Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... Murder And Magic (original 1979; edition 1981)by Randall Garrett
Work InformationMurder and Magic by Randall Garrett (1979)
Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Start with a base of Sherlock Holmes, add a drop of Lord Peter Wimsey, stir in a healthy serving of Brother Cadfael, and season with Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell—it all adds up to the highly satisfying diet of Lord Darcy stories by Randall Garrett. Lord Darcy is the Chief Forensic Investigator for the Duke of Normandy, in an alternate history where the British Empire in the 1960s consists of England, Scotland, Ireland, France, and the New World. The Plantagenets are still in power, and the Church is still a visible and integral part of the culture. The four stories that make up this collection are enjoyable not only for the mysteries that have to be solved, but also for the sheer pleasure of exploring this world that might have been. Elevators and guns exist alongside gas lamps, carriages, sorcery, and sword-play. I loved the mixture of medieval and Victorian England, and the way the Church was such a significant part of daily life. This is exactly the kind of book I love reading for pleasure: quick moving, intelligent, imaginative, and filled with personable characters. I look forward to reading the full length Lord Darcy novel, Too Many Magicians, and the final collection of stories, Lord Darcy Investigates. no reviews | add a review
Fantasy.
Fiction.
Mystery.
Historical Fiction.
HTML:The Sidewise Award–winning series. "If you are looking for something different in the way of mysteries a few hours with Lord Darcy is a fun way to go" (Daily Kos). This alternate history series starring detective Lord Darcy and his sorcerer sidekick, Sean O Lochlainn, takes us into a reality where Richard the Lionheart's descendants rule the Anglo-French Empire and the laws of magic have developed in place of the laws of physics. Murder and Magic, comprised of the first four stories of the acclaimed Lord Darcy series, finds Lord Darcy solving murders using his wits, a keen eye for observation, and a few choice magic tricks. In "The Eyes Have It," Lord Darcy must figure out who killed the taciturn playboy, the Count D'Evreux. In the political thriller "A Case of Identity," Lord Darcy picks apart the disappearance of the Marquis of Cherbourg, especially mysterious considering the escalating cold war with Poland. Lord Darcy and Master Sean investigate a body coated in blue paint already occupying a coffin built for the late Duke of Kent in "The Muddle of the Woad." Literary humor is at the heart of "In a Stretch of the Imagination," where the head of an important publishing house commits suicide under suspicious circumstances. Praise for the Lord Darcy series "Some of the finest fantasy ever written . . . Will certainly guarantee him a lasting place in the genre." —SF Chronicle "He has combined the best of the fantasy and detective genres—and made them work as science fiction." —Marion Zimmer Bradley "I cannot count the number of times I have read 'Too Many Magicians'—each time with the same pleasure." —Andre Norton. No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813Literature English (North America) American fictionLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
This book - the part I read - is not SF. I enjoyed a couple of his SF books but I just could not finish this. ( )