The Uglimen
Mark Morris
PS Publishing
May 2002

Rob Loomis receives the phone call that no son ever wants.  His father has committed suicide, and his mother, now alone, needs her son to come home for the funeral.  Rob loves his family very much, and only thinks of the sorrow and grief caused by his father death.  He does not realize that this event could bring his whole world -- his nice job at the bookstore, the band that he plays music with and the girlfriend that loves him -- to an end.  While he's at the funeral, he thinks he sees his father standing under a tree.  Back home, he receives a phone call from an oddly familiar voice that warns him that The Uglimen are coming, and that they'll kill him, just as they did his father.

  Soon, his mother's house is broken into, and he goes back to help her clean up and restore the peace of mind that a robbery always steals.  That night, as he tries to sleep, he hears a sound downstairs.  He goes to investigate, to find a man with two strange scars, one dividing his face in half vertically, the other going across horizontally and ruining one of his eyes.  Rob manages to chase him out, but his worries that the phone call might have some truth to it being to nag him.  Appearances by his father seem to haunt him, and Rob isn't sure if he's just crazed from grief or in danger.  When his mother is kidnapped, he knows that he has to discover the truth of the Uglimen before he loses someone else.

In this book, Morris does a fine job of exploring the dangers of fanaticism.  The Uglimen are so far into their own agenda, so fanatic about recovering a certain religious object, that they lose all touch with humanity.  They think nothing about killing a whole family in order to reach their goals.  I guess if one is willing to submit to a ritual scarring that also takes one of the eyes, then one is willing to mindlessly become a weapon of destruction.  After one has made a sacrifice of pain, causing others pain, at least it seems to me after reading this book, would hardly be a large step.  This lack of humanity makes the Uglimen particularly frightening, for you never quite know what else they might be willing to do.  It's also a book about how one mistake that seems, at the time, to be a tiny thing, can branch out to ruin lives.  

    Rob definitely carries the book.  He is a strongly written character, and the reader feels very sympathetic towards him.  He needs to wade through a lot of emotional, as well as physical dangers.  Not only is he still mourning for his father, but he learns a lot of truths about his own past that he has to settle with himself.  He's worried about his mother, and he is, eventually, betrayed by someone close to him.  These burdens are huge for one man alone to carry, especially since he doesn't have breathing space to really think about them since, well, he has to keep going if he wants to save his mother.  

An adventure that asks a lot of questions about fanaticism and the prices we pay for our mistakes, The Uglimen is a thoughtful, exciting read.

Cindy Speer, GWN Book Reviewer
10/22/2002

The Visitor
Sheri S. Tepper
Eos
Fantasy
Hardcover
April 2002
www.hapercollins.com
407 pages
$25.95
ISBN 0-380-97905-5
Setting. Earth


Disme Latimer is a young woman living in a hellish city where the people rule with tyranny, and anyone who displeases those in power can soon find themselves "chaired" (placed permanently in a chair...often people in the chairs have their organs harvested...while still alive) or "bottled" which means, basically, executed.  Demons take care of this work, a demon being any one who is not of the Spared, those who live in the city.  The world was not always this way, Disme knows, for she has the writings of her ancestor, scientist Nell Latimer.  Nell was a scientist who lived in the times before the asteroid struck the earth, killing ninety percent of its population and destroying nearly all the landmasses.  Nell, along with several scientists were frozen, in the hope that they would survive the asteroid's hit and rebuild the earth.  

    Unfortunately, this means she has to leave her family behind.  Her husband isn't so unhappy.  He is a very fervent Christian, and is sure that when the asteroid hits, God will come for them, and he doesn't want his children to see Nell go to hell. When the asteroid hits, and the rapture doesn't come, he turns his back on God, worshipping the rebel angels instead.  He begins a cult, and this cult eventually settles and creates the city that Disme will grow up in.  Before the asteroid, science is king, and religion is mocked...Nell herself resents her husband's fervor.  Afterwards, the citizens left over find themselves spurning science, and trying to recapture the magic that was the earth so long ago.

This story is very unusual.  The life these people now live is frighteningly repressive.  To call up the smallest form of magic, one needs permits and forms of all sorts.  Every aspect of these people's lives are bound in bureaucracy and red tape.  Disme's life is worse than others.  Her stepmother and sister are nasty people, the stepsister in particular steals everything that belongs to Disme.  Disme's brother and father have been, as far as she knows, killed, and so she lives an isolated existence, except for the pages of the book.   

