My husband and I just got back from the perfect vacation. Well, it is perfect for the two of us. He fishes all day and I sit in the air conditioning and read. I take a large bag of books with me, a little bit of this and that. Finding a collection of novellas is always a treat and for this trip I had found a volume that contained two of my favorite fantasy authors and one who was new to me. As expected, WINTER MOON was fun.
Mercedes Lackey is probably the best know author of the three. Her Moontide was a good opening for the book. Moira na Ferson has been ordered home to her father’s keep along the stormy seaside. He had sent her to be fostered by the Countess Vrenable not knowing that the Countess trains her select group of young women to be Grey Ladies, ladies who have been prepared to be skilled assassins. Arriving home, she finds that her father has hired a mis-shapened Fool and has a guest who is to be her future husband.
The purpose of the keep is to maintain the beacons that warn the passing ships of the dangerous rocks surrounding the coast. Moira discovers that somebody in the castle has the magical powers to move the lights to deliberately mislead the ships. Her secret training will have to be used either to obey her father or to trust the Fool.
The Heart of the Moon, the second story is by Tanith Lee and was my favorite. Warrior priestess Clirando finds that her lover and her best friend have betrayed her. She challenges each of them to a public duel. After the fight, struggling with the curse of her dead comrade, Clirando is sent on a spiritual journey to the Moon Isle. On the magical island she meets Zemetrios who is there to battle his own demons.
My favorite part of any story is character growth and this story emphasized character more than it did the magical events. Good fantasy and/or science fiction depends on keeping the human element a contributing factor. What is truth is truth no matter when or where a story takes place.
The final story, Banshee Cries is by C.E. Murphy. I was not as familiar with this author as I was the other two, so I had no idea what to expect. I learned that the main character is a part of an ongoing series. Even though this novella stands perfectly on its own, I want to know more.
Jo Walker is happiest when working as a mechanic on the police cars. Her gift to see supernatural happenings does not go unnoticed by the police brass and she is taken from the garage pool and finds herself on the homicide squad. A ritual murder has taken place under the full moon and Jo is called in to view the crime scene and to pick up on clues that the “ungifted” police would miss. Her sight discovers two other bodies, all three connected physically.
Jo is very unskilled at using her talents and not at all sure that she even wants them. She is sure that she is not happy to be dealing with the gruesome aspects of ritualistic murders. When she finally has to confront a Harbinger of Death, her gifts are the only thing that will save her own life.
Novellas are perfect vacation reading. They are short and fast paced. That fact may have been my problem with Lackey’s contribution. The other two told a neat, compact story; Moontide needed to be longer to give the characters space to develop. I have enjoyed other books by her, but if this had been my only contact, I am afraid that I would have dismissed a top notch fantasy author.
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