes place in 1758.
Lord John has recently returned from the battlefield to respond to an inquest about a cannon that blew up under his command, killing several soldiers. The intrigue involves investigating the cause of the explosion. Lord John struggles with feelings of guilt and memory lapses (In the midst of a crisis, who can say what really happened?).
Consequently, a request that he investigate the disappearance of a local young woman comes as a welcome distraction. Little does he know how the two - the disappearance and the explosion - relate.
Of the 3 stories, I enjoyed Succubus the most. I like Gabaldon's writing style and her imagination, so I'll read anything she writes. But Succubus is a cut above the other 2 stories. If you haven't read it, it alone is worth the price of the book.
For Jamie Fraser fans, you'll find references to him in all the stories. But he is most apparent in the "Haunted Soldier."
For others, you might find this collection easier to follow, if you read the other 2 Lord John novels as well as the first 3 Outlander books. Gabaldon is truly a gifted storyteller in that she can retell episodes from earlier works from the viewpoint of another character. It's quite well done and I'm amazed that she does this without planning for it.
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lord John and the Disappointing Sequel, January 18, 2008
Unfortunately, while Diana Gabaldon as a writer is possessed of many talents, short stories are not among them. And the shorter the story is, the worse it is. Thus the three stories in "Hand of Devils" progress from baffling and banal, to vaguely interesting but ultimately unfulfilling, to something that at least approaches the genius and intrigue of "Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade."
All the crybabies who were scarred for life after being forced to read a gay sex scene in BotB can calm their fluttering hetero hearts, as there is nary so much as a stray embrace here. Which is a shame, really, as the absence of physical passion makes for remarkably dry and dull relationships overall. It also highlights an issue that is slowly driving me barking mad: Gabaldon's tendency to drop mysterious and ominous hints about various men in Grey's life, with the apparent expectation that we'll know exactly who she's talking about, regardless of the fact that the last time they were mentioned was three novels ago. No, we don't need a recap of every single thing that's happened. But the first time you introduce a character in a particular work - whether it's a novel or a short story - how about at least reminding us who he is and where we've met him before?
In the intro to "Lord John and the Succubus," Gabaldon informs us (rather long-windedly) that this story was originally written for a fantasy anthology. She self-deprecatingly admits that she had never written a fantasy story before. Well, I hate to break it to her, but she still hasn't. Despite it's promising premise, "Succubus" fails to deliver on every count. "Lord John and the Haunted Soldier" also brings up a supernatural subplot, only to drop it with no explanation. Gabaldon has done this before - remember the Highland ghost all the way back in "Outlander"? - but it's not getting any better.
"Haunted Soldier" is the longest and the best of the three stories in this collection, more of a novella. It follows immediately upon BotB, and again, I wished for more continuity with that book. Still, it is much more what we've come to expect from Gabaldon, and I found myself enjoying it. I can't promise that it justifies having to plow through the first two stories, but in my mind, at least, it was a redeeming feature.
I don't know how much more can be wrung out of Lord John. If anything, these stories highlight the limitations of both character and author, while at the same time hinting at the still unplumbed possibilities that might await us.
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