For the "sequel" to New Arabian Nights, Robert Louis Stevenson teamed with his wife Fanny, and the two created a fascinating, unique work. Through a series of stories within stories, couched within yet another framing story, the Stevensons deliver what might be the first work of terrorist fiction, deadly serious but leavened with humor.The framing story: three young blokes down on their luck decide to follow the next adventure that comes their way, whatever it may be. One is made a fool of by a seeming damsel in distress; another rents rooms to an ominous tenant; and the third falls in love with a mysterious stranger. All three become entangled one way or another with a group of anarchists bent on overthrowing the government through terroristic acts against civilians, using an insidious new invention: dynamite.
The portions dealing with the actual plots of the anarchists are quite chilling. One of the episodes sees a bomber toting his precarious cargo in a suitcase across London. Prevented from leaving the bomb where he had originally planned, he desperately seeks a new target as the timer clicks down. Rather than dropping the bomb at random, he is determined to find a victim, even trying to leave his suitcase with a small child who is saved by her mother at the last minute from taking the "gift". The stories don't shy away from the truly evil intentions of the revolutionaries.
Thankfully, there is a healthy dose of humor, even if some of it is quite dark. One of the anarchists is a master at spinning wild tales about her past to hide her identity, while another is an "amateur professional" at bomb construction, whose attempts fail as often as they succeed. A third, the bomb mule, constantly complains about medical ailments to mask his uneasiness at carting dynamite around town. The connected stories provide a fascinating look at a dark chapter of England's history, and at the murky beginnings of a new breed of modern evil.
Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 insidious new inventions
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