Customer Reviews

Lucy's Blade

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This is a splendidly entertaining novel about a teenage girl who gets taken over by a demon that turns out to be friendly, and confers on her all sorts of supernatural powers, which she uses to help protect Queen (Elizabeth I) and Country. Author John Lambshead is the father of two teenage daughters, and it is evident that his character Lucy is written from first-hand experience.

The novel is part fantasy, part history, and part science fiction. After a science fiction prologue introducing the demon (which I sort of skimmed the first time, but enjoyed on a second reading), the book really hits its stride when it lands in the Elizabethan era and we meet spymaster Walsingham, his secretary Simon Tunstall, Dr. John Dee, and of course Lucy. It is evident that Dr. Lambshead has extensive knowledge of this period and is deeply in love with it. There are lots of winning period details, such as when Tunstall cuts his breakfast with a "good Sheffield blade: and then dresses for the day according to his social rank. In many places the history seamlessly ellides into the fantasy in a most enjoyable way.

All the characters are deftly drawn, and the historical ones are very true to life: you'll feel you've had an audience with Elizabeth (and be grateful you didn't have to do it for real), you'll fall in love with Lucy (but, take a number), and you'll cheer on her sea captain beau William Hawkins (but you'll wish he wasn't such a chucklehead about women). There's lots of romping good action and plenty of humour.

Dr. Lambshead wisely inserted just enough historical background that readers need not have any prior knowledge of the period in order to follow along just fine. (Ignore the stupid Publishers' Weekly comment in this context: this is a fantasy novel written for an American audience, the background asides are necessary and not at all heavy-handed.)

Buy this book, read it, enjoy it, and let's hope for more soon. Bravo!

This seems to be Baen's year to introduce superb new authors to the world. Last month we met Stoney Compton in Russian Amerika and this month John Lambshead arrives to delight readers.

I enjoyed this book a lot and, contrary to the Publisher's Review note, did not find the anachronisms intrusive or unnecessary. We tend, in an era where even severed limbs can be restored much of the time, to forget what a deadly, deadly place the world is without modern medicine, and what constraints that placed on both the thinking and action of our ancestors.

The story itself is, as you've probably already guessed, a mix of quantum computing, alternate (or at least hidden) history, and high magic. The characters are generally the kind of people you like to see Fighting for the Light, and when the dust settles, it's already apparent that here is raw material for bunchteen more fun romps. It's very well told, with good pacing for the most part. (Lilith's Origin could have been a touch shorter.) And the ending is, as noted, most satisfactory. Highly recommended.

Incidentally, the reason I picked this book up in the first place was that I read Mr. Lambshead's story "As Black as Hell", which appeared in the online magazine "Jim Baen's Universe" [...], and which is reprinted in the upcoming The Best of Jim Baen's Universe. THAT story is one of the ones I feel will make my buying the whole anthology worthwhile.

Welcome to my "must-read" list, Mr. Lambshead.

John Lambshead's first novel, Lucy's Blade, has a fascinating premise, a different look at a common science fiction/fantasy trope, some outstanding writing, and leaves enough threads hanging to hope for a sequel.

Not bad for a first novel. Not bad, at all.

John Lambshead usually writes scientific papers for his job at the London Natural History Museum, where he is one of the world's experts on nematodes, so he joins a long line of distinguished scientists who have moved into writing science fiction and fantasy. Like many others, such as David Brin, he brings a sort of sidewise look to his writing that appeals more than the common run of "gloom and doom" writing.

I read the book as an e-arc from Baen's Webscriptions, and then again when it came out. It easily stood a second reading, and I expect it will stand up to many more. Since I read far faster than Lambshead writes, I expect I'll have to wait and read Lucy's Blade a couple of times more, before the expected sequel, Lucy's War, is released.

Go buy this book. All the nematodes in the world will thank you if you help make John's career a success and he can leave them alone.

Walt Boyes

Associate Editor/Marketing Director

<em>Jim Baen's Universe</em> magazine

Sir Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth's spymaster, has asked Dr. John Dee to summon a demon so he can ask it questions about who is threatening the queen. Just as the demon arrives, though, something goes wrong and the demon jumps into the body of Lady Lucy Dennys, Walsingham's pretty ward. The demon, who calls herself Lilith, endows Lucy with superpowers, so when England is threatened by malevolent forces, Lucy starts kicking ass in her petticoats.

I like the premise and plot of John Lambshead's Lucy's Blade and its science-fantasy twist on where demons come from (Lilith is a future being who comes to Earth to study her ancestors). I also like the Elizabethan setting. The characters were mostly well done, especially Queen Elizabeth (I wish we had spent more time with her -- she was a great character), Walsingham's secretary Simon Tunstall, and the pirate William Hawkins.

Lucy's Blade was unique and diverting, but it didn't meet its potential, mostly because it simply lacked style. Lambshead's sentences are short, choppy, mostly of similar structure (usually with the subject at the beginning of the sentence), and lacking creativity in word choice and figurative language. These are two consecutive paragraphs on pages 129-130 of the hardback:

"Simon sat down beside Lucy. Gwilym leaned against the wall by the door where he could watch anyone entering. A servant came in with glasses of hypocras. This expensive sweet liqueur, imported by Venetians from Smyrna, was a rare treat. The servant passed around plates of sugared pastries and pears.

The theatre was a hexagon open to the sky in the centre. The stage was a raised area against the front wall. Two highly decorated pillars held up a canopy that protected the actors from the elements. The Underside of the roof was painted deep blue and decorated with stars."

This sing-song cadence could have been fixed by a more conscientious editor. The editor should also have fixed the suddenly shifting character viewpoints, the inconsistency in the narrative voice, the misspelling of Lady Dennys' name at one point, and the many missing commas. Also, the editor should have noticed that as the pirate ship was being piloted up the Thames, Simon asked the pilot a question... but Simon wasn't on the ship.

