Sarban (John William Wall) - The Sound of His Horn

[Calenture]

First published 1952; first Sphere edition 1969

Alan Querdillion, a young naval lieutenant, is captured by the Germans and wakes up in a hospital bed - more than 100 years later.

The Germans have won the war, and the Third Reich stretches from the Urals to the Atlantic. Non Aryans are bred as slaves. Deprived of speech and intelligence by the surgeon's knife, they serve their masters with their bodies.

Count Hans von Hackelnberg, master of the Reich's forests, rules his domain with the iron fist of a fuedal lord. His passion is hunting. At night the sound of his horn echoes eerily through the moonlit forest as the pack closes in on its prey.

A pack of half-naked cat-girls, the inhiman creations of insane surgery, their hands sheathed in steel claws, their bellies starved of meat. And the quarry, as Alan discovered too late, is... himself.

Sarban (1910-1989)

"I frankly confess myself scared. Who 'Sarban' is I do not know, but I should not wish to take his imagination to bed with me. (The book describes) the life that might be lived by some twenty first century Baron von Sade."[/color]

Observer

"Don't miss The Sound of His Horn... An imagination like that of Edgar Allan Poe and Bram Stoker... The quality of the writing is magnificent. The narrative flows as simply as a nursey tale, yet the style is mature and vivid to the point of violence."

Melbourne Herald

"Here is no straightforward piece of make-believe. It is terrifying, horrible, something that fills the reader with dreadful wonder."

John O'London's Weekly

"The forests are alive with terror, and the story never loses its grip, despite its fantastic material."


The Scotsman

...and 3 or 4 more quotes run like that inside the cover.

Second Sphere edition January 1970

This one weighs in at only 120 pages and includes an introduction by Kingsley Amis, who mentions Shirley Jackson's The Summer People and Jerome Bixby's It's a Good Life.

I was curious for years about Sarban's identity. I'd only read a suggestion that he was a 'well-known writer' under another name. Just recently I started searching with Google, and John William Wall turned up.

He's mentioned on this site for The Doll Maker and A Christmas Story, though with almost no information about the first-mentioned.

On other sites I've found mention of Ringstones and Other Curious
Stories; also The King of the Lake. But I'm afraid I've never found any of those titles.

The site where I found his photo some time ago... possibly this was it, though if so it's changed, and now sports another photo and a drawing of the man: Sarban. I've a habit of collecting pics of writers and artists.

Weirdmonger wrote:

RINGSTONES is a great collection. 'Calmahain' is one of my favourite all time stories. Although I would need to re-read it...! About some children who take a voyage on a toy ship??
He bears some resemblance to Robert Aickman...

The Monker wrote:

Sounds interesting, my copy of Ringstones only contains the title story.

Demonik wrote:

Oh great, some more Sphere covers to swipe. Haven't read The Sound Of His Horn in ages but I remember " enjoying" it: it's very The Most Dangerous Game from what I remember. My edition is Ballantine (Arril 1960), the third time it had been reprinted by them in two months. Intro by Kingsley Amis and a two-page review from The New York Times: Nazi's Rule The Nightmare.

I've also got the Ballantine edition of The Doll Maker.

"A story of a young girl, caught in the dreadful fascination of willing slavery, the agony of a conscious victim who cannot escape the mordant mastery of an egomaniac practicing unknown horrors."

And I didn't read this the moment I got it? I wonder what was up with me at the time.

Scans later if anybody wants 'em.

Craig Herbertson wrote:

Look no further than abebooks.com. Many titles fairly cheapish there. I've never come across the man but he's definitely on my list now

Demonik wrote:

While I'm here, here's the Ballantine cover:

Pleasant but not really appropriate to the content I'd have said. I much prefer the Sphere's.

This is pretty and - as far as I can remember - in keeping with the story. Artist uncredited in both cases, obviously.

[marksamuels]

Blimey, those Sarban Sphere covers are truly ace!

Mark S.

[Johnlprobert]

Just started this as Lady P's latest bedtime reading and as Mr Samuels has said - those Sphere covers really are something special!

[Johnlprobert]

Goodness me! Alan Querdillion (great name) just hasn't been the same since he came back from that WW2 German POW camp, but apparently that's not wholly the reason why he's not as keen to marry the beautiful Elizabeth as he should be.

