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.