Nile Shadows

The books written by Edward Whittemore are not for everyone but his style appeals to me and the humanity in each of the five books are as beautiful as they are heart breaking. It is a shame that this author passed before he could continue writing.

If you've heard about Whittemore from one of his fans you've probably heard it all already. In fact, the 'all' can usually be summed up in two or three phrases: 'Unknown,' 'Unrecognized' and/or 'unappreciated genius.' I am not here to argue against these sentiments but I will just say that there is a logical inchorency here that may be cleared up if we say that he is known but not known enough; that he is recognized but his recognition must spread beyond his small but growing legions of fans; that he is appreciated but hitherto he has been appreciated by far far too few. Furthermore, the quality of Whittemore being a genius limits him, I think, to just the usual stylistic tropes of that appalation. I don't think we would usually call someone an emotional genius or a genius of virtue although perhaps we should. For Whittemore is something more beyond his mastery of evocative language and his plethora of great characters. There is a quality of Whittemore's work that Kenneth Rexroth observed is lacking even in many of those novels we would often call 'great.' That quality is 'magnaminity.' It's there in the great Chinese novels such as the 'The Story of the Stone' and it's there in Ford's 'Parades End' and (although I can't remember if Rexroth says this himself but I do believe it to be the case) it's there in Tolstoy. And it's certainly there in Whittemore.

Old Earth Books will be reprinting this and the other 4 Whittemore novels. Google the web for "Edward Whittemore".