The Nine Unknown Hardcover – January 16, 2012

I was eager to read this classic of conspiratorial fiction (the big secrets of Humanity kept in thesecret hands of the wise and powerful Group of Nine) but this particular copy fails in itspresentation of the text. Evidently someone simply scanned an original copy of the book,did fast character recognition and reprinted the whole thing as a print-on-demand cheap version.When you do this, however, you're supposed to proofread what the software has done to avoidstupid mistakes. The publisher of this cheap version never bothered, so almost every page ismarred with errors, such as "lie" instead of "he" (how was the computer supposed to know thedifference?) and "the other tight" instead of "the other eight", "burt" instead of "but", and even"All ben Ali" instead of "Ali ben Ali". To some extent these silly misprints deepen Talbot Mundy's mystery, but they also makefor arduous and sometimes very frustrating reading of an otherwise good novel.

I have wanted this book since I read about it in Morning of the Magicians. Luckily, I never found it until now. I was expecting a serious speculation about a mysterious fraternity. What I finally got was a cracking great pulp yarn, at a time when I could enjoy it. Mundy is not Dan Brown, there are no real life clues and enigmas. But Mundy is nonetheless a very competent tale spinner. He is also a very evocative writer and his descriptions will put you right in the action. I recommend this for anyone who wants escapist literature at its best.

I discovered Talbot Mundy as a boy of 14, which is pretty much the ideal age for first encountering this sort of story. Yes, it's filled with mystery & thrilling adventure, stalwart heroes & humorous sidekicks, all in exotic settings that never existed in mundane real life, but only in novels. That alone would have been enough -- but there was far more, even for a callow 14-year old. There was a sense of the mystical, a binding thread of genuine philosophy, one that became ever more clear after reading more of Mundy's books. The heroic thrills hooked me, but the deeper material held me.In this particular adventure, our heroes are made aware of ancient mysteries, and of the fabled Nine Unknown -- masters of great power & knowledge who have subtly guided humanity for millennia. But who are the real ones, and who are the pretenders desperately seeking that power for their own very un-spiritual uses?Yes, some of this is pure pulp hokum by contemporary standards -- but so what? While Mundy was a skilled story-teller, he was clearly interested in something more, as his philosophical thoughts show up in all of his work. If you're in the mood for that sort of story, then you've come to the right place -- cheerfully recommended!