BRAK: WHEN THE IDOLS WALKED by John Jakes

Once again, Brak the Barbarian finds himself far from home and further still from Golden Khurdisan, as he washes up on the damned shores of Rodar just in time for an invasion by the Gordmen and a merchant's coup backed by dark magics. Heads will roll and the walls will come tumbling down when THE IDOLS WALK!

Still alive with pleasure!

There's spoilers ahead, so beware. The biggest reveal I'll drop is the novel's greatest feat: the sublime imagery of a bronze age mech battle, as Brak takes control of a 150 foot tall goddess statue with pulleys and levers and maneuvers it against a similar gigantic idol possessed by the spirit of a mad strangler! Readers back in 1964 knew what they were in for when they read the original version of this tale in Fantastic Stories:

Over at Dark Worlds Quaterly, writer G.W. Thomas has compiled an excellent history of Brak which details some of the chronology and editing behind Jakes' series, as short stories were compiled and fixed up into "new" novels, and old works were slotted into new order. Thomas notes that in this entry there's no mention of Nestorianism or of the evil amir Septegundus, things that would become central to Brak tales written later. When this story was reworked and republished as a novel in 1978, Jakes didn't bother with any updates on that, and honestly I'm glad he didn't - it's unnecessary!

The article over at Dark Worlds Quarterly ... check it out!

The cover art is another pleasingly weird tableau by the artist "CM" with Brak attacking the idol Jaal. The stone menace has been given two eyes here when in the text he's a cyclopean monster, but we're used to that detail fuzziness now with these covers. It's still an atmospheric image and "CM" has served Brak well in the Pocket Books line. The art from Tower Books is serviceably dramatic:

Some of the plot beats are by the numbers, maybe owing to its fix-up origins, but nevertheless Jakes is a pro as always at transporting us to his weird worlds and immersing us in Brak's struggle. Our hero is pretty noble here, throwing in with the doomed Rodarians owing to their kindness in nursing him back to health earlier. Things move along at breakneck speed and Brak also tangles with an evil priest caste who rule a subterranean hell-pit, a three headed hydra bird, and more phantasmagorical sea serpents than you can shake a stick at! When the Idols Walked earns a nice 3/4 rating as superior barbarian storytelling.

Art taken from the Dark Worlds Quarterly article

Pocket Books, 1978