Point of Hopes [Hardcover]

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

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1995

The authors of the celebrated historical fantasy, The Armor of Light, present a new adventure set in a world of necromancy and astronomy, gunpowder and swordplay, and political intrigue.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This new collaborative effort by Scott and Barnett, like their first (The Armor of Light), is a well-researched medieval fantasy told in a literate and urbane mannerist style. Rathe-a handsome, young, incorruptible pointsman (basically, a police detective)-is given the nearly impossible task of trying to discover why the children of the town of Point of Hopes are being spirited away in droves, and where they are being taken. For assistance, he enlists the aid of both an out-of-work soldier, Phillip Eslinger, and the necromancer Istre b'Estorr. Astrology, necromancy, greed and power struggles all play major roles as Rathe attempts to find the children before a major astrological brings about a foretold catastrophe. Set in an alternative Middle Ages where the authors' intricate world-building only occasionally overshadows their plotting, this novel, though not fast-paced, offers intriguing looks at guild interrelationships, the uses of hand-cranked printing presses and medieval attitudes toward magic. It also offers considerable delight to those who enjoy intellectual puzzles of the fantastic kind.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

An epidemic of missing children throws the city of Astreiant into a state of panic. Ex-soldier Philip Eslingen and beleaguered pointsman (police officer) Nicholas Rathe are drawn into a complex web of magic and deceit. The coauthors of The Armor of Light (Baen Bks., 1988) have combined their storytelling talents to produce a satisfying blend of mystery and fantasy. Strong, likable protagonists and a vividly detailed supporting cast bring an emotional veracity to this well-wrought tale. A priority addition to any library's fantasy collection.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (December 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312858442
• ISBN-13: 978-0312858445
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,867,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Pity There Aren't More Like This..., August 27, 1998

By 

Andrew Carey (Newtown, CT, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Point of Hopes (Paperback)

One of the more irritating tendencies of fantasy literature is the constant depiction of extremes of class. In many novels, every major character is either a member of at least the lower ranks of nobility or else some kind of petty criminal. _Point of Hopes_ is refreshing in that most of its characters are somewhere in the middle; ordinary people with honest trades trying to get by. The main characters are a temporarily out of work mercenary (he's worked his way up from the ranks to a minor officer's position, but it's difficult to find an employer who's willing to hire a commoner for a commissioned rank) and a constable (the local title is Pointsman), and the most of their associates are tavern keepers, shop owners, and the odd underpaid scholar. Add to this an environment based roughly on sixteenth century France (with a few changes such as a pagan state religion, women's equality with men, and unquestioned toleration of homosexuality), a renegade alchemist plotting against the reigning monarch, and a mysterious series of kidnappings, and one has a novel worth reading and re-reading. I hope Scott and Barnett are planning a sequel, and in any event I look forward to their next work.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A worthy addition to any fantasy library., December 2, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Point of Hopes (Hardcover)

Let me begin with a bold statement: I will be on the lookout for the next book by Melissa Scott & Lisa Barnett. They certainly know how to spin an enjoyable tale. Point of Hopes brings the reader into a fantastical mystery, set in pseudo-Renaissance time. All the characters are thoroughly intriguing, some downright enthralling (though some of the names are a bit of a mouthful). The reader is drawn into their espacades and actually cares what happens to those involved. I have only two regrets for the book: first the pacing was marvelous up until the very end; I became worried when I realized I was 80% done the book and there was still too much of the unknown left in the mystery. What follows happens in such a quick pace that I think the reader will feel out of sorts by the suddeness of things revealed (and dealt with). My second gripe was that there were romantic leaning developing between the two main characters throughout the book but these never, ever, came to fruition. So I was left feeling a bit jaded. I can only hope that a sequel is written that can solve this last problem. Still, this novel shows excellent craftsmanship and should be included in any die-hard fantasy-lover's bookshelf.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars more or less a detective story, May 3, 2005

By 

Furio (Genova - Italy) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Point of Hopes (Hardcover)

i love fantasies, especially if they have gay/lesbian main characters but i usually find even the best detective stories dull and boring. this is why i find it unconfortable to review this classical detective story set in an alternative xvi century french-like kingdom.

the two authors take much pain in outlining a believable society, they enrich their descriptions with many interesting and witty details: as it is (nearly) always the case the result stirs admiration but is sometimes overwhelming and still leaves you hungering for a better definition of many points.
their writing is not only professional but also accurate and subtle; too much so, unfortunately: the story develops slowly, painfully so, and still one feels the lack of more details one is lead to expect just because of their approach.

this redundant lack of fulfilment involves the main characters:
for instance, one knows the two main ones are going to fall in love with each other (in the sequel of this novel) but although the authors describe their face mimic to the smallest detail in a very pleasant way still they hold too much behind and one cannot really understand who they really are and why they should fall in love at all. just the same happens for the lovely character of istre: saying too much about him could be a mistake but one is left hungering for a better description of his emotions. the authors hint at a possible emotional opening between him and rathe's neighbour but they drop it in an extremely disappointing way.

this objectification might be all right in a crude detective story, where the main point lies in the solving of the mistery but is hardly tolerable elsewhere.

i shall read the second novel of the serial to better understand the authors' intentions for a story with such a good potential