Title: The fallible fiend
First published: 1973
Description: The Fallible Friend

The protagonist, Zdim, is an indentured servant, some reptilian traits, who engages in something akin to rule-book slowdown. It may be somewhat of a stretch but there is some similarity with Till Eulenspiegel. The latter did usually impersonates a traveling journeyman when he arrived in a new township. He then interprets selective instructions in a literal, counter productive sense. Better known example, he bakes meerkats and owls when his tired master tells him to use his own head. Zdim is spirited to an earth type planet by the time honored pentagram method. He is part of an labor against raw materials exchange program. His first act of revolt, he devours Doctor Maldivius' apprentice, hide, hair and xenophobic attitude, when the honorable doctor orders him to deal with any intruder as he deems fit. The next time he has to stand guard he has to promise strict abstinence. Result, he does not budge a claw when some actual burglars show up. From one extreme (anthropophagi) to the other (no coercive measures at all). In a rather broad sense he pleads a 'non vult' in each case. Good intentions regardless of some possible misunderstandings. The vexed wizard wisely decides to terminate the service contract. Some brave soldiers are just too sly for their masters' peace of mind. Next tour of duty, Zdim is palmed off to a  circus where he is billed as wild man out of Borneo. He promptly causes a mass stampede, topped off by a conflagration. Predictable excuse, I just did what the impresario told me. The cited minutes: rattle your cage and scare the rubes. The next feather in his cap, he bests Hvaednir, a barbarian of enormous strength, while acting as liaison officer. He is again found not guilty of any wrongdoing. The inebriated Hvaednir, true to character, did try to bed the landlady. Minor dig: the reader is given to understand that the slain brawler will soon be granted hero rites. As for the ending, some would feel that Zdim should have been offered any amount of money (raw materials or whatever) if he would just promise to go back wherever he came from. The actual denouement is nothing of this sort. Everyone ends up a winner. The attack of the philosophical cannibals is repulsed. Ir, the somewhat corrupt merchant town is saved. Mercy before justice. The contracted barbarians are paid in full. They have for once no excuse for going into Sacco Roma mode. Shnorri, their new war leader, is somewhat of an improvement. Merchant widow Roska will be given a seat in the guild. The purloined scrying crystal is resturned to Doctor Maldivius. Zdim becomes a honorary citizen in recognition of his rendered services. Robin Hood and his merry men have been exposed for what they are but no punitive measures will be taken. That means that they are not beyond redemption. The field trip is over. Final verdict, we still live in the best of all possible worlds.

Affiliations

The novel is mildly subversive, moral relativism is preached. The action is fast paced and there is a generous helping of humor. Some Voltaire influence can be detected, in particular Micromégas. Dostojewski kind soul searching should not be expected.
Subjects: Satire, sly servants, Polybius' theory of mixed constitutions, barbarians, mercenaries, corruption, cannibalism, comparative physiology, Ghouls and ogres, Fiction, Large type books, Fiction, science fiction, general, English fiction, Fiction, fantasy, general
LC classification: PS3507.E2344 F35 2002