Philip José Farmer's The Dungeon, Vol. 1 (Black Tower): A Critique

First, a caveat. the late Philip Jose Farmer did not write any of the six books in this series. The idea of a planet-sized dungeon is his, but the six books are written by four other authors.

Also, I read the series many, many years ago. The first book in the series was published in August 1988, but I probably got a hold of the series in the early 1990s. I remember reading all six books as fast as I could find them in used bookstores, but when I finally got to the sixth book, I felt so cheated by the ending, I tossed the set away in a rage.

However, last Saturday I found myself once again in a used bookstore in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and they had the first two paperbacks for sale. An errant thought came to me. Are the first four or five books as good as I remember and the last one or two just as bad in my recollection?

So, curse me for a fool, but I bought the first two books and I will begin a pilgrimage to all my used bookstores to complete the series. The six books in the series and their authors are:

1. Black Tower: Dungeon #1, by Richard Lupoff
2. The Dark Abyss: Dungeon #2, by Bruce Coville
3. The Valley of Thunder: Dungeon #3, by Charles deLint
4. The Lake of Fire: Dungeon #4, by Robin Bailey
5. The Hidden City: Dungeon #5, by Charles deLint
6. The Final Battle: Dungeon #6, by Richard Lupoff

The first book starts in London in A.D. 1878 with Major Clive Foliott planning an expedition to find his brother, Brigadier Sir Neville Foliott who had disappeared trying to find the source of the Nile. Accompanied by Quarter Master Sgt. Horace Hamilton Smythe and a mysterious guide known as Sidi Bombay, the trio find themselves trapped in a dungeon known as the Dungeon of Q'oorna, an oubliette the size of a planet and one that spans time and space.

As they journey through this strange land, they are joined by a hodgepodge of other prisoners: User Annie, a computer geek from 1999, Finnbogg, a large intelligent man-shaped bulldog, Shriek, a deadly and terrifying humanoid spider, Tomas, a Portuguese sailor snatched off the crow's nest of the Nina in 1492, and Chang Guafe, a shapeshifting alien frozen into a humanoid shape by the mysterious wardens of the Dungeon.

Along the way, they meet other beings and cultures, some friendly, but usually deadly. The book ends with a cliffhanger to be resolved in the opening chapter of the second book.

Written as a pulp adventure, Lupoff, with Farmer's blessing, throws everything into the mix and each chapter brings some new mystery. And as many times as Clive Foliott takes a blow to the head that drives him unconscious, that he's not a blithering, brain-damaged idiot by the end of the book reveals its dedication to the pulps.

And that might be the story's downfall. First, running from wonder to wonder, the breakneck speed does not allow the reader to catch his breath. Too much novelty and the reader becomes somewhat shellshocked. Also, though I do not know all of the authors that contributed to the collection, Coville and deLint are not pulp writers. That may be why the series did not work for me because of the inconsistent writing by authors, excellent in their own right, but not familiar with the fantasy adventure pulp genre.

I'm dying to tackle the second book, but unfortunately, I made a promise to review another work. Yet, stay tuned. I will return to the Dungeon shortly and see how the series stands against my memory.