A Tangle in Slops

Western Lights #6

by Jeffrey E. Barlough

When Ada Henslowe found herself called to distant Plumley, in Slopshire, to help her little orphaned cousin Mary Trefoil, she had no inkling of the strange adventures that were to follow. For Mary, whose mother had died in giving birth to her, and whose father Magnus, the master of Orkney Farm, had been slain by a wild beast of the marshes, was herself threatened now by the very same creature that had dispatched her father. Why had the monster returned to Plumley? Was its aim, as the servants feared, to eliminate, one by one, the Trefoils of Orkney Farm? Who had command of the beast, and what was his purpose in menacing the family? Or had he some other even more sinister end in view? And what of the apparition in the mossy-green mantle that had been frightening the citizens of Plumley? Was it indeed the ghost of Tronda Quickensbog, wise woman, enchantress, and soothsayer? Was it she who had orchestrated the death of Mary's father, in revenge perhaps for the supposed desecration of her relics which he had unearthed at Orkney Farm? These and other troubling questions Miss Henslowe -- familiar to series readers from her role in fan favorite Bertram of Butter Cross -- will need to resolve if she and the others at Orkney are to thwart a looming danger from centuries past, in this new sixth installment in author Jeffrey E. Barlough's acclaimed Western Lights series of fantasy-mysteries. Also included in the new volume is Ebenezer Crackernut -- the delightful tale of a very bad squirrel, and the author's first Western Lights story for children.

Genres: Fantasy, Horror

365 pages, Paperback

First published March 2, 2011

About the author

Author, veterinarian and research scientist, Author Jeffrey E. Barlough has been publishing scientific journal articles, novels, and non-fiction books on a variety of subjects since the 1970's.

Reviews

[mark monday · Rating 2 out of 5]

strange visions in a telescope, an aggressive peddler, a hermit living in the old monastery, wishes granted, a ferocious giant land-sloth on the prowl... quite a tangle in quaint rural Slopshire! it was all very droll and atmospheric, per usual for a Western Lights story. this a rainy book best read in a comfy chair with a view nearby of overcast, windy weather. unfortunately, it is also Barlough's weakest so far, alas. the dialogue was often forced and repetitious, scenes felt overlong, characters barely sketched out. worst of all, the talking animals! the experience was like eating treacle, which no one should do. I have a lot of affection for this (mainly) splendid series, but this was much too much. lose the sweet tooth Barlough and get back to the darkness.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s no better way to introduce a novice to the setting of Jeffrey Barlough’s Western Lights series than to quote liberally from the “About the Series” section at the end of the book:

Imagine a world in which the last Ice Age never ended.

With much of her territory locked up with ice, medieval England was forced to seek a more habitable clime for her growing population. From every port, merchant-adventurers in their tall ships set sail to scour the earth for a new home. Amongst the places they came to was the land we know as North America. There they found a vast continent untouched by man – a wild, mysterious realm….
Then in the year 1839, everything changed. It was the year of the “sundering”, a cataclysmic event which some attributed to a comet or meteor strike, or a volcanic eruption of unprecedented violence – or was it perhaps something else? Irrespective of the cause, most life on earth was obliterated, and the world plunged into an even deeper Ice Age….

It has been some century and a half now since the sundering, and up and down the long coast life goes on. Victorian society, little changed since 1839, abides in her sundered realm with its array of fearsome monsters, marooned and alone, and a prey to powers even mightier than those of the wilderness that surrounds her – the powers of magic and the supernatural. (pp. 349-50)

A Tangle in Slops is the sixth book in the series and a credible addition (though by far the best installment remains the viscerally horrifying second volume, The House in the High Wood). Like its siblings, this book is a standalone; you don’t have to have read any previous to get into the fascinating world of post-sundering North America. The story revolves around the mysterious disappearance (and presumed death) of Magnus Trefoil of Orkney Farm, the head of one of Slopshire’s more prominent families. While ensconced within his study one evening, a great ground sloth (the, in our world, extinct Mylodon) burst into the room and carried him off. In the eyes of the common folk, most volubly presented in the form of Orkney Farm’s housekeeper Noola, it’s a result of Magnus’ research into the treasures of the long dead witch Tronda Quickensbog, which he had discovered recently. The witch’s spirit is angered and has placed the Trefoil family under a curse. The family – Igneus Trefoil and the cousins Ada and Guy Henslowe – and others, including the learned Rector Crowstep of Plumley St. Olave, aren’t so sure but are dumbfounded as to what the source of the family’s troubles could be. And Magnus’ young daughter Mary is certain he’s soon to return (for reasons that will be revealed).

As usual, Barlough creates a distinctive cast of characters. Among them the aforementioned Rector Crowstep; his wife Dolly; the Trefoils and their cousins; the sexton Grub Crawley; Orkney Farm’s domestic help (see “Noola” above but also Phaestus Gaggle and Mr. Ginger, among others); the spaniel Tramper: the farm’s horses Sunbeam & Pistachio, and Mary’s pony Jack Nag; the squirrels Odilon, Ponder & MacNut; and the mysterious tramp Jingling Jock. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, I haven’t mentioned (and won’t) the denizens of the local pub or the hermitage.

The narrator of all this is Watty Pippins, an orphan taken in by Magnus who’s Mary’s age but has his own secrets.

As with the last few entries in the series, Barlough emphasizes the humor of the situation and the “bad guys” turn out to be not so bad in the end. It’s an enjoyable, if rambling, romp but I do wish he would return to the harder edges of the Sundered Realm found in the first three books.

I did like the ending, however (and I won’t be spoiling anything to quote it here):

There are strange chords in the human heart, I have found, that have no counterparts there. For there is no suffering without feeling, but also no bliss. It is no easy road, and we all must pay the kain, as the saying goes….

But I am reconciled to my lot. For I’ve discovered, over the course of years, that one hardly ever knows what it is one wants in this life. Nearer objects never appear as attractive as those more distant. What we seek seems always to be over the next hill, or round the next corner, and never in front of us. Too soon, then, this life is done – over – reduced to nothing but pages in the past, no line erasable, no line addible forever. The old ways have no place in such a world as this.

For the old ways, you know, were better. (p. 325)

NB: Included in this book is a children’s story called “Ebenezer Crackernut,” the tale of a miserly squirrel who discovers the value of friends and generosity.

[SmokingMirror · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was led to believe that the "Western Lights" series would be a kind of Lovecraft meets Dickens mashup. Instead, I saw the book as Anthony Trollope--to be prefered in tone to Dickens, in my view--crossed with pleistocene Godzilla-style attacks. There is also a fairy tale magic aspect, and as an addendum, strangely yet wonderfully, a Beatrix Potter pastiche. The enjoyment lies in the way the story unfolds, and less in what unfolds.
I dislike the star rating system, because I would certainly recommend this book to those who love nineteenth century fantasy and novels generally, but I anticipated a darker tale.

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was very entertaining as are all of Mr. Barlough's books. It is always enjoyable to read his works as they are most thoroughly thought out. Thank you for another wonderful book. I'm now reading "What I found at Hoole", and from the beginning, I know I'm in for quite a treat!

[Steven Houchin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just okay. It had some clever magical elements, but it failed to hold my interest that much.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent volume in the Western Lights series. This tale was more of a pleasant storybook tale, unlike the other three volumes I've read so far. This story, while again having a cast of lovable characters, did not have as 'dark' an aspect as the other three books I have.

Barlough is definitely a must read for anyone who loves a somewhat Dickensian tale. I'm not sure I can completely agree with the Lovecraftian reference (at least with regard to this book) but I can see some other volumes.