According to The Encyclopedia of Fantasy & Science Fiction, author Peter Valentine Timlett was "inspired to write fiction through what he learned by membership of the Society of Inner Light, the London-based occult group founded by Dion Fortune." His novel The Seedbearers is the first of a trilogy set in an antediluvian world. Contrary to the jacket copy that calls it a "violent struggle in the Atlantis of ancient legend," this story has hardly anything at all to do with Plato's Atlantis, and the imperial island destroyed in its course is called "Ruta," not Atlantis. There is a use of the Theosophical "root race" concept, though, so that the Rutan empire represents the twilight of the Atlantean root race.

Layered onto this deep-time "racial" theory of the occult sort (which does not need to imply vulgar racism), Ruta is populated by three racial types. The red-skinned Toltecs comprise the royal, martial, and sacerdotal castes. The fair-colored Akkadians are craftsmen. And the black skinned Rmoahals are purely warriors, maintaining a separate death-cult from the Toltec religion. The Akkadians are vassals to the Toltecs, and the Rmoahals are their slaves. (In Theosophical lore, these three are "sub-races" of the fourth root race.)

The Rutan religion is centered in two temples, representing an outer solar cult maintained by a priesthood and an inner Sea Temple for priestesses and adepts. The priests are initiated through a series of degrees, of which the highest is the seventh. The fourth degree makes up the general council of the priesthood, while the fifth degree are its elect, and the seventh its executives and emeriti. Strangely, advancement seems to proceed directly from the fifth to the seventh degree, and the sixth is mentioned nowhere in the book. The priestly disciplines are mostly exercised in shared astral spaces, and there are evocations of "elemental kings" occupying a crucial part in the sacerdotal program. It is easier to see some value in Timlett's representation of occultism in the structure and techniques of his priesthood than in the dubious "history" of the destroyed Atlantis.

This tale oscillates between exposition regarding Rutan society and religion on the one hand, and on the other acts of concupiscence and great violence. There is a rather moralizing tone throughout, culminating of course in the doom of the society itself. The "seedbearers" of the title are the virtuous minority of Toltecs and Akkadians (no Rmoahals) who are intended to re-found a purified civilization on other shores. This book made me think about the Yellowstone supervolcano, I can tell you.

"A Game of Thrones" on the Titanic!

Peter Valentine Timlett’s 1976 The Seedbearers starts a trilogy. Ostensibly inspired by history, the tale takes place on the island of Ruta (Atlantis). The cover blurb is accurate: it is a “bloody, sensual tale of an immense and violent struggle in the Atlantis of ancient Legend.” It begins with a brutal first chapter; the body of work is all political intrigue laced with sensual, adult themes; the final third is a satisfying, all-out-war synchronized with cataclysm.

Many tits are exposed, and all are gilded in gold: The domineering, Mayan-like Toltecs lead a fragile coalition. The Toltec’s themselves are split into the army and priesthood camps, and they rule over the Akkadian craftsman and Rmoahal slaves. They all live on Ruta. Chapter one is over-the-top, presenting all cultures as sexist in some way; in fact, misogyny appears intricate to the plot. The nicer cultures may treat woman okay, but still like to sacrifice virgins. Another rapes and murders them. Another eats them on occasion. In the first chapter alone there is (1) a beheading of a young girl… the subsequent eating of her corpse, (2) the a rape of one girl by >4 dozen soldiers, (3) a traditional sacrifice of young girl strapped to an altar, and (4) a slave girl whoring to maintain her life.

Timlett represents no culture in a positive light (to support the plot), but having just read Charles R. Saunders’ Imaro (in which a wondrous blend of fantasy warfare was mixed respectfully with African history) it was jarring to see the presentation of the enslaved, black Rmoahal as ruthless cannibals led by Voodoo priests.

Sword & Sorcery?: This was pitched to Sword & Sorcery fans, but the magic is limited to telepathic and psychic elements. There are several instances in which the astral realm is explored, and the story flirts with ghosts & invisible demons (more of this would have been welcomed). The closest thing to a magic-item is the “Instrument of Mating” (a ritualistic wooden phallus…seriously).

Rating & Recommendation: Fans of George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire series) should enjoy this. Martin may be a better writer of characterization & adult-soap-opera, but Timlett offers similar adult-fantasy themes that come to closure in one novel (this does start a trilogy, but this first dose could stand alone). Atlantis is doomed to sink after all (that is no spoiler), but there are several groups vying for power: in a nut shell, this is “Game of Thrones” on the Titanic.

The characterization probably deserves a 3-rating, but the plot is thoughtfully constructed and the action delivered well. I tend to give the initial story in a trilogy a “4’ if I am inclined to check out the second, which I am (The Power Of The Serpent). ( )