The Poison Master [Import] [Paperback]

Liz Williams (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Tor; paperback / softback edition (2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405005629
• ISBN-13: 978-1405005623
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,481,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An edgy tale, March 3, 2003

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lb136 "lb136" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: The Poison Master (Mass Market Paperback)

In "The Poison Master" Liz Williams, author of two "social-science fiction" novels ("The Ghost Sister," "Empire of Bones"), now turns her cynical attention to borderline fantasy. Dedicated to Jane Austen, William Burroughs, and Jack Vance (you hardly need to have the Vance connection spelled out for you), the author cleverly weaves together speculations about a historical figure, Elizabethan alchemist-astrologer John Dee, and the fictional Alivet Dee, a distant ancestor, who works as an alchemist on a planet called "Latent Emanation."

Plot mechanations soon throw her into the arms of the mysterious, witty poison-master Ghairen from yet another planet, Hathes, and soon Alivet is drawn up in a plot to free her world of the mysterious Lords of Night and their collaborators, the "Unpriests"--and more than incidentally to free her twin sister Inki.

She's attracted to Ghairen, but can she trust him? Williams spins out the answers cleverly, gorgeously, giddily. The byplay between Alivet and Ghairen is to treasure. Her descriptive passages are lush. Her prose dances and sparkles and the characters (unsurprisingly considering the debt to Austen) seem believable and all too human.

Williams just keeps getting better and better.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Gothic and The Theatrical, October 29, 2003

By 

Sires "I enjoy mysteries, historical and proc... (Chesapeake, OH, United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Poison Master (Mass Market Paperback)

Described in the biographical paragraph in the back of the book as the daughter of a stage musician and gothic novelist, it sounds like Liz Williams could be a character in one of her own books.

I recommend this book particularly for those who enjoy the Baroque and who have a strong ability to visual the scenes described. The alchemical imagery meshes well with the culture that has arisen from the combination of Elizabethan era dessenters and alien culture. There's also a great sense of the theatrical in the descriptions of the Anubes-- enigmatic natives of the planet where the humans find themselves, and the great palaces where certain indentured humans labor to provide their alien masters with subtle pleasures.

Also there is a darkly humorous take on the traditional gothic novel in the relationship between the lead characters and the situation the heroine discovers herself in for the last part of the novel. While serious in intent, the author is quite playful in execution of parts of this novel.

All in all a definite reading pleasure.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Seeps Into Your Veins, August 13, 2003

By 

Phome "phome" (NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Poison Master (Mass Market Paperback)

The Poison Master is the story of an alchemist, Dee. She lives on a faraway planet with weird creatures and strange beliefs. Dee is trying to save money to rescue her sister from the hands of the Lords when one of her clients suddenly dies after taking some of Dee's drug concoctions. Dee does the only thing she can - she runs ... straight into the arms of a stranger from another planet, Ari, who says he can save her. But, there is something a little odd about Ari, the Poison Master.

Despite it all, Dee agrees to help him destroy the Lords and travels to Ari's planet, when his household help tells Dee that Ari is actually planning to poison her after they achieve their goal. The question is, whom should Dee believe, since she really knows neither party very well.

Liz Williams demonstrates sophisticated story telling skills. The dialogue runs smoothly and the story is captivating. In addition, she has some imagination! One of the reasons it took me so long to get into this book was due to all the strange references and situations/creatures that Dee runs into to. There is a small parallel story, running back to Earth's 16th century which adds interest, and though it was probably not really necessary, it completes the story.

Four stars for imagination, writing and characters. I would have liked a smoother storyline transition and more characters to give a fully fledged fantasy.