Customer Reviews

Memory of Fire (The World Gates, Book 1)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is obviously the first in a series with some faults that most such books suffer from. They did not, however, spoil my enjoyment of this story. I wish Molly Mcoll had been used more, she was in the story quite a bit, but seemed to lack something. The author seems to have preferred her sister, Lauren, over her. We see much deeper into Lauren's life than we ever do Molly's. I found myself disliking the sentinels--too sanctimonious for my liking. Also, the bad guys were glossed over severely. The three rogue sentinels seem to have zero character and zero motivations (except maybe simple greed) for their actions. I just didn't believe in them.

Ah... but the world of the Vodi and Veyar. That worked brilliantly for me. I loved the setting and is one of the big reasons I give this book four stars and not three. The veyar as a people were interesting, the idea of a Copper House to shield the occupants from magic was good. The Vodi's necklace... excellent again. The only thing really wrong with this book was the weak bad guys. They seemed like generic opportunists and were only in the book to give the good guys something to do.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and quick read but it came across as a simple introduction to book two. I am writing this review after finishing The Wreck of Heaven (book2) by the way, so I have the benefit of hindsight, which is 20/20 :¬)

Mark E. Cooper
Warrior Within (ISBN: 0-9545122-0-0)

Molly McColl is kidnapped by strange creatures and dragged off to the world of Oria to save them. She doesn't just meekly go along - but soon discovers that in this new world her healing talent, that has always caused her great pain on Earth, is now effortless. Isn't helping people who greatly need her help, with a talent that is working better than it ever has, the right thing to do?

Lauren Dane discovers that a large mirror in the family house she's just reclaimed is a gateway to another world, and she's haunted by the voice of her deceased husband. Suddenly she has recovered bits of memories from her childhood, that had been hidden with her own permission. She realizes that the home town she's returned to is a stranger place than anyone would guess, and soon learns that her parents had been murdered years ago. Surely she should figure out what her parents had been planning and be prepared to deal with whoever murdered them.

Sheriff Eric MacAvory is wondering whether Molly's disappearance is part of his mundane job or has anything to do with the terrible calamity that the Sentinels see coming up for the Earth. If they can't fix the magical backlash, the level 5 rebound breakthrough is predicted to kill three billion people worldwide; the news already shows people dying of a mysterious `flu'. But soon treachery is going to force the Sheriff/Sentinel to think about doing things outside the rules of either of his jobs.

What are the ties between Molly and Lauren? Can the sheriff and Molly work together, with each suspicious of the other? Who is the traitor among the magical guardians of Earth, and what is the actual cause of the magical feedback that is killing thousands?

With such a mix of conflicting `right things', not to mention the creatures just out for what they can get, will there ever be a long-term balance, or will the Earth end up as lifeless as the next world?

This last question will have to be answered in a future book in this series. I look forward to it!

Memory of Fire is nothing short of a masterful saga. For those who love cross-dimensional fantasy, Lisle's work can be wonderfully satisfying and does successfully allow one to experience a thorough suspension of disbelief.

Since I do live in the heart of one of the story's settings, I read with interest the many references to the Laurinburg, Gibson, and Rockingham areas of south central North Carolina. Having met the author's parents while they resided in Laurinburg, I began reading Holly Lisle as a way to scratch a curiosity itch. I found a tremendous treasure within the works of Holly Lisle. And, like fine wine, this particular author seems to greatly improve with age.

Memory of Fire is the story of two women: Lauren Dane and Molly McColl. Both become enmeshed within the tangled web first spun by parents that neither woman really knew. Part of that webbing includes another world; one on which humans can create and produce magic. Unfortunately, each spell carries a sinister equation: for every spell cast there is an equal and opposing effect on Earth. Each woman learns that old Spiderman axiom-with great power comes great responsibility. Quite frankly, to reveal more would be criminal, for the book's charm lies within its plot's twists and turns.

As Lisle breathes life into wonderful characters and plot, Memory of Fire becomes a procrastinator's worst nightmare-it simply is NOT a book to be put down until every page is turned. Fortunately, Memory of Fire is the first installment of a larger work called The World Gates; there will be more to come.

Books that I plan to read repeatedly are usually bought in the hardback format; however, Memory of Fire is available only in paperback. I find that to be the book's only major flaw.

Readers familiar with Lisle's earlier work will not be surprised to find generous helpings of the exceptional storytelling and solid plotting skill that have marked her work from the start. What may surprise even Lisle's staunchest fans, however, is the scope of her vision and the strength of the premise on which she rests her newest project.

A common thread in all of Lisle's fantasy has been the idea that magic, like any other physical resource, has limitations, rules, and most importantly, consequences. In this gripping stand-alone opener to her new World Gates sequence, she explores the world-shattering consequences of individual acts with a brilliance and elegant simplicity that is nothing short of stunning.

More than any of her other books, _Memory of Fire_ demonstrates why Lisle's work is the thinking man's fantasy, the type of book that readers who normally "only read hard science fiction" pick up, enjoy, and recommend to their friends. Applying everything from Newton's Third Law to Einstein's Law of Conservation of Mass and Energy, Lisle's creates a magic system of awesome power and austere beauty, internally consistent and logical enough that it seems not only plausible, but almost inevitable. When the seemingly insignificant, thoughtless action that sets in motion the disaster the Sentinels are trying to avert comes to light, there is a moment of revelation that will literally hold you spellbound, in the grip of something so small and yet so powerful that the reader is nearly overwhelmed.

