Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
OtherRealms Issue 23 Part 06
Electronic OtherRealms #23
Winter, 1989
Part 6
Copyright 1989 by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights Reserved.
OtherRealms may not be reproduced without written
permission from Chuq Von Rospach. The electronic
edition may be distributed only if the return address,
copyrights and author credits remain intact.
No article may be reprinted or re-used in any way
without the permission of the author.
All rights to material published in OtherRealms
hereby revert to the original author.
No Prisoners!
Laurie Sefton
Copyright 1989 by Laurie Sefton
Let's start this out with yet another corollary to rules of good
fantasy: Common sense counts.
Common sense is essential to the growth and continued existence of the
character. This is not to say that intelligence doesn't count for
anything; a minimum amount of intelligence is needed for the system to
operate, much less avail themselves of any common sense they might
have. However, all the intelligence in the world isn't going to do you
much good if you don't know what to do with it. For example, let's say
you're the local wizard's apprentice. Actually the local ex-wizard's
apprentice, since he's just been done in by the horde at the door.
Now, do you: 1) Run like hell, and get to whomever's in charge? or 2)
die valiantly in defense of the ex-wizard, letting those in charge of
the place wonder what has happened to you when you don't send the
weekly missive?
I think you get the idea.
Crusader's Torch [****+]
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Tor, 459pp, 1988, $18.95
Atta Olivia Clemens wants to do just that. The heroine of Flame of
Byzantium having settled in the city of Tyre, now desperately needs to
leave. She is caught in the midst of the Crusades. Saladin is in
Jerusalem and Richard the Lionhearted and the Pope are planning another
attack. Various factions of crusaders and knight are at constant
struggle against each other. The Knights Templar always seem to be
found in the middle, plotting for their own personal gain.
In the midst of this constant treachery, Olivia struggles to be allowed
to return to Rome. She needs the permission of the local magistrate to
take her belongings, after the magistrate and his minions get their
due, and leave for home. The officials manage to come up with one
excuse after another, while artlessly wheedling bribes. As with Flame
in Byzantium, the loss of personal freedoms, especially for women, is
emphasized. Olivia, who lost the freedom to conduct business on her own
while in Byzantium, has lost her freedom to move as she will. The story
of the Chatelaine de Fraizmarch, who is sent on a degrading penance by
her husband for having the temerity to defend their estate (and win),
parallels Olivia's struggle.
Olivia finally leaves Tyre, accompanied by a Knight Hospitaler, Valence
Rainaut. In a fatally ironic turn of events, he develops Porphyria, a
disease, which in its worst form, causes the victim to be unable to
withstand sunlight. His mottled skin causes he and Olivia to be
declared lepers, and they must struggle to escape both the edicts of
the Church, and the bandits and pirates who patrol the Mediterranean.
The horror of Crusader's Torch doesn't stem from Olivia, the vampire,
it comes from the baser aspects of humanity; greed, prejudice, and
ignorance. Olivia is one of the few noble figures in the story, she
watches as humanity seems bent on committing suicide.
The Dragon Prince [*****]
Melanie Rawn
DAW, 574pp, 1988, $4.95
The Dragon Prince is an excellent example of common sense in action.
The book could have been padded out by at least another 100 pages if
the characters acted in the same brick headed manner that seems to be
loose in the fantasy genre. Instead, when confronted with a problem, an
evil high prince, his equally nasty daughters, or a man killing dragon;
the characters do the right thing. This is incredibly refreshing. The
Dragon Prince accounted a for a good deal of sleep deprivation during
the first week of my vacation. I started it on a cross-country flight,
and didn't put it down until it ended.
Rohan, the prince of the title, is thrust into his role as the ruler of
the desert kingdom, when his father is killed by the dragon he was hunting.
Most of the court are suspicious of Rohan's ability to rule; he is too
learned and too quiet to be the successor to his father. However,
Rohan proves his worthiness by kiling the dragon who slew his father.
He also makes an important discovery; dragon eggshell, when flamed by
dragonfire, becomes gold. In a poor kingdom this is the key to power.
Power is also the goal of the Lady of Goddess Keep, the leader of the
Sunrunners, who use beams of sunlight and moonlight to communicate and
see from afar. She brings Sioned to be Rohan's bride. Sioned is no
fainting flower of generic fantasy. She is smart, opinionated, and
decisive. She also a has streak of vengance in her that is used quiet
handily against the high prince's daughters. Sioned is the perfect
foil for a prince who might become a little too aware of himself.
The high prince would rather that Sioned and Rohan not be wed. He is
interested in the desert lands and what treasure they might hold. The
high prince attempts to seduce Rohan, rape Sioned, and when those fail,
assassinate the prince and attack the kingdom. All fail due to Rohan,
Sioned and the rest of the court realizing what is happening before it
all gets out of hand. There's plenty of suspense involved, but none of
the convoluted nonsense seen all too often in fantasy.
The Dragon Prince is an excellent beginning in what should be one of
the best fantasy series yet.
Oath of Gold [*****]
Elizabeth Moon
Baen, 501pp, 1989, $3.95
Oath of Gold is the final book in The Deed of Paksenarrion trilogy,
which is one of the finest, ground breaking series to come along in
years. The series is one of the few I have seen that has been
recommended across a number of groups; I recently found glowing reviews
of it in a women's BBS.
