bulk of the book, however, is a flashback to
Roland’s youth and his encounter with a vampire
witch and participation in a major battle. In
Wolves of the Calla(2003) we learn more about the
nature of the Tower and, by implication, the im-
portance of Roland’s quest. He and his friends in-
tercede to stop the Wolves from kidnapping one
half of a set of twins, while Susannah, one of the
companions, begins to act strangely. King also pro-
vides a handful of cross-references to his horror
novels, suggesting a multiverse similar to that of
Michael MOORCOCK.
Song of Susannah (2004) explains the title
character’s odd behavior. She has been possessed
by a kind of demon who takes her to America in
the 1990s. Since time travel is common in the se-
ries, Roland and the rest are diverted to Maine in
the 1970s, where they meet the author himself. Al-
though there is another cliffhanger ending follow-
ing a series of crises, the reader knows that the end
is near, and in The Dark Tower(2004) we discover
the truth at last. Roland reaches his goal, the final
conflict unfolds, and most of the loose ends are
neatly tied up. An episode in the series has also
been published as a chapbook under the title “The
Little Sisters of Eluria” (1999). The series is at
times difficult to read, and the books do not hold
up well separately. The plot is far from linear, and
much of the imagery is not entirely clear. That
said, it is also one of the more impressive works of
modern fantasy because of the originality of its
concept, the depth of characterization, and the in-
tensity of individual episodes.
Davidson, Avram(1923–1993)
Avram Davidson’s quirky, often unclassifiable short
stories first began appearing in the 1950s, and de-
spite the high quality of many of his novels, he is
still best-remembered for stories such as “The
Golem” (1954), “The Power of Every Root”
(1967), “Goslin Day” (1970), and “Polly Charms
the Sleeping Woman” (1975). Although he wrote
several science fiction novels and at least one
pseudonymous mystery, his fantasy novels are gen-
erally held in higher regard. Some of his science
fiction such as Rogue Dragon(1965) uses many of
the artifices of fantasy.
Davidson’s first fantasy novel was The Island
under the Earth(1969), originally planned as the
first in a series, although Davidson never wrote
any of the sequels. A varied cast of characters in-
teracts in a magical land where six limbs are just
as common as four. It was a very unusual setting,
the novel attracted considerable interest, but it
was soon overshadowed by The Phoenix and the
Mirror(1969), still considered Davidson’s best sin-
gle book-length work. The protagonist is the poet
Vergil, who is also a sorcerer and whose adven-
tures are set in a convincing magical alternate re-
ality that Davidson describes in great detail. This
was also planned as part of an extended series, al-
though only one sequel was completed, Vergil in
Averno (1987), actually a prequel involving a
commission to perform certain work in a city
darkened by corruption, complicated by his ro-
mantic entanglement with a married woman. Yet
another trilogy started with Peregrine: Primus
(1971), the story of a young pagan’s fantastic ad-
ventures at the time of the Roman Empire, con-
tinued in Peregrine: Secundus(1981) as he escapes
a curse and meets various mythological creatures.
Davidson never completed what would have been
the final volume.
Ursus of Ultima Thule(1973) borrows from the
CONAN SERIESby Robert E. HOWARDfor its set-
ting, but Davidson approaches barbarian fantasy in
a much more literarily conscious manner than
Howard and his imitators. Marco Polo and the Sleep-
ing Beauty(1988, written with Grania Davis) is an
entertaining historical fantasy but does not mea-
sure up to his earlier work. The Boss in the Wall
(1998, also with Grania Davis) is a minor mystical
fantasy in a contemporary setting. The series of
short stories about Dr. Esterhazy, variously col-
lected, shift back and forth between science fiction
and fantasy. The best of Davidson’s short fantasy
fiction can be found in Collected Fantasies(1982),
although all of his collections include at least
some, usually mixed with science fiction. David-
son, who also edited The Magazine of Fantasy &
Science Fiction for several years, was one of the
most literate and original writers in the genre, and
his work has become even more popular in the
years since his death. Davidson received the World
Fantasy Award for “NAPLES” in 1979.Davidson, Avram 79