by Anthony Perconti
in Issue 75, April 2018
March 2018
The David J. West short story and poetry collection, Weird Tales of Horror is a sampling of various types of genre fiction, ranging from the historical all the way to science fiction, with the common through line of the supernatural represented in each. In these pages you will meet among others, a doomed World War Two era archeological expedition in “The Dig”, the dark child born of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba in “Curse the Child”, and an American military encounter with desert beings from The Arabian Nights in “One Thousand One Nights Unseen”. For fans of weird westerns, they will find much to love with three tales of West’s series character, Port Rockwell, “The Destroying Angel of Mormondom” (a combination of the biblical Samson with Joe R. Lansdale’s Reverend Jeb Mercer). If sword and sorcery is your cup of tea, the author presents us with the two superlative tales, “A Fistful of Tengu” and “The Mad Song”. These two stories in my view represent fine examples of the sword and sorcery genre written within the confines of their original medium, the short story. Such characters as Jirel of Joiry, Kull of Atlantis, Conan the Cimmerian (and others) made their debuts in pulp magazines that specialized in this medium.
Working within the short story format is akin to fighting an MMA match (three five minute rounds), while writing a longer work, such as a novel, is comparable to a boxing title fight (twelve three minute rounds). The writer of the short story has to get in, take care of business (entertain the reader) and get out quick. The inherent restrictions of the form place a premium on directness and brevity. A short story writer has to get their point across quickly. Through an economy of words, West is able to do just this; spin entertaining yarns that are also self- contained. In the current age of multi volume epics, it is refreshing to read a ‘done in one’ story that does not require a long term commitment on the reader’s part. Regardless of the story (or poem) you flip to in this collection, you will find well written, entertaining tales that make you want to keep turning the pages. Much like the readers in the heyday of the old pulps did.
In “A Fistful of Tengu”, we are introduced to an old itinerant monk, whose sole possessions are his walking staff and the robe he is wearing. Wandering the countryside of feudal Japan, he makes his way to the village of Baiken, seated in a mountain valley. Upon entering the town, he is attracted to the sound of hammering from a blacksmith’s forge. After slaking his thirst at the communal well, he enters the blacksmith’s shop to discover an eight year old boy working the hammer and tongs. Shian-Hu tells the monk that the original smith (his father) was killed in an attempted crossing of the local mountain junction (named Arishikage pass) to reach the local Daimyo. His objective was to beg help of the local lord in ridding the pass of malevolent supernatural creatures. Taking up his father’s vocation, Shian-Hu works the forge to provide for his mother and himself. When the monk states he is looking for something to eat, the boy puts him to work stoking the bellows for the day in order to earn it. During the evening meal, the old monk, Shian-Hu and his mother discuss the dire circumstances of the village; of how many of the townsfolk have been taken and killed by the mountain monsters. The Oni and Tengu control the mountain passes and any humans who enter there are toyed with and eventually slain. “But it is said that no weapon forged by man can hurt the Tengu. All the heroes that went to the mountain have never returned.” “No weapon forged by man, eh?”(1) The monk’s curiosity has been piqued. He states that the next day, he will go to speak with the monsters and bid them to leave the village alone. The boy and mother are incredulous at this statement.
On midmorning the following day, the old monk departs the village, headed for the pass to have his little chat. At this point in the tale, we glimpse the true nature of the old monk and eventually, his identity. Let me just say that this figure is a true historical personage, but has been augmented. In 2006, Marvel Comics began publishing The Immortal Iron Fist; this book is a pulpy blend of high octane martial arts action combined with super heroics. The series lasted twenty seven glorious issues and was initially written by the team of Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction. Duane Swierczynski picked up the writing duties from issue seventeen on. The premise of the series is that Danny Rand, the modern Iron Fist, champion of K’un L’un, is but the latest incarnation in a long lineage to win the dragon brand. To complicate matters, K’un L’un is but one of seven (well, technically eight) ‘celestial cities’ that engage in a ritualized tournament of champions to decide the position of primacy. As part of his inheritance as champion, Rand has access to The Book of the Iron Fist, a tome detailing the accumulated knowledge and experiences of all past incarnations. It seems to me that “A Fistful of Tengu” could have easily been a chapter ripped from The Book of the Iron Fist; a callback to a previous immortal champion’s adventures. I find it interesting that West made the decision to name the local mountain pass ‘Arishikage’. This name (and its alternate spelling of ‘Arashikage’) is associated with a certain character from a popular toy line from the 1980’s. That toy line also spawned another Marvel Comic, as well as an animated television show.
