VERGIL IN AVERNO

by Avram Davidson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 23, 1986

A sequel to the fantasy The Phoenix and the Mirror (1969), set in a curious medieval alternate world where magic works and the Roman Empire never fell. The city Averno, near Vesuvius in Italy, is a filthy, malodorous, Satanic-mills sort of a place; built, you see, on ground where molten magma runs near the surface, its heat, steam, and power are virtually free. Goods can be mass-produced extremely cheaply, and thus the magnates of Averno are very rich indeed. Vergil, a mage wandering apparently without purpose (if you haven't read Phoenix, this one is no help), receives an eerie summons and is drawn to Averno, where he spends virtually the entire book discovering that the magnates intend to use him in their scheme to locate and exclusively control the subterranean fires that are the source of Averno's wealth. True, the writing is highly textured, involute, and sometimes knotted, laced with reveries, flashbacks, premonitions, and set-pieces; still, it's the lack of content that disappoints. A triumph of style over substance.

Pub Date: Jan. 23, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1986

Categories: FICTION