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Viriconium by M. John Harrison
01/04/2006 . Source: Shaun Green 
pub: Bantam Spectra. 462 page enlarged paperback. Price: $16.00 (US). ISBN: 0-553-38315-9. Buy Viriconium in the USA - or Buy Viriconium in the UK  check out website: www.bantamdell.com
This volume conveniently collects all of Harrison's 'Viriconium' stories. The collection is led by three novellas - 'The Pastel City' (1971), 'A Storm Of Wings' (1980) and 'In Viriconium' (1982) - which are followed by the seven short stories previously found in 'Viriconium Nights' (1985).
Prior to reading 'Viriconium', my experience of Harrison's work was limited. I had read and loved his 2004 Tiptree Award co-winner 'Light', but beyond that had only read a few scattered pieces online. In retrospect, I consider this tantamount to criminal. I'll attempt to explain my enthusiasm soon, but first a brief summary of the book's component parts is necessary.
'The Pastel City' introduces the city of Viriconium in a somewhat roundabout way. Most of the story is spent far away in other exotic locales. These are inauspicious beginnings considering what Viriconium would grow to become as Harrison delved deeper into his world. At the outset of the novella, we are presented with an info-dumpish prologue which offers some explanation as to the historical events that led to the current state of the Empire of Viriconium. It also relates that Viriconium is the most notable of the Evening Cultures - the declining civilisations that followed the greater Afternoon Cultures. Although an info-dump at the very start of a story is usually regarded as a bad move, here it is necessary as an introduction to the series as well as this novella.
The story itself focuses on the actions of a motley band of leftover heroes: tegeus-Cromis, a poet and swordsman; Tomb the Dwarf, a half-mad engineer with a knack for scavenging the technology of the long-dead Afternoon Cultures; smuggler and ex-warrior Birkin Grif, and the ancient and lecherous Theoderis Glyn. A war is stirring against Viriconium and its Queen, Methvet Nian. Canna Moidhart, also heir to Viriconium's throne, has gathered the Northern Tribes to assist her in capturing her birthright. The Northern Tribes and Moidhart have awakened a terrible weapon to assault the Empire's ragged armies and as Cromis' band advances North they realise that this weapon is a greater threat than they might have imagined. They, too, find allies from older eras, but will they be able to save Viriconium as events spiral beyond their control?
'The Pastel City' is easily the most traditional fantasy of all the Viriconium stories. The requisite ingredients are all present: heroes, their Empire, its less civilised and aggressive enemies and an ancient evil. Nonetheless, it is a subversive story that twists these components into a far darker and more honest creation. The most prevalent theme of all these stories is decline and although this novella has more guts, glory and splendour than its companions, the darker underbelly is clear to see. The heroes are a loose band of mostly washed-out or retired knights. The armies of Viriconium are scattered, small and few. The grievances of the Northern Tribes and Moidhart's claim to the throne are valid. The ancient evil is a tool, foolishly built and now misused. Good and Evil as capitalised do not infect this story with infantile morality and the world and its characters are crude and authentic where expected.
In 'A Storm Of Wings', Viriconium is again under threat, but this time the invasion takes a less recognisable form. A religious order known as the Sign of the Locust is acquiring faithful from all walks of life, and is to be found in Viriconium's High City as well as the Low. A much older Methvet Nian sends a band of such heroes as she can muster to investigate. These include Tomb, as gnarled and unhinged as ever, an unwillingly recruited thief and assassin; Cellur the lord of birds and expert on the Afternoon Cultures and two members of the Reborn - cryogenically frozen people of the Afternoon Cultures, woken by Tomb the dwarf in the preceding novella. The two Reborn are only half-sane at best: a woman who seems to know more about the Sign of the Locust and the invaders than she can communicate and the fallen lord Alstath Fulthor. As much time is spent attempting to direct and control the small band as is directed towards understanding the growing threat.
The atmosphere that pervades the novella is frighteningly melancholic and potent. Once again, all is not as it seems with the invasion turning out to be something far stranger and more horrifying than could be guessed. It is also astonishing to see how much Viriconium and its Empire have declined since 'The Pastel City'. History and entropy have combined to paralyse the fading Evening Cultures and the false hope offered by the Reborn seems to have had far-reaching effects once crushed. The faithful servants of the city have been betrayed by fate if not by the increasingly powerless Methvet Nian. They are all victims. As, too, are the grotesque invaders.
The third novella is wildly different from its predecessors. 'In Viriconium' is concerned primarily with the life and fortunes of painter Ashlyme, his courting of the ailing artist Audsley King and his employment by the paranoid dwarf known as the Grand Cairo. An unusual wasting plague is spreading through the Low City and a pair of buffoons known as the Barley Brothers are tearing up the city they claim to have invented. There is little enough story here but in many ways it is the strongest of the three novellas as Harrison's lyrical prose and philosophy pervade every sentence and word. There is more beauty here than in either 'The Pastel City' or 'A Storm Of Wings' and it's underpinned by the same sense of wistful melancholy. It is only here that we are really introduced to the city of Viriconium.
The seven short stories that round off the collection are a mixed bag, some in the vein of 'A Storm Of Wings', others more like 'In Viriconium' and others recalling some part of the bitter valor of 'The Pastel City'. It would take too long to discuss these stories individually and I've already gone beyond brevity, but suffice to say that they variously expand upon all the key elements of what Viriconium is. We also get to see a little more of the tragically underused tegeus-Cromis.
As previously mentioned, Harrison's prose is stunning in its careful beauty. To some it might seem overwrought and might seem that the pace of these stories is slowed overmuch by the thorough attention to detail, but to those who enjoy savouring sumptuous writing it's an outright joy. The writing evokes strong emotions and vivid images more effectively than any fast-paced yarn or movie-in-your-head quest tale could ever boast. The stories are also immeasurably enriched by careful consideration and intriguing philosophy, offering an added dimension that so much fantasy eschews. Harrison at points ruminates on the malleability of reality, madness and communication, the decline of civilisation, what makes cities and city-dwellers, the psychological dimensions of the metropolis and so much more. The characters that populate the stories rarely comprehend these themes and ideas, allowing the ideas to be explored more subtlety and without dulling the storytelling.
Something unconnected to the text itself but more than worthy of note is it's only $16 for this entire collection, which is a fantastic price for three novellas and seven short stories. If you still have reservations, just consider that price and give this book a try. I doubt you'll regret it. The city of Viriconium will persist in your imagination and heart long after its stories have been told.
Shaun Green
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