Been reading: A Lamp for Medusa / The Players of Hell

 

This 1968 paperback contains two novels/novellas, each by a different writer.  Because having two by the same author would make too much sense.  Or if you want to get cynical, the publishers hope you'll seek out the (potential) sequel and buy that too.

1. A Lamp For Medusa - by William Tenn 

  A hapless chef is unwittingly transported into the age of Greek myths and finds himself tasked with removing the deadly Medusa.

  I can tell you right away that the Medusa on the cover is a great deal more attractive than the Medusa in the actual book who is more like the monstrosity in the Clash of the titans films. 

 So if you're hoping for any kind of romantic angle twixt human and gorgon: Nope. Sorry.  

 I had at least heard of William Tenn from reading his marvellous "The Liberation of Earth" and this was more of the same. A breezy, humorous writing style hiding a story that's darker than you think and with some interesting ideas on the flow of time and alternate realities. Needless to say, the story doesn't play out the way you expect either. 

  On the whole this is a pretty decent tale that might not have kept me gripped but definitely kept me reading.

2. The Players of Hell By Dave Van Arnam

Awandering rogue is recruited to steal a fabulous, magical item from a heavily-guarded palace. However, he is merely a pawn in a much bigger game.

 The very first page instroduces you to a wizard called Azeltaram the Black Magician and I think that tells you a lot about what this book is about. It's the sort of fantasy you really don't get these days,where everybody has exotic names, wizards lob lightning bolts about with abandon and characters start taven brawls for the hell of it with backroom politicking and scoio-economic commentary absolutely ignored. 

 If you want a comparison I'm thinking of the Thongor or Brak the Barbarian books with a less muscly hero.  Assuming you can cope with the deliberately archaic style of writing and dialogue then you might enjoy this. Personally I enjoyed it enough that I do actually want to track down the sequel. 

 Huh. Looks like the marketing plan worked after all.