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OtherRealms Issue 28 Part 15
Electronic OtherRealms #28
Fall, 1990
Part 15 of 18
Copyright 1990 by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights Reserved.
OtherRealms may be distributed electronically only in the original
form and with copyrights, credits and return addresses intact.
OtherRealms may be reproduced in printed form only for your personal use.
No part of OtherRealms may be reprinted or used in any other
publication without permission of the author.
All rights to material published in OtherRealms hereby revert to the author.
Flights of Fantasy
Reviews by Laurie Sefton
It's summer, and time for lots of books to show up. Good thing, too,
since I've just about burnt out on the case studies d'jour from classes.
Summer is the time when you ought to be able to kick back and read
something because you want to read it, not because you have to have it
read, noted, and ready for discussion in Thursday's lecture. Kindly
enough, the publishers let loose with a torrent of summer reading, and
herein lies the kernel of this quarter's lecture:
If it's the nth book in a series, please provide the reviewer with a
recap of the previous n-1 books so the reviewer at least has some sense
of what's going on [editorial note: my policy on series is that if I
haven't read book 1, I don't start in the middle, and series books
aren't generally assigned for review unless I know the reviewer has been
reading the series. Reviewing the middle book of a series out of
context is fraught with possible problems, and there are too many good
independent good books to spend a lot of time 'catching up' to read
something in the middle. If a series doesn't catch us with book one,
it's unlikely to ever do so-chuq].
A corollary to this: if you are releasing a set of books, release them
in an order that makes sense to the readers, and not what appears to be
the order in which they were submitted.
The Death of Sleep
Anne McCaffrey and Jody Lynn Nye
Baen Books, 1990, 380pp., 0-671-69884-2
A case in point is The Death of Sleep. If you've read Sassinak, by
McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon, a lot more of the history will make sense,
as will the title. When I first read Sassinak I wondered why the lead
character had a name that sounded a lot like the anglicized version of a
pretty nasty insult in Gaelic. Several hundred years into the future
apparently the meaning has moderated a bit.
Beyond the information gleaned from Sassinak (and if you haven't read it
yet, go out and buy the book -- it's a nice blend of Moon's ability to
write about the military, and McCaffrey's social-science fiction), those
who have read the Dinosaur Planet diptych will get a lot of questions
answered about the universe in which variants of humanity and their
allies explore.
The underlying theme is how Lunzie Mespil, the main character, reacts
and adjusts to having her life strung out across generations, due to her
being in "coldsleep" (suspended animation) for decades. Anyone who has
spent any time outside of their normal venue will empathize with
Lunzie's plight. Your re-entrance into society has the added burden of
trying to figure out what has gone on during your absence, as well as
acclimating to the new surroundings. Lunzie copes with her family
having added new generations, new societal changes -- as well as dietary
habits, and the feeling of being an extra player in the game.
My biggest complaint with The Death of Sleep is the necessary tie-in
with both Sassinak and The Dinosaur Planet. You can see when the plot
suddenly makes a turn down the road to the old familiar places -- which
is why it would have been much better to have The Death Of Sleep
released before Sassinak. It's just one too many times to read the same
plot, albeit from a different viewpoint. [***+]
Silent Dances
A.C. Crispin and Kathleen O'Malley
Ace Books, 1990, 275pp., 0-441-78330-9
Silent Dances shows what good teamwork can do for a book -- it's
seamless as far as anyone being able to guess who did what. The story
itself is also different from the run of the mill "xenotech goes and
takes care of nasty situation on far away planet" that you tend to see
off and on. The book takes Tesa, an Amerind who is profoundly deaf, and
shows that what might be considered multiple disadvantages by some are
actually advantages in a different venue. Her culture allows her to
better understand the alien culture she investigates, and her deafness
gives her a door to the entirely visual language of the alien Grus, the
species which may or may not be sentient, based on observations by the
hearing investigators. Silent Dances shows the growth of a woman who
finds her place in the future worlds. [****]
Surrender None
Elizabeth Moon
Baen, 1990, 530pp., 0-671-69878-8
Those who read the Deed of Paksennarion by Elizabeth Moon are already
familiar with Gird, the peasant who showed his own people who to fight
for themselves against their overlords. In Surrender None, Moon looks
at the man behind the legend.
