Lord John and the Hand of Devils

For anyone in doubt of CREATOR'S True Salvation for children accosted lustily by wicked men, please refer to 'the forgotten books of EDEN', Secrets of Enoch, especially Chapter X vs:1 ",,,and there is a fiery river coming forth, and that place is everywhere fire, and everywhere there is frost and ice,,,angels.. merciless, bearing angry weapons,,,(Enoch said-vs:2 Woe, woe, how very terrible is this place. Vs:3 And those men said to me: This place,O Enoch, is prepared for those who dishonour God, who on earth practice sin(evil) against nature, which is child-corruption after the sodomitic fashion, magic-making, enchantments and devilish witchcrafts, and who boast of their wicked deeds, stealing, lies, calumnies, envy, rancor, fornication, murder, and who, accursed, steal the souls of men, who, seeing the poor, take away their goods and themselves wax rich, injuring them for other men's goods; who being able to satisfy the empty, made the hungering to die; being able to clothe, stripped the naked; and who knew not their creator, and bowed down to the soulless(sc. Lifeless) Gods, who cannot see nor hear, vain Gods, who also built hewn images and bow down to unclean handiwork, for all those is prepared this place amongst these(see other chapters in Secrets of Enoch), for eternal inheritance." Lord John and the Hand of Devils is good example why Enoch's secrets is their own reward.

I am so glad Gabaldon decided to let us truly get to know this remarkable man, beyond his experience with Jamie Fraser. His adventures are a delightful romp that lend themselves to second and third readings, especially when compared with portions of the Fraser books in which he appears. Gabaldon does a great job of providing education about the details of a time and place most of us are unaware of. John has earned a place as one of fiction's most memorable and interesting characters. It is important for us to remember that people are products of their era...and Gabaldon never loses sight of the need to present John as an educated,sophisticated, sensitive man of his time. I hope Gabaldon continues his adventures. I count Lord John as one of my dear friends.

I have heard that this is the next author to go to for fans of the writer Darlene Marshall; the fact that it's a collection of episodes makes it attractive, however maybe i should start with this author's earliest works.

This collection of three tales makes a nice companion book to the Lord John novels. "Lord John and the Hellfire Club" was the story that gave birth to the Lord John Series, Gabaldon explains in the Forward. It is similar in tone to the first LJ novel and concerns murder (several), Sir Francis Dashwood and the Hellfire Club. Gabaldon mentions that the ending was a bit rushed since the anthology she wrote it for, _Past Poisons_, had a word limit. She reworked it a bit, but to me, it was still rather abrupt, although this doesn't detract much from this tale. This story had also appeared as an e-publication and in the Trade Edition of _Private Matter_. "Lord John and the Succubus" was written before _Brotherhood of the Blade_, for a fantasy anthology, _Legends II: New Short Novels by the Modern Masters of Fantasy_. This was amusing since while time-travel may be classified as fantasy, this story certainly is mystery (historical), but nothing at all fantasy. Those who enjoyed _Brotherhood of the Blade_ will like this story for filling in some history, such as Lord John's acquaintance with Captain Stephan von Namtzen. The setting is Germany during the Seven Years War, with Lord John acting as a liaison between the British and German troops, fighting against the French and Austrians. Rumors of a Succubus are causing unrest amongst the troops and two mysterious deaths do not improve morale. Amusingly, Lord John also needs to cope with an amorous princess as well as careful, dangerous approaches that could be more to his liking (sadly, this is not a romance--so don't expect hot sex scenes). "Lord John and the Haunted Soldier"--is the latest and best of the three, written just for this publication. It takes place right after the events of _Brotherhood of the Blade_. Lord John is still recovering from his injuries and is called up for an inquiry into the cannon explosion that caused them. It seems as if cannons have been exploding more than they ought to and political enemies would be happy if they could pin part of the blame on Lord John--or perhaps a relative of his who may be responsible for faulty powder. Aside from investigating this, Lord John also undertakes to find the woman of the officer who died in the cannon blast, who may be pregnant and penniless somewhere. For completionists, the forwards to the book and each novella are informative. Gabaldon also mentions that there will be a third Lord John novel to come: _Lord John and the Scottish Prisoner_, that is great news to fans of this series.

"Lord John and the Hellfire Club". Lord John Grey is asked by Robert Gerald, the junior setetary of the prime minister, for help with a problem. He agrees seeing how upset Gerald is but later that day Robert is killed. The last word he spoke is Dashwood. That night he attends a Hellfire club invitation, not knowing that he is to be the murderer's second victim. "Lord John and the Succubus". Rumors move swiftly through the troops that a succubus is on the loose. Lord John is persuaded to use his white horse to find the grave where the succubus inhabits a dead body. The horse moves to the grave of the man's mother who made the accusation. They also find the body of a dead English solder in the cemetery. The allies are nervous about the rumors, but John believes that someone secular has spread them and he plans to expose them before the upcoming battle in the long drawn out world war (1756-1763). "Lord John and the Haunted Soldier". After being injured by a cannon that blew up during battle, Lord John answers his superior's inquiry re the incident. John later learns eight more guns blew up that the military wants kept quiet and he would make a good scapegoat. He needs evidence to prove he wasn't negligent; help comes from an unexpected source. These three novella give insight into the character of Lord John Grey, an honorable man who has to hide his homosexual preference from the world since it is a crime punishable by death. He always chooses the most ethical cause of action even when silence would better serve him. Diana Gabaldon has written an exciting anthology of an eighteenth century solder at war in which don't tell means avoiding "friendly" fire. Harriet Klausner