RED DIE: A Dorset Mystery [Hardcover]

This is another beautifully produced book by The Sundial Press, and their first by a living author. It fits the publishers' West Country theme, the action of the novel being tightly focused around the Dorset locality of Cerne Abbas, Minterne, Middlemarsh, Duntish and Buckland. The book is a hymn of love to the Dorset countryside, and imbues it with mystery and magic. There are a few imaginary locations mixed in with the real ones, which is intriguing, as if we are only half in this world - but follows the example of Thomas Hardy.

The story is set during the first world war, centred around a deserting soldier, Jack Yeoman, who has escaped from the horrors and madness of the trenches to his home base in Dorset. The story draws in a number of vividly-drawn characters, who react to Jack's situation and views in different ways, some supporting him, some his enemies.

For me the highlight of the book is when most of the characters are drawn together in the homely warmth of the `Duntish Rings' tavern for the night. They have sharp differences of opinion, but some of them are prepared to change their minds. Different aspects of stratified English society are delineated (or rather a rural English society that has now passed).

The book has a rich tapestry of themes, touching on abstract ideas such as fate, chance, class, duty, conscience, magic, evil and loyalty. It also has concrete sensuous themes such as herbal potions, food, rain, mud, horses and so on. These intertwine physical and spiritual dimensions that are very Powysian in ethos; that is influenced by John Cowper Powys and his siblings. I had a strong feeling that the description of Louis Yeoman's book-lined cottage was a direct depiction of the modest, but eccentric, later life of John Cowper Powys.

The `Red die' of the title is a reference to one of two dice that Jack carries with him to help him make decisions. Do the dice have magic powers? Do they have a Philip Pullman-esque ability to foretell and guide human actions? These issues are discussed at several points, but, rightly, not concluded. For me the correct attitude is summed up by the phrase in the book: "Expect everything; predict nothing". I thoroughly enjoyed this ambiguity and hints of greater powers than we can imagine.

Do not look for the mystery to be resolved. I found the end to be hurried and unsatisfactory (like `A Mill on the Floss'). Obscurely, I felt the role of the mysterious `priest' had not been fully thought through, or integrated. I think the book could have benefited from greater length and exposition. I could not finally grasp the author's intention in writing the book, and was left baffled by the last chapter. But maybe that is the wrong attitude on my part. Possibly the author, Roger Norman, wants to leave us in suspense and confusion.

In the end, the fact that I hungered for more, proves that this is a fine book. I would urge the author to publish a longer version - many fine authors have republished different versions of their work (e.g. 'Stephen Hero'). Another point in the favour of 'Red die' is that after the several months that have elapsed since I read it, I have an urge to read it again. That is a testament to the book's richness.

Lance-Corporal Jack Yeoman arrives back in England from the trenches of the Western Front. Guided in his movements by a pair of unusual dice he carries with him, he returns to his home in deepest Dorset and arranges a secret rendezvous with his adoptive sister Maggie at a village pub. But his recklessness in word and deed soon land him in trouble and he finds himself a hunted man. His war-wounded brother Charles, the embittered stone-builder Bate, the vindictive local squire of Minterne, and the sinister priest of Urley - all have their reasons for pursuing Jack as he flees deeper into the heart of his native land and deeper into the mystery that envelops him.
Several others are drawn into his sphere through the roll of the dice, some of whom are more than they seem, like the happy-go-lucky Londoner Cockler, or Mrs Dooley, landlady of The Duntish Rings. But there are other forces at work in this haunting tale of reality and illusion, of the living and the dead, a tale of natural potions and supernatural powers in which the threads of human destiny unravel and intertwine. As Jack seeks to come to terms with his conflicting loyalties and beliefs, with the death of his father, with his love for Maggie, events build to their violent climax on All Hallow's Eve on Giant Hill at Cerne Abbas. Albion's Dream: A Novel of Terror