What do you think?
Rate this book
Kelwin
ARCHAIC
From the Great Midsee to the two Calfrei's, the year 2906 saw Nordland in upheaval. There were rumors of war as the pseudo-Sioux pushed south from the Indian confederation in a strange alliance with the yellow-skinned wizards of Hunan, far to the North...and for the first time since the Disaster of a thousand years earlier, all of Nordland seemed poised on the brink of annihilation. Into the middle of the war stirrings came Kelwin the Broon, finder - and occassionally manufacturer - of archaics, the tantalizing treasures that were all the remained of the world before Disaster. Aided only by his apprentice, Base, and armed with his wits and his half-knowledge of things better forgotten, it was his task to stop the war before the visitation of another Disaster...
(Source: back cover)
From the Great Midsee to the two Calfrei's, the year 2906 saw Nordland in upheaval. There were rumors of war as the pseudo-Sioux pushed south from the Indian confederation in a strange alliance with the yellow-skinned wizards of Hunan, far to the North...and for the first time since the Disaster of a thousand years earlier, all of Nordland seemed poised on the brink of annihilation. Into the middle of the war stirrings came Kelwin the Broon, finder - and occassionally manufacturer - of archaics, the tantalizing treasures that were all the remained of the world before Disaster. Aided only by his apprentice, Base, and armed with his wits and his half-knowledge of things better forgotten, it was his task to stop the war before the visitation of another Disaster...
(Source: back cover)
223 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
59 people want to read
About the author
Neal Barrett Jr.
150 books44 followersNeal Barrett, Jr. was a writer of fantasy, science fiction, mystery/suspense, and historical fiction. His story "Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus" was nominated for both the 1988 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and the 1989 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 15, 2018
Note, July 15, 2018: as I very rarely do, I've just added a star to my rating of this novel. Reflection over the subsequent years has added to my appreciation of its merits; and four stars better reflects my subjective enjoyment of it than three.
Centuries after the destruction of high-tech civilization in a now only dimly-understood nuclear war, the western lands of the former U.S. are home to a hodgepodge of small kingdoms/fiefdoms with more or less medieval technology and social structure, tribes of both genuine Indians who have reverted to their nomadic ways and of white Pseudo-Sioux who've copied them, and (in the north) long-settled Asiatic invaders. (The former Midwest is now submerged under an inland sea.) In this setting, the title character plies the trade of an antiquities dealer in 20th- century artifacts; he's also tough and adventurous, traits that will stand him in good stead when he and his apprentice are dragooned by the local strongman into a trip north, into the realm of another kinglet, to bring back his runaway daughter. In the course of this adventure, they'll have to deal with rabid wolves, capture by Indians, a girl who's not interested in returning home (and who's involved in more than she appears to be), a large-scale plot to foment a widespread war of conquest, and a maniacal petty king who believes he's found a way to harness the lightning as a mobile military weapon.
This isn't a deep novel, by any means; such messages as are inherent in its good vs. evil, loyalty and goodwill vs. treachery and self- seeking plot conflict, and in its favorable depiction of courage, duty and willingness to defend others, are pretty much right on the surface. But that's not necessarily a bad place for them to be :-); and its an entertaining, fast-paced adventure in a readable style, with an original and well-drawn setting, no illicit sex and no memorable amount of bad language, and a hero who would have been at home in the classic pulp fiction era. Barrett wrote this early in his career (and it remains the only one of his works that I've read so far). I originally assumed that it was part of a series, partly because the world Kelwin inhabits is sketched so broadly you expect it to be the setting for more than this one episode, and partly because several details are mentioned casually but not explained in depth, and I assumed they were introduced and explained in earlier books. (For instance, Kelwin's full-name is Kelwin the Broon, and he's often addressed just as "Broon;" I assume that's his clan name, but this is never clarified.) Just last year, I learned that it's actually a stand-alone novel; that seems a pity, because it would have made a genuinely good series of its kind! Maybe Barrett will eventually write a sequel, or let another writer develop the potential of the character and setting more fully?
Centuries after the destruction of high-tech civilization in a now only dimly-understood nuclear war, the western lands of the former U.S. are home to a hodgepodge of small kingdoms/fiefdoms with more or less medieval technology and social structure, tribes of both genuine Indians who have reverted to their nomadic ways and of white Pseudo-Sioux who've copied them, and (in the north) long-settled Asiatic invaders. (The former Midwest is now submerged under an inland sea.) In this setting, the title character plies the trade of an antiquities dealer in 20th- century artifacts; he's also tough and adventurous, traits that will stand him in good stead when he and his apprentice are dragooned by the local strongman into a trip north, into the realm of another kinglet, to bring back his runaway daughter. In the course of this adventure, they'll have to deal with rabid wolves, capture by Indians, a girl who's not interested in returning home (and who's involved in more than she appears to be), a large-scale plot to foment a widespread war of conquest, and a maniacal petty king who believes he's found a way to harness the lightning as a mobile military weapon.