That is not to say that the novel's only strengths lie in its ideas. Filled with engaging characters, Lisle's latest novel sparkles with the familiar cadence of small-town voices, flawlessly rendered. And while this is clearly Lauren and Molly's book, in places it felt like Pete, or any of several strong secondary characters might, if left to their own devices, steal the show.

If there is a flaw in the book, it is in the writing itself. While Lisle's prose is occasionally inspired, it is just as often a bit awkward. Mostly, it is on the high end of competent, sometimes venturing just over the line into exceptional before crossing back into safer terriroty. But throughout her career, Lisle has eschewed literary pyrotechnics, treating words like any other implement in the writer's toolbox, useful only to the extent that they make it easier for her to lead the reader into her worlds and enmesh them in her stories. Simple and straightforward, it is the writing of a craftsman, stripped bare of pretensions to "art."

In _Memory of Fire_ that world is both like and unlike our own, and the story is easily Lisle's best. Both old fans of her work and new fans reading her for the first time will find this novel's spell impossible to resist; more than that, they will be too enthralled to even try to escape.

Memory of Fire is the first novel in the World Gates series. The Sentinels are a secret organization who monitor and, to some extent, control traffic between universes. They have been around a long time and have infiltrated the power structure. They have some ability to use magic. They are the Conspiracy that people have dreamed and ranted about.

The Sentinel's circle in Cat Creek, North Carolina, is having problems. First a blip shows on the instruments and later gates start dropping and have to be reset. The last incident was met with a full scale excursion into Oria, but no clues were found ... publicly. The circle starts monitoring all their gates for more events and tries to triangulate from the available data.

The first event was Molly McColl being kidnapped and taken through a World Gate to Oria. There she is welcomed as the Vodi, a being who is powerful in magic. However, she is being kept in a copper covered room that grounds her magic. Seolar, Master of Copper House, has arranged for her kidnapping in order to protect his people from the ravages of other magic users and Molly eventually begins to like him more than a little.

The second event was Lauren Hotchkiss Dane opening the old Hotchkiss gate. Lauren has returned to Cat Creek after the death of her husband, Brian. She discovered that her family home was on the market and used the SGLI payment to buy it and now she has brought her son Jake to the old home place to live. Someone has covered the large wall mirror in the living room with black paint and she spends an afternoon scaping it clear. When she looks in the mirror, she sees a hint of green and it somehow attracts her. Later, after Jake is in bed, she discovers that she can put her hand through the mirror without ill effects. She waits until Jake awakes and then goes through the mirror to Oria.

Eric MacAvery is the town sheriff as well as a Sentinel and is in the center of the whole mess. He knows that Molly has disappeared, but not how or why. He is a childhood friend of Lauren, but she keeps her secrets from him ... for a while. He knows that someone in his circle is a traitor, but not who or why. On top of all this, someone or something has caused a level five rebound breakthrough, which could cause 3 billion deaths worldwide.

This novel adds new life to an old SF plot, creating a hierarchial multiverse where energy flows down and spirituality flows up and introduces a threat which will destoy the inhabitants of all the universes if something is not done soon. Lauren's parents, who were long ago expelled from the Sentinels, have hidden notes describing some forbidden experiments that may be the only hope for the survival of the people in countless universes.

This novel is full of plot twists and turns, but focuses mostly on the interpersonal relationships. One cannot help liking Molly, Lauren, Jake, Eric, and even, reluctantly, Seolar.

Recommended for Lisle fans and anyone who enjoys a new approach to the secret masters of the universe plot.

-Arthur W. Jordin

I started reading this book late one evening, and before I knew it dawn was breaking over the horizon. I can't remember the last time a book kept me up all night! Definately not a bedtime book.

I particularly like the way the author has given the use of magic serious negative repercussions. No invincible super wizards here!

My only complaint is that the next book in the series isn't out yet.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this new series by Holly Lisle - and I really envy her ability to come up with fresh new ideas for her fantasy worlds.

The series starts out in the 'real' world, or in a world much like our own, but then moves into other dimensions where someone might suddenly have godlike powers, or alternately, become like a spirit, unable to affect reality. Then there are the Sentinels... would they hesitate to do anything that they feel is necessary to further their cause?

There are a lot of reprecussions to magic use in this book, illustrating how the actions of even a single person, layered with intent, can have far reaching consequences. Well, I can't say more than that without giving away the story, but this is a definite keeper. I picked it up and didn't put it back down until I hit the back cover.

The first book of a series, and it came out of the gate with a bang (no pun intended). Holly Lisle has a very readable style. The characters are well developed and likeable. Yes, that's important, at least to me. I deplore the trend of characters so flawed you'd rather the author just have a hole open at their feet and swallow them up than continue reading about them. This book is nothing like that. The characters are clearly defined, have some intense problems, experience triumphs and setbacks, make and end relationships. Good thought was given to creating a distinctive universe with its various peoples and the laws that govern it. I will buy the next book, and hope to say that the excellence continues.

I recently discovered Holly's Secret Text Trilogy (Diplomacy of Wolves, Vengeance of Dragons, Courage of Falcons) and really enjoyed them. While she tackled some interesting ideas in those books, and I liked the characters, Memory of Fire was on another level entirely.

Holly plays with issues of time, space, morality, love and self-preservation to mention just a few of them. Her characters have that "real" feeling; with real motivations for their actions, understandable reactions, and absorbing personalities.

To put it all in context, I was up until seven a.m. Sunday night, despite having work, to finish the book. Hope you enjoy!

while i loved the premise of this book, the author was a little too ambitious. there were too many storylines and not enough character development. however it was worth reading and i enjoyed up, down, and sideways worlds.