Recent reads

Operation Chaos, by Poul Anderson. The futuristic cover on the 1999 paperback reprint of this book is not only ugly, it's downright misleading, as is the tagline declaring it to be "Poul Anderson's Science Fantasy Masterpiece".

It's not futuristic or science-oriented at all. Instead, it's an adventure tale set in an alternate version of the present day where creatures from medieval superstition like werewolves, witches, vampires and incubi not only exist, but are used in organized modern warfare and spycraft. The story begins with the protagonist, one Steve Matuchek, observing a military encampment on the eve of the battle in terms as dismally realistic as any real-life war memoir.

There's nothing so discouraging as a steady week of cold rain. The ground turns liquid and runs up into your boots, which get so heavy you can barely lift them. Your uniform is a drenched rag around your shivering skin, the rations are soggy, the rifles have to have extra care, and always the rain drums down on your helmet till you hear it in dreams. You'll never forget that endless gray washing and beating; ten years later a rainstorm will make you feel depressed.

But before too long it becomes evident that this is not the army we know, as our narrator comments on the insignia of the Air Force -- "the winged broomstick and the anti-Evil-Eye beads" -- and passes by the encampments of other service branches:

Beyond was the armor. The boys had erected portable shelters for their beasts, so I only saw steam rising out of the cracks and caught the rank reptile smell. Dragons hate rain, and their drivers were having a hell of a time controlling them.

Perhaps I should not reveal any further plot details. Our narrator is not exactly a garden-variety infantryman himself, and his adventures, and those of the beautiful red-haired witch from the unicorn-riding US Cavalry with whom he is assigned to work on a scouting mission against the headquarters of the supernaturally-augmented Army of the Caliphate, might lose some of their appeal if too many details are disclosed.

Structurally, the story seems to be divided into three or four parts which are linked only by the setting and two central characters. A glance at the copyright page confirms that parts of the novel were indeed published as short stories in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction between 1956 and 1969. It holds together well enough for coherence even if the seams are slightly visible, but even after reading it twice I still can't figure out what the preface, a rambling three page disquisition on alternate worlds purporting to come from a drugged speaker from the future, has to do with anything else in the book. Perhaps the editor of the first printing of these collected stories felt that readers in 1971 weren't quite ready for the concept of alternate worlds, and insisted that such a preface be tacked on. At any rate, once the first chapter begins, Anderson seems to have forgotten about this introductory personage as thoroughly as E.R. Eddison forgot about Lessingham after the first chapter of The Worm Ouroboros. I would suggest that other readers -- as well as future republishers -- do likewise.

The tone of the novel is frequently reminiscent of Heinlein's books of the same period, and the dedication -- "To Robert A. Heinlein, who first incorporated magic, and his own red-haired Virginia" -- suggests that this is not an accident. (The aforementioned witch is named Virginia, or, when more convenient, just Ginny.)

As usual, I find myself wondering not only about the influences that acted on the author of this story (did some knowledge of the Mormon church inform Anderson's description of the "Johannine Church" in the last segment of the book?) but also wondering what influence it may have had on later authors such as Harry Turtledove and Naomi Novik.