In hushed tones beside the fire he relates how he successfully escaped from said POW camp but ended up (as you do, or rather as one does, it being that kind of story) in the Germany of a parallel universe over a hundred years later, where the Nazis won the war. He's looked after in a private hospital where he seems to be the only patient, and what's all that screaming at night? And someone seems to be blowing a horn rather inconsiderately as well. Once he gets to meet the Count Johann von Hackelnberg everything becomes a little clearer and a lot dodgier. Naked women painted silver and holding torches to light a dining hall? Women dressed as birds and hunted? Almost naked ferocious gorgeous Nazi cat girls equipped with steel claws who tear animals apart so that blood sprays all over bits that other authors might be rather more reticent about describing in such detail?

We're only just over halfway through but this is pretty naughty stuff, well written but at the same time coming over a teensy weensy bit too much like a well educated public schoolboy's version of the 'Gor' books of John Norman (I know no-one's going to own up to reading them and to be honest I don't have the resolve to describe what they're like to the uninitiated but who knows? Even mentioning them might kick off an interesting thread discussion).

More to follow...

[Craig Herbertson]

Jul 25, 2010 20:34:10 GMT Johnlprobert said:

Goodness me! Alan Querdillion (great name) just hasn't been the same since he came back from that WW2 German POW camp, but apparently that's not wholly the reason why he's not as keen to marry the beautiful Elizabeth as he should be.

In hushed tones beside the fire he relates how he successfully escaped from said POW camp but ended up (as you do, or rather as one does, it being that kind of story) in the Germany of a parallel universe over a hundred years later, where the Nazis won the war. He's looked after in a private hospital where he seems to be the only patient, and what's all that screaming at night? And someone seems to be blowing a horn rather inconsiderately as well. Once he gets to meet the Count Johann von Hackelnberg everything becomes a little clearer and a lot dodgier. Naked women painted silver and holding torches to light a dining hall? Women dressed as birds and hunted? Almost naked ferocious gorgeous Nazi cat girls equipped with steel claws who tear animals apart so that blood sprays all over bits that other authors might be rather more reticent about describing in such detail?

We're only just over halfway through but this is pretty naughty stuff, well written but at the same time coming over a teensy weensy bit too much like a well educated public schoolboy's version of the 'Gor' books of John Norman (I know no-one's going to own up to reading them and to be honest I don't have the resolve to describe what they're like to the uninitiated but who knows? Even mentioning them might kick off an interesting thread discussion).

More to follow...

Red face as I confess that I read and enjoyed the Gor books as a kid. Believe it or not the sado masochistic element didn't occur to my young mind which was still grappling mentally with female nudity. I probably grew up during the reading of them as it gradually became clear that the fantasy element was somewhat subordinate to the torture girls for fun element. I'm not sure I could struggle through one as an adult.

[dem bones]

one of my all-time favourite Vault threads (from MK. 1)

John Norman's 'Gor' novels

it's about time we had a rematch!

i've since found copies of Captive Of Gor (which i gather from [Paperback Fanatic is probably the worst) and Priest-Kings Of Gor, have never felt sufficiently pervy enough to start either though i'm sure it can only be a matter of time.

Another blinding review, Lord P!

Suzy McKee Charnas of Dr. Weyland/ The Vampire Tapestry fame selected The Sound Of His Horn for Stephen Jones & Kim Newman's Horror; 100 Best Books. Must have been at a low ebb when i read it as all the breathless schoolboy smut passed me by (incidentally, fetish artist Eric Stanton has a brutal painting of whip-wielding Nazi girls hunting down a terrified guy which may have been an influence on Sarban or vice versa: i'm not sure which came first). Of course, if variations on The Most Dangerous Game are your thing you could do a lot worse than Ron Goulart's Vampirella #2: On Alien Wings!

[monker]

Just finished reading his 'The Doll Maker' which seems like it would have made a better candidate for the 100 best horror... book.

Nothing more to add except to say that it was a very good read and prefer it to Ringstones. Knowing that it's SF, the smut element would probably be what would tempt me start TSoHH.

[Thana Niveau]

Gor is so effortless to parody it's almost not fair, but "Gay Bejewelled Nazi Bikers of Gor" and "Houseplants of Gor" are a fantastic introduction to Norman's world.

And yes, I'm admitting to having read a bit. The books were readily available in secondhand bookshops when I was a teenager (hey, girls are curious too ), although I don't remember making it all the way through either of the two I bought. It was the Boris covers that intrigued me. But even at age 14 I found it mind-numbingly simplistic.

I lay on the warm grass. I was nude. There was a chain around my neck, tethering me to a rock. It was 6 feet long. I moved a foot closer. Now I was 5 feet from the rock. Two men appeared. One was bearded. They were mighty. I feared them. But such are the ways of Gor, where women only feel their true place when frightened by mighty men.

Page after page of that and I imagine your brain would rot.

