Book Review: Märchenmond (Magic Moon) by Wolfgang and Heike Hohlbein

Märchenmond (translated: Magic Moon) by Wolfgang und Heike Hohlbein was one of this year's guilty pleasure reads. When I fell into the targeted age range for this novel (young adult fantasy), I took no interest in the genre, but I clearly remember one of my peers reading from the book when my class was given the task to introduce their favourite reads in a series of German lessons before the winter break. This must have been in year 5 (I was 10 years of age). Annika, if I recall the girl's name correctly, introduced us all to Hohlbein's Märchenmond, and whilst she was singing the author's praises, our German teacher proceeded to passionately deride Hohlbein and his opus in the aftermath of her presentation.

Annika's presentation did not capture my interest, whilst my German teacher's opinion on the quality of  Hohlbein's work did stay in the back of my mind for years to come. Nevertheless, I was fascinated by the cover of Annika's edition (the Ueberreuter hardback, which is pictured below). The cover intrigued me and I distinctly remember coveting her hardback copy. As my mother's view of Hohlbein's output turned out to be congruent with my teacher's opinion, my pleas to buy a copy of the book just for its cover naturally failed to convince her. 

Fast forward more than two decades and as part of my ongoing reading project on 1980s German fantasy literature, I finally bought my very own copy of Märchenmond. Not just because of the cover, but the cover art played a huge part in my decision to acquire the book. Of course, it had to be the Ueberreuter hardback edition with the artwork by Ernst Spalt. 

Wolfgang Hohlbein, Märchenmond, Ueberreuter 1st edition, cover art: Ernst Spalt  

Apart from eventually getting hold of the physical copy of this book, I also wanted to put Hohlbein to another test. Based on the sheer quantity of the author's assembly line output of fiction, Hohlbein is, solely from a commercial viewpoint, too prolific a writer and can simply not be ignored when it comes to contemporary German fantasy literature.

Having previously completed the first instalment of Hohlbein's Die Chronik der Unsterblichen in audiobook format, I wanted to give him another chance and explore at least one more book of his. As far as Chronik der Unsterblichen is concerned, I am certain that I shall not be pursuing this vampire series further. Following a promising start and an interesting premise, the story quickly descended into a seemingly never-ending, detailed and repetitive description of fight and torture scenes. 

I hoped that Märchenmond, which Wolfgang Hohlbein has written together with his wife Heike and which has evidently turned many of his readers into fans of the fantasy genre, would be a different experience, perhaps one that would convince me to read other Hohlbein titles. And the big question, of course, was, whether my German teacher would be vindicated in his assessment?

Märchenmond - Very Brief  Summary of the Plot

To sum up the plot, in Märchenmond we encounter Kim, a nine-year-old boy, whose younger sister, Rebecca, is not waking up from a coma following an operation. Kim later learns that his sister is held hostage by an evil magician by the name of Boraas. This interference is preventing her from regaining consciousness in the real world. 

To help Rebecca, Kim himself has to embark on a journey to Magic Moon. Yet, once Kim has arrived in Magic Moon, he soon finds that his quest to free his sister is inextricably linked to saving Magic Moon from destruction by Boraas and the dark forces he has unleashed. On his perilous voyage through Magic Moon, he encounters an array of magical beings and quirky characters, including a dragon, a speaking bear and a giant, who will form a fellowship to assist him in his adventures.

So far, so good. It all sounds like a fairly standard premise for a book in the genre.

My Verdict

What becomes obvious rather quickly is that Hohlbein has attempted to produce a copy of Michael Ende's Neverending Story, and a mediocre one at that. Of course, Hohlbein has also borrowed from other writers, including Tolkien and Lewis, the similarities between Ende's novel, which was published around four years prior in 1979, and Märchenmond, which was originally published in 1983, are striking. Bluntly put, the book is a blatant attempt to ride on the waves of Ende's success.

In both novels the protagonists leave the real world to save a magic realm. Both Bastian, the young boy in Ende's Neverending Story, and Kim in Märchenmond encounter an array of characters, including a dragon and a young warrior prince, and both have to face a series of challenges before their quest is completed. 

However, Ende's novel has depth and the author lovingly develops his characters, depicts his settings, engages in world building and designs a series of engaging challenges for his protagonists. In Märchenmond, on the other hand, Hohlbein simply copies the overall structure and characters of Ende's novel. However questionable this 'borrowing' of Ende's ideas may be, Hohlbein, also fails miserably in its execution, first and foremost by neglecting the development of his characters. Compared to the Neverending Story, Magic Moon remains a bland affair of haplessly assembled characters and plot elements. 

