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Lord Darcy #3
Lord Darcy Investigates
Lord Darcy Investigates is a collection of short stories by Randall Garrett featuring his alternate history detective Lord Darcy. It was first published in paperback in 1981 by Ace Books.
The book collects four Lord Darcy short stories originally published in the magazines Analog Science Fact & Fiction in October 1974 and December 1976, and June 1965, Fantastic in May 1976, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine in April 1979.
The Lord Darcy stories are set in an alternate world whose history supposedly diverged from our own during the reign of King Richard the Lionheart, in which King John never reigned and most of western Europe and the Americas are united in an Angevin Empire whose continental possessions were never lost by that king. In this world a magic-based technology has developed in place of the science of our own world.
The book collects four Lord Darcy short stories originally published in the magazines Analog Science Fact & Fiction in October 1974 and December 1976, and June 1965, Fantastic in May 1976, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine in April 1979.
The Lord Darcy stories are set in an alternate world whose history supposedly diverged from our own during the reign of King Richard the Lionheart, in which King John never reigned and most of western Europe and the Americas are united in an Angevin Empire whose continental possessions were never lost by that king. In this world a magic-based technology has developed in place of the science of our own world.
229 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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268 people want to read
About the author
Randall Garrett
440 books87 followersRandall Garrett's full name was Gordon Randall Phillip David Garrett. For more information about him see https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?239
He was married to Vicki Ann Heydron
His pseudonyms include: Gordon Randall Garrett, Gordon Aghill, Grandal Barretton, Alexander Blade, Ralph Burke, Gordon Garrett, David Gordon, Richard Greer, Ivar Jorgenson, Darrel T. Langart, Blake MacKenzie, Jonathan Blake MacKenzie, Seaton Mckettrig, Clyde (T.) Mitchell, Mark Phillips (with Laurence Janifer), Robert Randall, Leonard G. Spencer, S.M. Tenneshaw, Gerald Vance.
He was married to Vicki Ann Heydron
His pseudonyms include: Gordon Randall Garrett, Gordon Aghill, Grandal Barretton, Alexander Blade, Ralph Burke, Gordon Garrett, David Gordon, Richard Greer, Ivar Jorgenson, Darrel T. Langart, Blake MacKenzie, Jonathan Blake MacKenzie, Seaton Mckettrig, Clyde (T.) Mitchell, Mark Phillips (with Laurence Janifer), Robert Randall, Leonard G. Spencer, S.M. Tenneshaw, Gerald Vance.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
January 6, 2025
A most enjoyable read for me--this is a collection of four short stories featuring Lord Darcy by Randall Garrett (1927-1987). Garrett was a regular contributor to the science fiction magazines of the 50s through to the 70s. The stories in this book all appeared in SF magazines from 1974 to 1979 and the book was published in 1981.
Garrett wrote a series of stories featuring Lord Darcy, a Sherlock Holmes-type investigator in an alternate history. The stories are set in the 1970s but it's a world dominated by the Anglo-French Empire, which dates back to King Henry II, who ruled over England and much of France. The Empire continued on for 800 years under the Plantagenet dynasty and there are Anglo-French colonies in the "New World." Their main rival is the Kingdom of Poland, which controls all of Ukraine and is dominant in eastern Europe. It's a world that seems not to have had a Reformation, as the Roman Catholic Church is the dominant religion of the Empire. Concomitantly with that, science and technology have developed more slowly in this universe. There are trains but most transport still seems to be horse-drawn. The biggest difference is that magic is possible but only under properly controlled conditions.
Darcy uses his deductive powers to solve murders but needs the assistance of Master Sorcerer Sean O' Lochlainn to deal with magic. I liked the character of Master Sean a lot; I found him to be a more interesting character than Darcy and would have liked stories focusing more on him. The cases they work on are intriguing but it's the world of the Anglo-French Empire that I find to be most interesting.
The four stories are:
"A Matter of Gravity"
"The Ipswich Phial" ( this is one I read before in an anthology; I remembered the beautiful spy working for Poland, Olga Polovski, a super villainess and Darcy's nemesis)
"The Sixteen Keys"
"The Napoli Express" ( the best story)
There are two other books featuring Lord Darcy -- "Too Many Magicians"(1966) and "Murder and Magic" (1979).
In 1979, Garrett contracted a viral infection which led to meningitis and/or encephalitis, and, subsequently, severe amnesia. He was hospitalized in 1981 until his death in 1987 ( this information is from Wikipedia).