[benedictjjones]

"Almost naked ferocious gorgeous Nazi cat girls "

^that sold me on it!

[dem bones]

Jul 26, 2010 5:56:37 GMT Thana Niveau said:

And yes, I'm admitting to having read a bit. The books were readily available in secondhand bookshops when I was a teenager (hey, girls are curious too ), although I don't remember making it all the way through either of the two I bought. It was the Boris covers that intrigued me. But even at age 14 I found it mind-numbingly simplistic.

I lay on the warm grass. I was nude. There was a chain around my neck, tethering me to a rock. It was 6 feet long. I moved a foot closer. Now I was 5 feet from the rock. Two men appeared. One was bearded. They were mighty. I feared them. But such are the ways of Gor, where women only feel their true place when frightened by mighty men.

Page after page of that and I imagine your brain would rot.

it's probably the SF/ Sword & Sorcery aspect that's put me off taking a proper butchers at Norman's work 'til now - no such problems with Web Terror Stories which dispenses with all this philosophical malarkey and cuts to the plain honest misogyny masquerading as horror stories. But i've what threatens to be a tedious engagement on Wednesday with much waiting around guaranteed. i always like to have a novel with me on such occasions so Captives Of Gor it is ....

Jul 26, 2010 0:26:39 GMT monker said:

Just finished reading his 'The Doll Maker' which seems like it would have made a better candidate for the 100 best horror... book.

Nothing more to add except to say that it was a very good read and prefer it to Ringstones. Knowing that it's SF, the smut element would probably be what would tempt me start TSoHH.

.... unless its The Doll Maker!

[Craig Herbertson]

As a kid into sf/fantasy the attractive thing is the otherworldlyness. I read so many duff books in order to be transported to another world. I think that's why I couldn't discriminate between great tales like Burrough's Martian series, incredible prose like Eddison's Zimiamvian trilogy and lesser giants like Moorcock, Lin Carter and the like.

When it came to Gor the point for me was that a hero - male, strong and wielding some sort of weapon (sic) was out on a strange planet battling against insurmountable odds. The fact that in Gor the male was also out to subordinate every woman with whips and leather was a kind of absurd sideshow. The prose was simplistic but - and here I confess I wouldn't be the first to rush into a shop and buy up Norman's work to ensure I am correct - I get the feeling it was quite stark and minimalistic and might have been creditable in a way.

It's funny how I can now happily dismiss Norman's subdued sado masochism (which from memory was never particularly overt) yet embrace the overt horrors of the vault with a cheery grin.

[Craig Herbertson]

Jul 26, 2010 11:07:21 GMT andydecker said:

Jul 26, 2010 8:48:16 GMT dem bones said:

. But i've what threatens to be a tedious engagement on Wednesday with much waiting around guaranteed. i always like to have a novel with me on such occasions so Captives Of Gor it is ....

So you want to make a tedious afternoon even more unbearable?

The problem with Norman´s writing is that the first couple of novels were quite competently written Burroughs rip-offs, not more offensive than say, Lin Carter´s efforts.

But when he got on his pseudo S/M way, the novels became virtaully unreadable. For me he is the prime example of dishonest and hypocritical writing: if I want to write about sex, even do it. Norman never, never once describes a nice roll in the hay or tries to deliver an erotic scene. Not with a major fantasy publisher. So you got pages of mind-numbingly misogynistic, boring dialogue with some flowery suggestions followed by scene breaks.

I looked down on her.
"Will master use me only briefly?", she asked.
"You are pretty", I said. "It is my intention, in these hours of of my ownership of you, to use you several times."

That must have been it. I began the series at number one and it seemed like the sort of hokum I was used to. Alternate world, tough hero, barbaric aliens. Of course, as the 'plots' developed you had to swap 'alternate world' for 'my 'cosy homemade dungeon' 'tough hero' for 'guy in creepy leather mask' and 'barbaric alien' for 'new toy girl'.

[andydecker]

Jul 26, 2010 8:48:16 GMT dem bones said:

Jul 26, 2010 5:56:37 GMT Thana Niveau said:

But i've what threatens to be a tedious engagement on Wednesday with much waiting around guaranteed. i always like to have a novel with me on such occasions so Captives Of Gor it is ....

So you want to make a tedious afternoon even more tedious?

The problem with Norman is that the series began as a competent Burroughs rip-off, not more offensive than, say Lin Carter at the time.

But when he got on his pseudo S/M trip, the series went completly off the rails. It became virtually unreadable. Here is - just for fun - a random page of the 444 pages of Beasts of Gor.

