The Armor of Light [Paperback]

Melissa Scott (Author), Lisa A. Barnett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1988

This is the first hardcover edition of the alternate history novel by Scott and Barnett.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

For any student of English litereature or fan of Shakespeare, Sidney or Marlowe, this book is a dream come true. What happens in The Armor of Light is what should have happened.-Pamela Dean Scott and Barnett have a style and an atmosphere in their collaborative work that is distinct from their separate work, without losing any of the separate strengths of each partner. Historical accuracy and historical invention, society and culture, details of dress and costume, drama and action, all highlighted in _The_Armor_of_Light_ It's one of the best fantasy novels. -- David G. Hartwell

This is a good historical fantasy. They play around with the history, saving Sidney from his Dutch wound and Marlowe from his tavern in Deptford, and punched up the magic a lot. Marlowe would have loved that. What's more, they got the language right, they got the characters right, they got the society right, they sure as hell got the clothes right. It's set up like a play, in five sections, and each section does exactly the right thing. Sidney would have approved of it. Robert Greene would have given it a rave review. Cecil would probably have had them both silenced. -- Delia Sherman --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 504 pages
• Publisher: Baen (October 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671697838
• ISBN-13: 978-0671697839
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,371,082 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical fantasy as it should be!, August 22, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Armor of Light (Paperback)

This is the best work of historical fantasy, and one of the best works of historical fiction, which I have ever read. Although the universe (an alternate history Elizabethan England where magic works and where Sydney and Marlow survived the events which killed them in our time line) is fantasy, the approach is basic science fiction "what if", extrapolated on a magical rather than physcial technology. Rather than overlaying modern concepts of magic onto their characters and history, the authors present magic as it was understood by the various classes of Tudor England, and in so doing create a world that feels like reality and avoid the one-dimensionality common to much contemporary fantasy. All this, and a great read, too.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I still like it!, March 11, 1999

By 

Margaret Organ-Kean (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Armor of Light, The (Hardcover)

I'm the cover illustrator, and I don't always like everything I read. Often, even if I liked a story the first time, I don't like it when I have to read it about the fifth time to check on the color of someone's shirt. Or I start noticing the lapses in historical detail or logic or characterization.

This book I still read for pleasure, even after I finished the cover. I read a lot of alternate history, and this surely ranks among the best.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like fantasy? Like Elizabethan England? This is for you!, June 20, 2001

By 

Tracy L. Benton "tlbenton" (Madison, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Armor of Light, The (Hardcover)

This is a very well-structured, well-written book set in an alternate version of Queen Elizabeth I's reign. The settings are finely drawn, the characters are engaging, and the plot is gripping. I reread this book about once a year just for the pleasure of it, and I snapped up this hardcover when it came out. If you like alternate history and fantasy, and don't mind them mixed together, read this book. If you just want to read about people living in Elizabethan England, read this book. And if you just have to have any book with Shakespeare as a character... you, too, have some reading ahead of you.