The Warlock in Spite of Himself

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Rodney Gallowglass is a spy whose job is to discover unknown planets that need to be brought into the fold of the enlightened democratic intergalactic system. When he lands on the backward planet of Gramayre in his spaceship disguised as an asteroid, Rod and his epileptic computer Fess discover a world of fantasy creatures ??? witches, ghosts, werewolves, dwarves and elves. Gramayre was originally settled by a group of humans who wanted to revert back to a feudal society. Now it???s a benevolent monarchy that???s threatened by anarchists, witches, and a man who wants to be dictator. Rod suspects that the agitators are being provoked and funded by an off-world interest. He decides that setting up a constitutional monarchy will be the best way to prepare Gramayre for moving on to a real democracy. Meanwhile, the people of Gramayre think Rod is a warlock because he???s got technology they can???t understand.

The Warlock in Spite of Himself, published in 1969, is a humorous science fantasy. I picked it up because I like science fantasy, I knew that Christopher Stasheff collaborated with L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt whose humorous HAROLD SHEA stories I enjoyed, and, lastly, an audiobook version of The Warlock in Spite of Himself has just been released by Wild Voices.

According to the publisher, The Warlock in Spite of Himself is ???sword-and-sorcery with a witty, edgy, wry twist.??? Though the story is fun and action-packed, I found that The Warlock in Spite of Himself, especially this audio version, didn???t live up to the publisher???s promise. It was often funny, but I wouldn???t call it ???witty,??? ???edgy??? or ???wry.??? There was nothing remarkable about the prose and I thought the humor was often juvenile and most likely to be enjoyed by teens (though The Warlock in Spite of Himself, because of the sexual content, is not marketed to teens).

Besides attempting to entertain us, Stasheff also uses his story as a platform to promote democracy and a representative government. I???m all for democracy and representation but, unfortunately, Stasheff???s treatment of different governmental systems is rather superficial and simplistic ??? democracy=good, Marxism=bad ??? without any serious discussion or explanation about what makes this so. This makes the story feel not only shallow, but also dated.

Another issue that makes The Warlock in Spite of Himself feel dated is Rod Gallowglass???s attitude toward women. For a future spaceman from an enlightened intergalactic confederation, it???s suspicious that his attitudes about women are congruent with those found in most 1950s American science fiction. He instantly falls in love with a woman just because she???s beautiful, laughs at the idea of asking a woman for help, thinks that men need to comfort women with lies about their relationship (???for a woman lives on love???), expects women to be weak and afraid, thinks they should be spanked when they misbehave and (if beautiful) ???claimed??? after a man proves his worth to himself.

The Warlock in Spite of Himself is over 40 years old, so I???m not asking it to fit my 21st century sensibilities (though plenty of old SFF does), but rather I???m explaining why the novel doesn???t hold up very well. I have no doubt, though, that it will be a fun and comfortable read for readers who originally encountered it and loved it a few decades ago, for readers who get nostalgic about old-fashioned science fiction, or for readers who occasionally (or always) enjoy a light, shallow, slightly silly adventure story.

The audio version of The Warlock in Spite of Himself was produced by Wild Voices and performed by a full cast. Unfortunately, this was not a good production and this may have contributed to my disappointment with the story. There are bad sound effects, inconsistent volume levels, and intrusive background music ??? all of these obscure the narration. The main narrator, Dennis F. Regan, was fine (though he pronounced ???demesnes??? like it looks), but some of the voices for the secondary characters were difficult to understand, sometimes because it felt like they were at the far end of a long tunnel. I couldn???t even hear some of what Fess the computer said, even with the volume on my Audible app turned all the way up. Needless to say, I won???t be trying any more Wild Voices productions. If you decide to read The Warlock in Spite of Himself, I suggest that you read the paperback or Kindle version.

