Peter Saxon - The Killing Bone (Berkley Medallion, 1968: Howard Baker, 1970: Five Star, 1972)
blurb from 5 Star edition:
From a tribe whose way of life has not changed since the Stone Age comes a threat as old as the Dark Gods themselves.
Half a world and thirty thousand years away men are struck down by ancient but powerful magic.
But why? And from where?
From the cold wet streets of London in December to the sun-baked desert of Australia's outback, The Guardians, fighters against the Powers of Darkness - wage at first a losing battle, which starts on earth but reaches its thrilling climax in a world beyond worlds with weapons outside the knowledge of most of mankind.[/i]
It certainly is 'powerful magic'. I've just left Father John Dyball in St. Botolph's hospital, tending a healthy - but, nevertheless dying - mystery patient who even the sceptical Dr. Bowen suspects is a victim of hoodoo juju voodoo magic. "The prognosis is slow death - or suicide by will power."
Dyball learns from the porter (formerly his Sergeant Major) that the man has had a visitor, an Australian, "frightened out of his nelly" who left in a grey van with a boomerang emblem on the side. That decides him - this is a job for the Guardians.
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pulphackAlthough a lot of Guardians readers (...) aren't that fond of this, it's one of my faves. Unlike a lot of them, I like Fr John Dyball, as his struggles with his faith and the church are well-drawn in some of the books. So it's nice to see him take centre. It may also be because of a fascination with Aborigines and the Dreaming (there goes another kanga, on the the bonnet of the van, etc), which is something about their belief system that has always enticed.
Meanwhile, back at the book, it's one of the pacier ones if i recall. Which always helps.
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dem Yes, definitely Father Dyball's show so far. Gideon Cross, founder of the Guardians, "an occultist whose arcane knowledge could not have come from books alone", is holed up in his quarters with the enigmatic Anne Ashby who may or may not be a reincarnated witch. Lionel Marks, ex-private eye and, to all intents and purposes, relatively normal, is off exposing a pub landlord's sham poltergeist in Yorkshire, which only leaves supreme anthropologist Steve Kane and even he's tied up although he does suggest Australia House as the likeliest place to find out who's got a van with a boomerang logo.
When he arrives there's a party in full swing. It's been thrown in honour of aborigine artist Van Diemen who the government have decided to patronise to death as a gesture of goodwill to his people. The fellow makes a scary impression on Father John who wonders in the man's surname sounding like 'demon': could he be in some ways connected with the mystery patients condition? Also he gets to meet and befriend hard-drinking Aussie reporter Ned Kelly of
The Southern Globe whose life is a 24 hour pub-crawl, so the investigation isn't without its plus points.
Ned agrees to help him, and they arrange to meet at a bring-a-bottle party in a West End squat. Dyball has the good sense to ditch the dog collar in favour of a pink shirt and screaming floral tie so he can mingle better with Ned's pissed-up, dope-smoking countrymen and their "Chelsea dollies" grooving to
Sergeant Pepper, Bach, and trad jazz all at the same time. Ned suddenly disappears without a word and one of the dollies offers to drive Father John to him. He accepts a lift in her red sports car ... and his nightmare is about to begin.
To be continued ... ---------------------------------------------
nightreader (a month later)
Talk about leaving us with a cliffhanger! I had to read the book just to find out what happened next
I've yet to come across a Guardian's story that I really didn't like, so I kind of knew from the start it would be an entertaining read. No major surprises here, even though the gang were a bit fragmented - it's mainly a Dyball and Kane show throughout but none the worse for that. And I liked the addition of Ned Kelly, a likable character and not a stereotypical Australian at all
There's a great scene where Father Dyball suddenly decides to take off for the Australian Outback. Those were obviously the days - he books a ticket in a false name then pays by cheque with his own and no one bats an eyelid, then it's on to BOAC and Australia, with barely a hint that anyone has even looked at his passport! It's this kind of period stuff that makes these such fun to read now...
The core of the book, the use of Aboriginal magic and the employment of the killing bone, is well done - it's a new slant on the voodoo hex. There's a strong image of a lone Aborigine in the baking heat of the Outback, casting his curse around the globe. The sacrificial murder by anthill is pretty grotesque too (especially if you're not keen on creepy crawlies!)
Good to see the enigmatic Gideon Cross joining the fray toward the end of the book. While Cross battles it out on the astral plane Johnny Dyball is slugging it out in the desert - thank goodness for that Commando training!
All in all I thought it another winner, but then I knew I would ;D
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