What's more, the absence of world-building in Märchenmond is striking, considering that the book is after all a fantasy novel. The reader is largely left in the dark about the workings and forces that govern this world and its people, or the motivation behind Boraas's hostile takeover. Instead, Kim seems to stumble from one encounter with the dark riders into the next, leading to repetitive descriptions of fight and combat scenes, which Hohlbein, going by my experience of Chronik der Unsterblichen, seems to relish. Other types of conflict, which would allow his characters to respond and develop in meaningful ways rather than engage in close body combat, are few and far between.

Kim's initial motivation, the salvation of his sister's soul, is hardly mentioned for the best part of the second half of the book. This element of the narrative is only picked-up towards the end. By then it almost appears as an afterthought. It is also never quite explained how Rebecca is actually linked to Magic Moon and its survival. In the final chapters of the book Kim and his companions encounter an ever-expanding array of settings and characters. How these fit into the hierarchy of Magic Moon is largely left untouched as well. Perhaps Hohlbein expands on these in the sequels to the book.

The moral of the story, whilst subtly delivered through the description of Bastian's experiences and interactions in Ende's book, is, by comparison, overtly thrust into the reader's face in an utterly awkward and clumsy 'tell, don't show' style. For large parts during the final pages of the book, it appears that Hohlbein was in a hurry to make sure the audience absorbs his moral message. As he's failed to do so throughout the book, he resorts to delivering this by way of overt description and exposition in the final chapters. This comes across as awkward and amateurish; and I felt almost embarrassed reading it. I am aware that this was Hohlbein's first published novel. Yet, some passages are so riddled with platitudes, it was an utterly cringeworthy reading experience.

As far as I am aware, out of more than 200 published Hohlbein titles (some of these are ghost-written), there are merely 3 of Hohlbein's books that have been translated into English, including Märchenmond, which was published as Magic Moon by Tokyo Pop in 2006. To this day, the book remains Hohlbein's biggest success. As is evident from Märchenmond, Hohlbein borrows his plots, themes and motifs from other writers in the field, including but not limited to Michael Ende, Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft and J.R.R. Tolkien. 

Given this lack of an original contribution, to an English-speaking audience blessed with a wealth of contemporary and classic fantasy fiction, Hohlbein's output is clearly surplus to requirements and the quality of his work is surpassed by a large number of even mediocre writers in the genre. 

In a German context this looks somewhat different. There he often appears to be the author of choice of many, especially younger, German readers. Considering that not many German authors were writing in the genre back in the early eighties and not forgetting the commercial success of Ende's Neverending Story, there clearly was an unquenched demand for fantasy fiction amongst the wider German readership, which accounts somewhat for Märchenmond's prolonged success and continuing popularity. With the publication of Märchenmond, Hohlbein and his publisher were able to effortlessly tap into this demand. 

Yet, commercial success alone is not everything and certainly not a measure for quality. As far as Märchenmond is concerned, I wholeheartedly agree with my old German teacher. All those wishing to save themselves from a cringeworthy reading experience are well advised to give this one a miss. 

 

Book Review - The Killing Doll by Ruth Rendell

The Killing Doll, first released in 1984, showcases Rendell's tremendous talent as a writer of psychological suspense, and being the first Rendell I ever picked up, it introduced me to her work some twenty years ago. It also turned me into what I would describe as a constant reader. Though years may pass without reading one of her novels, there is usually an unread Rendell on my shelves. As soon as I have completed it, another appears to fill the void. 

At the age of 85 Ruth Rendell very sadly passed away in May 2015. Yet, thanks to her prolific output spanning over fifty years and comprising of over sixty titles, I will not be running out of reading material for a while. Though I am not overly keen on her Inspector Wexford series, I am particularly fond of her stand-alone, psychological suspense novels and the books she chose to publish under her pseudonym Barbara Vine. 

Ruth Rendell (17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015)

Too eager to explore her plots and to meet more of her ill-fated characters, I have thus far never ventured into re-reading my Rendell / Vine books. As The Killing Doll was my first ever Rendell, which I read back then in its German translation Der Pakt (The Pact), I thought it was time to make an exception and get hold of the original, English version for a re-read. I was not to be disappointed.

Ruth Rendell - The Killing Doll, 1984, Book Club Associates Edition 

Judging by other readers' reviews, The Killing Dolll seems to divide opinions, both between seasoned fans and those new to Rendell's work. Whichever side of the fence you are on, the book appears to provoke strong emotions in both camps. Whilst some praise it for its tight plotting and unexpected twist at the end, others seem to criticise it for its alleged lack of pace, the absence of likeable characters and its subject matter; i.e. the protagonists' dabbling in the occult. 

The plot by and large centres around the Yearman family, comprising of siblings Dolly and Pup as well as their widowed father Harold. Coinciding with Mrs Yearman's demise, Pup begins to dabble in magic rituals, selling his soul to devil in exchange for worldly goods and, above all, physical growth. He enlists the help of his sister Dolly, an apt seamstress, who - owing to a facial disfigurement - has  very few social contacts and leads an isolated life mostly confined to and maintaining the family's home. 

Dolly sews Pup's ceremonial robe and is from time to time allowed to attend the so-called 'temple', which Pup has created in an unused room in the house, whilst their father - oblivious to the ceremonial magic practised under his roof - is completely absorbed by his obsession with historical fiction and, eventually, his new wife, Myra.

Following Mrs Yearman's death, Dolly's interest in occult matters is amplified when she attends a number of seances and gets further fuelled by her desire to employ magic in order to banish Myra from the family home. Yet, after discovering his business acumen and penchant for casual sex with a string of affairs, both Pub's emotional connection to his sister and involvement with the occult are waning, and he is increasingly viewing his preoccupation with magic as a childish pastime obsession. Though still fond of his sister, both his sexual proclivities and newly found role as a businessman leave little time to devote to his sister's emotional well-being.

Despite this, Pup continues to perform rituals to please his sister, thereby continuing to fuel her belief in his abilities. When in the aftermath of one such ceremony involving the ritual stabbing of Myra's effigy in the form of a cloth doll, Myra is discovered dead in the Yearman's bathroom, Dolly's belief in the efficacy of her brother's geomancy is reaffirmed, triggering a fateful spiral of events and further accelerating Dolly's descent into madness. 

To me, The Killing Doll delivers perhaps one of the best contemporary depictions of a protagonist's gradual descent into substance abuse and schizophrenia as well as the concomitant circumstances of isolation and dysfunctional family relations, which in the end enable the condition to take hold and completely engulf the individual.

I therefore firmly belong into the camp of those, who did not merely enjoy the novel but would also recommend it to all those wishing to explore Rendell's body of work further. After all, to maintain the reader's interest, characters do not have to be likeable. Quite the contrary. Childish preoccupations such as dabbling in occult writings and rituals as well as unexpected chance encounters (similar to the one at the end of the book) can have fateful consequences and are therefore utterly believable. As for the alleged lack of pace, I would argue that Rendell does not deviate from her usual norm and succinct style, telling a story spanning a timeframe of over five years in the space of less than 240 pages suggests that the book is not cluttered with unnecessary detail.

German Fantasy Literature of the 1970s and 1980s - A preliminary reading list and an ongoing reading project

I am not entirely sure when exactly I started toying with the idea of creating a reading list for popular German fantasy fiction published in the late 1970s and 1980s, but I believe it coincided with the time when I was reunited with my copy of Hans Bemmann's 'Stein und Flöte' (english title: The Stone and the Flute) some six months ago.

Hans Bemmann - The Stone and the Flute (Stein ind Floete), Goldmann

Shortly after its arrival, Stein ind Flöte (first published in 1983) was allocated a space on my bookshelves and ended up in the fantasy section, where it is currently leading a lonely existence as the only fantasy novel written by a German-speaking author. (My copy of Michael Ende's Neverending Story is currently back home in Germany.)

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the fantasy section of my shelf is populated by a diverse bunch of primarily British or American authors, who have traditionally dominated the genre. Other nationalities appear to be conspicuously absent. As a result, I got intrigued and decided to delve a little deeper into the matter in order to see whether I could locate works that fit the fantasy label and were published in Germany during the 1970s and 1980s. Ende and Bemmann aside, who else was at the time writing similar books in Germany? Who inspired authors like Ende and Bemmann; and who, in turn, was inspired by their work?

I am aware of the widely embraced distinction between Fantasy Fiction and Phantastik in German-speaking literary circles. In my view this separation constitutes an artificial barrier, which is perhaps necessary for an academic engagement with the matter. For the purposes of my investigation, however, I shall continue to refer to the genre as 'Fantasy' to avoid complicating matters unnecessarily. All those familiar with Ende's Die Unendliche Geschichte (Neverending Story), which was first published in 1979, will probably agree that the fantasy label fits the book rather well and I will thus use it as a descriptor going forward. 

With this in mind, I started my search for books that would fit the description. To be added to the reading list, candidates had to fulfil two criteria: they had to be first published in Germany during the 1970s and 1980s and should be categorised as 'Fantasy'. Science fiction was to be strictly exempt from the list. Reading lists showcasing the German contribution to science fiction are easily obtainable as is evident by this Goodreads reading list, featuring all of the Kurd Lasswitz award winners to date: 

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/127293.Kurd_La_witz_Award_Winners

At this point I was still blissfully unaware that I had set myself a rather ambitious task. Collating and locating reading lists on specific topics is normally never a real issue. Most of the time someone else has already done the hard work, completed the research and compiled a ready-made reading list. All that's usually necessary is to review and eventually source the books in question. Not on this occasion.

Initial searches on the web yielded almost no results and didn't provide much further insight or suggestions on how best to tackle the question. Amongst the names that came up repeatedly were authors Wolfgang and Heike Hohlbein, who, particularly when considering their commercial success, have earned their place in any list on German fantasy fiction. Beyond that, there was a heap of suggestions, including contemporary German fantasy authors such as Bernhard Hennen or Cornelia Funke, whose works were published from the late 1990s onwards and therefore did not meet my selection criteria. 

Gnook suggestions for Wolfgang Hohlbein

Gnooks, which I love consulting for book recommendations (if you are not familiar you should pay the site a visit, as it can be an invaluable resource when looking for author suggestions) also didn't come up with viable options for my list.

By sheer chance, I came across Robert Corvus's discussion of Georg Zauner's 1981 science fiction novel Die Enkel der Raketenbauer, which led me to further investigate the author. 

It turns out that Zauner is not only a Kurd-Laßwitz award winner (the most prestigious award for science fiction literature in Germany) and the father of Stefan Zauner (ex lead singer of epic pop formation Münchener Freiheit) but also wrote fantasy fiction. Zauner's Marana oder die Hochzeit der Elfe met all the selection criteria for my reading project and therefore made its way on to my list.

Georg Zauner, Marana oder die Hochzeit der Elfe (Verlag: Benziger, 1984)

Whilst Zauner's Enkel der Raketenbauer appears to be somewhat of a rarity and currently commands a high(ish) price amongst collectors, a hardback copy of Marana oder die Hochzeit der Elfe (Benziger, 1984) can be purchased with relative ease and for a comparatively modest amount.

Robert Corvus discussing Georg Zauner's Die Enkel der Raketenbauer

Following this initial breakthrough, I was soon running out of suggestions again until, once more by sheer coincidence, I discovered an anthology of modern German Fantasy short stories, which I was able to source without problems. 

Jörg Weigand (editor) Vergiss nicht den Wind - Neue deutsche Fantasy-Geschichten, Bastei Lübbe, 1983, Cover Art: Tim White

Edited by Jörg Weigand and originally published by Bastei Lübbe in 1983, Vergiss nicht den Wind, features fantasy short stories by twelve German authors, including Wolfgang Hohlbein, Lothar Streblow, Dietrich Wachler, Bernhard Kreimeier, Iny Klocke, Ulrich Harbecke and Ulrich Weise. This selection of short stories aims to showcase, as stated by Weigand in the preface to my edition, that '[...] German fantasy literature can be equally as entertaining and fascinating as its Anglo-american counterpart [...]'.

We shall see.

If nothing else, as an anthology Vergiss nicht den Wind might offer a few possible starting points for further research. For now, I'm pleased that I was able to populate my preliminary reading list, albeit sparsely and with difficulty, and managed to get my reading project off the ground. Who would have thought that information on popular German fantasy fiction and genre authors of the period in question is so scarce and difficult to come by? Especially considering Ende's monumental publishing success with Die unendliche Geschichte, I would have expected a fair number of authors riding the fantasy wave at the time.

Suggestions for suitable reading material that fits the criteria for my selection are gratefully received.