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Zenith Lives!
New adventures of M. Zenith the Albino, one of the inspirations for Michael Moorcock's character Elric.
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First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 11, 2012
Return of the Original Albino Villain
There seems something slightly perverse about publishing a series of stories about one of the villainous antagonists of a series of stories whose hero and central character has already passed largely from popular memory. It is as if someone wrote the continued adventures of Dr No or Auric Goldfinger after James Bond had become nothing more than a slightly familiar name. But that’s just what Obverse Books have done.
‘Zenith Lives!’ contains five new stories featuring Anthony Skene’s villain and anti-hero, the dashing, elegant and debonair albino Monsieur Zenith. Originally conceived as an opponent for the detective Sexton Blake in something of the mould of Professor Moriarty (the first story, ‘A Duel to the Death’, contains echoes of ‘The Final Problem’) in 1919, Zenith with his extraordinary style – always in full white tie and tails evening dress, opium laced cigarette between delicate fingers – soon developed into something more. It is perhaps a mark of his success as a character that he was the only Sexton Blake villain to have his own standalone novel.
His character inspired Michael Moorcock’s Elric. The albinism, the sense of style, the doom laden philosophy, even the character’s background as a rootless wandering prince all owe something to Monsieur Zenith.
This collection requires no previous knowledge Zenith, only a liking for pulp adventure and mystery. Each story is written by a different author and each brings their own individual – idiosyncratic, sometimes – takes on the character to their tales.
The first story is by Mark Hodder, long time Sexton Blake fan and now author of a series of steampunk novels about Sir Richard Burton. He offers a fairly straight take on the character as he appeared in the original stories. Zenith finds himself drawn into a criminal enterprise that could affect the fate of a nation, swallowed up by war. Competing interests are at play, there are bluffs and betrayals as different individuals try to gain control of a priceless relic. The setting is well handled, Zenith placed firmly in the post-WWI world of ex-servicemen and volatile European politics. My only complaint is that the actual resolution of the story seems a little too sudden. There is room for further double crossing and underhand dealings. This is a rare example of a story that would stand – and could benefit from – expansion.
The next story, by Paul Magrs, is a strange elliptical and, for me, unsatisfactory tale. Told not so much as a narrative but as snapshots or vignettes, it seems to relate to a house where characters, real and fictional, meet and mingle, including Zenith. Or maybe not. I am not quite sure what the point was, perhaps it is intended to be a sort of post-modern mash-up of characters and fiction. Unfortunately, it did not interest me enough to try and understand it. A miss, then.
Michael Moorcock provides the third story. This is much longer than any of the others and deservedly so. It is, in effect, a full blown Sexton Blake adventure. Licensing issues, presumably, debar the use of Blake’s name, so instead we have Seaton Begg. This is a name that Moorcock has used before, in ‘The Metatemporal Detective’ where Zenith also played a part. Here, however, other Blake characters appear under thin disguises: his assistant Tinker becomes Winker, Dr Huxton Rymer becomes Hoxton Ryman and Mademoiselle Yvonne changes to Mademoiselle Yvette, for example. Again, however, no prior knowledge of the specific characters is needed for enjoyment of this tale of voodoo, the walking dead and life insurance policies. G.H. Teed, responsible for most of the other characters here, would be proud. Great fun.
The next, by George Mann and set in his steampunk alternative world, it would seem, has Zenith threatening the British Prime Minister and a secret service man is set on his tail. The story is enjoyable but very slight. Oddly, Zenith is described as wearing a red cravat with his full evening clothes – surely not an error the original Zenith would have made.
Finally, Stuart Douglas, the book’s editor, provides us with ‘Zenith’s End’. A jaded Zenith, who appears to have taken Fu Manchu’s elixir, winds up in ‘70s Britain. The world has moved on, but he intends to make one last show of things. It is a very short story but rounds the collection off nicely.
In the original stories Zenith died after an air raid in World War II: a slightly sad end for this glamorous anti-hero. But Zenith had already cheated death once before. He was always free to rise again. The only thing that held him back was the changed attitude of post-war Britain that no longer thrilled to larger than life super-villains.
This slim collection is well worth picking up. It is an excellent illustration of how the best and most vivid characters never die. Who knows, perhaps it might even spark renewed interest in the character and he can take his place beside Moriarty, Fu Manchu and Dracula as arch-enemies who have thrived well beyond the confines of their original stories. Maybe his time has come again.
There seems something slightly perverse about publishing a series of stories about one of the villainous antagonists of a series of stories whose hero and central character has already passed largely from popular memory. It is as if someone wrote the continued adventures of Dr No or Auric Goldfinger after James Bond had become nothing more than a slightly familiar name. But that’s just what Obverse Books have done.
‘Zenith Lives!’ contains five new stories featuring Anthony Skene’s villain and anti-hero, the dashing, elegant and debonair albino Monsieur Zenith. Originally conceived as an opponent for the detective Sexton Blake in something of the mould of Professor Moriarty (the first story, ‘A Duel to the Death’, contains echoes of ‘The Final Problem’) in 1919, Zenith with his extraordinary style – always in full white tie and tails evening dress, opium laced cigarette between delicate fingers – soon developed into something more. It is perhaps a mark of his success as a character that he was the only Sexton Blake villain to have his own standalone novel.
His character inspired Michael Moorcock’s Elric. The albinism, the sense of style, the doom laden philosophy, even the character’s background as a rootless wandering prince all owe something to Monsieur Zenith.
This collection requires no previous knowledge Zenith, only a liking for pulp adventure and mystery. Each story is written by a different author and each brings their own individual – idiosyncratic, sometimes – takes on the character to their tales.
