RI March 2024

Not a lot of books for March, but yet I am late anyway.
As usual the links are Amazon affiliate ones which could in
theory (but never yet in practice) earn me a pittance should
you enter Amazon through one and buy something.

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Fortune's Blade
by Karen Chance
https://amzn.to/3PM3E0g

Dhampir Dorry Basarab is something of a split personality, or more
accurately like some of the old theological debates, she is two
persons in one body.  Due to the odd circumstances of her birth,
and the untutored efforts of her vampire father to save her life,
the vampire aspect of her self was separated out as her own person,
"Dorina", whom Dorry had just started to finally realize and acknowledge
over the past few years.

The status quo was fundamentally altered in the last book when a
magical attack separated the two.  Dorina has had the ability to
spirit travel away from their shared body for a while, and when
that spirit is kidnaped away to Fairie, where all spirits have
bodies, she perforce finds herself in the odd predicament of being
her own person 24/7, instead of just when Dory needs help.  Luckily
for her, Dory's vampire "Second", Ray was kidnaped with Dorina, and
is one of those tough but underestimated characters Chance does so
well.

In this book, the pair finally make it to Fairie civilization after
a dangerous trek across the wilds, and unexpectedly encounter master
vampire Kit Marlowe, whose day is always ruined whenever he runs
into Dory/Dorina.  The trio finally have some shot at getting back
to our universe except for the fact Marlowe hates Dorina, Ray hates
Marlowe and Dorina faces arena battles, dragons and unexpected
quests.

In the meantime Dory has been frantically searching for her sister
on her own hastily arranged expedition to Fairie somewhat supported
by a chancy alliance with her best friend's dragon family (though
less so than you might think) but gradually realizing what an
impossible task she has taken up.  Her chances of finding Dorina,
or even surviving herself seem pretty slim, but it turns out that
Dorina is not the type to fade into the background, and Dory is not
the type to quit, ever, and the two stories finally intersect in a
battle royale that may settle the fate of two universes.  There are
unexpected family reunions, unwanted gods, the Pythia and even "But
I saw you die" Marlowe may find a moment of happiness, if any of
them survive..

I got a little burned out on Chance's "Pritkin Quest" arc, but she
is in fine form here, doing the type of
characters-we-care-about-under-stress work that she is very good
at.

Magic's Mantle (Ard's Oath Book 1)
by Bruce Sentar
https://amzn.to/3J1MVlK

Noble Bearings (Ard's Oath Book 2)
by Bruce Sentar
https://amzn.to/3vqXFqQ

Arden (Ard to most everyone) has been living a quiet life in a small
village at the edge of the kingdom.  An orphan, whose adoptive
parents died some years ago, he has been making his way as the hired
help for the local innkeeper.  It's not quite what he had hoped for
in life, though he does well enough.  He knows though that his birth
father was a mage, and had hoped the power (which runs in families)
might come to him, but he's past the age where that usually happens
(he's a late 17 when the story opens), and it looks like he will
live out his life in moderately comfortable obscurity.  To make a
mediocre situation one level moreso, his best friend & first love
developed powerful "anchor" talents and has departed for the Capital
city for training.  She did so abruptly and without saying goodbye,
something Ard still hasn't quite gotten over, despite advances from
a merchant's daughter who would be an advantageous match.

Then while aiding one of the "Corrupted" mages, despised by the
kingdom's power centers, but tolerated here in the marches, evade
a royal patrol, Ard undergoes an unexpected magical attack, and
even more unexpectedly counters it.  The Corrupted (who is more
than he seems, and not a random visitor) lays out a few interesting
facts for Ard and vanishes leaving Ard to return to the inn to find
that the royal patrol is actually in town to find *him*, he now
being the subject of a prophecy, and of course in said party is his
first love ("of all the gin joints..").

As it turns out Ard is the first "Four Sphere" mage in generations,
he is a possibly very important personage, especially as the Kingdom
is mired in a war which is not going well at all.  However, there
is also the unfortunate fact the current royal family came to power
by killing all of the old Four Sphere mages, something Ard will
have to keep in mind, as they surely will.  Also complicating things
is that a mage needs at least one anchor for each sphere he or she
masters, and more often than not a mage/anchor relation involves
sex, so Ard will have to build a harem (poor guy!) of anchors, and
possibly other mages who bring something to the table.  He's not
against any of that, but he's also a bit of a romantic, so he's not
going to jump into anything just for politics.

These are fun books so far.  Ard is somewhat of a naif, but not as
dumb as he plays, and he makes some shrewd moves over the course
of the action.  The magic system is different enough to be interesting,
and the side characters get good development.  I did think the end
of the second book was a bit weaker than it could have been.  The
somewhat evil First Princess made a point of teaching Ard the
Spider-Man lesson earlier in that book, and when he got himself
assigned to a rogue-mage and anti-piracy expedition to get himself
away from her, I expected that when his party put down a nest of
pirates, we would get vignettes of dead pirate camp followers and
children to drive that lesson home, but in the event it all happened
rather surgically.  That expedition however did give us some hints
at the "Big Picture" which is not quite what Ard's mage tutors have
told him, and I'm on board for the next book.
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..