Paksenarrion is as competent and resourceful as ever. Those of you who
read Divided Allegiance (and those of you who didn't, go out and buy
the book now.) know that at the end of it, Paks (as she is called) had
been mentally assaulted by the dark elves, and to save her live, the
Girdsmen had to remove that part of her mind that made her fearless.
Many other books would have left Paks this a way a goodly portion into
the third book, only to be magically put back together for the finale.
Paks, however, is helped to become whole fairly early on in the book.
Note I said helped; Paks does a lot of the healing herself. And while
she isn't returned to her previous state of fearlessness, she is now
tempered with the knowledge of how the average person feels in battle.
Not a soldier, but a person; defenseless, alone, and afraid.
The Oath of Gold refers to Paksenarrion's quest to find and return the
rightful king of Lyonya, a kingdom ruled jointly by humans and elves.
The crown prince of Lyonya was allegedly murdered some 50 years before,
and when it is found that he is alive, and the heir to the throne, Paks
must find him before the kingdom is torn apart. While in her quest, an
after she finds the prince, she a beset by those who want the kingdom
to fall, as well as those who have personal vendettas with Paks. A
note to the reader: there is a fairly nasty and graphic torture
sequence in the book. And it is very nasty; Moon has an ability to take
ideas that are presented as something fairly normal and benign in the
fantasy world, and let the gritty reality of it show through.
Paksenarrion manages to overcome all the obstacles in front of her, and
Oath of Gold is satisfying ending to a superb series. I would recommend
this series as a perfect entrance into fantasy.
The Dragonbone Chair [****+]
Tad Williams
DAW, 654pp, 1988, $19.95
Tad Williams is known for the bestseller, Tailchaser's Song. He proves
that this is not the only great book he had in him with The Dragonbone Chair.
The land of the Dragonbone chair, Osten Ard, combines both Arthurian,
Nordic and Celtic elements. Prester John, the High King in Osten Ard,
and the rightful heir to the throne, Josua Lackhand, must defer the
kingdom to his brother Elias. Josua lost his hand, and Elias his wife,
at the same time. Much is hinted about the event; it's known that
Josua loved Elias's wife, but not much more is said.
The main character of the piece is Simon, a servant boy, and apprentice
to Morgenes the wizard. Morgenes is one of the League of the Scroll,
magicians who are pledged to see that right is done. And with the
passing of Prester John, and the descent into evil of Elias, there is
much to be done if the kingdom is to be saved from the Sithi. Oh yes,
the Sithi. The Sithi are the elvenfolk who originally inhabited the
castle and kingdom of Prester John. Ever since their defeat, hundreds
of years before, an off-shoot of the elves have worked to get their
kingdom back. With Prester John dead, and a malleable Elias in their
hands, the time is ripe for their revenge.
Only Simon, and Binabik, the snow troll, can keep this from happening
These two have some of the pieces pointing to what the Sithi, and their
northern cousins, the Norns are planning, and what is needed to stop them.
This doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the various plots and
subplots in ths book. Tad Williams has created a vibrant, breathing
world, complete in all phases. Everyone is represented here; from kings
to dukes, to wizards and clerics to servants and peasants. And they all
are affected by the events. This is rare in a genre where the peasants
and servants are only there to mop up after the great and glorious
battles of the nobles and royals.
This is also the first time I have seen trolls shown in a good light.
One would almost suspect that the bad reputation that the trolls have
is due to their prgamatism, their convoluted manner of speaking, and
bad public relations in general.
The Dragonbone Chair is not an easy read. Give yourself a lot of quiet,
uninterrupted time, and you'll find yourself enveloped in a beautifully
wrought work.
Dragonsdawn [****]
Anne McCaffrey
Del Rey, 431pp, 1988, $18.95
Speaking of dragons, Anne McCaffrey has finally written the prequel to
the Pern adventures. Dragonsdawn is the story of how the Pern colony
evolved into the world of Dragonflight, Dragonquest, and the rest of
the Pern series. The earlier Pern books have straddled the line between
science fiction and fantasy; the telepathic dragons are SF, while the
medieval society harkens to fantasy. This book is pure science fiction;
the dragons are there, while the setting is definitely in a science
fiction mileu. The settlers of Pern are those who survived, and never
want to return to, an advanced, scientific society recently ravaged by
war. Among the settlers are Emily Boll and Paul Benden. Benden is the
former admiral in the war, a known a respected war hero. Emily Boll is
the former governor of a major palent settlement. More familiar names
appear, and it happens that some holds on Pern were named for less than
admirable reasons.
However, with strong and charismatic leadership, combined with life
threatening situations, it's not surprising that the people of Pern
developed a quasi-feudal system of government. The complete change in
societal structures isn't shown here, just the tantalizing beginnings.
Back to the dragons. The beginnings of the dragons, as well as the
watch- whers, are given. The dragons are a mixture of some very
sophisticated genetic engineering, as well as augmentation of what
their progenitors already had. The reasons for leaving the southern
hemisphere become clear, as well as a number of small points that
appeared in the earlier Pern books. However, a number of new niggling
points are created. Telepathic dolphins came with the settlers of Pern,
and they appear in a number of spots, just to disappear about
two-thirds of the way through the book. This is the same point as when
the dragons suddenly become important to the plot. This, and other
points of interest beg for a sequel, just to explain what happened and
what happens next.
All in all, Dragonsdawn is a good companion to the rest of the Pern
series.
