The Compleat Traveller in Black
Encyclopedia
The Compleat Traveller in Black is a collection of short stories
, written in a fantasy
vein, by John Brunner
. The first edition, titled The Traveler in Black, had only four stories ("Imprint of Chaos," " Break the Door of Hell," "The Wager Lost by Winning," and "The Dread Empire") and was issued in 1971 in the Ace Science Fiction Specials
line. Unspecified stories were rewritten for this book. Later editions of the collection, with additional stories, include The Compleat Traveller in Black.
The series deals with a nameless protagonist
, who "has many names but only one nature" and who bears a staff of curdled light
, held together by interesting forces, travelling through a landscape in which Order and Chaos are in conflict. With this, and the powers invested in him by "the One for whom all things are neither possible or impossible", he is enabled to counter Chaos, although he must do so in answer to the spoken wishes of the people around him, always with consequences they did not intended and often to their detriment. As an example, the Traveler hears the wish of a skilled assassin
that he could get the fame to which his expertise should entitle him. Are not all great artists admired and respected? Is he not the cunningest hand with dagger
, garotte, and subtle poison
? The Traveller replies, as usual: "As you wish, so be it." The following morning, the Traveller finds the assassin's body on a dunghill: his crimes have been discovered and properly credited to him; and he has received the execution the law prescribes.
The Traveller's ultimate purpose is to reduce the power of Chaos, and thus the utility of magic, until everything should have a single nature. As he works, person after person, city after city move from the realm of Chaos into the realm of Order, and thus from Eternity into Time. When he reaches his goal in the last page of the final story, his role reverses and he becomes the actor that will change Order back to Chaos, implying that the cycle is eternal.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
, written in a fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
vein, by John Brunner
John Brunner (novelist)
John Kilian Houston Brunner was a prolific British author of science fiction novels and stories. His 1968 novel Stand on Zanzibar, about an overpopulated world, won the 1968 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel. It also won the BSFA award the same year...
. The first edition, titled The Traveler in Black, had only four stories ("Imprint of Chaos," " Break the Door of Hell," "The Wager Lost by Winning," and "The Dread Empire") and was issued in 1971 in the Ace Science Fiction Specials
Ace Science Fiction Specials
Ace Science Fiction Specials are three series of science fiction and fantasy books published by Ace Books between 1968 and 1990. Terry Carr edited the first and third series, taking the "TV special" concept and adapting it to paperback marketing...
line. Unspecified stories were rewritten for this book. Later editions of the collection, with additional stories, include The Compleat Traveller in Black.
The series deals with a nameless protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
, who "has many names but only one nature" and who bears a staff of curdled light
Light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
, held together by interesting forces, travelling through a landscape in which Order and Chaos are in conflict. With this, and the powers invested in him by "the One for whom all things are neither possible or impossible", he is enabled to counter Chaos, although he must do so in answer to the spoken wishes of the people around him, always with consequences they did not intended and often to their detriment. As an example, the Traveler hears the wish of a skilled assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
that he could get the fame to which his expertise should entitle him. Are not all great artists admired and respected? Is he not the cunningest hand with dagger
Dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a sharp point designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. The design dates to human prehistory, and daggers have been used throughout human experience to the modern day in close combat confrontations...
, garotte, and subtle poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
? The Traveller replies, as usual: "As you wish, so be it." The following morning, the Traveller finds the assassin's body on a dunghill: his crimes have been discovered and properly credited to him; and he has received the execution the law prescribes.
The Traveller's ultimate purpose is to reduce the power of Chaos, and thus the utility of magic, until everything should have a single nature. As he works, person after person, city after city move from the realm of Chaos into the realm of Order, and thus from Eternity into Time. When he reaches his goal in the last page of the final story, his role reverses and he becomes the actor that will change Order back to Chaos, implying that the cycle is eternal.
Stories
- "Imprint of Chaos"
- Originally in Science Fantasy, issue 42 (1960), in which the enchanter Manuus is manifest, and then is not. The city Acromel suffers under the rule of its Quadruple God; the city Ryovora finds that it can do better with common sense than with gods
- "Break the Door of Hell" .
- Originally in Impulse, issue 2 (1966), in which the fools of the city of Ys (led by Lord Vengis) learn from where their folly originated.
- "The Wager Lost by Winning"
- Originally in FantasticFantasticThe Fantastic is a literary term that describes a quality of other literary genres, and, in some cases, is used as a genre in and of itself, although in this case it is often conflated with the Supernatural. The term was originated in the structuralist theory of critic Tzvetan Todorov in his work...
, April 1970, in which the gamesters of Teq learn both meanings of "hazard", and ale is drunk.- "Dread Empire"
- Originally in FantasticFantasticThe Fantastic is a literary term that describes a quality of other literary genres, and, in some cases, is used as a genre in and of itself, although in this case it is often conflated with the Supernatural. The term was originated in the structuralist theory of critic Tzvetan Todorov in his work...
, April 1971, in which the Four Great Ones are summoned and depart, and mighty nobles and humble peasants each get their wishes.- "The Things That Are Gods" (not in the original Ace edition, included in Compleat)
- Originally in Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's SF Adventure Magazine, (Fall 1979), in which Lake Taxhling suffers a sea-change.