Garrett wrote a series of stories featuring Lord Darcy, a Sherlock Holmes-type investigator in an alternate history. The stories are set in the 1970s but it's a world dominated by the Anglo-French Empire, which dates back to King Henry II, who ruled over England and much of France. The Empire continued on for 800 years under the Plantagenet dynasty and there are Anglo-French colonies in the "New World." Their main rival is the Kingdom of Poland, which controls all of Ukraine and is dominant in eastern Europe. It's a world that seems not to have had a Reformation, as the Roman Catholic Church is the dominant religion of the Empire. Concomitantly with that, science and technology have developed more slowly in this universe. There are trains but most transport still seems to be horse-drawn. The biggest difference is that magic is possible but only under properly controlled conditions.
Darcy uses his deductive powers to solve murders but needs the assistance of Master Sorcerer Sean O' Lochlainn to deal with magic. I liked the character of Master Sean a lot; I found him to be a more interesting character than Darcy and would have liked stories focusing more on him. The cases they work on are intriguing but it's the world of the Anglo-French Empire that I find to be most interesting.
The four stories are:
"A Matter of Gravity"
"The Ipswich Phial" ( this is one I read before in an anthology; I remembered the beautiful spy working for Poland, Olga Polovski, a super villainess and Darcy's nemesis)
"The Sixteen Keys"
"The Napoli Express" ( the best story)
There are two other books featuring Lord Darcy -- "Too Many Magicians"(1966) and "Murder and Magic" (1979).
In 1979, Garrett contracted a viral infection which led to meningitis and/or encephalitis, and, subsequently, severe amnesia. He was hospitalized in 1981 until his death in 1987 ( this information is from Wikipedia).
January 4, 2024
Pretty standard mysteries with just a bit of magic. Skippable.
I'm detecting a whiff of casual misogyny in these mysteries that is lingering in my head more than the mysteries themselves. Is it coincidence that I might actually have to finish all of the stories to see if my hypothesis pans out.
I'm detecting a whiff of casual misogyny in these mysteries that is lingering in my head more than the mysteries themselves. Is it coincidence that I might actually have to finish all of the stories to see if my hypothesis pans out.
January 26, 2020
This is a good collection of four Lord Darcy novelettes originally published in the mid- to-late 1970s in digest sf magazines of the time. Darcy was a Holmesian detective in an alternate world where magic works (though it has to adhere to very strict rules). and the political climate is different due to the Plantagenets retraining power because Richard returned to rule rather than dying. They're very clever works, great for mystery and history buffs as well as sf readers. My favorite story in this one is The Napoli Express, which obviously owes quite a bit to Agatha Christie.
August 4, 2020
Great detective/mystery stories and the magic aspect just makes them the better all the way around. Fun and entertaining read. Recommended
October 23, 2021
I decided to re-read our collected Lord Darcy books again for the first time in about 30 years this was the final one, and it was fun seeing which classic murder mysteries the author had decided, by this point, to pastiche :)
Read
October 15, 2012I liked the first Lord Darcy book I read quite a lot, but this one, a collection of short stories or possibly novellas, is just bad Sayers rip-off material. The solution to the first is a knock-off of that in Busman's Honeymoon, and when the setup to the second looked to be a near verbatim rip of Have His Carcase, I thought, Dude, really? I have no problem with borrowing from other sources, but at least try to be a little less obvious?
March 10, 2025
The last collection of Lord Darcy short stories printed during Garrett's lifetime. Another enjoyable quartet of mysteries. ★★★ and 1/2 (rounded up here)
"A Matter of Gravity": Another locked room mystery. This time we have an aristocrat who has apparently flung himself out of closed tower window. The only clue is a bright flash of light that seemed to bounce around the room (and observed by guardsmen below) before he fell. Garrett's story, like many of his others, pays homage to various Golden Age detectives/authors. John Dickson Carr was the master of locked room mysteries and both he and Michael Innes have stories which feature a death involving a tower. But the murder itself most resembles a Sayers story featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. But to speak plainly about it would reveal all to anyone who has read the story.
"The Ipswich Phial": More cloak and dagger with Polish agents. The body of one of His Majesty's secret agents is found shot to death on the unbroken sand of a Normandy beach. A visiting gentlewoman out for a walk discovers him and the only footprints are her own. The agent had been on the trail of a Polish spy who had stolen a new secret weapon--the Ipswich Phial. Darcy not only solves the apparently impossible murder, but retrieves the missing weapon. No direct references to other authors/detectives that I caught, but the plot has the feel and humor of a Steed & Peel Avengers episode.
"The Sixteen Keys": Lord Sefton is found dead in a locked room in his locked summer cottage. He had gone to retrieve an important packet containing a top-secret naval treaty for the Duke of Normandy. Now he's dead and the packet is nowhere to be found. Lord Darcy & Master Sean are on the case! This one returns to the very Holmesian feel of some of the others--Lord Darcy keeps things very much in the dark till the very end. There is also a connection to Oscar Wilde--though the maintenance of youth isn't as much due to the dark arts.
