22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Oh, Grow Up! Difference in Maturity, October 14, 2004
The Tagline for the sixth season of that smart cult TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was "Oh! Grow up!", and for the second volume of the Wraeththu histories, *The Shades of Time and Memory*, the tentative direction of this new series seems to follow those lines.
My first reaction to the resumption of the series with *The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure* 15 years after the original ended was mixed. Delight at seeing more of it, slight disappointment that it didn't quite capture the magic of the original *Wraeththu*. The fleshing out of old minor characters, Flick and Ulaume, or Seel (no!) though vibrant and exciting, didn't make me fall in love as madly as the first one -and I'd read the holy trilogy only 2 weeks before. I didn't have years of building up their mythos in my mind. The switch to 3rd person from the brilliant mix of humor and pathos of the trilogy's 1st person didn't move me to tears and laughter, the story, while fascinating on its own terms, didn't have that legendary poignancy. The Original Wraeththu trilogy was breaktaking, heartbreaking, gripping (all sorts of -ing), and your heart threatens to hold onto them, not wanting to let go of their painful beauty.
Now that I've read the 2nd in this new series (and re-read *Wraiths* 5 times), I see this from a bit more measured perspective. These are, after all this nitpicking, the most exhilerating fantasy books I've read in years.
*The Shades of Time and Memory* picks up right where the final trilogy ended, rather than fill in the lost years between 2 and 3 as *Wraiths of Will and Pleasure* did. What happens after Cal stalks into Immanion, reunites with Pell, and takes his rightful place in Wraeththu?
This makes for an unforgetable read; the plot never drops, and almost every chapter leaves you breathless. The mystery and intrigue keeps you on the edge of your seat, until you look up and can't recognize your surroundings because you've been so absorbed. And the pace cannot be perfected upon! You're never overwhelmed by too much, but at the same time you're left dizzy with the excitement and the emotions.
The characters are a mix of our well known (and deeply beloved), Cal, Cobweb, Caeru, Swift, and well, Pellaz too, as well as the most amazing transformation of Ponclast. Newer characters tie in with the old, as children (harlings!) have grown up and do their bit to inherit the world: Tyson, Moon, Abrimel, Azriel, Aleeme, and a disturbing Caliban figure, Diablo...
Of course, everything must be compared back to the original *Wraeththu* (the holy3), but I feel at this point, that this might be a tad unfair. The originals were about one story above all, a mad, passionate, haunting, painful, gorgeous Love beyond Death and Time etc. Like Buffy season 2, like Romeo and Juliet, it's beautiful, gothic, beautifully extravagant teenage love.
(and that's why I love it so dearly)
But the new series is about something different. Not less exciting, and with even greater cosmic implications (hints of Constantine's Grigori series here), and with another sweet love story in the midst of it all, *Shades* develops the careful setting of *Wraiths*, and turns the new series, not only into a focus for the love story of Cal and Pell (holy3), but into an exploration of the greater potential of all these characters. (I'm skipping out on spoiling the "action" plot here- it's amazing)
The novel seems to be a testing ground for who matures and who doesn't. Are Wraeththu stuck in the same cycle as their human predecessors, living out comfortable and gender split domestic arrangements, bickering over land and dynasties, or are they more? Who grows up and who doesn't? And what are the choices that determine this? What about the itchy unfairness and classism of Immanion superiority (as disturbing to me as Uigenna brutality- I rather liked the crazy Uigenna)?
You're left with all the impact of the powerful love story of the originals, but with a maturity, where our once obsessed lovers have to take on responsibilities, where work and duty and racial destiny take as much space as their youthful passions did (and still do).
Don't get me wrong- this is not a mild story about settling down- by no means! It's brutal and painful, horrific and gorgeous at turns (and sometimes at once). Point-counter point revelations are shocking/thrilling. But it points, not to "only love" at the center, but "live and love too." Like the broader wryer acceptance of life trials in Buffy season 6 (O Grow up!) or the *The Winter's Tale* and *the Tempest*, life goes on and you'll love how the Wraeththu grow up.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Long live Wraeththukind!, January 25, 2005
I remember the day the Wraeththu seduced me like it was yesterday. I was a 19-year-old art student when I walked into a bookstore in a busy mall back in 1985 looking for something interesting to read for my commute home and bought the first volume of the series because I liked the cover (I found it unusual and very well done). I began reading at the train station and did not stop for more than a couple of hours for two days. Long story short: Storm introduced me to her world. I was hooked. Willingly bewitched. What? You thought I was kidding when I say I was seduced?
