Arscott, David
Entry updated 17 February 2025. Tagged: Author.
(1942-2024) UK author, chiefly of nonfiction histories of Sussex [not listed below], and radio broadcaster who collaborated with David J Marl (? - ) on the Eye and the Blade sequence, three linked fantasy novels set in a nonmagical Alternate World which has a nineteenth-century flavour. In The Frozen City (1984) some symbolism is deployed, the nameless City being not only in the grip of winter but politically frozen under the unpleasant regime of the Red Blade. This city is also a Labyrinth, with sections accessible only by rooftop or secret doorway; art and beauty are exiled to a literally Underground (but stagnant) Other City. The secret of the Blade's icy permanence carries a George Orwell-like conviction: it perpetuates itself through codes, regulations and a maze-like command chain which effectively simulates tyrannical leadership, although the actual Leader who planned all this is long dead. The book ends with a warm plea against hereditary kingship. A Flight of Bright Birds (1985), the colourful but rambling sequel, concludes with the twin heirs to the city's crown deviously contriving not to commit themselves to either refusing or accepting it. Fantasy's Political default of monarchy is interestingly questioned by Arscott and Marl, but to ultimately inconsequential effect in the initial diptych. A long-delayed third volume, Shadows in Crimson Colours, appeared only in The Eye and the Blade Trilogy (omni 2009) from Arscott's own Small Press. [DRL]
David Arscott
born London: 9 December 1942
died Lewes, East Sussex: 29 November 2024
works (highly selected)
series
The Eye and the Blade
- The Frozen City (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1984) with David J Marl [The Eye and the Blade: hb/Steve Weston]
- A Flight of Bright Birds (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1985) with David J Marl [The Eye and the Blade: hb/Steve Weston]
- The Eye and the Blade Trilogy (Lewes, East Sussex: Pomegranate Press, 2009) with David J Marl [omni of the above two plus Shadows in Crimson Colours: The Eye and the Blade: pb/]
links
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