If “A Fistful of Tengu” is a shout out to old school kung fu, wuxia and samurai films, then “The Mad Song” harkens back to the works of such writers as Harold Lamb, Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith, with a touch of Dashiell Hammett thrown in for good measure. Khyte of Vjorn, a wandering northern mercenary, is making the desert trek through the Vale of Desolation to offer his services to the kingdoms Scalia and Avaris. While on his crossing, he notes that a group of bandits have been trailing a caravan for several days with the intention to ambush them. Khyte makes his way towards the travelers to warn them. He speaks with Barzelai, the caravan guard captain, and after some initial mistrust, the two men strike a bargain. Khyte hires on as an additional man at arms to help fend off the attackers. He states that he believes the bandits will spring their trap once the group passes through a notch between two cliff faces and advises Barzelai to hunker down there on the trail, fortify the defenses and wait for the raiders to make the first move. Khyte’s idea however is voted down by Vareem, the caravan master, who consults with Vashti, the female oracle who proclaims that the group move forward through the notch, as the gods have ordained. From this point on, things go pear shaped quickly. It turns out that the local bandit chief has in his possession the supernatural relic called the Pipe of Mahmackrah. In antiquity, this object was responsible for the collapse of the metropolis of Dar-Alahamra, by sonically infecting and mutating its people into ravenous ghouls when the instrument was played. Unfortunately for Khyte and company, the narrow valley that they are holed up in is part of the ancient ruins of that city. And to make matters worse, the former inhabitants come out at nightfall and they have a taste for human flesh. Guess who’s on the menu?
Khyte reminds me of a combination of Yul Brynner’s character Chris, from the John Sturges western The Magnificent Seven, and Sam Spade; a hard boiled saddle tramp, strapped with broad sword and spear instead of a matched pair of revolvers. In fact, the two women who appear in this story (Vashti the oracle and caravan working girl, Tisha) also seem like they could have stepped from the pages of Black Mask magazine. “Not all men are like those you have met in the pleasure houses. Not all men must tread upon flowers to appreciate them.” She smiled saying, “Oh, you are a smooth one. But I warn you, I will still charge full price.”(2) At the story’s conclusion, West drops a surprising (and logical) twist ending that provides the reader with a definite sense of closure. If you pay close attention, he peppers several subtle hints all throughout. David J. West is a modern pulp writer who is following in the time honored footsteps of Robert E. Howard; in addition to his recurring character of Port Rockwell, he also has the Leiberian duo of Tyr and Wolfram headlining several short stories as well (located in a separate collection). For my money, Khyte of Vjorn and the wandering monk would be the perfect candidates for promotion into West’s growing stable of series characters. At the paltry sum of $2.99 (Kindle edition), Weird Tales of Horror provides several hours of reading pleasure.
END NOTES:
- West, David J. Weird Tales of Horror. Lost Realms Press, 2014. Kindle E-Book Location Page 88 of 269-33%
- West, David J. Weird Tales of Horror. Lost Realms Press, 2014. Kindle E-Book Location Page 252 of 269-93%
©April 2018 Anthony Perconti
Anthony Perconti lives and works in the hinterlands of New Jersey with his wife and kids. He enjoys good stories across many different genres and mediums.