Seeds of Fire [Paperback]

This wonderful book continues the story of a dozen women,
who are introduced as we go along, and prove to be pivotal
along the way. Two of the most identifiable characters are
the richly portrayed Ursula, and the mischievous and lusty
Hilea, who are respectively reincarnations of St Ursula, and
Abbess Hildegard of Bingen. [If you like Hildegard, this is
probably a trilogy you shouldn't miss.]

The idea of a set of present-day individuals re-treading paths
they have tread in the past is not new. However, Karin
Kallmaker raises the device to attain new heights of poetic
power. The constant theme of the story is the tension between
the conflicting desires of the women, and their transforming
love for each other, and the focus of their existence, Ursula,
which is sometimes a battle, but at othertimes in blissful alignment.

The mythic tone of the narrative comes from the fact that the
women remember their numerous previous encounters only
imperfectly. They sometimes seek someone or something they
only know vaguely, from dreams. So their discovery of each
other is alway new, and ever more poignant. And sometimes they
proceed on a path despite painful intuitions about its futility.

In places, though, the author is juggling up to three
time layers at once, with the action in each affecting the
outcomes in the others, and we lose sight of the cause-and-
effect factor, the motivation, the triggers. Should Kelly
pull, or push? Why? Why should A shoot at B? (Was I too
sleepy when I read that page? ;) In once sense, their
motivations leak between the layers. On the other hand, some
of them are more aware of the other layers than others, making
it nearly impossible for the reader to make sense of the action
except that it was horribly and tragically necessary.

In spite of its minor weaknesses, I can honestly say I enjoyed
the two books very much, and I pulled out my Canticles of
Ecstasy (since I do not have 11,000 virgins) and wallowed in the
wonderful feeling of exaltation both the book and the music
Of Hildegard Von Bingen evoke.

There is a scene in book one, when the women are together, that
sets a mood of great innocent delight. It is like the kiss of
an angel, and I keep reading in the hope that such bliss will
be found again, perhaps in the final book of the trilogy!

Arch

Where are the weakly-developed characters, the vanilla plots, the good and true goddess loving women who overcome everything by the power of love? Or who solve all their problems by being wizards of technology and science? Not in this book!

The Tunnel of Light Triology features women who are strongly developed, deeply flawed, plagued by their darker impulses and not at all sure that love will help them overcome an evil that has hunted them for 1500 years. As they live out the patterns of pursuers and pursued, of lovers and enemies and seekers and finders, they lose memories of their past knowledge and awareness of where their moral lines must be drawn to survive.

This is a great series with a full range of human emotion -- not just what lesbians are "supposed" to feel. These women can hate each other, and hurt each other, and love each other -- sometimes in ways so erotic that this easily qualifies as romance.

If you like fantasy, lesbian, gay, straight or otherwise, you will like this triology and this middle book. Laura Adams (an alter ego of Karin Kallmaker) must be doing something right -- unlike book 1, this middle book has been nominated for a Lammy Award. Like the rest of her readers, I am on the edge of my seat for book 3.