The Vorhh (2015) by Brian Cartling

Book Review

The Vorhh (2015)

by Brian Cartling

  This book was recommended to me by a friend. It's what you would call a low fantasy, it's a recognizable version of our actual world, set in a faux-German colonial outpost in late 19th century Africa.   The city sits at the edge of an ancient forest, which is called, for reasons unexplained,  the Vorhh. 

  Cartling introduces a dozen major characters including real life French surrealist Raymond Roussel and famous English photographer and orthological eccentric Eadweard Muybridge.  There is also a horny cyclops and myriad eccentric and supernatural denizens of the forest primeval.  And a couple of strong female characters who are involved with said horny cyclops.

   What is it all about? It's hard to say. Rare indeed when a work of fantasy leaves me scratching my head over the broad contours of the plot, as was the case here.  Colonialism is certainly a theme, racism, as part of that.  The Bible and Christian eschatology are in there but again I couldn't exactly say how.   Certainly Catling is miles away from a conventional fantasy plot revolving around a quest for a hidden ring and such, although there are elements of the hero's quest as one among the many threads.  The Vorhh is the first book in a trilogy, and I presume the story becomes clearer the further you read, because after the first volume, I had little idea what lay ahead.