By any standard, the release of James Stoddard’s “The Back of Beyond” in January should have drawn as much acclaim as Tad Williams’ return to the world of “The Dragonbone Chair” and the rest of the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy. But it seems to have fallen between the cracks of the world so far, much like how wonderful books such as Barry Hughart’s delightful Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox have faded from view over time.
Stoddard draws from a different well that most current fantasy authors. His books often seem reminiscent of the works of Lord Dunsany and other predecessors of Tolkien and Lovecraft, given a slight updating to modern sensibilities and storytelling — perhaps the closest author I can think of is Peter Beagle. “The High House” and the rest of the Evenmere trilogy, with its house of infinite rooms that somehow reflects the entire cosmos, is cousins of a sort to Borges’ “The Library of Babel” and Susanna Clarke’s much-anticipated “Piranesi.”
With “The Back of Beyond,” Stoddard has showed he has matured as a writer, and I greatly enjoyed it. Take nine adventurers — mostly mortal, some not — and have them venture from the magical realm of Faerie, bound as it is by the familiar rules of Story, into the even more mystical realm known as the Back of Beyond. It’s a place where even denizens of Faerie dread to tread — a place so alive, everything from animals to trees, to every leaf of grass and drop of rain, to even the sun and the moon, has a voice.
Nine characters seems a bit much, but for the most part Stoddard fleshed them out over time to my satisfaction. I do feel his female characters are a bit weak.
All in all, the plot, setting and characters generally unfold in a charming manner. With an intriguing setting and solid storytelling, I do recommend this.