Just Because a god Doesn't Exist, It Doesn't Mean he Doesn't Exist: The Pusadian Tales, Part 5

Read/Watch 'em In Order #107

"Ka the Appalling" was published in the August 1958 short story--the last one published until the 1970s. By now, Gezun of Lorsk has been established as the main protagonist of the series. Though whether he'll survive beyond this story is an open question right from the start. He killed a cat that was stealing his dinner and now an enraged mob is chasing him.

Gezun had arrived in the Typhon (a sort-of expy of Egypt in this particular world), where cats are sacred and killing one is not a good idea. Gezun is chased into a blind alley and starting to plan a desperate last stand when a guy named Ugaph leads him to safety through a secret passage.

Ugaph isn't being magnanimous. He's a temple thief who uses a demon familiar to find out which particular temple treasures are available to steal. The demon requires a diet of bat blood, so Gezun and Ugaph's pretty daughter Ro are put to work collecting bats from old pyramids (a dangerous job because old booby-traps are still there) while he plans his temple-looting capers.

Gezun, though, doesn't care for being a bat-collector on a long-term basis. He comes up with a better plan. Why not start their own religion? Then they would have to steal temple treasures. People would be bringing them treasures directly as offerings to their god.

Ugaph likes this idea. But he doesn't like Gezun, who is too ambitious for his own good and keeps putting moves on Ro. So he makes plans on his own to offer Gezun to their god--Ka the Appalling--as soon as they have a temple built.

There are two things that might upset Ugaph's plans. First, no one is remembering to feed his familiar. Second, you can make up a god that doesn't really exist, but that doesn't mean the god you made up doesn't exist.

Though the previous story,"The Hungry Hercynian," is still my favorite of the series, this one is another strong entry. The dry humor and clever plot construction that is typical of a de Camp story are still here, making "Ka the Appalling" a delight to read.

There's one scene in particular that I think highlights de Camp's skill as a storyteller. At one point, a couple of thugs hired by Ugaph are planning to ambush Gezun and bring him to the temple as a sacrifice. Gezun ends up fighting them. He's armed with a sword, while the thugs have bludgeons. The fight scene is legitimately exciting and it is clear that lives are at risk during the tussle. But de Camp never forgets that neither Gezun nor the thugs are professional warriors. Nobody in the fight handles themselves with skill and the sense of danger is salted with just a little bit of slapstick, making it a uniquely entertaining action set piece.

You can read the story online HERE.

This was the last time we see Gezun until 1974, when a new Pusadian tale was published in Flashing Swords #2, a volume in the wonderful sword-and-sorcery book anthology edited by Lin Carter. I used to own that series, but it has somehow gone missing over the years. I'm going to try to get hold of the second volume so we can continue our visits with Gezun, so hopefully we're not done with him yet.