Review: King Kobold Revived by Christopher Stasheff

Witches, Warlocks, mad science, and time travel – oh my!

It is not often these days that one sees an author in traditional publishing take everything and the kitchen sink, put it in a blender, and release a good story. The indie sphere does this well, but now traditional publishers often spurn such works. Andre Norton’s tales were science-fantasy fiction, but she was no more averse to the “kitchen sink” approach than others. She simply preferred to lean on the fantasy aspects rather than the scientific ones.

Christopher Stasheff did the reverse in King Kobold Revived. Looking for Witches and Warlocks with psi powers like Ms. Norton’s? He has you covered. Want a space agent sent to monitor the planet where these “magicians” live to ensure that they stay alive and democracy can flourish? Again, he has exactly what you (did not know you) want. How about throwing in some time travel for extra fun?

Wait – what?!

The Story

The book begins with a recap of the first entry in the series written by the excited monk, Brother Childe, with a followup letter from the hero to his intergalactic bosses. The prologue familiarizes one with the ins and outs of Gramarye: how it is a Medieval society confined to a large island, the planet was settled by the equivalent of Ren Faire practitioners who wanted a “simpler” life, and it explains that the previous monarch died before he reached forty-five. His daughter Catharine took the throne, whereupon she proceeded to get practically everyone but the young nobleman Tuan (who is madly in love with her) up in arms. Considering she tried to banish Tuan but he didn’t spurn her, this suggests he is made of some stern stuff.

Into this volatile mix dropped Rodney d’Armand, an agent for the intergalactic democracy’s secretive Society for Conversion of Extraterrestrial Nascent Totalitarians. Yes, it gets shortened to SCENT. Mr. Stasheff is not subtle.

Anyway, going by the name Rod Gallowglass, our hero managed to avert the disaster that Catharine’s reign would have become by a narrow margin. He got her to wed Tuan, who has since become a competent king, and he stopped the future totalitarians who were trying to make a bad situation worse. Rod also met and married the Witch Gwendolyn, with whom he now has a young son named Magnus. This all occurred in the course of two years.

Meaning now is the perfect time to spring a horrific surprise on the island of Gramarye: raiders known as “beastmen” by the Medieval locals strike at a village in a longship, one complete with dragon’s head and oars. They wear horned helmets, wield axes and maces, and speak a language none can comprehend. Not only do they kill many of the men in the village, six babies or infant children are also murdered, infuriating and terrifying the whole countryside. Gramarye is once again at war, so Tuan summons Rod – named the Lord High Warlock (it’s really science but hey, no need to make the locals nervous) – to help him in this fight. Apparently, these “beastmen” have psi powers of their own and can freeze men stiff via eye contact, making them able to kill fully armed knights easily.

Rod arrives to the next fight and gets a shock: these are not “beastmen” of the sort the locals think. Oh, they don’t look particularly human, but neither are they Vikings. Someone convinced them to LARP in that role, but it’s no wonder the inhabitants of Gramarye don’t recognize them.

After all, why would a Medieval society recognize Neanderthals?

The Characters

Rod is not much to look at, but it’s not difficult to see why Gwen fell in love with and married him. The man is stubborn and will not quit once he encounters a puzzle. Stationed on Gramarye to make certain it takes the steps needed to evolve from a monarchy into a democracy, Rod’s got plenty of official reason intertwined with his personal reasons for staying invested in the affairs of Gramarye. His cover is mostly complete, as any science he brings up just sounds like another kind of magic to the locals – including his telepathic wife.

For her part, Gwen is both a capable Witch and a doting, happy mother. She balances out Rod’s thinking with the skills needed to bring his vision to fruition, and her piercing insights are invaluable for their plans to work. Even when she meets something she cannot directly compete with, Gwen remains adamant about supporting her husband and Gramarye.

Despite their initially unfavorable introduction in the prologue, Tuan and Catharine show themselves to be capable monarchs. Most of Catharine’s issue is her insecurity and quick temper, while Tuan’s still enough of a hotblooded youth that he might start something he won’t be able to stop without a lot of people being killed. But both are willing to listen when wiser heads counsel caution, and thus it is that they rely on Rod and Gwen – the “adults” in the room – to make sure their missteps don’t start something they cannot end save by bloodshed.

The World

Anyone who has read Andre Norton’s Witch World series will find King Kobold Revived’s Medieval setting familiar, straight down to the psychic Witches and Warlocks. Stasheff differentiates his world by focusing on the science behind these and other phenomena, though, leaning into the sci-fi rather than the fantasy tropes. The time-traveling Neanderthals are simply icing on the entire wacky, brilliant cake that lets a reader smile and laugh while enjoying the world Stasheff has created.

Politics

None, though the constant reference to democracy is annoying. What’s wrong with a representative Republic?

Content Warning

There is mention of repeated sexual assault and the implication that one elderly Witch is going to get it on with an elderly Warlock whether he is particularly happy about it or not. None of the blood and death is dwelt on overmuch so it does not distract from this highly entertaining novel.

Who is it for?

Fans of Andre Norton will like King Kobold Revived, albeit not for the reasons they like Andre’s work. Stasheff makes sure to respect the fantasy medium; he is not poking fun at it, but having fun with it, and it shows. His scientific explanations are meant to play with what a person from a space-faring group would think as he made his living in a Medieval society, which will make a reader applaud his ingenuity while enjoying the tale. Those who want something light, fluffy, but serious enough to be entertaining will also want to pick up this book. Comedy fans will find ample humor in it, and those who want an out-of-the-box view of the sci-fi/fantasy genre will be thrilled as Stasheff keeps them guessing even as he pays off every item he sets up in his story.

Why buy it?

It is zany, brilliant fun. They do not make them like this anymore. What better reason could there be than to buy and read it?