Once again, I'm struck at how Moon is able to present the banalities of
life to her readers; the everyday drudgery of the peasants, the mean
existence of the first troop of rebels that Gird finds, and not only
make it very interesting, but an integral part of the story. Too often,
fantasy writers tend to forget that their characters have the full set
of bodily functions, and not only have to eat, but have to deal with all
the steps that lead to eating and afterwards. Contrary to what was said
in "The Big Chill", the outdoors is *not* one big toilet, and if you
treat it as such, you'll probably give yourself a good case of dysentery
(if you're lucky -- more likely, you'll end up with hepatitis). Gird
has to deal with the mundanities of life as he attempts to overthrow the
nobles who have ravaged his people's land.
Along the way, we find the roots of what becomes the legend of Gird.
Characters are placed with the names of Gird's apostles, and we find
that even a saint can be very human after all. [****]
The Rowan
Anne McCaffrey,
Ace/Putnam, 1990, 335pp,0-399-13570-7
Anne McCaffrey also shows what happens when we take a human and attempt
to make a legend out of her. The Rowan is a novel adaptation of a
novelette that appeared in Get off the Unicorn. I haven't read the
novelette, and I'm glad I haven't since I would have spent much more
time comparing the two than enjoying the novel.
The Rowan is the name of a "prime talent", in this case telepathy and
telekinesis, who is found when she is the only survivor of a mud slide
in a mining community called Rowan. As with many of McCaffrey's novels,
the story follows the physical and mental growth of the girl and woman.
As in most of McCaffrey's characters, The Rowan faces a tough test -- in
her case, a telepathically induced agraphobia which keeps all the primes
prisoners of their planets. The usual McCaffrey story telling style is
evident here; you get a full story and then something that can only be
described as an addendum -- a short story at the end of the book after
the main characters have resolved the major portion of their problems.
It's odd, but it works. [***+]
Magic's Price
Mercedes Lackey
DAW, 1990, 351pp ISBN 0-88677-426-8
Magic's Price is the third book of the Last Herald Mage trilogy by
Mercedes Lackey. Vanyel, the aforementioned Last Herald Mage has
started to come to grips with both his role in the kingdom of
Valdemaar's future, as well as his own personal future. He sees his own
future, and possibly his own death, but doesn't know the events that
will lead him to that fate. The king of Valdemar is dying, and there
are attacks of magic from outside the kingdom. Vanyel must also deal
with the attentions of a young bard, who freshens the painful memories
of Vanyel's lover, Tylendel. Vanyel breaks through his pain from
Tylendel's death as he breaks through his own fear of death, to save the
kingdom of Valdemar. The on fault with the book is Lackey's consistent
use of rape (in most cases, gang rape) as a final test of the
protagonist's mental and physical constitution. Certainly there ought
to be other ways of testing character. [***+]
Knight of Ghosts and Shadows
Mercedes Lackey and Ellen Guon
Baen Books, 1990, ISBN 0-671-69885-0
Mercedes Lackey, with Ellen Guon have combined talents to produce Knight
of Ghosts and Shadows, the story of elves in Los Angeles. Sounds a bit
strange, but as someone who visited Los Angeles from the Midwest for the
first time about 15 years ago, it certainly gives some plausible answers
to some odd questions. The elves have been in Los Angeles (as well as
the San Francisco bay area) since they were driven out of Europe, nearly
500 years ago. They've made their home, and tied their magic to the
area, to see that magic ripped to shreds by man's encroachment of steel
and glass.
Enter Eric Banyon, a busker, or street musician, who makes a good chunk
of his living by playing the Renaissance Faire circuit. Eric doesn't
know it, but he's the last chance for the Angelino elves to survive.
