More adventures in the Black Forest

From a High Tower by Mercedes Lackey

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This Elemental Masters novel reworks the Rapunzel story. Giselle was traded by her father to a witch for food for the family. Giselle’s magical stepmother dies, and Giselle is on her own, trying to find a way to maintain her home and independence. It’s Lackey, so it’s good and all fans will want to read it, but I wouldn’t enter the series here—especially since the heroine of the previous book (Blood Red) shows up midway through. It’s entertaining, placing a Wild West show in Germany. It has a leisurely pace, though. Despite a challenge early on, it seems three-fourths of the book is setup.  In fact, it has the feel the middle book in a trilogy sometimes has, that the next book will be the reward.  Hopefully it will be, for Rosamund the monster hunter (Earth Master) and Giselle the Air Master are well on their way to establishing a kind of partnership. Maybe there is a Sisterhood of Elemental Masters coming up! That would be exciting, and allow a new refreshment to the longrunning series.
You can always count on Lackey to produce a three or four star book, and this is a solid three for me.

I received an EARC for review from the publisher and Netgalley. 




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Something to sink your teeth into...

By Tooth and Claw by Bill Fawcett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I loved this entry into the Clan of the Claw universe. Exiled: Clan of the Claw set up the worldview with the “dinosaur” vs. “mammal” competition—dinosaur lords enslaved the cat peoples, and a cataclysm on this part of the planet has allowed for a more overt than covert rebellion. It’s standard fare for exploring a lot of issues. What I particularly enjoyed about this book and hope is expanded in the next entry is the intriguing concept of dance magic. There’s a mix of magic and mental and manual technology. The cats follow core shamanic practices, and are the dancers. There are a lot of bard stories with magical music of instrument and voice, and there are stories with dancers as assassins, but there haven’t been a lot of dancer magicians—dancers, period—in the SFF pantheon. Dancers are usually thrown in with actors and prostitutes—entertainers and seducers. There’s the Robinson’s Stardance series, and I remember a story in which first contact on Earth was facilitated by dance as communication, but this promises a lot more depth if continued. Anyway I love how the concept’s being carried out.  Yes, buy!

I received an EARC for review from the publisher and Netgalley.




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