LAST UPDATE
12/31/24
Cast a Bright
Shadow by Tanith Lee, Tor, 2005
Opening
volume of the Lionwolf trilogy, set in a fantasy world of perpetual
winter. An arranged marriage proves more complicated than expected. The
bride’s father engineers her abduction in an elaborate plan of political
intrigue. She escapes the kidnappers and marries her intended, but she
is already pregnant and it appears that no mortal human is the father.
The ghost of a dead barbarian flitters around talking to various
characters while a series of small wars erupt, sometimes in the
background, sometimes not. Various characters pursue their own story
lines but the opening volume ends with all of them on the brink of
disaster. This was okay but it lacked the intensity of Lee’s earlier
books in the same vein. 12/31/24
Venus Preserved
by Tanith Lee, Overlook, 2003
The
fourth and final novel in her loosely organized series about an
alternate Venice. This one is set in the distant future, but it’s still
a fantasy. The city sank generations earlier, but now it is domed and
run by supercomputers who use holograms to simulate flora and fauna for
the tourists. But something is going wrong and people are dying. Despite
the futuristic setting, this is a fantasy in which two souls are
retrieved from the afterlife in order to help defeat a kind of fallen
angel that has wakened inside the city. I thought this was the strongest
of the four books in this loosely related series. 12/21/24
A Bed of Earth
by Tanith Lee, Overlook, 2002
Third
in the elementals series. The setting is an alternate 16th
Century Venice. Two families feud, among other things, about property
rights in the city cemetery. When an unapproved romance breaks out, one
family takes advantage and causes the death of the daughter of their
rivals. An attempt to even the score is thwarted by the family ghost,
and those responsible for the first incident succumb to supernatural
vengeance. Although there are elements of horror, they are kept low key
and the novel is clearly fantasy. Love affairs during the course of the
story never come to good ends. 11/20/24
White As Snow
by Tanith Lee, Tor, 2000
This
is a very loose retelling of the story of Snow White, with dwarves and a
magic mirror that would definitely not fit into a Disney cartoon. There
is also rape, murder, and incest. The story which incorporates some
mythology, is about the break between a young girl and her mother. The
mother is the wicked witch, but the circumstances are such that she is
also a person scarred by external influences. Lee had a tendency to over
write some sections of her novels, but that is not a problem with this
one. The ending is rather ambiguous, however, and not entirely
satisfying. 11/20/24
Beyond Here
Be Monsters by Gregory Frost, Fairwood Press, 2024, $18.99, ISBN
978-1-958880-15-9
Although he has
never been a prolific writer, Frost’s handful of novels – about a dozen
– have always been enjoyable. I confess that his short stories have made
less of an impression on me over the years, but that is probably because
they were spaced out so much that they had no cumulative effect. This is
his second collection – the first was almost twenty years ago – and
contains fourteen stories ranging from good to very good. The overall
tone is much darker than I expected them to be – vampires, werewolves,
messages from the afterlife, and other unsettling and supernatural
elements predominate. You might actually consider this a collection of
horror stories rather than fantasy. They are mostly dark in tone as well
as subject matter. There are no stories of princes and princesses,
dragons or fairies, or any of the predominate trappings of contemporary
fantasy. There are also no bad stories. Very much worth your time.
11/17/24
Egyptian
Motherlode by David Sandner and Jacob Weisman, Fairwood, 2024,
$18.99, ISBN 978-1-958880-21-0
There
is a comment about this book that it resembles some of the work of
Robert Anton Wilson. I can see the similarity. Unfortunately, I didn’t
much are for Wilson’s books despite their popularity, and I struggled a
little bit with this one as well. There is some good fantasy involving
pop music and the culture around it, but I find that it often becomes
self indulgent and too personal to the author to do well with some
readers. The story involves a musician known as the Prophet, whose music
actually does create a kind of metaphysical gateway to other realities,
usually expressed to him through dreams, and sometimes very frightening
ones. The narrator, his brother, experiences a kind of transformation
which he believes to be an hallucination. The authors’ affection for the
musicians involved, both real and imagined, is obvious. The Prophet,
Kenny, disappears after a quarrel and the narrator begins to search for
him. When he finds him, another personality has taken control, a dead
man with an agenda of his own. More than this I will not describe.
You’ll have to read it for yourself. 11/9/24
Saint Fire by
Tanith Lee, Overlook, 2000
Second
in a series of four books set in an alternate 18th Century
Venice. This one is a kind of retelling of the story of Joan of Arc. A
beggar girl discovers that she has unique control over fire. She can
burst into flame to protect herself when in danger. She does not hide
her talents and comes to the attention of the church. On the one hand,
she might be demonically possessed. On the other hand, she could be
useful tool enabling the church hierarchy to gain traction in various
political and social conflicts. Eventually she is condemned, of course,
but unlike Joan, she has a happy ending. Interesting but rather slow
moving. 11/9/24
Three
Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson, Avon, 1961
A
man from our world finds himself in a fantasy realm where the forces of
Chaos are preparing to renew their attack on Order. He discovers that he
knows how to use the weapons appropriate to that era, and before his
adventures are over, he has defeated cannibals, fairies, a dragon, a
troll, cannibals, a werewolf, a sorceress, and other creatures. He has
also found a beautiful maiden who can turn into a swan. Morgan Le Fay
attempts to seduce him. Ultimately he has to recover a magical sword
that will allow him to defeat the powers of Chaos, which he does of
course, although the actual final battle takes place off stage, This was
fun if somewhat atypical of Anderson. 11/9/24
Storm Waters
by Kat Richardson, Fairwood Press, 2024, $16.99, ISBN 978-1-958880-22-7
This
is a blend of urban fantasy and noir mystery set during the Depression.