I had to have more, I found the 2nd part of trilogy, and a couple of years later the 3rd. Still, I looked for more (it was like a drug) but nothing was available in the US market. Eventually, life marched on and my brain detoxed and I forgot about "that" one fantastic tale. Then I found this book last week and the fever's back (it's like the Pell & Cal reunion all over again).
I won't go into the plot details. I feel that too much has been revealed by other reviews. But I'll say this: You will even find a snippet of humor in this volume AND the ever-standing affirmation, that size does matter. The truth is that no one writes like Storm. The imagery is so utterly alive that it's effortless to imagine the places, characters and (even) emotions she conveys thru her work. I must admit that I was prepared to be sadly disappointed -- after all, everyone "know" that sequels are never as good as the original - but I am glad to be wrong.
Although, there is a big different in writing styles from her original work (when contrasted with this one book in particular), it becomes very unimportant past the first few paragraphs and goes unnoticed afterwards. If fact, one could say that this one book is actually a testament to her growth as a weaver of dreams.
Long live Wraeththukind!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A worthy sequel to Wraeththu ! A Must!, July 31, 2005
This review is from: The Shades of Time and Memory: The Second Book of the Wraeththu Histories (Paperback)
This has been an exhilarating few days for me as I finish the Wraeththu Histories. Like some of the reviewers I was a trifle dismayed yet hopeful when I learned that Storm wished to write a sequel to Wraeththu. It has been more than 15 years since the conclusion of Wraeththu. Yes I could still recall the last part of Wraeththu being rushed and there could have been much more in the reunion of Calanthe and Pellaz. But how does Storm hope to redeem this small but significant fault in Wraeththu, least of all equal the brilliance of this masterpiece. I do not doubt her story telling skill but there is a haunting originality, a sensuality, an innocence in Wraeththu which is not possible to duplicate or match.
My fear grew when I found Book 1 of the Wraeththu Histories a sort of a "fill-in-the-blanks" which does not feature and if so, limited roles of the enchanting and alluring characters in Wraeththu. And it was not written in the first person view which I love so much in Wraeththu. However my fear was unfounded a third through Book 1. Storm has not lost her magic though I still miss Calanthe, Rue, Cobweb and more of Pell of course.
Happily these endearing characters reappear in Book 2 which is just brilliant. My favorite characters take center stage again as Storm continue from where she left off in Fulfilments of Fate and Desire (3rd book of Wraeththu). I no longer miss the first person narration. Storm does not need that to inject emotions, intensity and life into her story and characters. Her characters have grown and I like the maturity in Cal, Pell and Cobweb. New characters appear, Moon, Snake, Raven just to name a few, and Storm weave them seamlessly into her magical tapestry of intriguing plots and sub-plots.
As I turn to Book 3 (The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence, UK edition), I was again a trifle dismayed with the story shifting to new characters, this time the second generation harlings. I should just have trusted Storm. Book 3 is as enchanting as Book 2. Her protagonists, Pell's sons/high-son, Darq, Loki, Geb, can never equal Cal, Pell and Cobweb,(I have to admit I am bias because nohar else can replace these favorite characters of mine), but they are refreshing and each harling's character is an unique individual. The stories of Pell's sons/high-son, from the day they are "hatched" to the day they confront each other are equally spell binding.
Storm's imagination just keep on growing covering untouched realms without ever dragging her feet or confusing her reader. Few can match her world building skills or the deep interplay of emotions among her characters.
And I am very please with the way she continues the love/hate emotions development among Cal, Pell,Galdra and Rue in Book 3. No reader can expect more but as a Wraeththu fan, I am thirsty for much more. Just novellas from now on is just not enough! Long live the Wraeththu Mythos!
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