I guess if you create a wildly successful new take on Arthurian legend, and your fans decide to adopt the religion you created* for the book, it makes sense to write yourself and your fans some new holy texts under the guise of science fiction. I mean, it’s the L. Ron Hubbard thing to do, and that seems to have worked out very well. (*I believe Bradley did research druidism, but it’s not like there’s a lot of living Druid from the time of the […]
On a Higher Note
Deadly Spells by Jaye Wells (2015, 350 pages) – I don’t think of myself as a big urban fantasy fan, but I attended Jaye Wells’ writing workshop recently and decided to try one of her books. The series (each book stands alone in Prospero’s War) is a clever concept – magic is real and dangerous. A special police force keeps criminals from using (and selling) “dirty” magic that’s addictive and deadly. Our heroine, Kate Propero, is a young police woman trying to overcome her past. […]
With a Whimper
Nightseer by Laurell K. Hamilton (1992, 303 pages) – I really wanted to end my Cannonball Run on a high note, but I wouldn’t recommend this novel for several reasons. The entire fantasy is one long fight scene. The heroine – a half-elf magic-user with a mean sword arm – seems like a compilation of every Dungeons and Dragons’ character ever played. Her companions are a dark elf prince, a dragon, and a spell-casing knight. The school for magic-users (yes, no troupe is left unturned) […]
Oldie But Goodie
The Tritonian Ring by L. Sprague de Camp (1977, 212 pages) – Actually written in 1951, this sword and sorcery tale has one of my least favorite troupes: the gods using humans as pawns on a chessboard. Fortunately, the hero is so endearing and the gods are so absent, you forget that they are merely a plot device to get the young philosopher prince started on his quest. Prince Vakar, next in line to the throne in a large, inland kingdom, is not your usual […]