Knights of God

The Knights of God is a dystopian science fiction series made by TVS and broadcast in 1987.  It tells of the aftermath of a brutal takeover of the UK by the titular 'Knights', a fascist religious order under the control of Prior Mordrin (John Woodvine) and the creepy Brother Hugo (Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes).  Opposing the Knights is the resistance led by Patrick Troughton's Arthur and its various regional leaders like Owen Edwards (Gareth Thomas) in Wales and Colley (Don Henderson) in the Wasteland (formerly known as Lancashire and SouthYorkshire).

The story centres around Owen's son (and Uri Geller lookalike) Gervase (George Winter) who, along with much of the remaining population of Wales, is forcibly interned in a re-education camp in the north of England where he becomes increasingly embroiled in the machinations of the various factions vying for control of the country.

'Knights of God' is perhaps justifiably forgotten, it's obscurity not just a result of it's unavailability on home media.  The more recognisable faces in the cast are their usual reliable selves throwing themselves into the job at hand with aplomb but neither of the two young leads are particularly engaging or believable and at 13 episodes it's a little long.  As a Wyrd Britain artifact though it has it's merits not least in the casting of both the Second Doctor and Roj Blake but also as Patrick Troughton's last transmitted role.  It does have it's moments especially if, like me, you're a sucker for these sort of shows and wobbly sets and ropey acting have never been much of a barrier to enjoyment.

Time Trap

Nicholas Fisk
Puffin Books

A teenager in the late 21st century discovers he can time-travel using a drug supplied by his "Uncle" Lipton, a man who has already lived over 130 years and likely to live at least 100 more. Together they escape the horrors of their mindless present to experience life in the past. But time travel has its own dangers, and Uncle Lipton isn't totally honest about his motivations.

The day after I read this odd little sci-fi by Fisk it was announced that he's passed away which was a sad coincidence.  I've read two of his books before - 'Grinny' and 'A Rag, A Bone And A Hank of Hair' - ands had mostly enjoyed them and the cover art on this one was so good it pretty much jumped off the shelf into my bag.

'Time Trap' tells the story of a disaffected teen named 'Dano' who lives in a sterile and uneventful future society within a sealed environment called 'Homebody Unit 362'.  He is enlisted by his 'Uncle Lipton' to go time travelling with him using some sort of secret drug called 'Xtend'.  Journeys into the past and the future follow with Dano becoming increasingly controlled by the thrill seeking, hedonistic Lipton.

The book, albeit very short, moves at a slow pace all the way through Dano's first sojourn into the past - the British countryside during WW2 - but after that races along breathlessly into the future even more dystopian than his own time.

When the book ends it does so with a slamming halt that leaves a number of unanswered questions that have arisen including that of his death and of the nature of the pairs travelling.

It has however entertained along the way and provided an unflinching and unappetising future society where individualism and free self expression have been subsumed and life is essentially without either value or meaning both of which Fisk seems to imply reside with the family and experiences particularly with regard to nature.

The Guardians

John Christopher
Puffin Books

Set in the year 2052, the novel depicts a future, authoritarian England divided into two distinct societies: the modern, overpopulated "Conurbs" and the aristocratic, rarefied "County"; the former consists of crowded city districts and all-pervasive technology while the latter is made up of manors and rolling countrysides typical of 19th-century England. The novel follows a young Conurban named Rob as he comes to experience life in both worlds, uncovering truths and choosing sides in the process.

The beginning of the cold weather brought a desire to disappear into the clutches of an old favourite and having read both 'Empty World' and 'The World in Winter' fairly recently another John Christopher seemed like the way to go.

In 'The Guardians' we have what in many ways is a book that, rather unexpectedly, explores similar ground to 'Nineteen Eighty Four' particularly in the books denouement.

Young Rob Randall, born into a working class family in an industrial town (or 'Conurb') and raised by father, is essentially different from both his peers and the other inhabitants of the Conurb, isolated by his bookishness and by his loner tendencies.  Orphaned early on in the book and sent to an extremely strict boarding school from which he promptly legs it Rob finds sanctuary in the anachronistic idyll of the 'Country'.  As Rob makes the transition between the two worlds he is very much caught up in all his new life has to offer whilst conversely his arrival offers new perspectives for his new Country friend, Mike, and so as Rob finds refuge and friendship with Mike's kindly family things slowly start to spiral out of control.

For much of the book this is very much an examination of both class and the city / country divide.  The Conurb dwellers are ill-educated, brutal, obsessed by violent sports and dismissive of those they feel to be lazy and purposeless Country snobs.  For their part the Country dwellers are idle and rich, entertaining themselves with parties, athletic sports days, hunts, hobbies and gossip and are dismissive of the boorish, violent, uncouth Conurb folk.

It's an almost typical Christopher novel in that it hares along with his easy prose carrying you through the book yet it also feels slightly unfinished; not so much in terms of the book itself but rather unfinished as a story.  You are left with the suspicion that Christopher was leaving the door open for a sequel that never happened.  Also there are marked similarities here to the French chateau sequence in the first of his Tripods trilogy, 'The White Mountains'.

As ever though this is a perfectly enjoyable read that manages to create a fairly honest and realistic(ish) world and a fun little story in a very limited number of pages. It's far from being one of his best but when nothing else offers itself up it's well worth an evening of your time.