Lord Darcy #1: Too Many Magicians

by Randall Garrett

Paper Book, 1966

Tags

!wishlist, !series, !series: first, mystery, magic

Collection

Wishlist

Series

Lord Darcy (1)

Rating

½ (72 ratings; 3.7)

Genres

Publication

Boston : Gregg Press, 1978, c1966.

Description

Fantasy. Fiction. Mystery. Short Stories. HTML:Set in an alternate reality where Richard the Lionheart's descendants rule the Anglo-French Empire, the laws of magic have developed in place of the laws of physics. In this late 20th century world, people still travel through pea fog by horse and carriage, but magic has made levitation and enchantment spells the norm, especially at a sorcerer's convention. The International Sorcerer's Convention is in full swing. Until London's Chief Forensics Sorcerer, Sir James Zwinge, is found dead inside a locked room, that is. Master Sean O Lochlainn had been at odds with Sir James over competing breakthroughs in incision-free surgery, making him the prime suspect. It's up to Lord Darcy to solve Sir James' murder and exonerate his own forensic sorcerer and trusted assistant. But the mystery deepens when the murder of a Naval spy is connected to that of Sir James' death. Conflict with Poland, a dominating world power, changes the game and suddenly there is a lot more at stake than the freedom of Lord Darcy's old friend. Too Many Magicians was nominated for the Hugo Award in 1967, and the complete Lord Darcy series later won the Sideways Award for Alternate History.… (more)

Language

English

Original language

English

User reviews

LibraryThing member BruceCoulson
One of the better blendings of alternate history, fantasy, and detective story. Set in a world where Richard the Lion-Heart managed to survive an infected wound and lived long enough to oversee the development of magic, Lord Darcy is called upon to solve a classic 'locked-room' murder mystery.
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 Sinister plots, spies, and an intriguing world kept me reading.
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LibraryThing member bragan
In an alternate world where English history happened differently and magic is an ordinary profession, first a spy and then a master magician are killed, and Lord Darcy -- a character not at all subtly based on Sherlock Holmes -- is called in to investigate.

The book suffers a little bit from
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 infodumping, including the generally annoying "As you know, Bob" kind, but the magic system is interesting and the mystery is rather well done. There were one or two points where I got a little confused, mainly because I was having trouble keeping track of the characters, but that may be more my fault than the book's, as I was reading it under less than ideal circumstances. I kept feeling more and more impressed with it as I read, then having to put it down again only to have trouble getting back into it later, so it's difficult, on balance, to know quite how I feel about it. I will say at least that the solution to the mystery comes together neatly and makes sense, and that the magic is woven into the logic in a way that plays fair with the reader. So if you enjoy fantasy, alternate history, and mystery and like the idea of mixing them together, it's worth a look.
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LibraryThing member jamespurcell
Twenty years ago, I would have rated this book higher but it seems slow, overly complicated and dated.
LibraryThing member librisissimo
Substance: Lord Darcy solves another baffling case through ratiocination, one-upping his cousin the Marquis of London, and without much of the usual aid from his side-kick Master Magician Sean O Locklainn.
The clues are fairly laid and, as with all the Darcy stories, the deductions are not
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 dependent on magic any more (or less) than Holmes' are on forensic analysis: Master Sean's evidence is only one strand among others. The conclusion's satisfactory twist owed part of its coil to the existence of magic nonetheless. It also owes a great deal to Christie's "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" IYKWIMAITYD.
I am personally very fond of the alternate-history world Garrett has created by continuing the Plantagent / Aquitaine dynasty in an Anglo-French empire; the introduction of magic as a major construct (very civilized, not sword-and-sorcery) is a bonus.
FWIW, Darcy's given names are never given. He is the Lord of Arcy in France (Lord d'Arcy).

Style: Garrett's style here is reminiscent of the punctilious use of titles and courtly etiquette typical of Heyer's Regency romances, although the sole romantic entanglement is only a lightly touched element. One of the pleasures of the Darcy stories, abundant in this, the only novel of the oevre, lies in spotting the puns, hat-tips, and parodies. Many "English" names are spelled in a French fashion, for one thing, and others are simple translations of well-known fictional figures. He also uses a large number of obsolete and archaic spellings and synonyms for today's vocabulary.

Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin are prominent role-models, down to cloning most of the essential elements of Stout's novels, including the house, orchids, and side-kicks. I spotted the analog to Gandalf the Grey, but one reviewer claims to have noticed James Bond as well, who I missed somehow.

NOTES:
NOTE: I have read the book before, and actually re-read the damaged copy that I trashed, rather than this particular one.
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LibraryThing member Murphy-Jacobs
Sherlock Holmes with magic. Fun read.
LibraryThing member quondame
A romp through a magical alt-present (1966) London where the Plantagenets still rule and magicians take the place of scientists and engineers. There are multiple murders and a various red herrings before the fish is netted.

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