This book has been praised highly in some reviews.  There's part of me that's tempted to believe this is because anything that pushes the envelope or tries something different, especially if it pokes satiric fingers at established religions, is given some good press because it's so different, so audacious.  Perhaps the high praise comes because Tepper is an established talent, a writer who has created some wonderful and imaginative worlds...her imagination and talent are certainly showcased within these pages.  While I am willing to concede that this book has some very well drawn places, I can't help but feel let down...and sometimes insulted by it.  She begins on one side, where she says that religion is wrong, that there is no God, just science.  That I can deal with, because this sets the rule of the world we are exploring.   Unfortunately, she breaks this rule for no valid or satisfactorily explained reason when she goes to the ! other extreme, and in the process, while admitting that there is some controlling factor, manages to insult anyone who believes in any type of deity.  This would be fine, if it resolved the conflict or plot points...you don't always write a story to make people comfortable or happy...but the way it is done comes off as basically a showcase to prove to all deity worshippers how foolish and naive we are.  I am willing to accept a lot, pretty much anything, as long as it has a purpose.  There was none that I could see, in fact, I saw other ways around that would have made better sense, or made the story run better, and am disappointed that she chose the road she did.

This is not really meant to chase you away from this book.  It's an interesting read, and it's different, and not quite as sloppy as I let on...it just wasn't really for me.

Three out of Five Genies,
Cindy Lynn Speer

ARENA
By Karen Hancock
BethanyHouse Publishers
http://www.bethanyhouse.com
Christian Science Fiction
Trade Paperback; $11.99
393 pages
ISBN 0-7642-2631-2

Things are never what they seem.  Just ask Callie Hayes, a college student who simply wanted to make a quick fifty bucks as a participant in a Psychology experiment.  Before she realizes what has happened, Callie finds herself deposited in the midst of an alien world. Equipped with a guidebook, a backpack, and instructions to stay on the white road, Callie begins her search for the elusive Gate, her only pathway home. As she moves through this strange world that is the Arena, Callie sees that people are not always who they seem, life's choices are not always easy, and the white road is not always clear.

In Arena, a well-paced novel that uses symbolism to add a subtle flavor without overpowering the story, Karen Hancock examines each soul's journey for truth and enlightenment and weaves it into an enticing journey filled with danger, passion and temptation. Vivid descriptions transport you inside the Arena, where you will meet a cast of well-developed and believable characters, all dealing with personal demons while searching for the Gate that will free them. Some will find it. Some will not.  
With her debut novel, Arena, Karen Hancock has found her niche in the [science fiction] genre and I will eagerly await her next literary offering.  
You can visit Karen at her website: http://www.kmhancock.com/

Rating: three of four moons
Sterling Pearce
GWN Online Book Reviewer
© July 19, 2002

The SEVEN ISLES Of AMEULAS
by Casey Fahy Writers Club Press- 2001
ISBN: 0-595=19161-4  Trade Paperback
Fantasy for Grownups
$22.95
440 Pages

Casey Fahy is an author much like his own character Artimeer inThe Seven Isles of Ameulas; he is a philosopher with much to share including paradoxes that make a reader ponder.

"The reason that one hates is that one loves,” is one of the pieces of wisdom we are given;Trinadol, the protagonist, loves his father and country so he must hate the evil forces aligned against it.

"His fear of evil keeps him from loving—causing heartache in others and ice in his own veins.” Writing like this propels this novel well above the fluff we might pick up from a rack near the check out at a grocery store.  It makes the journey through 430 pages worthwhile.

I am not a fantasy buff but I chose to read The Seven Isles of Ameulas because I heard so many wonderful things about it.  I’m glad I did. This author may have convinced me that Tolkien could be worthwhile.

Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Author of This is the Place
An Award-Winning novel about prejudice, family, and redemption set in Utah in the50s.
It can be ordered at www.amazon.com.
The reviewer’s  website is: www.tlt.com/authors/carolynhowardjohnson.htm.
mailto:carolynhowardjohnson@sendfree.com
FREE Cooking by the Book at www.tlt.com/authors/carolynhowardjohnson.htm

A Walking Tour of the Shambles
by Gene Wolfe & Neil Gaiman
American Fantasy Press
Fantasy
April 2002
http://www.american-fantasy.com
57 pages
$15.00 US
ISBN 096103526-9
The Shambles outside of Chicago.

Should you ever find yourself inside the borders of the Shambles, be warned. Walk as quickly as you can, without stopping, looking around too much or speaking to any of the odd inhabitants of the place until you obtain a copy of this indispensable guide. In it you will discover the best defensive maneuvers against a crocodile, how to avoid being attacked by the denizens of the House of Clocks, and how to keep yourself from being robbed, poisoned or otherwise incapacitated and sold as a treat to fellow unfortunates.

Actually, I’m only joking about the very last part. Just because there’s a place called Abattoir Alley, or that there’s a barber shop oddly reminiscent of good old Sweeney Todd's doesn't mean you should fear for your life. Really.

