The Reign of Wizardry

by Jack Williamson

Before the Glory of Greece, Crete ruled the known world - and kept it enslaved by black magic! The evil of Minos held sway, protected by three unconquerable walls. First is the fleet that they call the wooden wall. Then there is a giant of living brass - he is the second wall. Then there is another barrier about the power of Minos, the Wall of Wizardry. Theseus, the tall Achean, the man they called Captain Firebrand, vowed to scale and destroy all three, and to rid the world of the evil yoke of Crete.

But Minos had other defences besides the walls, and many ways to attack as well . . .

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Mythology

193 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1940

About the author

John Stewart Williamson who wrote as Jack Williamson (and occasionally under the pseudonym Will Stewart) was a U.S. writer often referred to as the "Dean of Science Fiction".

Reviews

[S.E. Lindberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the Sword and Sorcery Group on Goodreads continuing to sponsor group-reads, I re-discovered Jack Williamson who wrote fantasy from ~1930-2001. I tracked down The Reign of Wizardry (with the Frank Frazetta cover) and Golden Blood to read. This review covers the first.

This ~142 page novel, first published in 1940, reads as a solid pulpy adventure. It could easily have been a Howard Conan novella. Jack Williamson presents the classic Theseus (i.e., Minotaur slayer of Greek mythology, and founder of Athens) as a heroic avenger out to remove the evil, Minoan sorcerers of Crete.

In fact, Theseus conceals his identity, going as "Captain Firebrand." There is an over abundance of going undercover; Firebrands even assumes the role of "Gothrung the wandering Northman" (a third identity, and very Conan like). It reads real fast, and in a few hours you join Firebrand on a dozen daunting missions. Betrayals and disguised impostor-ing abound. It fits most requirements of Sword & Sorcery:
1- Magic abounds, and it is usually evil black-robed wizards dishing it out
2- Our hero has a magic sword with special powers, called "Falling Star"
3- Melee - lots of battles
4- Fast pacing, focus on action more than character (though the characters had just the right amount of depth
5- Lots of early pulp adventure were steeped in historical fiction; Robert E Howard's fascination with pioneer-like adventure and the history-infused Hyborian Age, this one retells classic Greek mythology with pulpy flare
6- Predicaments - Theseus is constantly challenged by overwhelming odds, and manages to survive somehow.

Highly recommended for fans of pulp adventure and Sword & Sorcery

Cover Blurb:
Before the Glory of Greece, Crete ruled the known world - and kept it enslaved by black magic! The evil of Minos held sway, protected by three unconquerable walls. First is the fleet that they call the wooden wall. Then there is a giant of living brass - he is the second wall. Then there is another barrier about the power of Minos, the Wall of Wizardry. Theseus, the tall Achean, the man they called Captain Firebrand, vowed to scale and destroy all three, and to rid the world of the evil yoke of Crete.

But Minos had other defences besides the walls, and many ways to attack as well...

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the beginning, Theseus is gunning for the fall of the Minoan empire. His hell bent obsession is fueled by his unflappable bravado. Despite the odds or the circumstances Theseus cannot and will not be daunted. Fine and well, but it seemed contrived. Heroes don't have to be supermen. Otherwise, it was a decent read.

[Jon]

3.5 stars

I read this as one of the Best Novel nominees for the 1941 Retro Hugo Awards. A surprisingly good reimagining of the tale of Theseus and the Labyrinth. Because it's fantasy, and mythically based, it stands the test of time better than the Golden Age science fiction stories I've been reading.

[Morgan Dhu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading Jack Williamson's Reign of Wizardry (it's one of the Retro Hugo finalists) is like stepping back into my childhood, the days when many science fiction and fantasy novels were brisk swashbuckling adventure stories based, sometimes quite openly, other times more subtly, on legends and folktales, and ancient history.

Reign of Wizardry is set in the time of the Minoan Empire, and calls on the myth of Theseus, the Athenian who killed the Minotaur and broke the hold of Minoan Crete over the Mediterranean world. In Williamson's fantasy, the power that sustains King Minos is wizardry, and Theseus must set human courage and ingenuity against supernatural forces - aided by the love of Ariadne, daughter of Minos and priestess of Cybele.

