Hehe, The Lost and the Lurking (1981) sees John square off against a village full of full-on Satanists, at the behest of the United States government. As ever, all he’s got is a smile, his guitar and The Long-Lost Friend (I’ve included a photo of the title page of my 19th century pocket edition, as it figures into the plot, and it is probably the same thing Wellman envisioned John carrying, which is why I bought it!). The Satanists, led by the beautiful (and pretentious) high priestess Tiphaine never really stood a chance (like the Druids in Old Gods, they are kind of flat as villains, which is interesting — I never really feel Wellman’s villains are all that sexy or alluring). There is a scene early on where the satanic blacksmith gets into a fist fight with John and John wins easily, despite the smith having a charm guaranteeing his victory. Wellman never explains this turn of events, and even John spends the bulk of the book perplexed over it. It’s great, even if it probably a symptom of the speed at which Wellman wrote these novels. Again, though, I don’t think they’re really meant to hang together in a conventional sense, with all the loose ends tied off. They end abruptly, like dreams, and I think there is intention there.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the cover art. This one is by Margo Herr and it captures a lot of the atmosphere of the book — the swamps, the fires, the looming presence of the devil, the searching, suspicious eyes looking everywhere. I find all the covers in the series, including those for the two John Thunstone novels Wellman also delivered, very, very evocative. They are all far better than the later, more realistic covers on the paperbacks and the modern editions. which almost always feature a John who looks all wrong.