From Publishers Weekly
No one navigates "the web of the wyrd" quite the way British author Constantine (
The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure) does, as shown in volume two of her second fantasy trilogy about the conflicts within a warring hermaphrodite race, the Wraeththu, who've supplanted humans as the dominant species on Earth. Told in a lyrical, distant third-person voice, the erotic and sometimes hypnotic histories of Pellaz har Aralis, aka the Tigron (or ruler) of the land of the Gelaming, and other exotic characters unfold in a complex, at times ponderous plot that requires familiarity with previous installments to savor fully. In a key twist, Pellaz, with the aid of lovers Caeru and Calanthe creates a mystical pearl (or harling). Diablo, an agent of exiled Varr tribal leader Ponclast, later steals the pearl, which Ponclast wants to use to usurp the Tigron's power. The landscape, evocative of Mayan or Egyptian ruins ("a warm country that seethes with ancient spirits and capricious gods"), makes a great backdrop for characters struggling for love and transformation. Constantine fans should be pleased, but first-time readers might wish for a better introduction than the brief one here as well as a glossary for the often intricate language.
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Product Description
A rich brew of the Southern Literary Fantastic T he American South has a long literary tradition. Here are fabulous original stories of the strange, the unseen, the magical American South by some of the most brilliantly talented Southern writers of our time. From darkly imagined, powerful tales by Bret Lott, Brad Watson, and Kalamu ya Salaam, to the sensual 'A Plate of Mojo' by Honore Fanonne Jeffers, to atmospheric works by Richard Butner and Jack McDevitt, to funny, piquant stories by Scott Edelman, Daniel Wallace, and Michael Swanwick, this is new fiction to delight many readers. With wonderful reprinted stories by Fred Chappell, John Kessel, Andy Duncan, Sena Jeter Naslund andothers, Crossroadsis a place to find great modern Southern magic realism, modern fabulism, and other remarkably entertaining fiction.
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