The Novarian Series

First published:The Goblin Tower (1968), The Clocks of Iraz (1971), The Fallible Fiend (1973; serial form, Fantastic Stories, 1972-1973; The Unbeheaded King (1983; collected with the first two books as The Reluctant King, 1984), and The Honorable Barbarian (1989)

Type of work: Novels

Type of plot: Fantasy—heroic fantasy

Time of work: Similar to Earth’s distant past, prior to the invention of gunpowder

Locale: A parallel world

The Plot

The Novarian series is made up of a trilogy, The Reluctant King, comprising The Goblin Tower, The Clocks of Iraz, and The Unbeheaded King, and two other novels, The Fallible Fiend and The Honorable Barbarian, which share a common background with the trilogy but otherwise are independent of it and of each other. All five books are set in and around a confederation of city-states known as Novaria, on the Prime Plane, one of several parallel worlds (of which Earth is considered an unpleasant, mechanized afterworld). On the Prime Plane, sorcerers can work uncertain magic by casting spells and calling on demons from one of the other parallel worlds. Technology is progressing, however, and its effectiveness at least rivals that of the magicians.

At the beginning of The Goblin Tower, Jorian is the unfortunate King of Xylar, which chooses a new king every five years by publicly beheading the incumbent, tossing the head to the crowd, and crowning whoever is unlucky enough to catch it. Jorian escapes with the aid of a sorcerer, Dr. Karadur, and in exchange agrees to help obtain the Kist of Avlen, a chest of sorcerous manuscripts guarded by a serpent-woman, and bring the Kist to a convention of magicians in the Goblin Tower. Although Jorian was not born to such work—all he ever wanted was to be a respectable craftsman and family man—he is successful. During the years he planned his escape from Xylar, he trained himself for the life of a wandering adventurer, knowing that the Xylarians would try relentlessly to recapture him to complete their ceremony.

In The Clocks of Iraz, Jorian has determined to return to Xylar to free his wife, Estrildis, the one member of his harem he chose for himself. Dr. Karadur agrees to help if Jorian will come to Karadur’s research institute in Iraz to fix the king’s large, elaborate mechanical clocks, which were designed and installed by Jorian’s father. After Jorian’s arrival, Iraz comes under siege. Jorian manages to prevent the enemy forces from mounting a coordinated attack by arranging the four faces of the clock tower to display different times. The divided enemy is overcome, and the grateful king chooses Jorian as his successor. Jorian leaves Iraz with Karadur, however, using the vehicle they have created to free Estrildis from the palace in which she is confined: a flying copper bathtub held aloft by a demon trapped inside.

The Unbeheaded King tells of Jorian’s attempts to rescue Estrildis from the penthouse of the royal palace in Xylar. The first few attempts fail; in one, a demon sent to retrieve Estrildis returns instead with Margalit, her lady in waiting. Eventually, Jorian, Karadur, and Margalit disguise themselves and make their way into Xylar. A bribed clerk brings Estrildis to them, but Jorian is surprised to discover that she is in love with another man and pregnant with his child. He is grieved that his wife no longer loves him but also oddly relieved because he has grown to love Margalit through shared hardship and adventure. He happily settles down to the life of a tradesman with her. A revolution in Xylar overthrows the old order and rescinds Jorian’s death sentence. He is offered a more conventional kingship but declines without regrets.

In The Honorable Barbarian, Jorian’s younger brother Kerin, generally a prudent, judicious young man, has no more desire for an adventurous life than did his older brother. He is caught making love to Adeliza by the young woman’s outraged father. To avoid a forced marriage, Kerin’s family sends him on a fact-finding journey to the Far East. Jorian tries to prepare him by teaching him how to handle himself and avoid trouble. Kerin tries to follow his brother’s advice, but his path crosses that of the exiled and bedeviled Princess Nogiri, whom he feels he must protect. Kerin and the princess fall in love, marry, and share an adventurous journey to the vast, bureaucratic kingdom of Kuromon. They bring, on behalf of a lost traveling companion, the secret of a magical fan that, with a gesture, can banish a person to nonexis-tence and, theoretically, retrieve the subject from limbo. On their return, they learn that Adeliza has wed another, so the more-confident and mature Kerin is free to share with his brothers the new clockmaking knowledge he has gathered.

The Fallible Fiend tells the story of Zdim, a demon from the Twelfth Plane, the inhabitants of which have agreed periodically to indenture themselves to the humans of the Prime Plane in exchange for iron, a rare element in the demons’ world. The demons are generally humanlike, though larger, tailed, and scaly. Zdim would much rather stay with his wife and the eggs she just laid in their peaceful, orderly world, but he is transported to the Prime Plane and tries to serve his new masters well. Although he is intelligent and logical, his literal-mindedness and slow, careful way of thinking make him a poor servant. He is sold from one master to the next.

Zdim’s contract eventually is purchased by Madame Roska of the underground merchant city of Ir, which comes under attack by the cannibalistic Paaluans. Zdim is dispatched to hire mercenaries. In his travels, he encounters a variety of people and cultures. These include the kingdom of Solymbria, which selects its rulers by lot; the cavemen of Zaperazh; and the nomadic tribes of Shven. Eventually, Zdim is successful and brings back an army that helps defeat the Paaluans. In gratitude, Madame Roska releases him from his bondage. He returns to the Twelfth Plane, but after rearing a family with his wife, he petitions to return to the interesting Prime Plane.