This is a very Golden Age fantasy, for all that it stays rather close to the bones of the Greek legend. The hero is from the same mould as Conan - bold, strong, smart, a warrior with a touch of barbarian nobility fighting against the decadent, cruel, and immeasurably wealthy forces of corrupt magic. The woman is a cypher who exists only to fall madly in love at the hero's passionate kiss and betray everyone she's ever known, everything she's ever believed in, to help him defeat the only world she knows. It's a fast, tightly plotted read that moves from set piece to set piece with efficiency and provides all the entertainment the Golden Age reader expected.

[Ignacio Senao f · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nos narra como un ser que se aburre mucho y le gusta los deportes de riesgos. Se centra en querer matar a un Rey-Dios, porque el lo vale. Para conseguir esto pasara por guerras marinas, pruebas, luchas con titanes, brujos, y la más dura de todas: abrazar a su amada.

Está asegurada la acción y la aventura. También lo común, poco original y previsible. Ahora antes de leerla: busca que sea tu momento de dejar el cerebro en la repisa donde estaba el libro.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2572137.html

this is a very competent retelling of the Greek legends of Theseus, with some parts of other legends thrown in, that rises to a cracking good conclusion.

[prcardi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Storyline: 2/5
Characters: 2/5
Writing Style: 3/5
World: 2/5

The only work from Jack Williamson which I had previously read, The Legion of Time, led me to expect a pulp science fiction novel written in the swashbuckling style of the 1930s magazine serials. One can tell from the first page that this is no Legion of Time. In fact, this was not science fiction, but a mythological historical fiction following a character from lore through his new adventures. The first few chapters show a Williamson very much taking seriously the adventure tale, setting the characters into place, putting the mystical objects within reach, giving the backstories, and foreshadowing the trials to come. The merits of the tale should not be overstated, though. Williamson never makes any genuine effort on the historical fiction angle, merely snatching up a known character and slipping him into a period and place which sounds plausible enough and then foregoing any cultural, technological, geographical details that would betray ignorance or error. The defining feature of the book, in fact, was this confidently promising just enough with the writing style, the intentions, and the worldbuilding to lull the reader into accepting as fact that these things had already been accomplished. Thereafter whenever the characters called for depth, Williamson supplies some tawdry exchange. When the plot needed careful planning and positioning, he rammed through with momentum, when the world was ready for some detail and description, our author simply left it out. If the first half of the book was written just capably enough to get you to think that this was something more than pulp action-adventure, the second half was a frenzied dash to the end before you caught on to the fact that it was not.

It looks like this was originally published in Unknown magazine (the fantasy companion to Astounding Science-Fiction, some quick reading tells me). Given the time, I can believe that this stood out as being more capably written than the rest. While Williamson and The Reign of Wizardry might fare well in comparison to his peers of the day, they suffer badly when taken out of that very limited setting.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps because Jack Williamson was named the second science fiction Grand Master, in 1976, and managed to cop both the coveted Hugo and Nebula Awards, it is easy to forget that the Arizona Territory-born author did write in other fields than just sci-fi. For example, I have already written here of his marvelously scary novella "Wolves of Darkness" (1932), as well as his now-classic lycanthropy novel "Darker Than You Think" (1948)...two works that doubtless helped him win the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement, conferred on him by the Horror Writers Association in 1998. And I have also written here of one of Williamson's early forays into the field of fantasy, 1933's "Golden Blood," which surely conduced to his being given the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1994. Williamson, to be sure, was hardly a one-trick pony. Well, now I would like to tell you of another one of Williamson's infrequent visits outside of the sci-fi genre; namely, his highly regarded fantasy creation entitled "The Reign of Wizardry."

