originally published, Jove, 1979
Three years after the events of Spawn of the Winds, Hank Silberhutte is the warlord of The Plateau. He's leading expeditions into further reaches of Borea, looking for new lands to conquer. DeMarigny, on the run in his flying clock, chased by the Hounds of Tindalos, pops in. Hank's team sees the clock, and Hank recognizes it.
DeMarigny lands by a small lake to rest, but is attacked, first by lizard/leech things, then by the Wolf Tribe, who take him prisoner. Hank rescues him, but the Wolf Tribe runs off with the clock. DeMarigny and Hank go after it, with the help of DM's flying cloak. Then Hank is taken prisoner. Then DeMarigny rescues him (yeesh!). But the Wolf Tribe still has the clock.
Meanwhile, Armandra is reading Hank's mind and feeling possessive when Ithaqua makes a play for her. But Tracy drives him off with a star-stone.
While DeMarigny recovers in the tunnels, Ithaqua makes off with the clock, depositing it on one of Borea's two moons. But which one? DeMarigny and Hank leave on a expedition in search of the clock, borne by Armandra's air elementals to the moon Numinos. There they immediately encounter a tribe of Viking/Gaels (you heard me), the clan of Thonjolf the Red. Thonjolf is absent, but Annahilde, the witch-woman, takes charge. She explains that an enemy tribe, allied to Ithaqua, is coming to attack the clan. It turns out that Annahilde is descended from earthlings, and has a niece, Moreen, who is special, and favored of Ithaqua, who intends to take her as a bride. She has secreted Moreen on "The Isle of Mountains". She tells DeMarigny and Hank that they must go and get her. And prophesies that DM will fall in love with her on sight. Meanwhile, Hank rumbles with Harold, Thonjolf's drunken bully son.
With Annahilde's gifts of "warming powder" (allowing them to survive cold climates) and "dreaming powder" (which causes hallucinations), Hank and DeMarigny set off. The Isle of Mountains turns out to be shaped like a star-stone! Their longships are attacked by the traitorous Harold, but his ship is attacked by giant bats. The bats turn out to be friendly, and lead DeMarigny and Hank to the Isle, using the flying cloak. There they find another friendly tribe. After some hospitality, DeMarigny is taken to Moreen. He falls in love with her on sight.
The cavern tribe and the giant bats fight the invading Harold and other enemies, while DeMarigny learns the clock is on the other moon, Dromos, in the hands of the "Ice Priests" of Ithaqua. Armandra sends her air elementals to turn the tide of the battle, and carry Hank, DeMarigny and Moreen to Dromos.
Dromos is covered in ice. The Ice Priests are survivors from prehistoric Theemdra (see Lumley's "Primal Lands" stories). Tall, thin, white and hairless, they live deep in caverns under the surface of Dromos. They are master illusionists, but DeMarigny, Hank and Moreen overcome their illusions and rescue the clock. With Hank back on Borea, DeMarigny and Moreen set off in search of Elysia.
Well ... christ what do I say? We're now five books into the series and it just keeps getting worse. Okay, Borea does have some virtues. It's better than The Transition of Titus Crow. It is at least coherent. It's a fast read.
The fact remains though, that nothing comes off. Hank Silberhutte is an uninteresting hunk of manly manliness. DeMarigny is still an uninteresting doormat. Armandra an emotionally unbalanced diva. Moreen is sweet as sugar candy and she talks to the animals(!). Ithaqua sits around, looking big and cloudy with his "carmine" eyes (of which we are repeatedly reminded) and laughing evilly, but otherwise never doing a damn thing. And the tribal cultures are just a series of straw men, set up to be knocked over. The whole novel is one big shrug. Lumley was running out of steam on this series, and it's no surprise he didn't return to it for 10 years.
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