Customer Reviews

The Silicon Mage (Windrose Chronicles, Book 2)

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

 

 

OK. You pick up a book.
You open it.
The first sentence is:
"The worst thing about knowing Gary was dead was seeing him every day at work."

You want to know a little bit more, don't ya?

Of course you have to read the Silent Tower first, but you won't be bored.
Barbara Hambly is an excellent writer; she creates these Technicolor characters. They're priceless, detailed, 3-D and believable; I'd love to invite them over for lunch. (Especially Antryg; he's a corker. I can just see him waving his fork and expounding on turtle shells and Unreal Tournament and the Punic Wars and pretty much everything. I'd listen until my ears fell off.)

In general, this is an exciting espionage-ish book; they're wrecked, lost, captured, escaped, imprisoned, etcetera--you certainly won't be bored. It's a complex, highly plotted book, with lots of twists and surprises. She creates some very Lovecraftian monsters as well, so you can get some exercize by letting your flesh crawl. And you *have* to meet NineTenTwo, who looks like an H.R. Giger Alien but talks like a cardigan-wearing physics prof.

The sequel to The Silent Tower is extremely powerful, filled with emotions--fear, love, hate. This is the best book of Barbara Hambly's that I have read yet. Conflicts bring the characters to life. Suraklin himself is one of the most interesting characters, in his desire to live forever--and his forgetting why. Joanna takes it on herself to rescue Antryg, knowing that failure could mean the death of not only his universe, but all universes. Tension keeps suspense and anticipation high. Incredible writing. As a certified bookworm, I give this book five stars.

This book has the most chilling opening sentence I have ever read:

"The worst thing about knowing that Gary Fairchild had been dead for a month was seeing him every day at work."

No, it isn't a vampire story. The situation is a whole lot worse than an ordinary vampire, who can be killed with a wooden stake. Joanna stakes her life on finding Antryg Windrose alive, getting his help, and killing the wizard Suraklin--who supposedly has been dead for years.

A brush with the Inquisition doesn't make matters better.

But between Aunt Min, the Dead God, and Antryg--and Suraklin's sudden realization of WHY he wanted to program himself into a computer and live forever--Joanna is victorious, but at a horrendous price.

Recommended for all fantasy fans.

The Windrose Chronicles , exist in a nice mixture of modern civilisation and a magical world , both overlapping , a nice touch of humour and a bit of real thinking about life , the universe and everything . Good Reading . Alex .

The Silicon Mage (1988) is the second fantasy novel in the Windrose Chronicles trilogy, following The Silent Tower. In the previous volume, Suraklin -- the Dark Mage -- occupied the brain of the Emperor. Four years ago, he possessed the brain of Salteris -- the Archmage -- and performed some experiments. He found a way to generate electricity using teles -- crystal balls -- to draw energy by magical means from unprotected persons.

Now a condition of hopelessness swept through both worlds. All seem to believe that this condition was subjective rather than objective. But Joanna believed that this condition was caused by Suraklin's magical generator. Apparently Suraklin was planning to transfer his spirit into a computer using this power.

Joanna was faced with a dilemma on whether to trust Antryg. Since she loved Antryg, she erred on the side of caution and betrayed him to the Witchfinders. Then she dreamed of the torture and imprisonment of her lover.

In this novel, Joanna finally discovers proof of Antryg's innocence. She has broken into Gary's hidden files on the Cray and found programs designed to transfer Suraklin's spirit into a stolen computer. She transfers megabytes of data to her computer and prints out everything. Then she reduces the font size and prints the routines double-sided. She keeps everything in a backpack, which never leaves her reach.

Antryg is again imprisoned in the Silent Tower. This time the Church has formed a Sigil of Darkness on a collar and soldiered it around his neck. Even if he escapes the tower, he will not be able to perform or perceive magic.

Caris firmly believes that Antryg's body is possessed by Saraklin's spirit. He blames his grandfather's death on Antryg. Now he is once again a sasennan in the service of the Mage Council.

Prince Pharos is the regnant for his mindless father. He blames Antryg for the collapse of his father's mind. Pharos has married Pellicida, but still keeps a fancy boy for his own amorous pursuits.

