The Memoirs of Alcheringia

Erthring Cycle #1

by Wayland Drew, Darrell K. Sweet (Illustrator)

Rites Of Passage

What began as just another Alcheringian raiding party—sanctioned by the chief and approved by the Gods_ had gradually become a war to the death.

But nothing was quite as it seemed to the primitives of Norriya, for forces they could hardly comprehend were influencing events from offstage. More than tribal honor was at stake—the future of Man was being decided and time was running out!

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

239 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Wayland Drew (1932-1998) was a writer born in Oshawa, Ontario. He attended Victoria College at the University of Toronto, where he earned a BA in English Language and Literature (1957). Shortly after graduation he married Gwendolyn Parrott and together they raised four children. From 1961-1994 he was a high school teacher in Port Perry, Bracebridge, and Muskoka Lakes. He also worked for the Ontario Ministry of Education.

Drew began to write seriously in high school and published a number of short stories (to magazines such as The Tamarack Review) and non-fiction pieces throughout his career, while also selling radio and film scripts. His first novel (and sometimes stated to be his best) was The Wabeno Feast (1973). While rooted in Northern Ontario, the story indicted modern industrial civilization as an extension of the European colonization of Canada by depicting an entire society's fall into ruin. In her essay on "Canadian Monsters: Some Aspects of the Supernatural in Canadian Fiction ", Margaret Atwood noted that Drew's use of the aboriginal wabeno revealed a concern "with man's relationship to his society and to himself, as opposed to his relationship with the natural environment" and she concluded that Drew's novel combined "both concerns in a rather allegorical and very contemporary fashion".

Many readers, though, surely know him better as the author of an ecological science fiction trilogy, the Erthring Cycle (1984-1986), and of several movie novelizations (Corvette Summer, Dragonslayer, Batteries Not Included, and Willow, the last three of which were translated into French and the second in German). His non-fiction also reflected his concern for the environment and interest for Canadian landscapes, as seen in books such as Superior: The Haunted Shore and A Sea Within: the Gulf of St. Lawrence. His final novel, Halfway Man (1989), echoed themes from his first, The Wabeno Feast.

Reviews

[Steve R]

A very good science fiction novel from 1984 which combines a sophisticated sense of anthropological detail about a hunter/gather tribe, the incursion of outsiders with an advanced technology and a quite insightful and mature analysis of the moral issues such contact brings about. Written by a writer from Ontario who was a high school teacher (both aspects which I share), I found it to be astonishingly engaging intellectually while at the same time highly entertaining as a suspenseful story.

The first volume of what would become his Erthring Cycle.

Highly recommended.

[JJ DeBenedictis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful writing, an engaging protagonist, and a wonderful science fiction/fantasy story you can just sink into. This would make a great beach read; it maintains a gentle pace yet is continually engrossing.

[Apocryphal Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first in a trilogy. Took a while to get going, but by the end I found myself quite interested in reading the second book. To compare this to a title you might recognize, it's a bit like Aldiss' Heliconia Spring in tone and subject matter. There are advanced humans living in an island stronghold and watching tribal human groups raid one another, sometimes interacting with them and influencing them. Wayland Drew's prose is quite good - I wish he'd written more SF. I have enjoyed his novelization of Dragonslayer. He also wrote novelizations for Willow, Batteries Not Included, and Corvette Summer.

[James]

First book in the Erthring cycle (misspelled "Erthring" on first printing). followed by "The Gaian Expedient" (1985) and "The Master of Norriya" (1986). Wayland Drew (1932 - 1998) was a Canadian writer known for his environmental themes; his first novel, "The Wabeno Feast" (1973) is widely praised. Drew also wrote a number of movie novelizations, including "Corvette Summer" and "Dragonslayer."

[Science and Fiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read the Ethring Cycle four times now. Each time I think I’ll just read the first book, Memoirs of Alcheringia, which is my favorite of the three, and skip the other two which tend to wander off course a bit. But no, I’m too hooked to not see it through to the admittedly far-fetched final pages in book three. But we’re talking about the first book now.

This is one of my all-time favorites because it explores the rich moral quandaries of a high-tech society that observers tribal aboriginals. Like the Prime Directive in Star Trek (not to interfere with a society’s natural development), it is often difficult to not to intervene with compassion when people are suffering. But on the other hand, our own history demonstrates the arrogance and hubris of trying to bring inferior cultures up to speed, especially with forced cultural and religious indoctrination.

There are the usual political infights amongst the advanced society, and on the other side there are tribal squabbles that perfectly encapsulate the contrast between living a life with strong beliefs and customs, versus a life of open-minded curiosity. The story also explores ageism (does it bring forth wisdom or do elders merely settle into comfortable routines?) as well as themes of emotion and love versus intellect and the cold-calculus of technology.

I would like to think that the story is told well enough and the characters vivid enough that others will be drawn in as I was. If these themes sound interesting to you try the first book and see if it relates. Also be aware of some background misogyny. This is perfectly understandable in a hunter-gatherer society, but does pose some questions about how and why the advanced society tended in this direction. If that’s a real hot button for you then maybe look elsewhere. Despite that unexplained glitch, this remains one of my top three science fiction stories.

[Cheryl]

gave up on p. 68... stupidly misogynist and far too violent for me... cannot imagine who among ppl I respect would like it....