Gene Wolfe and Neil Gaiman teamed up to create this humorously creepy look into The Shambles for a recent (April 2002) World Horror Convention. Now available to the general public, it provides some wonderfully pleasant, light reading that manages to give you a tiny bit of a chill now and then. The styles of these two wonderful writers blend so well that you can’t tell who is writing which bit, and the tone of the helpful, ever cheerful guidebook writer is wonderfully atmospheric. I loved many of the pieces of advice, such as "In general, distrust anyone you meet whose teeth are sharper than your own." Come to think of it, such things could be applied to any sightseeing adventure.

The humor is very well done, dead pan and slightly off hand, never going for the easy jokes. The cover is drawn by Gahan Wilson, with appropriately creepy interior pen and ink drawings by Randy Broecker and Earl Greir. I really enjoyed some of the drawings, which were just like the writing - clever, the horror hidden just slightly so that you often discover it out of the corner of your eye. From first page to last, they take every opportunity possible to create the atmosphere of a guide book (check out the list of books that Gaiman and Wolfe also wrote - I’d love to read I Was a Werewolf for the CIA.)

Along with a useful appendix of books for further information, a list of questions and answers (such as "Do I still have all my credit cards?") and a list of several....umm...interesting recipes (dandelion and road kill salad, anyone?) I feel this book is dead essential for anyone needing to risk their lives by going to the Shambles, or for someone who is trying to decide whether to date a member of the meat worker's union, or to anyone who is a fan of the off-kilter humor of Charles Addams or Edward Gorey. By the way, there actually is a website at http://www.preserveusfromthehouseofclocks.com and, according to Books in Print and other such reliable sources, none of the books attributed to the authors in the book exist on this plane of reality. Drat.

Five out of Five Genies
-- Cindy Lynn Speer, Gotta Write Online Book Reviewer, Fantasy webpage editor
6/2/2002

The Other Wind
By Ursula Le Guin
Harcourt
Fantasy
Hardcover
September 2001
http://www.harcourt.com
246 pages
$25.00 US
ISBN 0-15-100684-9
Setting. Earthsea

Alder, a sorcerer with a talent for mending begins the journey. Ever since the loss of his most beloved Lily, he dreams of the realm of the dead, meeting people long gone as they stand on the other side of the wall that separates them from the living, begging him for help. So vivid, so real are these visions that he journeys far in search of help, until he is finally directed to one Sparrowhawk of Gont, former Archmage of Earthsea. Eventually he will go to Lebannon, the King, who is seeking advice from Sparrowhawk’s (also known to us as Ged) wife, Tenar, and her daughter, Tenahu. Dragons are attacking throughout the west, and he needs to know why. Tenahu, called daughter once by the most powerful of dragons, is the only one who may be able to figure out the answers. Eventually a group will be gathered to journey to Roke, the heart of the world. Soon, a man who dreams of the dead, a woman who can talk to dragons, a dragon who was once a woman, a wife who was once a priestess, a king and the Kargish princess sent to be his bride travel by ship to the place where all secrets may be revealed.

First, I would like to say that I admire Ursula Le Guin. She is a fine writer, and anyone who would master the craft of fantasy writing needs to read her works. The characters were wonderful, the setting filled with magic. She has wonderful dialogue - homey, realistic and comfortable. Her character interactions are really well worth studying. The settings are wonderful, I love the grove at the heart of Roke and the home on Gont that the once-wizard Ged now tends. That said, I would not recommend this book to anyone who has not read the first five. I didn’t have time to read them (although I did read Tales from Earthsea) and that sort of ruined this book for me. While in many ways it stands alone, and she does a decent job of explaining what you need to know in the context, I think the real pleasures depend on having read the rest of the series. This is because this book is built heavily on past happenings, and most of the characters are ones from past books. She seems to rely too much on your happiness at finding out what happens to the characters you loved from earlier in the series and seeing how things settled out for people. While the story is very well done and very interesting, and it reads like a dream, the whole thing felt more like an epilogue than a new adventure.

So, the upshot of what I am saying is, yes, this is definitely a good book to read, but read A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu, and Tales From Earthsea first. Tales includes a short story that will give you Irain’s background, which is not mentioned much in this book. I did enjoy this book in some ways, and definitely plan to read the whole series in a few years.
 
