Casting Fortune

Casting Fortune John Ford Date: 01 June, 1989   —   used only   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy, Short Stories

These stories are set in a world that is shared, apparently. Liavek is a city where magic is common, but revolves around luck; a wizard is one who contains his luck in a vessel on his birthday, and every subsequent birthday the luck must be set free and recontained. The first story didn't grab me, and in fact didn't seem to make much sense. The second one was much better, a charming little parable about love and the consequences of messing with something you don't understand.

But the third story, the novella, is the one that earns the five stars. "The Illusionist" is about acting, and plays, and being haunted by the ghosts of the past— or the people in your life. It involves four actors who really need the core of acting, and a somewhat tyrannical director who is a genius, and whose play I really really want to see. (Mr. Ford, have you actually written it? Or even just have an outline?) It's a lovely piece, and fully deserves the rating. Of course, one will get more enjoyment out of this particular story if one has a background in acting, or if one has seen a truly great production of Shakespeare (I recommend the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the second-best in the world, if you can't get to England to see the very best.)

Fuzzy Bones

Fuzzy Bones William Tuning Date: December, 1981   —   used only   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Science Fiction

H. Beam Piper's Fuzzy series was always popular, so much so that when he died, they decided to grant another author the chance to add to the series. William Tuning did— and then a couple of years later, they discovered the manuscript to a third book of Piper's, which is still in print. Tuning's foray, which might be thought of as an alternate universe entry, is largely forgotten.

Which is a pity, really. The style of the book is different, and the plot a bit strange in parts (one gets the sense that Piper wished to imply something that is fully revealed in this book, and I would argue that it's much more effective as merely a hint), but overall, Tuning's writing style is solid and, in a way, more complex than Piper's. I'm actually reminded of the difference between the Oz books of L. Frank Baum and Ruth Plumly Thompson; Thompson is a better writer, though Baum manages a stronger sense of wonder. Similarly, Tuning's book is more complex, but the characters are slightly more accessible in Piper's books.

Furthermore, Piper's books are concerned with the law and with justice, something made very clear from how the central events of two of his three books are trials, and the third deals with the application of law. Tuning is more concerned with the origins of Fuzzies (hence the title) and throws off the trial that is the central feature of Piper's third book with a two-line aside. More importantly, Tuning set the book up so that a sequel was possible, if not precisely necessary; one can certainly imagine what is to go on afterwards.

Unfamiliar Territory

Unfamiliar Territory Robert Silverberg Date: 1978   —   used only   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Stories

This is a classic collection of prime SF, and even the stories that seem a little dated or out-of-step (such as "Caught in the Organ Draft", which postulates a future in which healthy young folk are required to donate organs to wealthy seniors— something that seems unlikely now, given the parallel medical advances) are well-written and entertaining. The best science fiction is about today's fears and struggles, told through the lens of the future, and Silverberg's collection is best viewed as a compendium of issues of the 70s, a few of which we still have today, and some of which seem far distant. (Anyone who grew up with "Duck and Cover" will know what I mean; kids today generally don't have nightmares of everybody in the world dying in mutually assured destruction.)

At any rate, Silverberg is a supremely good writer, and this book is a good introduction to his work. If you can find it.

Those Who Hunt the Night

Those Who Hunt The Night Barbara Hambly Date: 12 November, 1988   —   used only   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy

Oh, look. MORE vampire fiction. In this case, a mortal man is hired to find out who is killing the vampires of London. Failure is dangerous, as the vampires who hired him know not only where he lives but of his beloved wife. But success might be more dangerous, since he might be too dangerous to let free...

This is not a bad mystery, and the characters are well-drawn within the strictures of Edwardian society. The vampires, in this instance, have the traditional vunerabilities to sunlight and certain woods, but in this case they also are susceptible to silver. Not a bad addition to vampiric folklore.

Ladies of Mandrigyn

Ladies of Mandrigyn Barbara Hambly   —   used only   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy

Mercenary captain Sun Wolf isn't particularly interested in bringing his troop to the city of Mandrigyn, who wants to hire him to free the city from an evil wizard. After all, it's almost certain death, and all of the men who resisted have been taken to the mines. But then the ladies kidnap him and give him a deadly poison that promises a drawn-out and painful death if he escapes, since it is only held in check by the power of a half-trained wizardling who doesn't know the secret of the Trial that makes a person a full wizard. So he agrees to train the women in secret so that they can take on the wizard... because if they only go halfway, they'll be slaves again within a season.

This is a different world than that of the Windrose Chronicles, and stands very well on its own. It is utterly true to itself, right up until the coda, and deals with the realities of war, the longing for power that some people have, and the fears of change that are near-universal. Fun if you can find it.

The Silent Tower

The Silent Tower (Windrose Chronicles, Book 1) Barbara Hambly   —   used only   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy

This is a crossover novel, one which has a protagonist from our world who ends up at another. And— whoa, does "our world" feel dated, because Joanna Sheraton is a computer programmer in the early 80s. You know, before the Macintosh. In fact, pretty much before PCs in general. (Yeah, they were there. But it's like the Internet in 1994; present, but only "cutting edge" people really are into it.) And it's got a dark and depressing DKS cover (sorry, Mr. Sweet, I don't much like your work) that sets the tone of the novel; for some reason, dark covers make me think of the whole novel as taking place in the dark. Admittedly, that is more or less the case here.

The other world is the same as that of The Stranger at the Wedding, and takes place a few years beforehand. However, where Kyra provided the witty and sarcastic wizard before, now the only wizards you see need to get that stick out of... well, anyway, the only humanized wizard character is the rogue wizard Antryg, who is mildly insane, and might possibly be the bad guy. And Joanna just wants to get home, but she doesn't know if she can trust Antryg, even though she's really starting to like him...

And darnit, it's a two-part story, and the second book is out of print! How's that for annoying?

Stranger at the Wedding

Stranger at the Wedding Barbara Hambly Date: 02 March, 1994   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy

The wizard Kyra has a problem. Her sister Alix is about to be married, and Kyra has premonitions that Alix is going to die on her wedding night— premonitions she can't tell her family about, since her father all but disowned her for going off to be a wizard. Worse yet are the witchfinders of the Inquisition, who take a very dim view of magic in general, and wizards in particular. And to top it all off, as a Council wizard, Kyra has sworn to never use magic to directly interfere in human affairs, and if she does so, she loses all protections that the Council has to offer.

That is, if she's caught.

This is an interesting character study, delving into the history of Kyra and her father, but mostly it's just fun.