John M Ford is one of our forgotten treasures.

This small book is a collection of two short stories and a novella set in the shared world of Liavek, a sort of Lankhmarian city state filled with magic, weird cults and the like. I'd previously read a few other stories set in this universe, including one by Gene Wolfe, but none of them compare to this. As with other works set in a shared world, Ford takes the setting and makes it entirely his own. Ford was incapable of dialling it in, and there is a huge richness and complexity here above and beyond what you would expect of such a work. That he didn't write further stories in this universe is a huge (though, I suspect, largely unacknowledged) shame.

The first piece, A Cup of Worrynot Tea, is a tricksy little coming of age story involving a pair of childhood friends, an immortal wizard and a conspiracy to topple the Liavekan government. Though short, it's a satisfying and intelligent story, filled with emotion.

Green is the Color is a longer and relatively more straightforward tale, sort of a murder mystery cum fantasy crime thriller. A number of prominent wizards are being bumped off around the city, and it is up to Jemuel, the resident chief of police, to solve the crime and bring the killer to justice. Though the culprit is more or less figured out by the halfway stage, the reason for their killings and the very nature of the killer don't become apparent till relatively late on. Much of the mystery is maintained by the descriptions of the murders themselves, each of which seems to take the form of something intensely personal to the victim themselves, but which always involves the color green.

The Illusionist is the longest work in the book. A prominent playwright is staging a new play, and he's looking for four new actors to play the roles. At the same time, something about the playwright's past has attracted the attention of Jemuel (a recurring character in the stories). Might he have been involved in a grotesque crime? Might he be about to commit another, live on stage?

This is a story which I'll probably go back and re-read at some point. There were a number of elements I didn't entirely understand, and a couple of scenes whose significance to the main plot I didn't grasp, if indeed I was meant to grasp them at all. There's loads to love about it though. The camaraderie between the actors and their tyrannical director as well as the small glimpses we get of their private lives felt passionate and real. The catty, razor-wire tensions of life in the theater are brilliantly evoked; Ford must have had some experience in the theatrical profession, and if not then he's a genius. The play itself, a comedy, literally made me laugh out loud. The ending felt wonderfully warm and complete, despite the somewhat hazy motives of the main culprits. Ford was an individual who felt things deeper and more passionately than most, and that can't help but imprint itself on his work, and by that feed into and enrich your own soul.

A first-rate book. ( )

John M Ford is one of our forgotten treasures.

This small book is a collection of two short stories and a novella set in the shared world of Liavek, a sort of Lankhmarian city state filled with magic, weird cults and the like. I'd previously read a few other stories set in this universe, including one by Gene Wolfe, but none of them compare to this. As with other works set in a shared world, Ford takes the setting and makes it entirely his own. Ford was incapable of dialling it in, and there is a huge richness and complexity here above and beyond what you would expect of such a work. That he didn't write further stories in this universe is a huge (though, I suspect, largely unacknowledged) shame.

The first piece, A Cup of Worrynot Tea, is a tricksy little coming of age story involving a pair of childhood friends, an immortal wizard and a conspiracy to topple the Liavekan government. Though short, it's a satisfying and intelligent story, filled with emotion.

Green is the Color is a longer and relatively more straightforward tale, sort of a murder mystery cum fantasy crime thriller. A number of prominent wizards are being bumped off around the city, and it is up to Jemuel, the resident chief of police, to solve the crime and bring the killer to justice. Though the culprit is more or less figured out by the halfway stage, the reason for their killings and the very nature of the killer don't become apparent till relatively late on. Much of the mystery is maintained by the descriptions of the murders themselves, each of which seems to take the form of something intensely personal to the victim themselves, but which always involves the color green.

The Illusionist is the longest work in the book. A prominent playwright is staging a new play, and he's looking for four new actors to play the roles. At the same time, something about the playwright's past has attracted the attention of Jemuel (a recurring character in the stories). Might he have been involved in a grotesque crime? Might he be about to commit another, live on stage?

This is a story which I'll probably go back and re-read at some point. There were a number of elements I didn't entirely understand, and a couple of scenes whose significance to the main plot I didn't grasp, if indeed I was meant to grasp them at all. There's loads to love about it though. The camaraderie between the actors and their tyrannical director as well as the small glimpses we get of their private lives felt passionate and real. The catty, razor-wire tensions of life in the theater are brilliantly evoked; Ford must have had some experience in the theatrical profession, and if not then he's a genius. The play itself, a comedy, literally made me laugh out loud. The ending felt wonderfully warm and complete, despite the somewhat hazy motives of the main culprits. Ford was an individual who felt things deeper and more passionately than most, and that can't help but imprint itself on his work, and by that feed into and enrich your own soul.

A first-rate book. ( )

"Green is the Color" is my favorite short story. The writing is beautiful and compelling. It is an unsung gem of fantasy writing. ( )