3 out of 5 Genies
--Cindy Lynn Speer, Gotta Write Book Reviewer, fantasy webpage editor
6/2/2002

Hamlet Dreams
by Jennifer Barlow
Aardwolf Press
Dark Fantasy
Trade Paper
http://www.aardwolfpress.com
219 pages
$13.95 US
ISBN 0-9706225-1-1
Setting. North Carolina, present day

Zac has always been too dreamy by far, escaping to The Other Place, where instead of staying a common, boring, nerdish young man, he becomes an adventurer.  He has been Hamlet, he has explored Avalon and Lilliput.  At all times he has been master of this realm, in control of where and when he goes.  Since meeting his beloved Cecile, he has had less need of the place, and instead of escaping to the Other Place when times are hard, he escapes to her.  Unfortunately, the true master of this realm does not want to let him go, and will stop at nothing to keep him.  No longer able to come and go when ever he wishes, the Other Place almost comes to him, and he blacks out into sleep when ever Carcajou, the real ruler of Zac's dreams, decides.  He turns to Cecile for help, but she shies away.  She has her own problems.  She loves Zac terribly, but a trauma from her past keeps her from being able to become intimate with him.  She al! so thinks that the man who hurt her years ago might be coming back to extract his revenge.  

The story is very strong and compelling.  The places that Zac visits on his quest to face Carcajou are often frightening and surreal, and some of them are definitely flavoured with Greek myth.  Sometimes it is fun to go, "That's Charon!", for example, just before Barlow tells you who it is.  The idea of being captured and held prisoner by your own dreams is a very interesting idea.  Unfortunately, Zac is a very weak character, and if it wasn't for the prodding of the mysterious  Ariadne, you sincerely doubt he would have found the courage to make the journey by himself.  Cecile is not much better, allowing herself to be manipulated a bit too easily.  They seem to truly love each other, and I would have liked to see them both fight a bit more for each other.  The main focus of this book is definitely sexual.  There are no really graphic scenes, but the tension and moral questions are laced throughout.  Do you save your! self for love?  How do you tear down the walls around you to allow someone else that kind of power over you?  The almost bestial nature inherent in sex is also looked at, asking the readers if all men are aren't simply predators, deep inside, even the kindest and gentlest.  The conclusions she comes to at the end are not comfortable.  

Otherwise, the book is very well done.  Barlow manages to write in 218 pages what would take most writers 418.  Her structure and pacing are very tight, showing that she is a very capable and talented writer.  The story flows very nicely, and I had a hard time putting it down.  I look forward to reading more of her books.

Three out of Five Genies
--Cindy Lynn Speer, GWN Book Reviewer
June 20, 2002

Wilding Nights
by Lee Killough
Meisha Merlin
Mystery/Fantasy
Trade
May 2002
http://www.meishamerlin.com
353 pages
16.00
ISBN 189206571-1
Setting: Texas

Detective Allison Goodnight  has an unusual gift to help her solve crimes --- she is a Volke, or werewolf, a member of an ancient species that has grown along side human kind, different, but like enough to pass in secrecy.  No one knows her secret, a secret that comes into danger of being revealed when the latest homicide bears the teeth-marks of being committed by one of her own race.  To make matters worse, her old partner has been promoted, to be replaced with Zane Kerr.  Where her last partner explained her super senses as a combination of plain luck and a tad of psychic ability, Zane is different.  A huge science fiction and mystery fan, he is more open to the nuances of Allison's behavior, and it leads him down a trail towards the truth of his partner's life.  So, not only does Allison have to find the murderous werewolf before it kills again, she has to hide many of the clues from her partner.  But her partner is not one to sit back and allow this to happen.

To read this book is to be immersed in a new culture.  The werewolf way of life is incredibly drawn.  Werewolves do not physically shape shift, but have an aspect that comes upon them that makes them look like a wolf, or whatever suits the land that they are in.  For example, a solider in the Vietnam War became a tiger when he Shifted.  They can Shift into their animal appearance at will, rather than waiting for the traditional full moon.
              
    Zane's search for the truth about Allison is also very interesting.  He suspects they might be elves, especially when he sees their compound, which looks like the set for Rivendell from Lord of the Rings.  His relationship with Allison suffers because he resents her hiding important information, even as he is intrigued by her.  I found him a very likable character, and I fear for him constantly as any human who discovers the truth is automatically executed.  Allison might like him, but she'd be the first to rip his throat out if her clan were in danger.  He is our every man, in a way, the human interface between reader and book.  

    I also liked how Allison is a werewolf.  All the time.  She's not a woman who is sometimes a werewolf, all her thoughts and patterns bespeak of her culture and her species.  It's interesting that so many werewolves are in the police department, attracted by the running, the action, the hunt.   How she...and these other members of the force use their natural talents to solve crimes is actually very interesting.  I admired her, because she is a very strong character, and thoroughly likable.  It is not easy to take an alien mind and make it so that the reader can identify with the character, but Killough does a fine job of it.

    The mystery is very well done and satisfying, and Wilding Nights would be a  good read for anyone who enjoys dark fantasy and well defined cultures with their sleuthing.

3 and 1/2 out of 5 trench coats
--Cindy Lynn Speer, Gotta Write Book Reviewer, Fantasy Editor
7/5/2002