"The Reign of Wizardry" originally appeared as a three-part serial in the March - May 1940 issues of "Unknown" magazine, editor John W. Campbell's fantasy-oriented companion to his "Astounding Science-Fiction." "Unknown" only lasted for four years, from 1939 till 1943, when wartime paper shortages led to its premature demise; still, it remains one of the most respected fantasy-geared publications of all time. (The author's early, shorter version of "Darker Than You Think" would appear in the December 1940 issue, incidentally.) Williamson's fantasy offering would then go OOPs (out of prints) for 24 years, till Lancer Books opted to reprint it in paperback form in 1964. Lancer, which would shortly hit it big with reprints of Robert E. Howard's Conan and King Kull stories, would reissue the book in 1968 (the edition that I was fortunate enough to nab; a typo-riddled, large-print affair) and 1973. Phantasia Press would come out with its own hardback edition in 1979, featuring some beautiful cover art by Stephen Fabian, and most recently (well, in 2012, anyway), an ebook edition was released by the publisher Gateway/Orion. Williamson, who lived to the age of 98, an active writer to the end of his long life, was only 32 when "The Reign of Wizardry" was initially released. At that point, he'd already come out with over 50 short stories and a dozen novels, including the first three salvos of his Legion of Space series (1934's "The Legion of Space," 1936's "The Cometeers," and 1939's "One Against the Legion"), and "The Reign of Wizardry," as it turns out, was still another impressive feather in his young cap.

In his introduction, the author tells us that the Minoan civilization on Crete was at one time the envy of the world, its sailing fleet and cultural attainments unmatched by those of any other empire. But then, this Bronze Age island empire suddenly and spectacularly collapsed, and Williamson's book purports to show us what happened. Thus, the reader is introduced to the legendary Grecian hero Theseus, the redheaded son of the Achean king Aegeus. After Athens' vanquishment by the hordes of Crete, Theseus had run away from home, vowing to defeat Minos, the king of the Cretan empire, as well as the wizards who kept the populace of Crete subjugated in fear. Most especially did Theseus wish to cause the downfall of The Dark One, the wicked god of those wizards. And so, when we first encounter Theseus, he has assumed the leadership of a Grecian pirate ship and is known to his men as Captain Firebrand. After pillaging a vessel owned by the world's richest man, Amur the Hittite, and sinking its two Cretan escorts, the men find on board the beautiful Princess Tai Leng from distant Cathay, whom Cyron, Theseus' right-hand man, claims as his own. But Cyron is infuriated to discover that the princess is, in actuality, a diminutive Babylonian wizard named Snish; a wizard of small abilities whose main power seems to be magically appearing as someone else. After a run-in with the Cretan fleet, commanded by one Admiral Phaistro, Theseus and Snish bring the captured merchant ship to Crete, crashing ashore and making their way inland after a confrontation with Talos, the 12-foot-high man of bronze who guards the island. (Talos, twice as tall as a man and distressingly hot to the touch, as if powered by internal fires, is surely an intimidating proposition, but not nearly as intimidating as the 50-foot-tall Talos in the wonderful 1963 film "Jason and the Argonauts.")

While on the wizard-ruled island of Crete, Theseus allows himself to be arrested and thrown into the arena. It is the time of the contests, held every nine years; any winner of the nine trials in the arena will supplant Minos as king, with Minos exiled into the underground lair of The Dark One. Appearing in the guise of a blonde Norseman, thanks to Snish's arts, Theseus miraculously survives the nine trials, to the consternation of Minos, his archwizard Daedalus, and his beautiful daughter Ariadne. Ultimately, however, Theseus still finds himself in a very unfortunate position: locked in the underground caverns of The Dark One, with the fearsome Minotaur lurking somewhere about. But as might be imagined, this is hardly the end of the redheaded pirate warrior's adventures on the accursed isle....

"The Reign of Wizardry," you may have noticed, is very much Jack Williamson in full Robert E. Howard mode, emulating here the Texas-born father of the sword & sorcery genre who had tragically suicided at age 30, four years earlier. Lovers of fantasy fiction in that particular mode should find much to enjoy here, although, with Campbell as editor, even the fantastic trappings in the book are somewhat grounded in realism. Happily for this reader, whose high school readings in the Greek myths were a very long time ago, no previous knowledge of such lore is required here for a full enjoyment of Williamson's work; such background material as is necessary is quickly sketched in along the way. The book is wonderfully well written, as might be expected of this author, and sweeps the reader resistlessly along. It is a nicely detailed affair, but not abundantly so; the story's sweep and drive are never allowed to take a backseat to overly verbose descriptions. And, of course, the author peppers his story with some tremendously exciting set pieces, skillfully well placed throughout. Among them: the battle between Firebrand's pirate ship and the two Cretan vessels, employing a novel battering beak of Theseus' own design; the naked and half-starved Theseus' nine battles in the arena, versus three bulls, three armed men, and three flights of arrow, boomerang and slingshot; the lengthy exploration of The Dark One's subterranean maze; the slave revolt that Theseus and his band of pirates engage in; and the hopeless, single-handed battle that Theseus wages against Talos underground. It is all tremendously exciting fare, violent and occasionally gruesome. Howard himself might have smiled on with approbation.