Martingale Storm is a roguish crook, mostly reformed, who practices
magic on a regular basis. He has to do that because vengeful ghosts
wronged by his father and grandfather keep returning from the dead to
hunt him down. But his life becomes even more complicated when a young
girl with a strange mission enters his life, he is framed for a murder
he didn’t commit, and he ultimately has to return to his native
Louisiana in order to avoid some crooked cops and deal with some family
issues. But home is not the refuge one might expect. The tone is
actually fairly light as Storm has his various adventures, and the story
unravels the system of hidden magic that exists in the background. The
ending leads me to expect at least one sequel. 11/3/24
The History
of the World Begins in Ice by Kate Elliott, Fairwood, 2024,
Fairwood Press, $40, ISBN 978-1-933846-19-7
This
is a large collection of short stories and essays related to the
author's Spiritwalker trilogy. The stories are a mix of new and reprint.
The essays all appear to be reprints. I read only the first in that
series and that was more than a decade ago, so this was completely new
to me. I had no context. Generally I think that fantasy fiction
struggles more at shorter lengths, but these are almost all quite good.
The essays supplied some information that helped me understand the
stories, fortunately. "Bloom" was my favorite among the stories.
There are more than a dozen illustrations by various artists. If you
liked the trilogy, this should be a welcome supplement to the series. If
you haven't read the trilogy, this might not be as meaningful but the
stories pretty much stand by themselves. 10/28/24
Faces Under Water
by Tanith Lee, Overlook, 1999
First
of four books set in an alternate 18th Century Venice. A
disgruntled young man in a city where masks are obligatory finds a mask
floating in the canal. This turns out to be the first step in his
encounter with a mysterious organization of murderers, an alchemist with
genuine occult powers, a woman with a frozen face who might not be
entirely human, and other odd and sometimes dangerous people. The story
is heavy on atmosphere and has strongly drawn characters. In some ways
this is a murder mystery, although the resolution would not please fans
of that genre. This series bears some resemblance to her earlier Paradys
books. Most of the characters are decadent, secretive, and unpleasant.
10/17/24
Wolf Star by
Tanith Lee, Dutton, 2000
Wolf Queen by Tanith Lee, Dutton, 2001
These
are the second and third installments of the four book Claidi series.
Claidi is an escaped slave who found a new home in the first book. The
second, aka Wolf Star Rise, has her abducted by balloonists to
yet another part of the world where she has a series of adventures,
attracts the attention of a prince, discovers that her diary is magical,
and begins to understand what is happening to her. In the third, aka
Queen of the Wolves, she returns to her new home only to find that
her absence was understood to be a betrayal and that her lover has
wandered away in despair. She convinces people that she did not leave
voluntarily and tracks down her lover, while dodging a mysterious and
sinister figure who is clearly following her.
Red Unicorn by
Tanith Lee, Starscape, 1997
Law of the Wolf Tower, Hodder, 1998
Two
fantasies for young adults, the first ending a trilogy, the second
beginning a new series. Red Unicorn is the last adventure of the
young sorceress Tanaquil, who discovers that the man she loves is now
interested in her sister. A red unicorn leads her into an alternate
universe where she has to confront her darker side, the Princess Tanakil.
It is a bit didactic. The second title, aka Wolf Tower, is the
first in the Claidi Journals. A young slave in a repressive imagined
world flees his owners to accompany a mysterious young woman in a
journey across a particularly dangerous part of their world. He comes of
age during the process, a common fantasy theme. Both are well written,
but the first is for a considerable younger readership than the second.
10/9/24
Rainier's Legacy
by Chad Corrie, Dark Horse, 2024, $19.99, ISBN 978-1-50674-104-8
This
is a collection of stories set in a fantasy world that follow the
adventures of a wandering bard. This is an old, though not frequently
used premise in fantasy, although usually the wanderer is a thief rather
than a musician. The stories are quite varied in tone - humor to horror
- as well as subject matter - swindlers, bandits, monsters, arcane
powers, an old flame, and characters of various sizes, shapes, and
mannerisms. Corrie's prose is transparent, i.e. it does not draw
attention to itself but conveys the story with skill and dispatch. There
are very few slow pages in the book. As far as I can tell, the stories
have not previously appeared elsewhere, although it is possible that
there was an earlier edition from a small press. I thought most of them
were quite entertaining, and the variety was a big plus. Short fantasy
fiction is relatively uncommon in my reading so this was a nice change
of pace. 9/20/24
Reigning
Cats and Dogs by Tanith Lee, Headline, 1995
I
thought this was one of Lee’s best fantasy novels and I am puzzled that
it never seems to have had an edition in the US. The head of a secret
society has to take action when his group’s activities inadvertently
release a shapechanging demon in the heart of an alternate London. The
demon is deadly, its methods various, and its victims usually mutilated.
