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Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Singing Sword

by Tee Morris

Tee Morris has written a fine book. Mr. Morris has accomplished what is normally unimaginable – combining our own familiar world with that of fantasy and very real magic. Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Singing Sword is Sam Spade, Mickey Spillane and Joe Friday - all tough guys – combined with stories by authors such as Terry Brooks or J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.

What I don't understand is why someone who so evidently has an abundance of imagination on his own bothered to take so freely from Tolkien's The Hobbit and his other Lord of the Rings books. Billibub Baddings is obviously a takeoff on the primary character in The Hobbit, not to mention Tee Morris' frequent referrals to orcs. Then there are the elves – who are supposedly little people (re: Santa's helpers) everywhere except in Tolkien's books and their subsequent movies. Maybe these allusions are supposed to be part of the 'Laugh out loud' content as indicated by another reviewer. I'm sorry, and perhaps it's only because our sense of humor differs, but the only time I've ever found myself laughing out loud for a writer is with Dave Barry – probably the funniest man in America, with the Janet Evanovich novels a close second. Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Singing Sword is certainly funny, but laugh out loud funny it's not. Nevertheless, Tee Morris is to be congratulated on his excellent writing.

Billibub Baddings happens to be a dwarf, not a Hobbit. Sucked into our world while disposing of magical talismans (the Singing Sword among them) he finally adjusted, becoming a very short but very tough private eye. Landing squarely from his habitat of Acryonis into the Chicago of 1929, with it's corruption and heavy Al Capone influence, Billi soon discovers that the talismans he was so hurriedly tossing through The Portal of Oblivion have preceded him here – and the Sword of Arranahs, known now as The Singing Sword, has been discovered in an Egyptian archeological dig.

The Elvish script on the sword's blade promises the owner complete power. But only Billi can read it – or so he thinks. The Feds, Al Capone, and Capone's arch rival, Bugs Moran, all realize the sword has something unusual associated with it – and want to possess it for themselves. But there are others working behind the scenes not only to have the sword but to overthrow Capone and take over his ironclad rule of Chicago. Tony DeMayo was one of them. Anthony DeMayo was Al Capone's right-hand man. Tony was also Al Capone's choice for next-in-line when it came to who would be the next mob boss. But Capone had discovered Tony was a traitor, and now Tony is dead.

The Sword has disappeared somewhere in Chicago after its find in Egypt by Eva Rothchild, who spends her family's cash on archeology, but only appears in time to take the credit for whatever her menials have discovered. Then the cream of high society in the person of one Julia Lesinger comes to ask Billi to find out why Tony was murdered, and who offed him. She already knows, of course, but uses this as an excuse to have Billi find the Sword during his search. Eva Rothchild, however, who is another famous name in Chicago's society circles, also wants Billi to discover why her boyfriend Tony was killed – with the same reasoning. Additionally there's a man named Benny, a born follower, who thought that with possession of the Sword he could finally become a leader; but he's also killed, and in a most frightful way.

Women with prominent breasts keep appearing in Billi's life – Julia, Eva and his secretary Melinda among them. Billi enjoys all three, since he's at the right height to best admire their natural attributes. There's also a girl named Daphnie – member of a speakeasy, and Dr. Hammil, the curator of the Ryerson Museum where the Sword was initially
sent. Each one has an important part to play in the outcome of discovering just where the Singing Sword is. Messers Jackson and Miller, representing the Feds, appear regularly in the tale, but find they can't demand information from Billi despite government backing.

The culmination of the tale comes in a warehouse, and the murderer manages to kill yet again before being caught in a trap of his own making. Billi, of course, manages to walk out free – or perhaps we'd have no further stories about the other talismans still to be discovered. As it is, the Singing Sword winds up in the safest possible place, thanks to our hero.

Tee Morris has given us a story which stands on its own, and has no need of embellishment from the likes of Lord of the Rings series. Maybe in future books orcs could become irks, or uks, or something… Maybe Billibub Baddings could legally change his name to a moniker further distanced from Bilbub Baggins… But whatever happens, it's a decided demand that Tee Morris continue the series from its fine beginning, and supply us with further adventures in the mix of familiar and fantasy!

Alan Paul Curtis

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