Henry Levich

Character
Name:	Henry Levich
Occupation:
Relationships:
Fandom:	Darkover
Other:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Henry Levich is a character in the Darkover novels.

Fan Art

Art	Commentary
	From the artist: "Here's Dr. Levich, PhD in ExoSociology, still occupying his office at the Darkover Recontact Terran Agency. This illustration was never used in a magazine, but I think it makes a fair character portrait. I went to college with any number of guys who looked like this, but they didn't go on to be space detectives. Original art is black ink on illustration board, 6" x 8", Spring 1983." --
	inside art from Contes di Cottman IV: "As I said some time ago, Darkover fan writers used to place their stories into other genres, just for the fun of it. There were romance, Western, horror, and detective fan stories, including the one with this illustration. The author wrote it in a "noir" detective style, though the main detective character is an Orthodox Jew. I adopted a style for this story as well, the heavily inked scratchy pen work typical of fiction illustration in the early 20th century. Here the villainous character, the hybrid alien/human Kadarin, appears as if by magic in a familiar noir scene, a dark warehouse. Lots of black ink on illustration board, 7" x 10", spring 1982." - pyracanthasketch
	From the artist: "As the modern human Terrans re-colonized Darkover, there would inevitably be conflict, which would turn violent and even into full-scale wars. In this fan story, which you have seen before, Henry Levich the orthodox Jewish diplomat and detective tries his best to prevent a war from breaking out between the new settlers and those already there. Unfortunately, he cannot stop it and weapons of both psionic magic and Terran technology are unleashed. Whole cities are destroyed, including this one you see in ruins. Levich can do no more than pray for the dead, invoking God's praise in the famous Jewish prayer for the dead, the "Kaddish." This sacred poem has no mention of death or dead people; it is purely the praise of God. In this illustration Levich stands on a hill above the smoking ruins, reciting the Kaddish for those who were destroyed there. He wears the Jewish prayer shawl, the tallit, and his head cap, the yarmulke, symbols of prayer. His assistants and liaison officers from the old settlements look on quietly. I like the idea of a Jewish main character on Darkover. The author wasn't even Jewish but she did her best to portray him authentically. She only got one thing wrong, as I remember the story: she has Levich chanting the Kaddish rather than speaking it. I am not sure you are supposed to chant the Kaddish. As usual with Jewish theory and practice, there are multiple opinions on the matter. Ink on illustration board, 8" x 10", December 1984." -- Kaddish for Darkover , Pyracantha (March 16, 2017)