Limekiller

by Avram Davidson

Avram Davidson's six Jack Limekiller stories create a rich and colorful world where the magical and inexplicable coexist with the outboard motor and the escalation of the American war in Vietnam.

British Hidalgo is "a place that you can put your arms around" - welcoming and friendly to the visitor, but uncanny beings dwell in the bush and roam along its coast. Afloat and ashore, Jack Limekiller, master of the working sailboat Saccharissa, encounters ghosts of the colonial past and monsters far older.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories

Audible Audio

First published November 1, 2003

About the author

Avram Davidson was an American Jewish writer of fantasy fiction, science fiction, and crime fiction, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche. He won a Hugo Award and three World Fantasy Awards in the science fiction and fantasy genre, a World Fantasy Life Achievement award, and a Queen's Award and an Edgar Award in the mystery genre. Davidson edited The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction from 1962 to 1964. His last novel The Boss in the Wall: A Treatise on the House Devil was completed by Grania Davis and was a Nebula Award finalist in 1998. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction says "he is perhaps sf's most explicitly literary author".

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

These, like all of Davidson's stories, are eccentric, unexpected journeys where you never quite know what shape they'll take. Not because he bakes in twists and turns to surprise the reader. Rather they meander through the ebbs and flows and (numerous) eddies of his incomparable imagination. These Limekiller stories made for fantastic Halloween reading. They take their time getting to where they're going, set in a fictitious backwater tropical British colony, often with no real sense of a plot until quite late in the game when some supernatural phenomenon or other rears its head and presents an opportunity for a chilling and quizzical denouement. The wonder here is in the journey, exploring the small details and nuances of the people and places that come alive from Davidson's amazingly vivid and evocative prose.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just re-read this book, decades after I first read it. Still loved it! Jack Limekiller has many fantastic adventures - truly fantastic, involving ghosts, supernatural events, etc. All in British Hidalgo, which is completely different from what we're used to in logical, orderly North America. These stories transport you to another place and time. Highly recommended!

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading this book for the third time, and I'll read it again. It's a collection of six stories concerning the adventures of a sailer in a Central American nation 'small enough to put your arms around.' Based on the author's experiences, the plots of the stories are fairly humdrum horror. But they draw on a well of erudition far beyond what you normally see, and the simple stories are elaborately decorated with discursive loops of exposition, marvelously rendered sensory details, and some of the very best dialect writing ever. And the stories are not so much told as presented -- despite multiple readings, there are certain passages that still have me puzzled as to their precise meaning and intent. This is not inept writing; it is challenging. And delightful. Davidson has a very eccentric, very personal prose style that is consistent across works with different settings, intents, and genres, and it is at its best in this volume. Funny, frightening, and above all else intelligent, this is a one of a kind book from a one of a kind writer. I was tempted to give it four stars due to the plotting being but a skeleton for the prose, but the prose won out.

[Jim Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Avram Davidson was a unique writer. Nobody wrote quite like him. His best fantasies are both unforgettable and, in many cases, difficult to describe in a way that conveys what makes them so great. Much of it is the style. Even in those of his stories were nothing much -- at least nothing much -- related to the main story seems to happen, his prose -- the descriptions, the words, the asides, the literary references -- cary you along.

Limekiller is a collection of his stories of Jack Limekiller, a Canadian ex-pat living in British Hidalgo (a fictionalized version of British Honduras). Limekiller hangs around town, living on his boat, and hoping to rent it to tourists. Meanwhile, he gets pulled into fantasy adventures, that only firmly become fantasy near the end of each story. Much of the rest of the story involves Limekiller and his interactions with the people and country around him. It's hypnotic and hard to put down, but equally hard to describe why anyone who appreciates good writing should run out now and read Avram Davidson.

Recommended.

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has Goodreads stopped doing audiobook editions? Because I listened to this on audio, read wonderfully by Marc LeVasseur, and what a gorgeous listen it was, as Davidson's relaxed expatriate living in his yacht in relaxed British Hidalgo has assorted uncanny encounters and unsettling adventures. Davidson's unique style takes long circumlocutions seemingly besdies the point, if there is a point, until suddenly they're all part of the point. One must imagine Tristram Shandy with a knowing glint in his eye. Immensely enjoyable, occasionally laugh out loud funny, occasionally deeply chilling, always lovable and eccentric.

[Luke Bell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like these stories. Before I started reading I had visions of exotic jungle exploration and untold mysteries waiting to be brought to life... Instead I read rambling incoherent stories that lacked any excitement or wonder. The author clearly had a gift for phoneticizing accents - so much so that most of the dialogue is incomprehensible. The protagonist is also dull and devoid of character. It's never really explained why he's in this country and what he wants to achieve; he spends about 70% of the time in bars drinking and not much else. The detail is excruciatingly boring; I like detailed writing as long as it moves the plot along. This doesn't; there is very little direction or meaning in most of the text, and all of the stories are too long by half. The fantasy elements are fleeting, and tease much promise, but fall flat as they are never truly explored. Very disappointing.

[Lord Humungus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic, immersive, probably anecdotal work. Like ghost stories written by a tropical Charles Bukowski, except way better. Highly recommended. This collection and the author were recommended in another collection (Year's Best SF?). This was so good it made me read his excellent unhistory book as well. In fact if I ever find another Avram Davison book while browsing, I'll probably just get it and worry how good it is later.

[Adam Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Davidson's writing is absorbing. His ear for dialect is admirable, and his prose is rich and eloquent. I felt that whatever supernatural quality existed in the story collection was somewhat subsumed by the overwhelming character of the region in which they are set, but that is a small nit to pick. Overall a very satisfying read!

[AndrewP · Rating 2 out of 5]

Published as 'Sleep Well of Nights' when I read it.