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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
an outstanding, intricate dark Faerie fantasy, July 7, 2006
Elaine Andraste, now known simply as Seeker, is a servant of the Medb, Queen of the Daoine Sidhe; stolen by the Fae in childhood, she has spent her life bound to the Faerie Realm, stealing other human children for the queen. Matthew is a mage, of the mysterious Promethean Club, a group of human magic users in league against Faerie. When the Medb requires Seeker to trap the Merlin, the newest incarnation of the powerful wizard who could save Faerie or doom it, Seeker comes into conflict with Matthew and his allies, as well as with rivals from other Faerie factions.
Bear weaves together strands of folklore and legend from King Arthur to Tam Lin with her own imaginings to create a compelling vision of Faerie, both terrible and beautiful; it's no wonder the Merlin has difficulty deciding whether to aid Faerie or oppose it. The characters are fiercely memorable, particularly Elaine and her wild Fae companion, Whiskey the kelpie (a shapeshifting water horse). The story is immersive and intricate, full of schemes and rivalries, blood ties and friendships, mystery and sorcery, and the prose is equally complex and allusive. It required some concentration to sink into the narrative, but once I was in, I emerged only with reluctance. This is one of the best books I've read this year, and one of the best treatments of Faerie I've ever read; I await the sequel, _Whiskey and Water_, with great eagerness.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
... and a werewolf named Keith, July 11, 2009
In her contemporary but backward-looking novel BLOOD AND IRON author Elizabeth Bear's protagonist is "Seeker," a conflicted half-faery woman who serves a faery queen by abducting children with similar backgrounds from their human homes. This places her in direct conflict with Matthew the Magician, a human mage in the service of the Prometheans. The Prometheans, who happen to be headed by Seeker's human mother Jane, are sworn enemies of the fae, dedicated to their eradication. While Seeker loathes the queen who keeps her and her young son in virtual slavery, she nevertheless loves magical creatures great and small, from the puck who attends her to the werewolf who loves her, the sorceress who taught her, the kelpie who threatens to kill her, and the dragon who manipulates her. She will do anything she can to save the magical world, even if it means giving up her soul.
The novel can be read in a number of ways. On one level, it is a fairy tale deeply influenced by classical European (especially Celtic) folk tales and legends, including those regarding vampires, werewolves, and especially those surrounding King Arthur. On a second level, it is a romance, the story of Seeker's affection for the kelpie named Whiskey, her love for the werewolf named Keith (whose betrayal, incidentally, led to her enslavement), and the pain and torment they each endure due to the competition between her feelings, one one hand, and her duties to the faery queen, her son, and faery as a whole, on the other hand.
On the highest level, it is hard not to see the novel as a plea for greater environmental consciousness. The human industrial development that is driving the werewolves and fae extinct is the same set of forces that are destroying our environment and driving more and more species of wildlife extinct. In Bear's view, the survival of the fae is important not just as a value in itself, but because their magic and wild magic in general is a vital part of the world. Without them, the world is less rich, less challenging, less worth living in. While not the strongest possible argument, it is parallel to an argument for preservation of the natural environment.
Many readers will find the complex and convoluted plot daunting. What really bothered me about the book, however, were the lack of background information and the poorly motivated actions of the characters. Who are these Prometheans? Why do the fae kidnap children? Why is the kelpie seeking a half-fae? Why did Keith betray Seeker? Why are virtually all werewolves Scottish? Why does the queen go through with her deadly plot when she knows cannot achieve what she had hoped? Why do the Promotheans let the dude with the hammer go free to (potentially) wreck their plans? If you can't understand what's going on, it's difficult to become invested in it.
In the end, it's difficult not to be conflicted about BLOOD AND IRON. Some of the fantasy elements are well done, and the dynamic plot keeps the reader turning pages. Yet, frustration waits on nearly every page -- "What does this mean?" "Why did she do that?" etc. I can't recommend BLOOD AND IRON, but that doesn't mean it would be a terrible mistake to pick it up.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Grim Faerie Tales of War and Sacrifice, May 21, 2007
For whatever reason, New York city tends to to be a favored backdrop for those writing urban fantasies involving faerie in some form. That's what originally drew me to this tale, since I have a penchant for collecting fantasy that takes place in my home setting. And I have a soft spot for contemporary fantasy with fae characters in general. Elizabeth Bear has gone about creating an epic tale that is out of legend and myth of old, from the tales of Camelot to the ballad of Tam Linn.
The Seeker was once a mortal woman, now bound to serve the Queen of Faerie and charged bringing her the half-blood children from the human world. Seeker chafes against the bonds that hold her, but has no choice when the Queen lays a new geas upon her: to seek out the new Merlin--a being who is magic-- and seduce him into service for the realm of Faerie. But Seeker will have competition in her race to win the prize. Set against Faerie are the human mages of the Prometheus club. If they can convince the Merlin to join their side against the Fae, all of Faerie may be doomed. On the brink of war, this epic story's protagonists and antagonists must make their choices and ultimately watch the story play itself out.
The premise of this story is an interesting one, certainly this is a grand scale sort of epic fantasy, rather than the more intimate urban fantasy I'm used to. I was originally going to rate this only three stars, but to be fair it likely deserves at least three and half to four stars. I've not read Ms. Bear's work prior to this book, so I can't say if this story is indicative of her usual style, but I tend to like books that are more directly about character and less grand epic. I won't hold preference against a book, so I'll rate it four stars on the grounds that I do think there is some good writing and an intriguing story here--it just wasn't quite my cup of tea. This is an especially tragic and grim story with many bittersweet, dramatic and poignant moments. The story takes itself very seriously and explores themes of sacrifice and the prices paid for victory. I found that the lack of humor in this story made it bleaker than I particularly enjoyed, although given the storyline, it may be what the author intended. I prefer more humor--and humanity--in my reading as a rule, and I think it may have helped bring out the characters a bit more.
The main characters of this story felt too much like set pieces in the game--it was hard to like any of them or really identify with any of them. Even Matthew, the human mage, seems to keep a textual distance from the readers. I kept wanting to know more about these protagonists and their lives. Most of the novel is bound up in describing events and the patterns of myth that color those events. But I kept wishing to care more about the Seeker and her struggle to choose her path. And while the POV shift from third to first person for Seeker was clearly done to accentuate the transformation of the character, the abrupt shift was hard to adjust to at first.
Only some of this epic story takes place in New York City, but the story is a fascinating revisit of the tale of Tam Linn, weaving in Arthurian legends to create something that profoundly echoes the old myths in a modern setting. There is a lot of blood and violence in this tale, but the author never uses it gratuitously--one of the points of this book is that Faerie tales are full of blood and violence, the sanitized versions for children to day are a pale imitation of those originals. It's a challenging plot line, as the author is crafting a book where no one side is in the right and all sides are fighting for survival. It's more than a little bleak, and there are enough characters and twists for the story to become confusing.
Nevertheless, this was a decent read--kept me reading straight through to the end without wanting to put it down. If you're a reader who likes contemporary fantasy with an epic feel and a sober storyline this might be just the story for you. If you prefer something light hearted or more character driven, you might find this a bit weighty and dark for your tastes. If you're looking for more urban fae fantasy to read, you might try War for the Oaks by Emma Bull or try Son of Darkness by Josepha Sherman.
Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad
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