In this story, Joanna prepares for a trip through the Void. She sneaks back into the complex and then follows Gary to the computer room. When the darkness appears, Joanna follows him into the Void. But she loses him within the darkness and emerges somewhere else within the Empire of Ferrych.

Joanna avoids a group of Old Believers and then waits to catch a ride. The oppressive hopelessness starts and a man refuses to give her a ride. Then he changes his mind and takes her to town to catch the next coach.

When Joanna reaches Angelshand, she first tries to gain help from Caris, but he is not willing to free Antryg. She mentions her findings as well as the recurring spells of hopelessness. He takes her pistol and still refuses to assist in Antryg's release, but he doesn't report her to the witchfinders.

Then Joanna approaches Magister Magus, but the dog wizard is too frightened of Suraklin to directly assist her. He does get a appointment for her to see Prince Cedric. Unfortunately, Suraklin -- using the name Gaire -- is with the prince and Joanna hides from him. Then she runs into Pellicida and gains a friemd and helper.

Pella is of two minds about her marriage. She hates the way Phoras is treating her, but she firmly believes that he is a better ruler than the alternatives. She particularly doesn't want Gaire as the power behind the throne.

Caris finally joins Joanna and Pella in their quest to free Antryg. They are trying to reach the Silent Tower before Witchfinder Pellebone delivers a death warrant to the keepers there. Pellebone has several accidents on his journey, so Joanna and friends reach the Tower before him, only to find that Antryg has already escaped.

Caris is now firmly convinced that Antryg is not Suraklin. Yet he is having problems with his oath as a sessenan. He is not supposed to have an opinion of his own, but to only obey the orders of his superiors.

This tale takes Joanna, Antryg and their friends into a guest for the stolen computer. Even though they try search Suraklin's citadel and other nodes on the ley lines, the computer is not found. They must have overlooked something.

As with the first book, Antryg and Joanna are avoiding discovery by a swarm of witchfinders, Church sassena and mages, and agents of Prince Phoras. Once again, they disguise themselves in various ways. Caris gets to practice medecine while they travel, which he finds to be very satisfying, but distracting to his purpose.

This story seems to resolve the problem of Suraklin, but the Mage Council and the Prince are not satisfied with their explanations. The story continues in Dog Wizard. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Hambly fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of high magic, political intrigue, and true romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Joanna has betrayed Antryg to torture, imprisonment, and horrific torment - and she's back in Los Angeles, a universe away and unable to help him. Gary, possessed by the dark mage, can open the void for her to cross and rescue Antryg - if she can follow.

What would YOU take with you if you were charging off to another world with the grand agenda of saving Antryg and stopping Suraklin from plunging both worlds into horrible, hopeless greyness forever to fuel his bid for immortality, once again constantly trying to evade capture, avoid monsters, and keep track of all the players?

This truly excellent novel wraps up the story begun in The Silent Tower. Never predictable, the tale is taut from start to finish as Joanna, Antryg, and a few surprising allies fight the good fight against staggering odds. It doesn't seem possible that they could win.

And what would it mean if they did?

Buy this book!

The heroine does NOT have a worn computer disk. She has a worm program on a disk. This is important in the story.

My daughter and I love this book. Between us, we've gone through at least five paperback copies. The cover art for the paperback is absolutely fabulous and appropriate, too.

In The Silicon Mage Hambly continues the story of Joanna, a woman from Earth suddenly thrust into a treacherous world of dark magic and deadly danger. Joanna's task is to find her lover, the wizard Antryg, before the Dark Mage does. Sequel to The Silent Tower. Hambly's portrayl of the plight of the heroine is gripping and realistic. Great book!

Back again, and more problems.


Having made it back to her own Earth, our heroine still doesn't have it a lot easier - but does have electricity and running water. There's still evil wizards that want to rule the world, live forever, and generally do bad things.

The good wizard she fancies she has shafted, and somehow has to try and set that right. Her only advantage? A modern outlook and some technology.

This was the most amazing book I have read in ages - honestly. Hambly surpasses herself. A real tear-jerker. I ended up crying about 5 times in just the last few chapters. It absolutely screwed with my emotions, which is just how a like it, and a sure way to prove that I was living the book rather than reading it!
Read this book! Everyone! And enjoy it - I insist!