John Ford

Steve Lines

The Night Eternal is a dark Arabian fantasy inspired by the writings of William Hope Hodgson, Clark Ashton Smith and the Arabian Nights, with a little bit of Lin Carter thrown in for good measure. It was also inspired by the books put out by editor Lin Carter as part of his Ballantine Adult Fantasy series. From the introduction by Simon Clark: The novel begins, as you will soon see, with the imagery and style of an Arabian fairy story. But swiftly it becomes a visceral action tale where scimitars flash and entrails spill bloodily to the floor. From there, we follow Khalik, our adventurer hero, as he embarks on his disturbing odyssey through 'the Demonic Realm known as The Night Eternal.' Deliciously opulent imagery, eroticism and a swiftly unfolding plot carry the reader away on enchanted wings to mystery and excitement. Not in a long while have I read anything as vivid as this. I could almost smell the incense from smouldering frankincense, hear the beat of dragon skin drums, and feel the heat of another sun, in another kingdom, in another time... The novel has the poetic resonance and ambitious scope of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (1678). And it contains, as both John and Steve readily acknowledge, flavours of the iconic authors William Hope Hodgson, Clark Ashton Smith and Robert E. Howard. But to suggest it's a pastiche of that trio's output is simply not true. The Night Eternal is a vibrant, image-rich work of such visionary power that I found myself holding my breath as I turned the pages.

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