Havoc in Islandia

Rating:
Summary: A worthy prequel: the struggle for Islandia's soul.
Review: The year is 1189 and the Catholic Chrch, fueled by a great tide of proselytizing energy in Europe, has penetrated even the utopian country of Islandia, which lies at the south end of the Karain continent in the Southern Hemisphere. At the time described in Mark Saxton's HAVOC IN ISLANDIA, the Church is near to its ultimate goal of turning Islandia into a Catholic country. But the transformation is a costly one. Where it has converted the Isla (ruler of a province), heavy taxes have been imposed, and often tracts of land that supported families have become forfeit to the Isla and the Church, while the former residents join wandering gangs, pillaging and robbing to support themselves. Increasingly, there are those who believe that the Church and all it stands for should be cast out. This is the story of the conflict for Islandia's soul, told in Islandian fashion as the narrative of a single prominent participant. It necessarily suffers from comparison to Austin Wright's original ISLANDIA, for what could compare with that? And yet HAVOC IN ISLANDIA succeeds on its own terms, telling a story that is gripping, eventful, and full of the wise insights into human nature and character that one associates with this unique nation. Like ISLANDIA, it is often a story of the affairs of state, contrasted and intermingled with the personal experiences of one man caught up in those affairs. Some readers may be disappointed by the lack of the intense romantic ruminations and encounters that preoccupied John Lang, ISLANDIA's protagonist; others may find the change a relief. But in HAVOC, Saxton speaks with an authentically Islandian voice, calm, thoughtful, and always honest to a fault. And Islandia's many partisans, of whom I am one, will rejoice to learn that it exists elsewhere than in the pages of Wright's magnificent novel, and that there is yet more to be learned and known about it. (Saxton has written two other Islandian novels which I have not yet read, and I gather other authors have spoken of it as well.) A few minor notes for trivia buffs: the book's jacket tells us that Saxton was the original editor of ISLANDIA; the introduction identifies "Lang III" as the translator of the long-lost narrative; and in this volume, the origin of the city of St. Anthony is revealed. If you are somehow encountering this book before ISLANDIA, by all means read ISLANDIA first. Its pace and tone will be an essential introduction to HAVOC, a worthy prequel.