re:mote voices

Title: Karloff's Circus (Accomplice 4)
Author: Steve Aylett
Publisher:Gollancz

karloff’s circus is the fourth and presumably final book in steve aylett’s accomplice series, which I’m sure was originally described as being a trilogy? For me I would perhaps say that the accomplice series has been most like the territory covered by the invisible volunteer. I haven’t gotten into this series as much as the beerlight series or the assorted other bits and bobs. Perhaps the stronger “fantasy” elements present in the accomplice work, or the fact that I’ve not found them quite as funny, could be the reasons? Certainly the work is as far out there in terms of coherence and madness as any of his other work.

Like the Beerlight material, Accomplice is a place, which just happens to be sitting above hell, and populated by all kinds of weird and wonderful and weird characters. At the core of the series is Barny Juno, who is a friend to all kinds of animals, so that they pretty much dominate his house. Unfortunately, way back at the start of the series Barny stumbled upon an alligator, which he took home. However the alligator just so happened to be in a creep channel, a passage between dimensions, stored there as a light snack to a grand demon. Incensed by this snack theft the demon swears that he will have his revenge on his bumbling nemesis.

So each of the four books – Only An Alligator, The Velocity Gospel, Dummyland, and Karloff’s Circus feature the misadventures and catastrophes of Barny and his friends while the demon lord goes to greater and greater lengths to try and destroy Juno. Of course Juno remains mainly unaware of events, caught up in so many other things. As a culmination Karloff’s Circus features plots taken to a whole new level, as well as keeping running jokes running. With the arrival of the circus we have the machinations of the circus master Karloff and his dastardly clowns, as well as continuing demonic attacks. Along with the ongoing pranks and character flaws Aylett continues to explore the nooks and crannies of this town gone mad, an eventful landscape filled a wealth of recurring psychopaths and excuses for cult phenomena.

Described in the blurb as the Rosetta Stone to the Accomplice series, Karloff’s Circus certainly escalates events, tying threats together in an explosive fashion. However, anyone that claims to have become fully enlightened during the course of Karloff’s Circus, or any of the Accomplice novels for that matter, is a liar and not to be trusted, either that or is in need of some real help. Here is to re-reading all four at once!