LORD JOHN AND THE HAND OF DEVILS

Author: Diana Gabaldon ISBN: 9780385311397 12/2007 HISTORICAL ANTHOLOGY Publisher: DELACORTE
Period: Georgian

In Lord John and the Hellfire Club, Lord John glimpses a stranger in the doorway of a gentlemen's club—and is stirred by a desperate entreaty to meet in private. The rendezvous forestalled by a sudden murder, Lord John will wade into a maze of political treachery and a dangerous, debauched underground society. . . . In Lord John and the Succubus, English soldiers fighting in Prussia are rattled by the nocturnal visitations of a deadly woman who sucks life and soul from a man. Called to investigate the night-hag, Lord John finds a murdered soldier and a treacherous Gypsy, and comes to the stark realization that among the spirits that haunt men, none frighten more than the specters conjured by the heart. . . . In Lord John and the Haunted Soldier, Lord John is thrust into the deadly case of an exploding battlefield cannon. Wounded in the same battle, Lord John is called to tesify and soon confronts his own ghost—and the shattering prospect that a traitor is among the ranks of His Majesty's armed forces.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

LORD JOHN AND THE HAND OF DEVILS has somewhat of a supernatural lilt to its title, even though it really doesn't have much to do with the supernatural or paranormal. If you were expecting this to be a crossover book between that genre and historical fiction, then you might end up being a bit disappointed.

The first story, Lord John and the Hellfire Club, is really too short to be more than an introduction into the character who is Lord John. The suspense isn't all that suspenseful and there's nothing surprising about the storyline revolving around an underground men's club (or cult, you might call it), initiation rites, a murder and mysterious monks. If anything, it's simply a lead up to the other two novellas.

The second, and the one with the most paranormal bent to it, takes place in Germany in a Transylvania like setting. With its gothic overtones, suggestions of vampires and evil, seductive creatures of the night, Lord John and the Succubus is the most suspenseful and dark of the three novellas. In it, Lord John must search through ancient folklore and superstitions to uncover an enemy who threatens to undermine his entire army. Also notable in this tale is the realistic way in which the German-accented English is written and its sprinkled tidbits of humor and comic relief.

The last story, Lord John and the Haunted Soldier, wasn't at all what I expected it to be, at least not after reading the title. The haunted soldier doesn't really refer to a ghost at all (even though one does manage to make an appearance), yet I found this novella to be the most well developed and intriguing of the three. It's a better character study of the man who is Lord John and just what makes him tick. While Lord John and the Succubus is a more mysterious, supernatural toned tale, Lord John and the Haunted Soldier is by far more of a whodunit, and the best and most complex when it comes to the depth and emotional study of his character. It also is the best written of the three.

Overall, LORD JOHN AND THE HAND OF DEVILS is well worth the read, a must have for anyone who wants their library of Diana Gabaldon books to be complete, especially those featuring the character of Lord John Grey.

Nancy Davis