"The recent revival of this amiably brilliant man's writing is in large part due to the efforts of the translator Len Rix and the Pushkin Press. An academic jeu d'esprit, the novel was Szerb's valentine to English literature. It seems impossible that Szerb's wit, his intelligence and his generosity could be preserved in a book written in the midst of the fanatical hatreds that would consume him. But then, it's a small miracle that we have so many books available from this gentle giant of European letters." - The Wall Street Journal "a charming neo-Gothic tale. The Pendragon Legend is theatrical. The book seems staged for our benefit--and for the benefit of its characters. The protagonist, Jnos Btky, a scholar of alchemy and the occult, stumbles into a medieval Welsh town where the sorcery that he studies comes true and the myths that he has read come to life.
Like Btky, we are initially skeptical, but soon we align ourselves with the fiction, hoping that Szerb will refrain from proffering a rational explanation. He does not disappoint. It features resurrections, a sprinkling of dark magic, and a few staples of satanic ritual--but it is unfailingly playful, subtly ironic, a self-mockery peppered with compelling flashes of earnestness and insight." - Becca Rothfield, The New Republic ".Szerb's writing is self-aware and mocking, along the line between a genre piece and a parody of one--a challenging task, but Szerb manages. readers can be satisfied with some answers, while still--because this is a book of ideas, as the best genre works are--be left asking questions. After all, this is the tale of how a man like Jnos, passionate, yet malleable, can lead into danger, even bring about more horrors, all by a mad pursuit of knowledge." - Patrick Smith, Three Percent "May Szerb's entry into our literary pantheon be definitive.
" - Alberto Manguel, Financial Times "Szerb is a master novelist whose powers transcend time and language." - Nicholas Lezard, Guardian "Szerb was fluent in German and English and greatly interested in unusual religious beliefs. His knowledge of Rosicrucianism and the occult informs this often very funny book, which takes many affectionate potshots at the period's popular fiction. Szerb, who produced a history of English literature, knew his Shakespeare, Blake and Milton, but also the frothier writings of John Buchan, Edgar Wallace and P G Wodehouse." - Paul Bailey, Independent.