FORGOTTEN BOOK: THE CROWN JEWELS by Walter Jon Williams, Tor Books, 1987

FORGOTTEN BOOK: THE CROWN JEWELS by Walter Jon Williams, Tor Books, 1987

This is the 74th in my series of Forgotten Books.

I know that there a lot of you out there that are fans of The Saint novels or the Dortmunder caper novels by Donald Westlake. This week’s book is a nice tasty science fiction confection with its feet planted firmly in the traditions of those novels with a tiny bit of the comedy of manners exemplified in P. G. Wodehouse thrown in for good measure.

Walter Jon Williams was riding high in the mid 1980’s with his cyberpunk classics HARDWIRED and VOICE OF THE WHIRLWIND so it came as a shocker to some when he decided to publish a “divertimenti”, a small fun piece called THE CROWN JEWELS.

Featuring Allowed Burglar Drake Majistral is in Peleg City on an assignment. He makes his living as a professional thief, performing commissions for those able to afford him and stealing only from those able to afford the loss. He is followed by media globes which record his adventures which he then sells (with his features properly obscured, of course). People know he is a thief but he has never been caught, partly due to his skill at planning, partly due to his servants Roman and Gregor, and partly due to luck. A member of the nobility, he is unfortunately possessed of parents who squandered the family fortune. Due to an accident in school where he found himself faced with an untenable position is a duel, Drake discovered he liked breaking and entering and the subsequent events that usually followed.

In the course of this novel (the first of three to feature the roguish thief), he meets up with his client while dancing at a ball for Nichole, a member of the Human Diadem, extreme royalty for the human forces of the empire. He and Nichole are old friends and while dancing he makes arrangements for his commissions. Others at the ball recognize him and the conversations that go on while people are constantly changing partners during the dance are very funny. There is a similar scene near the end of the book where the whole caper is discussed in brief snippets of conversation.

Though he has the benefit of superior technology, it does not interfere with the caper. I am not going to get into spoilers, except to say that upon completing the theft, Majistral find himself in serious trouble because he has something everyone wants and someone has his client who has not told him all the necessary information about what he has taken. Needless to say, the Future of the Empire is in his hands and everyone wants it and those who do not get it are going to be upset and may take drastic measures to ease their frustration.

Light and fun, this is a wonderful piece, Looking around there are plenty of copies available on line as well as an inexpensive electronic version, so there is no reason to not have this one.

Series organizer Patti Abbott hosts more Friday Forgotten Book reviews at her own blog, and posts a complete list of participating blogs.