This isn't a deep novel, by any means; such messages as are inherent in its good vs. evil, loyalty and goodwill vs. treachery and self- seeking plot conflict, and in its favorable depiction of courage, duty and willingness to defend others, are pretty much right on the surface. But that's not necessarily a bad place for them to be :-); and its an entertaining, fast-paced adventure in a readable style, with an original and well-drawn setting, no illicit sex and no memorable amount of bad language, and a hero who would have been at home in the classic pulp fiction era. Barrett wrote this early in his career (and it remains the only one of his works that I've read so far). I originally assumed that it was part of a series, partly because the world Kelwin inhabits is sketched so broadly you expect it to be the setting for more than this one episode, and partly because several details are mentioned casually but not explained in depth, and I assumed they were introduced and explained in earlier books. (For instance, Kelwin's full-name is Kelwin the Broon, and he's often addressed just as "Broon;" I assume that's his clan name, but this is never clarified.) Just last year, I learned that it's actually a stand-alone novel; that seems a pity, because it would have made a genuinely good series of its kind! Maybe Barrett will eventually write a sequel, or let another writer develop the potential of the character and setting more fully?
January 22, 2011
You know, perhaps its because i ran afoul of a long string of crap of late, but this book was surprisingly not too sucky, especially for 1970. There are plenty of warning signs on the cover: Published by Lancer, makers of "quality" swill, sides of the pages dyed purple, which is always the worst color, the back cover promises post-apocalyptic barbarian-fi, with old technology being unearthed from the past, and that almost never goes well, And look at the cover painting. Look at the muddy, anatomically challenged piece of hackery.
And our hero is called, "Broon", or "the Broon", and maybe twice the titular "Kelwin" (This is never explained.) His side kick is a apprentice, named "Base" The other review with a plot synopsis is accurate, so I wont repeat it here.
But, surprisingly it was fine. Far, better than it should have been. Its well written enough, (like 20% better than you'd expect) the plot is mildly complex and doesn't use the usual plot devices, things in the end, make sense. Its more of a political intrigue/mystery plot than anything else. The characters, are a little thin, but at least the conversations between the B & B duo are mildly entertaining, and they aren't as thin as the usual fantasy book of this era. The world, makes enough sense, and is reasonably fleshed out. And the ancient unearthed technology doesn't end up being insulting, or unrealistic. It had a few teaspoons of style sprinkled throughout.
Look, this book isn't fine literature, or have anything deep at all (at all..) to say. But for its genre and time period, its well above average. It didn't inspire any hatred/bile/sarcastic marginalia from me, and that is saying alot. So, if you got a 3 hour bus ride, and see this in used book store beforehand, its not a bad option.
And our hero is called, "Broon", or "the Broon", and maybe twice the titular "Kelwin" (This is never explained.) His side kick is a apprentice, named "Base" The other review with a plot synopsis is accurate, so I wont repeat it here.
But, surprisingly it was fine. Far, better than it should have been. Its well written enough, (like 20% better than you'd expect) the plot is mildly complex and doesn't use the usual plot devices, things in the end, make sense. Its more of a political intrigue/mystery plot than anything else. The characters, are a little thin, but at least the conversations between the B & B duo are mildly entertaining, and they aren't as thin as the usual fantasy book of this era. The world, makes enough sense, and is reasonably fleshed out. And the ancient unearthed technology doesn't end up being insulting, or unrealistic. It had a few teaspoons of style sprinkled throughout.
Look, this book isn't fine literature, or have anything deep at all (at all..) to say. But for its genre and time period, its well above average. It didn't inspire any hatred/bile/sarcastic marginalia from me, and that is saying alot. So, if you got a 3 hour bus ride, and see this in used book store beforehand, its not a bad option.
July 11, 2009
I liked this quite a bit but preferred his Aldair books. Still, well written.
April 4, 2018
Don't judge a book by its cover. I expected this one to be a Conan-style swordfest based on the picture but there's no scene like this anywhere in the story (although there are a few fights I guess). However I wasn't surprised to see an advert for several Conan novels at the end of my copy so maybe the publisher had a cover image going spare. Even the title is misleading as the hero is usually called 'The Broon'.
Instead Kelwin is a sort of antiques dealer who recovers and sells objects from the present day in a post-apocalyptic USA around a thousand years from now. He is asked by the local feudal lord to go to another 'kingdom' and retrieve his daughter and prevent a war. The following events are actually quite involved and more of a political thriller than anything with a few action scenes thrown in.
Not as terrible as I feared it might be but not brilliant either. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of the interpretation of what the ancient (to the characters) artefacts are.
Instead Kelwin is a sort of antiques dealer who recovers and sells objects from the present day in a post-apocalyptic USA around a thousand years from now. He is asked by the local feudal lord to go to another 'kingdom' and retrieve his daughter and prevent a war. The following events are actually quite involved and more of a political thriller than anything with a few action scenes thrown in.
Not as terrible as I feared it might be but not brilliant either. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of the interpretation of what the ancient (to the characters) artefacts are.
May 16, 2010
This story reminds me of Jack Vance's Dying Earth, however, the language is nowhere near as interesting and beautiful. If you wanna read something by Barrett, I'd recommend starting somewhere else, but it's not a bad read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews