Jul. 10th, 2014

avevale_intelligencer: (self-evident)
The world of fantastic literature was rocked last week by the most significant debut since Professor J R R Tolkien published The Hobbit, when Semple and Gramwick released the first volume of a new epic fantasy series by an author who has been dead for fifty years.

EMPIRE OF THE SWINE, by Clarence George Herbert Threepwood, lay unregarded among the papers of his younger son Frederick for five decades. The 700,000 word manuscript was passed on to Mr Frederick Threepwood with a considerable number of other documents when his elder brother and his entire family perished at sea on the SS Andrea Doria, and his secretary filed it away neatly. From that time it appears to have been forgotten till its discovery by Mr Threepwood's grandson, Oliver Threepwood Horwitz, in the autumn of 2011. "We had all heard stories about my great-grandfather," he said, "about his obsessions and his absent-mindedness and so on, but no-one had ever heard a word about this. He must have kept it a total secret." He added, "I guess now we know what he was thinking about all that time."

The work is certainly a labour of love, and the author's "obsessions" have clearly informed the text. The empire of Porcinia, and the landscape in which it is set, are described in loving detail, with particular reference to botany. The social life of the two-legged pigs who people this landscape is in many ways idyllic; slow-moving, thoughtful, generally mild of disposition and fond of gardening, these swine have a richly textured culture and a long history, all worked out in painstaking detail.

Of course it would not be an epic fantasy without a dark lord, or in this case nine dark ladies; the Sisterhood, led by the domineering Koh-Ni, and her evil lackeys Lord Dunster the Bald and Sir Rupert of the Black Star. Not surprisingly, these adversaries are human in form, and their goal is simple: unlimited roast pork. Fortunately, the Empress of Porcinia has her own human allies, including the wandering hedge-knight Galahad, who may or may not be the genuine Arthurian article fallen on hard times, and the Smith, a mysterious figure who speaks in riddles.

The story is not without its flaws, of course; it is very much a work of its time, predating much of our recent social evolution. Fans of the currently trendy "grimdark" style of fantasy will find little in these pages to compare with the likes of Martin or Abercrombie; the battles fought in this world are battles of words and wits, and there are few deaths and very little blood. The style is discursive and sometimes disjointed, as if the author had to break off for long periods of time and could not always find his place; but it is frequently enlivened by flashes of a sly and subtle wit, and leavened with a gentle pathos that colours the whole tale. Even if these enemies are defeated, the author seems to say, others will come, and one day the Empire of the Swine will fall; but for now, while the sun shines, let us enjoy the moment for what it is.

EMPIRE OF THE SWINE will be published in four volumes over the next three years, and Oliver Horwitz, through his agents, is in negotiations with a major studio for the film rights. Volume One, The Smith's Departure, is out now from Semple and Gramwick, hardcover price 17.99.

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