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

I volunteer at a secondhand bookstore where we get a lot of volumes from this series, so I figured I'd see what it was all about. The set up, I thought, was very clever: we have a sci-fi setting (robot sidekick, space travel) blended with a lost colony of medieval enthusiasts (sounded basically like a Ren Faire, haha). So the inhabitants of the colony have now forgotten all about the advanced technology they left behind, and now the adventuring astronaut (our main character) and his knowledge come across as magical to them. Hence, warlock. :)

Overall, I liked the setting, which allows the author to play with lots of medieval references. The narration, too, was amusing, often tongue-in-cheek. The portrayal of the female characters doesn't hold up with what I would expect from a book written today; there are two active women in the story, and they fall into very distinct, rather pejorative roles. One's motivation is attributed simply to her unlikable arrogance, and the other's motivation is that she fell in love with the hero . . . for reasons that aren't entirely clear (to a female reader). Descriptions of all women are a bit single-minded. That said–it's a fantasy adventure written decades ago. So, grains of salt must be taken with character portrayals.

The plot is very active and political, and ends up with several character reveals, etc. It was intriguing, definitely, and came together satisfactorily–though occasionally our main character would hash out a new development with his robot just a little too repetitively (leaving me thinking, ‘Yes, but didn't we already know that?'). It ended up being pretty easy to follow, which is good because I don't have much of a head for drama. ;) A couple of explanations came rather suddenly at the end of the story, including one I particularly liked about witches and why everyone was interested in the colony in the first place. But, as a primarily mystery reader these days, perhaps I've become picky about my reveals. :)

Overall, I enjoyed the story and its twists, especially for the creative world-building. If you're into funny, clever fantasy–and especially if you're familiar with that sort of classic, swashbuckling hero adventure from decades past–you'll probably have fun reading it.

There were a number of things about this book which I enjoyed, but the overall reading experience was not pleasant enough to warrant continuing in the series. 

Pros: 
Sassy robot horse
Off planet visitor with foreign tech repeatedly mistaken for warlock, sci fi dude having to deal with actual magic, supernatural beings 
Discussion of forms of government, multiple parties attempting a strategic manipulation into the desired form amidst chaotic circumstances and the associated reveals
Gwendolyn the witch, knows her own worth, power not to be underestimated, willing to show vulnerability and fall in love
Big Tom, so much more than first appeared
An organization sending agents among the stars to prime planets for true democracy vs time traveling agents of pro-dictatorial regime that set themselves up as the Wormtongues to all the local noblemen of consequence to try and bring their own plan to fruition
Brom O'Berin - the Elf Prince of short stature who kicks everyone's ass 
Impressive consistency writing dialogue in an older form of speech in a way that didn't bog down the pace or hamper the conveyance of meaning. 

Cons: 
Catharine, impervious to personal growth, prideful, arrogant, unreasonable until the last second where she then capitulates, rather than show any inclination of becoming a better ruler (the lesson being what? Obviously the land needed a King and she needed an occasionally firm male hand? Yuck). 
Court intrigue, bleah! The sheer melodrama
It's very clear that the setting of this story is fantasy, the sci fi is sprinkled in for spice, and if it weren't medieval monarchy-focused fantasy I'd have less of an issue with that ratio. 
The language used to describe Brom
Tom's death
Physical punishment considered a valid solution for corrective action of a young woman by the men who don't appreciate her attitude
Main character is way too comfortable calling any woman with cunning or opposing views a bitch
The discussion of what makes a man a man happens more than once, factors into considerations of a fulfilling life - blame the toxic masculinity of the publishing period for that one
Perhaps a function of a society modeled on medieval times, but it's pretty off-putting that the Queen is referenced in equal amounts as a desirable, manipulative siren of a female and also a child. Her behaviour makes me think a) she has not been raised with a lot of sense or maturity but has ‘come of age' per the standards of her day b) she's younger than I first thought which just makes everything more creepy, especially the whiff of ‘the main character didn't sleep with her even though she attempts to seduce him, give this man a medal'  😑
I suppose a lot of cons stem from ‘this was written in 1969', but that bolsters my decision not to continue in the series, because it will be further work from the same mind in the same time period. 
Fascinating premise, decent character work, sprinkle of fun sci fi and fantasy elements, but I spent a little too much time pissed off while reading to want to sign up for what is likely to be a repeat experience. 

⚠️ Misogyny, corporal punishment