I looked down on her [naked body on the furs. Beasts is Normans Innuit-Gor novel]
"Will master use me only briefly?", she asked.
"You are pretty", I said. "It is my intention, in these hours of my ownership of you, to use you several times."
"Several times?", she asked.
"Yes", I said. I smiled at her. "We shall sleep from time to time", I said.
"But what if we are not awake at the same time?", she asked.
"What a naive slave you are", I said.
"Oh", she said, a bit archly.
"Yes", I said, "you will awaken as you are entered or seized or slapped awake."
"Oh", she said.
"It is very simple", I assured her.
"You may, of course, do with me whatever you wish, and when you wish", she said, a little resentfully.
"I shall", I said.
"I am certain of that", she said.
"Do you object?", I asked.
"I may not object", she said. She smiled. "I am a slave", she said.
"Are you a pert, intemperate slave?", I asked.
"No", she said.
"Will it be necessary to whip you?", I asked.
"No", she said, quickly.
"You will try to be a good slave?", I asked.
"Yes, Master", she said.
"Please me", I said.
"Master!", she said.
"Please me", I said.
"But I am the female", she said.
I looked at her.
"I will try to please you", she said quickly. She began, clumsily, to kiss and caress me. I laughed at the ineptness of her efforts.
"Why do you laugh?", she said, tears in her eyes.

And I weep at the ineptness of this writing. Each and every dialogue in the book is written exactley in the same vein, over and over again. Regardless of the situation. - "They are warriors", he said. "I see", I said. "Will we fight?", he asked. " "We are also Warriors", I said. - After 444 pages of this your brain indeed does rot.

There isn´t even any sex whatsoever. As you seemingly couldn´t do sex-descriptions in a DAW book at the time, there aren´t any "scenes". It´s just the moronic talk, then a fade out, followed by more moronic talk. This is the epitome of dishonest writing. If Norman had followed the talk with a pornographic scene description - even in exploitative way like Laurence James could do so well -, how are bets that the series would have vanished overnight?

As a writer, Norman is a joke. Even the much maligned James Moffatt at least could write hilarious purple prose. Norman dóesn´t even get this right. He just wants to preach to this fans with the misogynistic crap he revels in.

But the packaging and the covers were outstanding, no doubt about this.



P.S. Sorry for the double post I deleted. Wrong key.

[dem bones]

andy, on the contrary, i think he is being deadly honest about what constitutes sex for him.

is it shameful of me to confess that the more i'm reading of this thread, the more i'm dying to get started?

Going by their lyrics, i think these fine fellows already have!

Manowar - Pleasure Slave (from Kings of Metal, 1988)

She is waiting to kiss my hand
But she will wait for my command
My chains and collar brought her to her knees
She now is free to please.

Woman, be my slave
That's your reason to live
Woman, be my slave
The greatest gift I can give
Woman, be my slave

Before her surrender she had no life
Now she's a slave, not a wife
Her only sorrow is for women who live with lies
She's taken off her disguise.

Your body belongs to me

Woman, come here
Remove your garments
Kneel before me
Please me

Woman, be my slave
That's your reason to live
Woman, be my slave
The greatest gift I can give
Woman, be my slave

i know the bride of demonik has a number of metal albums stashed away some place and if i find this among them i will tease and torment her within an inch of her life!

[Craig Herbertson]

Jul 26, 2010 17:37:58 GMT dem bones said:

andy, on the contrary, i think he is being deadly honest about what constitutes sex for him.

is it shameful of me to confess that the more i'm reading of this thread, the more i'm dying to get started?

Going by their lyrics, i think these fine fellows already have!

Manowar - Pleasure Slave (from Kings of Metal, 1988)

She is waiting to kiss my hand
But she will wait for my command
My chains and collar brought her to her knees
She now is free to please.

Woman, be my slave
That's your reason to live
Woman, be my slave
The greatest gift I can give
Woman, be my slave

Before her surrender she had no life
Now she's a slave, not a wife
Her only sorrow is for women who live with lies
She's taken off her disguise.

Your body belongs to me

Woman, come here
Remove your garments
Kneel before me
Please me

Woman, be my slave
That's your reason to live
Woman, be my slave
The greatest gift I can give
Woman, be my slave

i know the bride of demonik has a number of metal albums stashed away some place and if i find this among them i will tease and torment her within an inch of her life!

You could always attempt to work things around to 'slave' of demonic and see how far that gets. Start with simple things like 'Slave, get me a cup of tea immediately' and 'Do the dishes for I am tired - later I may require cans of special brew...' Guaranteed to go down a storm with the partner.

I have to say though that if you're caught in those kind of outfits there may be a marginal loss of street cred.