The Redward Edward Papers

Davidson is one of my favorite authors, and this selection includes one of his best stories, "The Lord of Central Park." However, I was disappointed by the title novella. I got the impression that Davidson was trying to imitate Michael Moorcock at his most ideosyncratic. The writing was sparkling, as usual, but I just wasn't enthralled by his point.I recommend interested readers to start elsewhere, perhaps with "the Investigations of Avram Davidson" or "The Phoenix and the Mirror," great short stories and a staggeringly original novel, respectively.

This collection - originally published in 1978 - was my introduction to the writing of Avram Davidson, and perhaps the best thing I can say about it is that I will definitely be seeking out more of his work. There are six pieces included here ("Sacheverell", "The Lord of Central Park", "The Grantha Sighting", "The Singular Events", "Dagon" and " The Redward Edward Papers") and each is followed by an afterward written by the author in which he expounds, albeit cryptically at times, upon the origins of each story. I would describe Davidson's style (at least as represented by these stories) as erudite and whimsical. All of the pieces in this book contain these two elements - erudition and whimsy, that is - except, perhaps, for "Dagon". A terse and rather sinister little tale about a Western military man running afoul of Chinese magic, "Dagon" in my opinion is the standout story in this bunch. Another highlight for me is "The Lord of Central Park" - a delightful literary romp involving an expatriate European adventurer (the lord of the title who resides is a secret cave in New York's Central Park), Dutch river pirates, the Mafia, the Nafia (who operate a string of gumball and Indian nut machines), and assorted other characters in a plot to blow up the Brooklyn Navy Yard.Davidson's afterward to the entire book - in which he deals with the art of writing and the subject of finding one's own voice in that art - was also one of my favorite bits. The title piece is longer than the others and is really closer to a novella than a short story. It is perhaps the least accessible of the stories in this book - a basically plotless, non-linear, pseudo-autobiographical narrative concerning the exploits of the title character. It seems that Davidson is remembered primarily as a science fiction writer but don't let that classification fool you. Most of the tales here, while generally unclassifiable, run closer to fantasy than science fiction. A stimulating, amusing and enjoyable read, all in all.

Half of this book is very good short stories that also appear in several other collections. The rest is the complex & very funny Redward Edward papers, which are a series of short stories leaping around from various parts of Rufous Edward's life to earlier bits & to later bits. Wonderfully written & one of the best Davidson anthologies.