Williamson also gives his readers a wonderful roster of secondary characters. Theseus' allies--the bearded Cyron, the one-eyed Tirynthian cook Vorkos, the constantly shivering and timorous cobbler-turned-wizard Snish--are men whom anyone would wish for in a desperate pinch, while his foes are a nicely variegated bunch: the foppish Phaistro, the venal Amur the Hittite, the dimpled and roly-poly Minos, the skull-faced (and sadly underused) Daedalus, and the lovely, mysteriously motivated Ariadne, seemingly never seen without a white dove perched upon her shoulder. Not to mention Talos, as monstrous and implacable an opponent as any hero of myth could ever encounter.

For the rest of it, let me add that although the magics of the wizards in Williamson's book are quite legit, and hardly shams, they are here confined to a manipulation of the weather, the ability to shoot lightning bolts, a suspension of the aging process, those aforementioned identity illusions, and Talos itself, whatever it might be. There is also a neat reference to the tragic Icarus, when Ariadne shows Theseus a flying craft that Daedalus had designed, and mentions that it is "safer than the first, fragile machine, that killed his son." And in a book that features but a single main female character, Ariadne, how nice to see some of the female slaves participate in that revolt, too, and handle their weapons with some literal vengeance. It is a pity, actually, that Williamson could not have used this novel as a stepping-stone to an entire sword & sorcery series, a la Conan, centered on Theseus and his buddies Cyron and Snish. As it is, however, we are left with this one outing, and it is indeed a fine one.

Fine, but hardly perfect, and as a matter of fact, I ultimately came away with several major problems here. For one thing, "The Reign of Wizardry" wraps up a bit too abruptly for this reader's tastes, almost crying out for a sequel. I was also a bit disappointed with how the expected confrontation with the dreaded Minotaur played out here. Perhaps what Williamson presents to us is a tad more realistic than what we'd been anticipating, but that hardly makes it more satisfying. I could also not understand why Theseus' sword belt becomes uncomfortably tight when Snish gives him the seeming illusion of being the more muscular Norseman. Is his body physically changing or not? Similarly, I was a bit confused by Talos himself/itself. Is Talos supposed to be a mechanical man, a sort of prehistoric robot, or what? Some brief word on its background and nature would have been appreciated. But perhaps my biggest problem with Williamson's work here rests on the four or five big surprise twists that he shoehorns into his novel's final 20 pages; twists that, besides being wholly unnecessary, just don't work, serve only to add confusion, and undermine much of what had come before. Those last 20 pages, let me tell you, really disappointed me; a more straightforward culmination would have worked so much better for this reader. But really, who am I to argue with a future Grand Master?

I suppose the bottom line here is that "The Reign of Wizardry" is a terrifically entertaining yet ultimately disappointing novel; one that will nevertheless provide a few evenings' worth of rip-roaring fun. It's certainly not up to the quality of that same year's "Darker Than You Think," but then again, how many books are?

(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at https://fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most ideal destination for all fans of Jack Williamson....)

[Gregory Mele · Rating 2 out of 5]

SO, I acknowledge that Jack Williamson is one of the SF grandmasters whose career stretches back to the Weird Tales era and lasted into the late 80s. Having read some of his later work I get it, and considering the expansive ideas he had going all the way back to his 20s, I see the creativity...

...But man, from his earlier work you'd never have guessed it; especially when dealing with fantasy, contemporary or otherwise. Last year I read "Darker Than You Think" his lost race/shapeshifter/contemporary occult novel (well, contemporary in the 40s) and found it full of brilliant ideas with preposterous character situations and a shockingly dumb protagonist. Now I just read Reign of Wizardry, his early (1939) fantasy novel that recasts the story of Theseus as sword and sorcery, written as a flagship serialized novel for John W. Campbell's short-lived foray into fantasy. It's not bad pulp fantasy, but let's say that while there are characters named Minos, Theseus and Ariadne, and it happens someplace called Crete....it's pretty far from its source material; which is fine in and of itself but again the characterization is shockingly weak (even for pulp fantasy) and the final twists and reveals don't really make a lot of sense. Not terrible, interesting for its historical value, and a perfectly fine way to spend an evening, but no more.