The first story is by Mark Hodder, long time Sexton Blake fan and now author of a series of steampunk novels about Sir Richard Burton. He offers a fairly straight take on the character as he appeared in the original stories. Zenith finds himself drawn into a criminal enterprise that could affect the fate of a nation, swallowed up by war. Competing interests are at play, there are bluffs and betrayals as different individuals try to gain control of a priceless relic. The setting is well handled, Zenith placed firmly in the post-WWI world of ex-servicemen and volatile European politics. My only complaint is that the actual resolution of the story seems a little too sudden. There is room for further double crossing and underhand dealings. This is a rare example of a story that would stand – and could benefit from – expansion.
The next story, by Paul Magrs, is a strange elliptical and, for me, unsatisfactory tale. Told not so much as a narrative but as snapshots or vignettes, it seems to relate to a house where characters, real and fictional, meet and mingle, including Zenith. Or maybe not. I am not quite sure what the point was, perhaps it is intended to be a sort of post-modern mash-up of characters and fiction. Unfortunately, it did not interest me enough to try and understand it. A miss, then.
Michael Moorcock provides the third story. This is much longer than any of the others and deservedly so. It is, in effect, a full blown Sexton Blake adventure. Licensing issues, presumably, debar the use of Blake’s name, so instead we have Seaton Begg. This is a name that Moorcock has used before, in ‘The Metatemporal Detective’ where Zenith also played a part. Here, however, other Blake characters appear under thin disguises: his assistant Tinker becomes Winker, Dr Huxton Rymer becomes Hoxton Ryman and Mademoiselle Yvonne changes to Mademoiselle Yvette, for example. Again, however, no prior knowledge of the specific characters is needed for enjoyment of this tale of voodoo, the walking dead and life insurance policies. G.H. Teed, responsible for most of the other characters here, would be proud. Great fun.
The next, by George Mann and set in his steampunk alternative world, it would seem, has Zenith threatening the British Prime Minister and a secret service man is set on his tail. The story is enjoyable but very slight. Oddly, Zenith is described as wearing a red cravat with his full evening clothes – surely not an error the original Zenith would have made.
Finally, Stuart Douglas, the book’s editor, provides us with ‘Zenith’s End’. A jaded Zenith, who appears to have taken Fu Manchu’s elixir, winds up in ‘70s Britain. The world has moved on, but he intends to make one last show of things. It is a very short story but rounds the collection off nicely.
In the original stories Zenith died after an air raid in World War II: a slightly sad end for this glamorous anti-hero. But Zenith had already cheated death once before. He was always free to rise again. The only thing that held him back was the changed attitude of post-war Britain that no longer thrilled to larger than life super-villains.
This slim collection is well worth picking up. It is an excellent illustration of how the best and most vivid characters never die. Who knows, perhaps it might even spark renewed interest in the character and he can take his place beside Moriarty, Fu Manchu and Dracula as arch-enemies who have thrived well beyond the confines of their original stories. Maybe his time has come again.
October 24, 2013
A villain from a bygone age, Zenith the Albino was the nemesis (well, one of them) of Sexton Blake, a detective character who bore not a little resemblance to Sherlock Holmes. At the time of this book being produced, Obverse Books had yet to secure the rights to use Sexton himself, but no such issues surrounded the albino prince of thieves Monsieur Zenith. Mark Hodder provides a blisteringly good opener that smartly lays out all you need to know of Zenith's pulpish background in the context of cracking yarn of double crossing and heists. George Mann cleverly weaves the albino into his own steampunk mythos, though his tale is perhaps less effective for being a second perfect introduction to the character when we've already had an excellent one. Stuart Douglas closes the book with a melancholic piece of pulp, in which Zenith's greatest challenge might be the passing of the ages. It's a lovely way to close the collection, while allowing that this character has potential in spades. Paul Magrs and Michael Moorcock are on hand as well, each offering their own takes on the mythos that didn't grip me as firmly as the three already mentioned but that successfully open up the focus of the book.
June 30, 2022
An OK collection, but there's just not enough interesting and innovative.
The Blood of Our Land. A nice classic pulp story with crosses and double-crosses that does a good job of revealing who Zenith is and what his world is like. Nothing original, but a nice modern story in a classic style [3/5].
All the Many Rooms. And this, wow. It's soooooo pretentious. And repetitive. And not any good [1/5].
Curare. Michael Moorcock's novella is probably the reason a lot of people buy this book (myself included). It's a perfectly enjoyable classic detective story with some complex twists that doesn't really lean into Moorcock's Eternal Champion mythos the way most of his other Begg & Zenith stories have [3/5].
The Albino's Shadow. A simple tale of Zenith taking on a new adversary. Nice for its clear depiction of Zenith [3/5].
Zenith's End. The most interesting story of the set, mainly because it takes Zenith and puts him in an uncomfortable setting (the '70s). [3+/5].
The Blood of Our Land. A nice classic pulp story with crosses and double-crosses that does a good job of revealing who Zenith is and what his world is like. Nothing original, but a nice modern story in a classic style [3/5].
All the Many Rooms. And this, wow. It's soooooo pretentious. And repetitive. And not any good [1/5].
Curare. Michael Moorcock's novella is probably the reason a lot of people buy this book (myself included). It's a perfectly enjoyable classic detective story with some complex twists that doesn't really lean into Moorcock's Eternal Champion mythos the way most of his other Begg & Zenith stories have [3/5].
The Albino's Shadow. A simple tale of Zenith taking on a new adversary. Nice for its clear depiction of Zenith [3/5].
Zenith's End. The most interesting story of the set, mainly because it takes Zenith and puts him in an uncomfortable setting (the '70s). [3+/5].
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews