The Pelman the Powershaper series offers a delightfully unique and witty twist on fantasy tales populated with a colorful cast of characters.
What Is It?
This fantasy series from little-known author Robert Don Hughes revolves around the character Pelmen who roams across the three divided lands and is known as a player (actor) in Chaomonous, a Powershaper in Ngandib-Mar, and a prophet in Lamath. The three lands have been divided for many years with the two-headed dragon Vicia-Heinox guarding the pass that offers the main access between the separate nations. He (they?) demands a bounty (usually in the form of slaves for him to eat or jewels for his hoard) from anyone who wants to cross his summit. But Pelman happens through the pass after he is captured by the incompetent merchant Pezim, and in order to save his own life and also to free the merchant’s other prisoner–the princess of Chaomonous–Pelman engages in a conversation with the dragon that results in it becoming aware of its dual nature (two heads, two brains). The dragon then becomes divided against itself and this alters the delicate balance of power in the three lands which leads to a struggle for control between multiple parties, each trying to wrest control of the lands into their own hands.
Book 1 – The Prophet of Lamath (1979)
Book 2 – The Wizard in Waiting (1982)
Book 3 – The Power and the Prophet (1985)
Legacy
During the fantasy boom of the late 70s/early 80s, this series proved to be a literary gem in the genre even if it went mostly unnoticed. It delivered an excellent and original fantasy tale injected with liberal doses of wit and humor and populated by colorful characters. It also rose above the expected genre archetypes while offering a delightful and breezy read to those who discovered it.
A Closer Look
In the late 70s, Dungeons and Dragons exploded on the scene and spurred a renewed interest in the fantasy genre. Fans rediscovered Tolkien’s Middle Earth stories and then began to devour the Shannara books by Terry Brooks, the Thomas Covenant series by Stephen R. Donaldson, the Elric cycle by Michael Moorcock, and even the Conan revival by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter. The genre also made some inroads to the big screen with 1981’s Dragonslayer and 1982’s Conan the Barbarian, the latter launching Arnold Schwarzenegger toward super-stardom. And during this boom period, the Pelmen the Powershaper books by Robert Don Hughes quietly made their way to the shelves and delighted those fantasy fans that picked them up.
While fantasy stories have a large attraction and many followers, both casual and devout, they often suffer from redundancy as there’s only so much you can do with knights and wizards and dragons and elves and the other staples of the genre. But Hughes successfully maneuvers through that minefield with this series, delivering a rare, very original take on the fantasy setting. Sure, he has a dragon, he has magic, and he has warriors (though no elves, dwarves, or orcs), but he gives all of them a unique spin. He delivers an interesting backstory for the dragon and why it rests at the middle of these three lands. He uses magic sparingly throughout the three books and develops his own distinctive brand of wizardry. And the knights and warriors in his tale are well-developed with sufficient motivation for their warlike ways.
Most importantly, all of the characters come alive and all manage to avoid genre stereotypes and typecasts. Sure, each of them may have some familiar traits, but Hughes succeeds in taking the expected and applying his own twist as he develops the characters beyond just a sum of their traits. For example, the Mari warrior Rasha gives us the brash, youthful fighter, but he has a stutter to his speech. That starts out as an interesting and humorous character quirk, but that alone doesn’t define Rasha. As the story progresses through the three novels, Hughes continues to develop this young warrior and eventually drops the stutter as he matures and becomes more confident. He rises above being a one-trick fantasy character into a well-rounded pillar to the story. And then there’s the central character, Pelman, who at first seems to be somewhat of a ne’er-do-well rapscallion character, but whom we learn to understand has a rather serious and somewhat spiritual side to him. He becomes the guiding force to a story populated with many colorful characters and acts as a sort of glue bringing it all together.
Hughes’ writing style also helps the books rise above the pack as far as quality. He delivers tightly-paced, breezy prose that never meanders or bogs down, and he injects it with plenty of wit and humor. Not that the books count as a comedy or a spoof on the genre. They just take the tongue-in-cheek route and keep you chuckling through the action and developing story. And while the trilogy follows an overall story arc, each book tells a complete tale within itself and does not leave the reader hanging; though you will definitely find yourself wanting more. The third book has much less in the way of humor as Hughes brings his tale to its conclusion, but it’s still a good entry and gets in a few good lines here and there.
The Story Continues
The story of Pelman pretty much wraps up by the end of the third book, though it is surely possible that more stories could have been told based on him or other characters from the books. Hughes chose not to go that direction, though, and instead started up a prequel series to flesh out the backstory of his world. That kicks off with 1989’s The Forging of the Dragon and continues with 1992’s The Faithful Traitor. A third book in the prequel series was planned, but sadly Hughes never completed it. The two that did come out are immanently enjoyable with the same spirit of adventure and wit as the Pelman trilogy. They go back to the age of the dragon’s creation, though, and do not have any of the characters from the first trilogy. But if you enjoy those books, you will certainly want to seek out the prequels as well.
Should the Books Be Adapted?
Over the past couple of decades, we have seen quite a number of big-budget adaptations of fantasy books such as Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies as well as the Harry Potter and Narnia films, and more recently television has delivered The Witcher, The Wheel of Time, His Dark Materials, and more. So it certainly seems like the Pelman the Powershaper books might be a good option for a movie rendition or a TV series these days. The books offer plenty of storylines that could carry a film or a series, and the prequel books could even be folded in to flesh out the productions. But I have heard nothing that suggests that the entertainment industry has an interest in adapting the property, likely in part due to its lack of name recognition. It could work as a series of films or an ongoing TV show, but I think that Hollywood would prefer something audiences are more familiar with.
Interesting Facts
Robert Don Hughes, a former preacher and missionary who received a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has written several (non-fiction) religious books along with his fantasy and science fiction offerings. He works religious themes into the Pelman series (and his other fiction works), but not with any sort of overbearing, fundamental zeal. Consider his use of religious themes more akin to what C.S. Lewis did with his Narnia tales.
Hughes also wrote two supernatural/science fiction novels which offer a demonic take on the alien abduction theme: The Fallen: A Novel in 1995 and The Eternity Gene in 1999.
Where Can You Find the Books?
The books went out of print for many years and you had to search for used copies if you wanted to read the series. Fortunately, new editions have been published which include new paperback releases as well as eBook format. The prequel books have also received new editions as well. Sadly, these have not made it to audiobook yet, but perhaps we will get those at some point in the future. And I elect Neil Gaiman as the narrator as his voice would be perfect to bring these books to life.