A related issue is the constant interruption of the plot and dialog with expository statements. At some points, nearly every line of dialog and every sentence that advances the plot is followed by a sentence of explanation:

* "Very good, Master Smethwick." The master could be safely left to organise such details with his usual competence.

* "I believe I will take a turn down the long gallery to catch the sun." The Queen slipped from the royal pronoun "we," indicating that she was now expressing the personal opinion of Elizabeth, rather than a royal view as head of the English state.

In their dialog, characters often tell each other information that is clearly only for the reader's benefit, such as when the Englishman Walsingham tells his English secretary (more than once) that Queen Mary is Queen Elizabeth's sister and that Mary's husband is Philip of Spain. Not only is it unlikely that Walsingham the spymaster needed to mention that to his educated trusty secretary, but it makes for clumsy dialog and it slows the action.

If you can read beyond these issues, then you may very well enjoy Lucy's Blade because it's a unique story with engaging characters and bright spots of humor. However, so much of my own enjoyment of reading comes from the appreciation of the author's use of language and style and Lucy's Blade didn't fulfill my expectations in that domain.

It is a first novel so the text isn't polished and there are frequent shifts between viewpoint characters, often without warning. The proofreading and copyediting are typical for mass-market fiction, but it's a rollicking-good read. The flavor of the story reminds me of The Witches of Kares. I hope he writes a sequel.

Lucy is a sixteen year old girl in Elizabethan England. Raised to be a good aristocratic wife, she seems to be all sweetness and innocence. Raised by her uncle who is the head of the secret service, her innocence is mostly a facade to get what she wants - but her sweetness is real.

Lilith's people are essentially computer programs in the far future who forgot where they came from. The constructored Lilith and sent her back in time to confirm the "one true faith" that they have always been there.

Lilith ends up in Lucy's nervous system, in a relationship that Lucy can best understand as demonic possession. Lucy supplies the charm and psychological insights. Lilith supplies the power. Together they use charm, guile, and fighting skills to protect England.

Lucy's Blade (2007) is a fantasy novel with a SF premise. Far, far in the future, life feeds off gravity waves from black holes. The Elders are facing another religious war, so they create an agent and send the adaptable youngster back into the past to fetch evidence of the indisputable truth of their Creed. She is sent further back than anyone else has ever gone.

In this novel, the youngster travels far into the past beyond her normal dark environment. She is surrounded by light, thus proving that some heretical thinking is true. Finally, she is caught within a sea diamond energy cache designed to trap spirits.

Sir Francis Walsingham is the spymaster for Queen Elizabeth. Someone -- probably Spanish agents -- have been attacking members of Her Majesty's government. Sir Francis is attacked himself on the way to Nonsuch palace.

Lucy Dennys is the niece of Sir Francis. She is sixteen and the closest relative of the spymaster. Lucy is somewhat tired of her uncle's matchmaking, but he is concerned that she will become an old maid.

Gwilym is a Welsh man dedicated to Sir Francis. His family had been nearly evicted from their land, but Sir Francis had paid their debts. Now Gwilym is primary bodyguard for the spymaster.

Simon Tunstall is the keeper of secrets for Sir Francis. He attends the spymaster in all official meetings and many unofficial ones. The secretary spends his free times reshuffling and indexing his many files.

Doctor John Dee is a man of many talents. He has been a cryptographer for Her Majesty's Secret Service for several years. He is also a scholar of the hidden and unknown, collecting many rare books on magic and other mystic subjects at Her Majesty's expense.

William Hawkins is the captain of the Swallow, a privateer of Her Majesty, and cousin of John Hawkins and Francis Drake. Hiding in a cove on the American coast, the Swallow swoops out to take a Spanish ship carrying a gentlelady named Isabella. The Spanish crew seems strangely afraid of the woman.

In this story, Gwilym, Simon and James Sydney counterattack the men who ambush Sir Francis. One is taken alive and then reveals under torture that his instructions were to keep Sir Francis away from Nonsuch palace. Since the queen is currently residing in Nonsuch, the spymaster warns her of possible threats to her life, but Her Majesty has other concerns.

A coven of witches traps the visitor from the future. The head witch calls her Lilith and the gravitonic lady finds the name lovely and suitable. Lilith escapes from the trap, but is drawn into a pentagram set for demons.

Doctor Dee is asked to use extraordinary means to uncover the plot against Queen Elizabeth. He constructs a pentagram and summons a demon named Choronzon. Instead, he gets Lilith.

Lilith attracts the attention of Lucy and draws her to the pentagram. When Lucy wipes out the chalk markings, Lilith is released and enters Lucy's body and mind. Now Lucy is possessed, but not by a demon.

While Lucy is unconscious, Lilith tweaks her body to remove dangerous organisms and to increase her strength and speed. Lucy is capable of much more than even the males of her species. She will need these new capabilities.

This tale reintroduces the head witch into Lilith's life. Now known as Isabella, the witch has called monsters from other timelines and eras into the current surroundings. Lilith learns much about the predatory usage of gravitonics from the witch.

Lucy meets William and seems somewhat taken by him. William is like almost every man in adoring Lucy. They quarrel constantly about the role of women in Elizabethan times, but remain attracted to each other.

This story has a prologue and epilogue based on the characters from As Black As Hell, a fantasy story published in Jim Baen's Universe. It was also included within the first anthology from this web magazine. These more modern inclusions are the most fantastic part of the novel.

There are rumors of other novels about Lucy. The conclusion of this tale does leave much room for sequels. Enjoy!

Recommended for Lambshead fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of scientific magic, international intrigue, and a touch of romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin