Jumbo fantasy, the first of a series entitled Tyrants and Kings, from newcomer Marco. Arkus, Emperor of Nar, has ordered Prince Richius Vantran of Aramoor and his army into Lucel-Lor to assist the autocratic Daegog against a popular uprising led by Tharn, a magic-wielding warrior-priest. But neither supplies nor reinforcements arrive, and Richius’s campaign seems lost—until cavalry sent by the emperor gallops to the rescue. Richius intervenes, however, when their commander, the cruel, arrogant Baron Gayle, attempts to rape the comely young Dyana. Promised in marriage to Tharn, spirited Dyana has rejected the union and fled. Furious, Tharn uses magic to grab Dyana and defeat all his enemies, despite the gods’ injunction that the magic be used only to heal and help. Richius sadly goes home, learning there that his father is dead. The emperor’s spymaster, Count Biagio, instructs Richius to attack Lucel-Lor again: the ancient, dying emperor will stop at nothing to obtain Lucel-Lor’s magic to make him immortal. Biagio warns of horrid consequences if Richius refuses, and gives him the lovely Lady Sabrina for his bride. Though Richius loves Dyana, he dares not refuse Sabrina. Later, Tharn persuades Richius to meet with him in Lucel-Lor. While Richius is away, Biagio deposes him and gives Sabrina to Gayle; the latter, horribly mutilated in the war, hates Richius more than ever. The gods, Richius discovers, have ruined Tharn’s body as punishment for misusing the magic. Yet though Dyana has married Tharn, her daughter is Richius’s. Gayle sends Richius Sabrina’s broken body. Finally, when Richius learns that his father was treacherously murdered, he sides with Tharn to help defend Lucel-Lor against the renewed imperial assault led by the monstrous Gayle. An absorbing, deftly plotted, forgivably overlong debut with promising character developments and a well-rounded, satisfying end.
Pub Date: March 9, 1999
ISBN: 0-553-37984-4
Page Count: 784
Publisher: Spectra/Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
First entry, though complete in itself, of a fantasy trilogy from newcomer Lee. Upon the Bright Shore lie the dominions of Irth; above, the Abiding Star emanates magical Charm; below, in the Gulf, exist the cold, heavy, Charmless worlds of the Dark Shore. Irth's entire socioeconomic system, from wizardry to healing, depends on Charm. Once, the wizarduke of the ruling Council was challenged by the rebellious Bold Ones; their chief, Wrat, seized Drev's magic sword, slew Drev's sister, and attempted to conquer Irth. Drew cast them bodily into the Gulf. While upon the Dark Shore Wrat nursed his rage, acquired a black magic more powerful than Charm, and formed an unholy alliance with a gremlin. Now, seeking a frightful revenge, mad Wrat has returned to Irth as the Dark Lord, accompanied, courtesy of the gremlin, by hordes of dreadful cacodemons; these, being creatures of the Dark Shore, are invulnerable to Charm. So Drev hides in the desert while seeking his soulmate, the waif Tywi, whose protectors are the thief Dogbrick and his mysterious, capable companion, Ripcat. Two aristocratic children (few others have survived Wrat's onslaught), Jyoti and Poch, while trying to locate their aged weapons master, Caval, learn how to kill cacodemons without using Charm. Finally, Caval recollects his own sojourn on the Dark Shore, and his companion, the magus Reece, who returned with him to Irth—as Ripcat. An altogether remarkable debut: innovative, intricate, intriguing, and accomplished, its flaws minor and well under control.
Pub Date: April 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-380-97441-X
Page Count: 411
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
From the author of Requiem (1996): a story about a boy growing up in England in the 1960s—with one singular difference: He's haunted by a demonic Tooth Fairy that only he can see, but whose effects spill over into his family and friends. When seven-year-old Sam Southall of Redstone, near Coventry, loses a tooth, he's visited that night by a sinister, rank- smelling, foul-mouthed, mercurial Tooth Fairy; the Tooth Fairy, in turn, is astonished that Sam can see him. During his unpredictable visits, he quickly teaches Sam to make mischief at school, then insists that Sam have his friend Terry sleep over. That same night, Terry's father shoots his wife, his other children, and himself. Prompted by the Tooth Fairy's sexual teasing, Sam learns to masturbate and discovers girls—especially Alice, of the local horse-riding club. Soon, because Alice vandalized the club's hut and blamed the deed on Terry and their friend Clive, the boys are forced to join the Scouts to prove their innocence. During a Scouts night, a scary game gets out of hand: Sam kills a bully as he prepares to rape Clive, and in a panic the boys conceal the Dead Scout and swear to say nothing. Despite the Tooth Fairy's taunts, the Dead Scout's disappearance passes unremarked. Then the Tooth Fairy, now female and thoroughly enticing, threatens to expose Sam unless he demands a telescope for Christmas. He gets her wish, and both he and she are fascinated by the stars. Finally, the Dead Scout shows up—alive and well—and the friends become hysterical with relief. At the close, Alice pairs off with Terry; Sam realizes that his own need calls up the Tooth Fairy; he and she make love, symbolically shedding their skins, although Sam, preparing to go to college to study astrophysics, recognizes that he must let her go. Sharp, freshly imagined, and evocative work, by turns wrenching, funny, and disquieting.
Pub Date: Feb. 20, 1998
ISBN: 0-312-86261-X
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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