"The Napoli Express": Lord Darcy and Master Sean are travelling incognito to deliver the naval treaty rescued in the previous story. While aboard the Napoli Express, the murder of a naval officer occurs and the two simply must get the crime solved quickly so they don't miss their appointment with foreign dignitaries. But how can they do so without breaking their cover--especially Lord Darcy's? Garrett has given us a Murder on the Orient Express pastiche with both very familiar scenes and dialogue: "They are lying," Praefect Cesare said flatly, three hours later. Each and severally, every single one of the bastards are lying." after interviewing the passengers one-by-one in the dining car. And they all know each other, though they are trying (unsuccessfully) to pretend otherwise. But Garrett also gives circumstances and scenes a twist allowing for a different solution.
"A Matter of Gravity": Another locked room mystery. This time we have an aristocrat who has apparently flung himself out of closed tower window. The only clue is a bright flash of light that seemed to bounce around the room (and observed by guardsmen below) before he fell. Garrett's story, like many of his others, pays homage to various Golden Age detectives/authors. John Dickson Carr was the master of locked room mysteries and both he and Michael Innes have stories which feature a death involving a tower. But the murder itself most resembles a Sayers story featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. But to speak plainly about it would reveal all to anyone who has read the story.
"The Ipswich Phial": More cloak and dagger with Polish agents. The body of one of His Majesty's secret agents is found shot to death on the unbroken sand of a Normandy beach. A visiting gentlewoman out for a walk discovers him and the only footprints are her own. The agent had been on the trail of a Polish spy who had stolen a new secret weapon--the Ipswich Phial. Darcy not only solves the apparently impossible murder, but retrieves the missing weapon. No direct references to other authors/detectives that I caught, but the plot has the feel and humor of a Steed & Peel Avengers episode.
"The Sixteen Keys": Lord Sefton is found dead in a locked room in his locked summer cottage. He had gone to retrieve an important packet containing a top-secret naval treaty for the Duke of Normandy. Now he's dead and the packet is nowhere to be found. Lord Darcy & Master Sean are on the case! This one returns to the very Holmesian feel of some of the others--Lord Darcy keeps things very much in the dark till the very end. There is also a connection to Oscar Wilde--though the maintenance of youth isn't as much due to the dark arts.
"The Napoli Express": Lord Darcy and Master Sean are travelling incognito to deliver the naval treaty rescued in the previous story. While aboard the Napoli Express, the murder of a naval officer occurs and the two simply must get the crime solved quickly so they don't miss their appointment with foreign dignitaries. But how can they do so without breaking their cover--especially Lord Darcy's? Garrett has given us a Murder on the Orient Express pastiche with both very familiar scenes and dialogue: "They are lying," Praefect Cesare said flatly, three hours later. Each and severally, every single one of the bastards are lying." after interviewing the passengers one-by-one in the dining car. And they all know each other, though they are trying (unsuccessfully) to pretend otherwise. But Garrett also gives circumstances and scenes a twist allowing for a different solution.
Read
April 12, 2012This is a book of short stories, but unfortunately I don't have a copy to elaborate in detail. I remember that one story involved a man who was spell-blind, and couldn't understand magic, either as a a practitioner or as an observer. A terrible disability, which is compared with tone-deafness, or color-blindness. But really it's worse than that, and warps the poor man's mind. More like anosmia, which ruins people's sense of taste, and robs them of a lot of savor and richness in life.
Randall Garrett was a very knowledgeable and skilled writer. The grafting of the fantasy and ordinary elements is often nearly invisible.
Case in point: When I noticed that the doctors were called 'chirurgeons', I had a vague idea of a connection with 'chiropractors', and also with 'hands', since I knew the word came from the Greek 'cheir-', meaning 'hand'. But just today I looked up the etymology of 'surgeon', and found that it came from Norman French 'cheirurgeon' In the Angevin Empire of the stories, wherein French and English never grew apart, it's reasonable that the term would be retained in the original form.
Just one detail that adds depth and texture to what could be, in another's hands, very simple stories.
Randall Garrett was a very knowledgeable and skilled writer. The grafting of the fantasy and ordinary elements is often nearly invisible.
Case in point: When I noticed that the doctors were called 'chirurgeons', I had a vague idea of a connection with 'chiropractors', and also with 'hands', since I knew the word came from the Greek 'cheir-', meaning 'hand'. But just today I looked up the etymology of 'surgeon', and found that it came from Norman French 'cheirurgeon' In the Angevin Empire of the stories, wherein French and English never grew apart, it's reasonable that the term would be retained in the original form.
Just one detail that adds depth and texture to what could be, in another's hands, very simple stories.