[Norman Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Retro Hugo Award Finalist (1940)

This short novel was first serialized in 1940. There were almost no science fiction novels being published at that time, and the ones that were were often just mindless pap. This novel is not just a brainless pulp adventure, although the swashbuckling action is at the forefront. Jack Williamson was one of the all-time grandmasters of science fiction, and although this is from early in his career, it is a well organized and exciting read. Based on the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur, it adds motivation and backstory to help round out the characters. It's not quite up to the standards of some of the other Retro Hugo nominees, but it is good enough to be on the final ballot and receive some attention.

[Kris · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the introduction to this edition Williamson talks about how Campbell wanted the work for his new title Unknown to be very different from what was published in Weird Tales. I find it strange to point it out in this work as sits much closer to the work of Howard than that of Leiber or DeCamp.
Loosely based on Theseus and The Minotaur, it blends lots of notes about older societies (often anachronistically) together into this story of evil scientist-wizards controlling an island and these strongly muscly heroes trying to bring them down. The whole story is rather expected, the characters are cliches and there is a rather nasty racist undertone going through the story. One to avoid I feel.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Williamson's versatility comes out in this novel, originally published in 1940. As I continue in my quest to read all of the Science Fiction Grandmasters, I am surprised to stumble across this effort, which contains no elements of Science Fiction whatsoever. The Reign of Wizardry is pure fantasy.

The introduction to this 1979 revised edition explains why. Apparently, John W. Campbell, Jr., well known for his publishing, had written to Williamson, inviting him to contribute to his new fantasy venture, called Unknown. So, Williamson offered this story.

The tale is a mythological epic, in my opinion, taking place in Minoan Crete. Our hero is a pirate named Theseus, also known as Captain Firebrand. Using his trusty sword, Falling Star, he sets out to end the reign of wizardry that has captivated Crete for centuries. He aims to do battle with their prevailing god, the Dark One.

The writing style is, admittedly, campy, but that's what makes this story so much fun for me. I will admit that it took me a little bit to really get into it, but once I did, I did not want to put it down. Theseus battles bulls, men, and wizards, falls in love with Ariadne, and takes on the metal giant, Talos. He is even cast into the infamous Labyrinth, to have his soul consumed by the Dark One.

My enjoyment of Mr. Williamson increases with each experience, and this one did not disappoint.

[Baldurian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una piacevole rielaborazione del mito del Minotauro in salsa fantasy con una discreta coda fantascientifica: lettura scorrevole e mai noiosa (complice anche il ridotto numero di pagine), il giusto tasso di azione e dei personaggi interessanti benché un po' bidimensionali.
La lotta di Teseo contro Minosse e la sua magia si è rivelata perfetta per un paio di giorni di lettura da spiaggia (in quel di Creta, neanche a farlo apposta). Non ho gridato al miracolo, ma tutto sommato L'impero dell'oscuro mi ha divertito.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in in the Bronze Age, this immediately separates it from much of the rest of Appendix N. The book moves at a fast clip and keeps the readers attention (though parts of it do feel dated - Snish being described as "yellow-skinned" and "frog-like" hasn't exactly aged well).

[Per · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part 1 - https://archive.org/details/UnknownV0...
Part 2 - https://archive.org/details/UnknownV0...
Part 3 - https://archive.org/details/Unknown_v...

[Risa Fey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the edition with 254 pages, and while this story contains much in cliche and expected happenings, it was still a highly entertaining read! But the edition I got (at least) read like a messy manuscript in need of some cleaning up. There was a lot of possibility for expanding on the details and taking time to savor a slower pace. I don't take away from the book's rating for any of these reasons since I truly was entertained. I loved the descriptions, word-choice, and the little wizard Snish (whose "end" did not satisfy me where his story is concerned). The word-choice got to be repetitive, and I do like repetition to an extent, but it got to be excessive. Like I said: it felt like a messy manuscript to me! Interesting ending, one I wished could have been savored with better pacing. A quick read. Recommended when you want to fly through pages and get some satisfying old-school cliche on.