War in Heaven Paperback – June 15, 2023

"The telephone bell was ringing wildly, but without result, since there was no-one in the room but the corpse."So opens this intensely English novel that is at once both thrilling and significant. This novel was my first introduction to Charles Williams, a member of the Inklings; may there be many more encounters with his work in future! To describe this as the publisher does - "[a] contemporary religious novel […] filled with suspense, mystery, and supernatural conflict" - is accurate, but make no mistake; this work could never be sold in supermarket racks. For one thing, its "contemporary" nature makes it firmly "period" today, which is perfectly fine for many readers, but not for some. For another, it is unabashedly mystical and intellectual, with entire paragraphs that an editor seeking bestsellers would gag over and frequent strings of untranslated Latin. Finally, it deals in sections of society that the mass public has no time for (the Anglican church, the world of publishing, aristocracy, gentleman-collectors). These are not in any sense flaws, only characteristics. If you adore the educated prose and staunch moral world of M. R. James, you will similarly delight in Williams; Williams is very much James's successor in the fantastic genre of "Christian supernatural fiction".This book excels most in the difficult matter of creating an atmosphere that is suspenseful and unsettling without crossing over into the gratuitous, crudely crafted, or just plain silly (unpleasant literary territories that modern supernatural fiction seems largely unable to avoid). The main antagonists Gregory, Manasseh, and Dmitri are chilling portrayals of occultist evil, and their counterparts on the side of righteousness the Archdeacon, Kenneth, and the Duke are valiant, though each flawed in their own way. The enigmatic figure of Prester John is handled deftly as well. A host of supporting characters round out the drama and provide comic relief and side plots in the cosmic struggle surrounding a dented old cup in the obscure parish of Castra Parvulorum (Fardles).William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, which prints many works of specialist taste, has done well with their edition. The design is spare but appropriate, the back material is well composed, and the front cover succeeds in its aims. This book comes without introduction, textual notes, or other secondary material, but it does not require them.Despite qualifying as a "novel of suspense", War in Heaven is not light reading, and, like the Eucharist that is continually referenced in William's novel, will not be appreciated by all who come to it. Nonetheless, it is offered for all, and its savour is rich and rewarding.

This was my first experience reading Charles Williams - Amazon recommended it to me because I enjoyed CS Lewis's "That Hideous Strength". And indeed I enjoyed this as well. It has some of the same elements - forces of good against an occult conspiracy, elements of horror and mystery, although the two novels are very different in scope. The story here is much "smaller" whereas Lewis's goes for more of an epic scope. So this novel comes across as more tightly focused; in fact one of its quirky charms is the lack of any earth-shattering action or global implications for a plot centering on the Holy Grail (Graal) which as we know is a central plot device in a lot of other British/Western European literature.The Graal in this novel is a perfect example of the MacGuffin plot device - it is the central object that drives the conflict between the good and evil characters, but for no particular reason. Particularly on the good side, the Archdeacon is marvelously indifferent toward it, except that his opponents should not have it. The occultists on the other hand want it for various nefarious reasons, none of which particularly matter to the story, nor are ever explained in terms of anything unique or special about the Graal. In a different context this can be an irritating plot device but somehow here it just works.A couple of weaknesses (besides the MacGuffin) are the reliance upon chance encounters or occurrences to drive the plot (e.g. what the heck was the Duke doing in that shed when Mornington walks in???), and of course the climax is pure deus ex machina. Perhaps in a novel of this sort, deus ex machina is unavoidable. In this case it is so blatant, and mostly independent of the main characters' own actions, intentions, and abilities, that I think the author is making a point with this plot device: sometimes evil is beyond the capacity of mere humans to overcome, and there is no resolution save for divine intervention.Williams' writing style is at times loquacious and dense but also shows a very dry wit - he can come across as very serious but then sprinkles in little descriptions or observations of his characters that, in context, are just funny - not laugh-out-loud but keep things light. But at other times his writing is a little bit confusing or muddled so you have to go back and read the same paragraph a couple of times to figure out what just happened. Or maybe that's because I was tired when I was reading it.Overall, I enjoyed it, and I will probably try another of this author's works.

I had no idea what a good (and funny) writer Williams was. This book is beautiful and strange and at times horrible. It's not heretical but its also not orthodox to anyone's faith. It hints of great mystery. Its also a gripping yarn!