urban@trwspp.UUCP (07/11/84)
M.A.R. Barker started thinking up his imaginary world of Tekumel, we are told, when he was 10 years old. Tekumel is extraordinarily rich in culture, geography, history, languages, and mythology and is probably the first such creation that can justifiably be compared to Tolkien's world with respect to the sheer volume of creative energy that has gone into it. Perhaps most appealing about it is that it is not yet another medieval European clone-world, but is more strongly influenced by a combination of Arabic, Hindu and (curiously) Central American Indian languages and cultures. But where Tolkien used the conventional forms of literature as his public outlet for his mythology, Barker instead found his medium in 1975 in the then-infant medium of Fantasy Gaming, and published "Empire of the Petal Throne". Since then, the game has been completely revised and rewritten and is published under the name of "Swords and Glory". This month, Barker's first novel of Tekumel, "Man of Gold", has been published by Daw books. As a first novel, it's not bad, but nothing special. The Young Hero is somewhat vapid (a common enough fault) but the people around him are pretty interesting folks and everyone has the unmistakably "alien" feel of a really different culture. The resolution of the plot has a couple of interesting twists to it, but I don't want to generate a spoiler. The problem with the book is that Barker is rather more caught up with showing you his world and giving you something of a travelogue than he is interested in coming up with a really original or interesting story. He's not the first writer to have this problem (Lichtenberg's Sime/Gen novels come to mind), but I was hoping for more from such a creative fellow. On the other hand, I already knew a fair amount about Tekumel, and was glad to "visit" it again, so I enjoyed it anyway. To a reader new to his world, the reaction might be either intrigue or utter confusion; I'd be interested to hear.