His attempts to confine or destroy the demon are aided by an unusual
prostitute who also has psychic healing powers. The story is rich in
little side trips as well as the main plot – and they are all short and
do not interrupt the flow of the book. Worth tracking down a
copy. 9/16/24
When the
Lights Go Out by Tanith Lee, Headline, 1996
The
fantastic content is mostly peripheral in this story of an unhappy young
woman who vacations in a somewhat shady seaside town and becomes
obsessed with the magic of the sea and the supernatural power that it
commands. Her mother is uninterested in her life, although she finally
decides to find out what happened to her. The new friends she makes all
of problems as well, but they cope with them in different ways and she
is able to deal with some of her own personal difficulties by learning
from them. This one wanders a lot and very little happens. I found
myself finding excuses to put it down for a while. 9/16/24
The Book of the Mad
by Tanith Lee, Overlook, 1993
Three
versions of the city exist in three realities, all of them corrupt and
decadent. In one of them an artist is deemed to be insane, but manages
to escape from a mental institution. In another, siblings who engage in
random murders as entertainment search a labyrinth for a door between
worlds. In the third, a teenage girl’s obsession with an actor leads to
incarceration in an asylum and her eventual death. The book has a
feeling of dreamlike unreality despite the sometimes very explicit
violence and depravity. Last book in a four volume series. 8/12/24
The Broken Sword
by Poul Anderson, Ballantine, 1971 (originally published in 1954)
This
Norse fantasy novel is very highly regarded but I have always found the
second half to be a bit of a slog. A changeling raised as human and a
human raised as an elf are the two major warriors in a war between elves
and trolls. There is also a vengeful witch who manipulates them but she
dies about midway through the novel. The second half is mostly our hero
and the love of his life hiding from the trolls, who are temporarily
triumphant. It turns out that she is his sister, so their romance ends
abruptly. He disregards warnings and has a magical but probably cursed
sword mended. 7/29/24
Lyorn by Steven Brust, Tor,
2024, $27.99, ISBN 978-0-7653-8286-3
I
have missed a few recent novels in the Taltos series, a fault which I
shall rectify soon, but this new one is as much fun as I recall the
series to have been quite consistently for decades now. Taltos is on the
run again, of course, and this time he takes cover among a troupe of
entertainers. Unfortunately, the entertainers are putting on a show that
could attract unwanted attention and get them all into trouble, so it is
not the ideal place for him to take refuge. His adventures - which
involve a complicated series of interlocking subplots - are liberally
laced with humor and snappy dialogue despite the seriousness of his
situation. I have been told that the chapter headings will provide clues
to fans of musical theater, not all of which I caught. Fortunately I
have read most of the books in the series, so there were only a few
recent developments that had me scratching my head briefly. This was a
lot of fun, which is not true of most contemporary fantasy, which tends
to take itself entirely too seriously. 4/18/24
Wicked Problems
by Max Gladstone, Tor, 2024, $19.99, ISBN 978-0-7653-9593-1
This
is the second volume, following Dead Country, of a new subseries
in the Craft series, which is set in a somewhat atypical fantasy world,
although the plot elements are mostly quite similar. The protagonist is
a young woman who probably deserves a quiet retirement after all of her
previous adventures, but that doesn't happen with fantasy heroes. This
time she faces another scary and magical force which threatens to throw
the world into chaos. Fortunately she has a god as an ally, although
that doesn't mean the battle will be an easy one. And there is lots of
battling in this one as she figures out who or what the opposition
really is and how to defeat it. Gladstone has a lively style that keeps
the story going even during the obligatory slower sections between the
action scenes. It's always nice to read an adventure story that doesn't
bludgeon you with details of fighting techniques or dismembered bodies.
4/10/24
Forge of the High
Mage by Ian C. Esslemont, Tor, 2024, $30.99, ISBN
978-1-250-78851-0
A
Malazan novel. This one might be called military fantasy because the
main plot involves efforts by an ambitious emperor to extend the area he
controls into new territory, despite the fact that his manpower is
running low and the new campaign will consist primarily of hastily
organized units. Even worse from his point of view is that this time his
army is facing not just fierce human warriors but a magical force which
his own chief sorcerer fears is too powerful to be overcome by the
resources available to him or the army. The emperor, however, has an ace
of his own sleeve because his navy is buttressed by a magical force of
its own. Despite the obviously belligerent plot, the first half of the
novel proceeds at a relatively slow pace, then picks up for the obvious
major battle at the climax. This is the fourth in a series designed, it
appears, to show how the Malazan Empire was formed. I have missed
several of the author's recent novels, but I don't think that had a
major effect on my enjoyment of this one, so you can read it without its
predecessors, although I imagine they would provide additional
background on the characters and politics. 4/4/24
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