THIS ROUGH MAGIC [Mass Market Paperback]

The best thing about "This Rough Magic" is that there's no lost time; instead, it picks up where "Shadow" left off. Benito Valdosta (the mischievous brother in "Shadow"), who keeps finding new ways to get himself in trouble, was jilted by his love, Maria, who married another at the end of the last book. Consequently, the first thing he does in this book is engage in some rather public coitus to try to forget her (or at least have a good time in the process) and manages to get banished from Venice, unfortunately being sent to where Maria and her new husband have landed -- the island of Corfu.

There, the cruel Emeric of Hungary (egged on by his great-great-aunt, Elizabeth Bartholdy, who's even worse than Emeric) has plans to take over the island; he wants to take over Corfu as a military staging point, and expends many men and much effort into that purpose. And he nearly succeeds in doing so.

But Corfu itself resists him; the island is magical, and that slows Emeric's advance down long enough for word to be sent to Venice. Benito, of course, is the only messenger who has the street smarts and the upper class credentials to be believed, so despite his banishment, he goes anyway.

And after Benito returns, the sparks really start to fly, because y'see, Emeric didn't reckon on Benito, Maria and their friends . . . .

How Benito, Maria and the others thwart Emeric, along the way figuring out the mystery of Corfu and finding a way for Benito and Maria to reunite, is way too much fun for me to spoil.

Just go buy the book already, will you?

Five stars. Highly recommended.

Barb Caffrey

P.S. I hope there's another sequel planned; this world is way too rich and meaty to leave after only two books.

Unfortunately for Jagiellon and Emerick, Benito Valdosta, Prince Manfred, and Manfred's fearsome bodyguard Erik, along with a large group of martial monks, are on their way to Corfu. But Emerick doesn't give up easily and he has plenty of assistance, both magical, treacherous, and from his own cannons, to make sure that his conquest succeeds. Best of all, between his Byzantine allies and Jagiellon's sea-monster shaman, Venice remains in complete ignorance of the fate of its critical colony.

Authors Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint and Dave Freer combine to deliver an emotionally satisfying and militarilly adventurous tale. The combination of alternate history and fantasy is strengthened by strong emotional ties and romantic entanglements amongst the characters. If the first novel in the series belonged to Kat and Marco, this one belongs to Benito and Maria--separated by Maria's stubornness and Benito's youthful mistakes.

THIS ROUGH MAGIC should be read as part of the series. Much of the story only makes sense in the context of THE SHADOW OF THE LION. Both of these are substantial books and require a significant investment in terms of reader time. In my opinion, they are well worth it and, if anything, THIS ROUGH MAGIC is even better than SHADOW.

Maria had learned that she is pregnant, probably by Benito. Although he was not aware that the child might be his, Benito proposed marriage to Maria, but Maria was too distressed at Benito's recklessness and love of danger to accept his proposal. Marco has come to love Kat, but he was still bound by his pro forma marriage to Angelina Dorma. Manfred was content with just having Francesca as his mistress.

In this novel, Maria marries Umberto Verrier, a cousin and caulker foreman in the Arsenal. After the wedding, they leave Venice for Istria, where Umberto will become the chief forester, replacing a man who was caught selling Venice's timber to other parties. Immediately after their arrival, Maria stumbles upon a continuation of the scheme and breaks up a treasonous conspiracy.

Angelina Dorma has agreed to an annulment of her marriage to Marco and to take up a novitiate in the Carmelite sisterhood. However, she keeps changing her mind. In the meantime, Marco's marriage to Katerina is coming closer. Finally, Petro presents his younger sister with a offer that she cannot refuse and the wedding will be held on time.

Maria returns to Venice to be the Matron of Honor at Kat's wedding, with Francesca as the other attendant. But first she has her daughter christened by Brother Mascoli at St. Raphaella, the canalers' church; unknown to Maria, Marco also arranges for Juliette the undine to be a special godmother for Alessia. The wedding between Marco and Katerina is held at the Basilica di San Marco, with Eneko Lopez as the officiating priest. The banquet afterward is held in the Doge's palace as well as outside on the Piazza San Marco.

After the wedding, Benito is arrested for unseemly acts and sentenced to exile for five years; Petro sends him to Corfu with the Atlantic fleet. Umberto is assigned as assistant foreman to the Little Arsenal on Corfu and the family will also be sailing with the fleet. Prince Manfred, Eric and two hundred of the Knights of the Holy Trinity will be sailing a short while later on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but will stop off at Corfu on the way.

Other persons have plans for Corfu. Chernobog sends his new shaman to search for magical sites there. King Emeric of Hungary has obtained ships from the Byzantines and is prepared to invade Corfu. Elizabeth Bartholdy has already planted agents on Corfu. Major forces are now converging on this island.

While Princes and demons are playing realpolitik, Eric Hakkonsen has found true love. Svanhild Thordardottar has traveled from Vinland to Venice with her brothers to arrange a trading alliance with Casa Montescue. There she meets Eric and is impressed, but assumes that he is a lowly bodyguard and tries to put him out of her mind. Eric also tries to ignore his feelings for Svanhild so as to concentrate on his duties. Then Svanhild leaves Venice with the Atlantic fleet, but enroute she learns from Maria that Eric is considerably more than a bodyguard, so she and her brothers leave the fleet at Corfu. Then comes the invasion and Svanhild is cut off from Eric by thousands of enemy troops.

This story also involves the ancient pagan fertility magic of Corfu as embodied in the religion of the Goddess. While less sophisticated than Christian or Strega magic, the Goddess wields enormous raw power. But this power can only be used defensively until some woman becomes the Bride, the incarnate focus of this power.

The plotline is complex and diverse, with more than a dozen separate major threads. The action ranges from Scandinavia to Constantinople and involves courts in Mainz, Vilna, and Buda. However, the heavy action occurs on Corfu.

Highly recommended for fans of this series and for anyone else who enjoys tales of individuals trying to find personal happiness amidst war and international intrigue among the great powers of the time.