An interesting sidelight in the book is the reaction of some members of
a rock band when they are confronted by real magic. Like some of the
members of neo-pagan and like movements (note that I said some, not all,
not most) they thought that what they were doing was a game, and
suddenly decided that dabbling in magic wasn't fun anymore when the
magic stopped being a game, and started being for real -- and for real
stakes. It's a nice refection on real life. [***+]
Charlemagne's Champion
Gail Van Austen
Ace, 1990, ISBN 0-441-10287-5
I was busily complaining that it seemed that everyone was doing
Arthurian romance these days, and ignoring all the other great stories,
when Charlemagne's Champion appeared in my reading list. Charlemagne's
Champion is taken from The Song of Roland. Roland is one of the great
heroes of French history, who , according to the legends, nearly
single-handedly defeated the Moors in the north of Spain, as they were
attempting to march through Catalonia, and on to the new created Holy
Roman Empire. One of the points in European history that no one in the
world or medieval history classes you took in high school and college
seems to want to talk about is how far the Moors (and other Islamic
groups) managed to get into Europe before they were beaten back to the
Ottoman empire and the south of Spain.
The Song Of Roland is fleshed out, with Roland's questions of his
father, and his pain at his allegedly paternity -- born of a witch by a
demon. Much of Charlemagne's Champion is taken up with Roland's need to
prove that he is a moral human being, while those around him who are
accepted as fine upstanding nobles are dealing death to their
compatriots. Charlemagne's Champion is an engrossing read, and I'm glad
that Gale Van Asten has continued the story of Roland and Charlemagne's
time in future books. [****+]
Gossamer Axe
Gael Baudino
ROC, 1990, ISBN 0-451-45025-6
I'm going to try and explain Gossamer Axe, by Gael Baudino, with the
hope that more than the women understand. It's an odd book in that when
I explain the story and characters to women, I get nods of
understanding. When I explain it to men, I get looks of puzzlement.
There are two plots in Gossamer Axe: the first of Christa attempting to
rescue her lover, Siudb (read Judith) from the entrapment of the Sidhe.
Christa has spent the last 200 years attempting a rescue after she
escaped, only to find her way blocked. She then discovers heavy metal rock.
The second plot, which is tied in with the heavy metal, is the story of
the women who Christa finds and forms into a band. All the women had
been suffering at the hands of a male-dominated culture; from the singer
whose jealous ex-lover first refuses to allow her to sing, and then
tracks her down like a wandering piece of property, to the bassist,
whose entire self-esteem is tied up with whomever she is having sex with
than night, to the woman who was sexually abused by her father, to the
woman whose day-to-day life is attacked by men who feel that a mere
woman couldn't understand the power of their music. The growth in the
power and self-assurance of the women parallel's Christa's increases in
magical power, and while there are casualties along the way, you can
really say that all are happy by the end of the tale.
Women -- read this book. You may take a long hard look at the world
around you. Men -- read this book with an open mind and heart, and you
may find yourself with an entirely new viewpoint on life. [****]
Out of the House of Life
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Tor, 1990, 0-312-93126-3, 480 pp
Out of the House of Life is the latest in the Saint-Germain series, and
provides a double chronicle -- the life of Saint-Germain, first as a
slave then as a servant and finally as the high priest of the temple of
Imhotep in ancient Egypt, and Madelaine de Montalia's adventures in the
area of Egypt, this time in the early 19th century.
True to form of the previous Saint-Germain novels, Madelaine, the major
character in this story, finds herself mixed up in the intrigue of a
French archaeological dig. Besides the unwanted attentions of a
deceitful french professor, Madelaine is in constant danger of being
denounced and killed by the natives, who feel that an unmarried woman on
her own is evil. What really makes this book special are the letters
from Saint-Germain, giving his accounts of his life in the temple.
Saint-Germain peels off layers of mystery of his past life as Madelaine
digs and sifts through the sand to bring to light the ancient mysteries
of Egypt. While Madelaine must leave Egypt at the end, we learn much
more about both Madelaine and Saint-Germain than ever before. [****]
------ End ------
