Continuing the blended fantasy/science fiction adventures of Stover's homicidal antihero (Caine Black Knife, 2008, etc.).
If you're unfamiliar with the Caine saga, the first 100 pages offer a rapid-shuffle blur of riotous confusion, but patient readers eventually will grasp that the near-future Earth is a disastrously overpopulated, caste-ridden dictatorship whose instrument of control is the dreaded Social Police. The downtrodden masses dream of escaping to Overworld, a planet accessible via advanced technology where magic works and fantasy tropes like dragons and elves are real. However, only Actors trained in violence and magic, equipped with “thoughtmitters” that beam back virtual-reality live access to their experiences, get to go there. Actor Caine, under multiple identities, has been making mayhem at his sponsors' bidding for more than 50 years, battling gods, demons, enemies and friends alike. Perpetually bruised and battered, he survives only through healing magic and his indomitable will. When we first meet him, he's a prisoner and crippled, about to receive an infusion of black-oil god-ichor. Eventually, however, he will meet the horse-witch, a mysteriously gifted immortal who remembers everything, even events that have "unhappened," and whom various factions want to kill. The horse-witch, in passages of remarkable tenderness, helps Caine begin to understand the turmoil of conflicting impulses and rage that form his soul—and that, contrary to popular belief, what matters is not gods deserving of better people, but that people deserve better gods. And when he discovers that reality itself has been altered, he decides it's time to make some changes of his own. Expect multiple plot threads that loop wildly and unpredictably between past and present, expletive-laden dialogue, havoc, torture and mass destruction. For starters. Brutal, witty, insightful, addictive, frequently baffling and altogether astonishing.
Pub Date: April 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-345-45589-5
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
A worthy reinterpretation of the Grail legend and solid addition to the pantheon of Gawain stories.
An imaginative retelling of the Arthurian saga that casts Sir Gawain as a druid under the tutelage of Merlin.
There are innumerable versions of the story of King Arthur, his Knights of the Round Table and their quest for the Holy Grail. This one, however, features some unusual twists. In addition to the usually boisterous and garrulous Gawain being reserved to the point of melancholy, Arthur is a sometimes-irrational zealot who distrusts Merlin and, after being cuckolded by Guinevere and Lancelot, focuses solely on attaining the Grail, neglecting the maintenance of Camelot in the process. Lancelot, the greatest knight in the world, is also one of Arthur’s brothers, a creature of magic created by the Dark Druid Morganna for the purpose of destroying the Grail and unleashing an unholy evil upon the world. The story begins when Gawain, badly injured in a fight with Lancelot in an attempt to claim the Grail for Camelot, stumbles upon the castle of the druid Rhiannon. With Gawain’s memory gone and his wounds in dire need of care, Rhiannon takes him to the mysterious Terran Stone, a work of magic created by the Far Druids. As he touches the lights emitted by the Stone, Gawain pieces together his memories through a series of flashbacks. The episodic nature of the narrative is occasionally disconcerting, though it creates a dreamlike atmosphere that suits the story well. The prose is sharp, and, aside from Lancelot’s excessively French accent, the dialogue rings true, with a formality that seldom becomes stilted. Most intriguing is the interplay between the old ways of the Druids and the rise of Christianity, with Gawain serving as the fulcrum that unites the two worlds. By highlighting the influence of the Druids and allowing the two faiths to coexist, the author creates a harmonious mixture that offers intriguing possibilities for future tales.
A worthy reinterpretation of the Grail legend and solid addition to the pantheon of Gawain stories.Pub Date: June 30, 2006
ISBN: 0-9713278-3-1
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Turgid—sentences swell into paragraphs, paragraphs bloat into pages, pages expand to fill entire chapters—though empty of...
Completing the Prestimion trilogy and, we’re told, bringing the entire fantasy/SF Majipoor Cycle (Lord Prestimion, 2000, etc.) to a conclusion. On the giant planet Majipoor, humans live alongside dozens of alien species; all are ruled by a human Coronal (King) and Pontifex (Emperor). The current Pontifex, old Confalume, may or may not be dying, so the present Coronal, Prestimion, may or may not soon become Pontifex; and Prestimion’s anointed successor, Dekkeret, may or may not be crowned Coronal. Dekkeret may or may not marry his lover, Fulkari, who’s reluctant to become the wife of a Coronal. So much for narrative tension. Meanwhile, on the continent of Zimroel, where 20 years ago Prestimion crushed the rebellious Procurator Dantirya Sambail in a ruinous war, Mandralisca, Sambail’s evil henchman, incites another revolt by making extravagant promises to Sambail’s five stupid, oafish sons. Mandralisca has obtained an improved version of the mind-coercing helmets used to great effect in the previous struggle. This time, though, Mandralisca intends to strike at Prestimion’s family, driving them to despair, madness, and death. In due course, Confalume dies, and Prestimion’s new battle with Mandralisca begins.
Turgid—sentences swell into paragraphs, paragraphs bloat into pages, pages expand to fill entire chapters—though empty of wit, zest, or creativity: the terminal episode in a hitherto interminable series subsides with no more than a tiny gasp.Pub Date: June 12, 2001
ISBN: 0-06-105171-3
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Eos/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2001
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