A short time later the narrator encounters an-
other cat, remarkably similar to Pluto and also
lacking one eye, which follows him home and
seems affectionate, although he feels a growing
aversion to the animal, perhaps because it reminds
him of his guilt. The markings on the cat’s chest
resemble a gallows, a portent of things to come. In
a moment of ungoverned rage, he kills his wife,
then walls her up in the basement, working clev-
erly so that there is no evidence that the existing
structure was altered. Unfortunately, while police
are searching the house, they are alerted by the
scream of the cat, which he inadvertently walled
up with his wife’s corpse.
Although there is clearly a supernatural ele-
ment in this story, it is chiefly concerned with the
psychology of the protagonist, who is essentially
trapped by his own guilt, guilt which made him ac-
quire the cat in the first place and probably sub-
consciously prevented him from realizing that the
cat had been left inside the makeshift tomb. It is
one of Poe’s most subtle and effective stories and
an enduring classic of literature.
The Black CauldronLloyd Alexander(1965)
The Black Cauldronis actually the second title in
the Prydain series by Lloyd ALEXANDER, although
it is the best-known because of the 1985 animated
movie version, which actually covers the events in
that novel and in the first in the series, The Book of
Three(1964). Prydain is a mythical land where
magic works, but it is based in large part on Wales
and Welsh legends. In the first volume we are in-
troduced to Taran, an assistant pig keeper who is a
young boy with big ambitions who wants to be a
hero and fight for his people. Taran meets several
other characters who will eventually play a larger
part in later volumes, and their early interactions
are often enlivened by Alexander’s subtle but witty
sense of humor. We also learn that everyone and
every occupation have value and that artisans are
just as important as warriors.
The series borrows heavily from mythic stereo-
types. Like Merlin, Gandalf, or Dumbledore, Dall-
ben is the wise old man who imparts wisdom but
who cannot fight young Taran’s battles for him.
Taran resembles Frodo, the young Arthur, or even
Luke Skywalker, an innocent with good intentions
who will be tested greatly. Alexander adds some
original characters in support, including some un-
usual witches and a traveling troubadour whose
part-time job is to be king, and then sets his heroes
in opposition to an evil force determined to rule
them all, in this case the Horned King.
The tone turns much darker in The Black
Cauldron,as we learn that the good characters are
not necessarily going to survive to the end, that
there is some good and bad in each of us, and that
even decent people may falter and commit an evil
act. The cauldron is a magical artifact that allows
the evil army to replenish itself by animating the
bodies of fallen soldiers, and Taran seeks to destroy
it in order to reduce the enemy’s resources. The re-
maining three titles in the series, which bring the
conflict to a conclusion, are The Castle of Llyr
(1966), Taran Wanderer(1967), and The High King
(1968). Alexander also wrote some shorter works
set in Prydain.Black EasterJames Blish(1967)
The vast majority of James Blish’s published work
was science fiction, including the classic novel A
Case of Conscience(1958), in which he examined
the possibility that Satan might share the power of
creation with God. This novel was part of a the-
matic set with the historical novel Dr. Mirabilus
(1964) and two novels of supernatural horror,
Black Easterand The Day after Judgment,the latter
two consisting of one continuous story. The overall
title for the four novels was After Such Knowledge.
Black Easterwas first published in serial form
as Faust Aleph Null.The two major characters are
Theron Ware, a modern-day wizard who uses black
magic to pursue knowledge, and Baines, a wealthy
but bored entrepreneur who hires Ware to release
a number of demons from hell for a single night’s
rampage. The underlying premise to what follows
is that God is, in fact, dead, a device used again
with considerable effect in Towing Jehovah(1994)
and two sequels by James MORROW. The freed
demons wreak great devastation, but when it is
time for them to return to hell, they refuse to go.
Ware protests because their advent was supposed
to have been preceded by the Antichrist, but the24 The Black Cauldron