April 4, 2021
The last collection of "Lord Darcy" short stories (well, the last written by the original creator, anyway). Decent alternate history/magic/detective stories with the addition of espionage in several cases. Enjoyable, but, in some cases Garrett gets a bit over the top with his homages to classic detective tales - The last story, for example, is "Murder in the Napoli Express." I have no idea who why the cover art on this edition features a vampire-looking dude, as none of the stories have vampires, or even mysteries that would seem to point in that direction.
January 1, 2020
The conceit is fun -- an AU with magic where the King of England rules over everything in sight, except maybe the bad guys in the Polish empire. And everything is gung-ho Regency or something, with aristocracy and women on pedestals but ignored and loads of class stuff and royalty. But the good guys are good and the bad guys are good.
The final story did a riff on Murder on the Orient Express, with a murder on an express train to Italy. I'm not sure if it is meant as an homage or an insult.
The final story did a riff on Murder on the Orient Express, with a murder on an express train to Italy. I'm not sure if it is meant as an homage or an insult.
September 25, 2010
A magical whodunnit set in an alternate 20th century universe. Great fun, hard to find now, but certainly worth it!
March 25, 2020
3,5'tan 3.
March 1, 2025
These're fun short mystery stories, set in a world with magic studied like science, medievalesque flavor, and vaguely-Victorian technology. Our detective is a nobleman of the Anglo-French Empire; his aide and sidekick is a sorcerer who's always ready to explain. The magic is usually, but not always, flavor and tool for detection.
What stood out the most is these are fundamentally conservative stories. It's not just that the stories treat the pseudo-medievalesque social system as a good thing; it's that it always works out in the stories! There are dishonorable individuals, but the larger system cleans up the messes they make. Even when (in one story) we see parents disapproving of young lovers, the parents are proven wise in the end!
It's not something I'd like to see in every story - and these aren't deep stories in terms of character - but it was fun.
What stood out the most is these are fundamentally conservative stories. It's not just that the stories treat the pseudo-medievalesque social system as a good thing; it's that it always works out in the stories! There are dishonorable individuals, but the larger system cleans up the messes they make. Even when (in one story) we see parents disapproving of young lovers, the parents are proven wise in the end!
It's not something I'd like to see in every story - and these aren't deep stories in terms of character - but it was fun.
June 26, 2025
I first read these as they appeared in Analog Magazine back in the olden days. They’re excellent as ever, especially if you’re up enough on classic mysteries to catch the myriad of allusions and pastiches. The stories were groundbreaking crossovers when they first appeared, and are very much worth your time. I was a tad disappointed that the amazing story, The Eyes Have It, wasn’t in the collection.
December 16, 2018
An intriguing alternative history world where the Plantagenet royal line never fell and where magic rather than science is the dominant technology. This book is a series of mystery stories exploring crime and detection in that world.
April 5, 2022
As good as I remembered
I first read this many years ago. I enjoyed it then, and enjoyed it again just now. Now I go on to read his Too Many Magicians which actually takes place between stories in this book.
-tc
I first read this many years ago. I enjoyed it then, and enjoyed it again just now. Now I go on to read his Too Many Magicians which actually takes place between stories in this book.
-tc
February 5, 2023
Fun, short collection of mysteries set in an alternate Earth where magic is real and the Plantagenet empire rules most of western Europe; the mysteries themselves are highly reminiscent of Hercule Poirot and, despite the cover, Lord Darcy is not a vampire.
December 24, 2019
Brilliant as the others
March 5, 2023
I had read Too Many Magicians once, and so I was interested in this book. Lord Darcy in short format is lovely too. But I guess it's Sean O Lochlainn who's the reason. It was before too.
April 22, 2023
More of the interesting stories from this alternative history. The last story (written a decade after the previous) dragged a bit but I still enjoyed the book.
June 14, 2009
Randall Garrett died to soon. An alternate history where magic is real, and King Richard the Lionhearted didn't die young, and founded an Anglo-French empire.
Lord Darcy is a detective, and these stories and others are his case book. Nearly a five
Lord Darcy is a detective, and these stories and others are his case book. Nearly a five
October 13, 2014
I like the idea of an alternate history but I need to be filled in to the differences. Interesting idea having magic intertwined with the world around us but I would have liked that too investigated deeper. The only investigating was done by Lord Darcy but those cases seemed borrowed at times.
June 12, 2023
I think I have a crush on Lord Darcy. It's such a great pity that Garrett didn't have the opportunity to write more of these stories.
April 19, 2014
Like Sherlock Holmes but with forensic magic and a little less dickish
July 10, 2015
Good book.
January 9, 2016
Great alternate reality fantasy.
Want to read
January 1, 2023A Matter of Gravity (1974)
The Ipswich Phial (1976)
The Sixteen Keys (1976)
The Napoli Express (1979)
The Ipswich Phial (1976)
The Sixteen Keys (1976)
The Napoli Express (1979)
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews