Technology Meets Magic in Adrian Cole's Dream Lords: Rebellion


Dream Lords: Rebellion by Adrian Cole
Published by Pulp Hero Press (2021)
700 words

Dream Lords: Rebellion, first of a trilogy, is the new, retitled, and revised edition of Adrian Cole’s first novel, originally published in 1975 as Dream Lords Volume 1: A Plague of Nightmares by Zebra Press. Long out of print, it has now at last been republished as both paperback and ebook by Pulp Hero Press, a small press specialising in sword and sorcery and other pulp genres (and who will republish books two and three later this year, under the new subtitles Revolution and Retribution, respectively).

This new edition proclaims the novel is "interplanetary adventure in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Leigh Brackett," which does a much better job of giving the story’s flavour, as opposed to the original Zebra Press tagline "in the tradition of Tolkien and Lovecraft!" Cole mentions in his introduction that he had yet to read Brackett (or Howard, Vance, or Lieber) when he originally penned the book.

This is a science-fantasy novel, one obviously informed by the "New Wave" of 60s and 70s SF, but also deeply rooted in the classic adventure and pulp planetary-romance genres. In the introduction, Cole talks of his inspiration by Tolkien, Burroughs, Frank Herbert and Dennis Wheatley. Dream Lords: Rebellion can best be described as "Dune as written by Edgar Rice Burroughs," though the idealism of Tolkien and occultism of Wheatley are also on display, making Dream Lords feel oddly prescient of Star Wars, which hit the big screen two years later.

In Dream Lords: Rebellion, we follow Galad Sarian in first person narration. He is the son and heir of a Dream Lord, one of a triumvirate who rule the Nine Worlds with their vast mental powers from their imperial seat on the planet Zurjah. Galad begins the story rather pampered and naïve, yet restive of the path planned out for him. An encounter with the mysterious and mistrusted figure of Chalremor reveals to Galad both a terrible plot against--and a sinister truth of--the Dream Lords’ rule. The insights focus on the barbaric planet of Ur, and they soon plunge Galad’s life into chaos.

Galad is a very likeable hero. Though he does fall into the genre cliché of being a wayward, angst-ridden, and naïve youth, who is yet also a master combatant, lover, and wielder of great mental power, he works for me: he is not overdone. His character, innate goodness, and drive easily carry the reader along. Here we have no morally grey mercenary nor brooding malcontent: Galad is a good man who wants to do the right thing, a proper pulp adventure hero. I was happy to root for him.

The world of the Dream Lords is a far future one, where technology appears as magic, and force of will can control planets (lending a hint of Philip K. Dick’s typical malleable reality, or even a hint of Hodgson’s House on the Borderland’s weird visions). Yet, though loosely science fictional, the setting tantalises us by hinting at a deep mysterious history. The fight scenes are largely hand to hand, and the story maintains a fantasy feel, putting it in the company of series such as Moorcock’s The History of the Runestaff, and making it appealing to fans of S&S.

Despite originally being written in the 1970s, the story feels fresh, helped by its diverse inspirations, and moves at a good pace. One may glimpse its 1970s origins in its largely actionless single female character, or the faint whiff of "evil effeminacy" (borrowed, no doubt, from Dune’s Harkonnens) but still, the modern reader can enjoy this book without caveat, a credit to the then young Cole. Really, the only true criticism is a few typos.

This book should appeal to any fan of science fiction, fantasy and/ or adventure. I am pleased that Pulp Hero Press has brought Cole’s story to a new generation of readers. I look forward to reading the next two volumes when they are released; in the meantime, any Cole fan can also enjoy his recent Nick Nightmare books and Elak of Atlantis pastiches, also published by Pulp Hero Press, as well as discover his many other novels and short stories scattered throughout publishers and magazines.

About the Reviewer: Hailing from the UK, George Jacobs is a railway industry worker by day and short story writer by night. He lives with his wife and pets, is a fan of all things adventurous and spooky, and enjoys spending his time in nature. His fiction can be found at: https://georgejacobsauthor.wordpress.com/

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