Customer Reviews

Tale Of The Five: The Sword And The Dragon

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I'm a huge fan of Diane Duane's "Tale of the Five" series, which began with "The Door Into Fire," nearly twenty years ago. As fellow fans know, subsequent books in this series have been few and far between...the last new book to see print was "The Door Into Sunset," some years back. Sad to say, this book (and the accompanying oversized paperback) is NOT a new volume in the series. This book reprints the first two volumes in the series, "The Door Into Fire" and "The Door Into Shadow." That would be the stories that focus on Herewiss and Segnbora; "...Sunset" is primarily about Freelorn.

Still, given that ALL of the various books in this series have been in and out of print, this book is a reasonable substitute for searching out the Bluejay and Avon paperbacks of years past. There appear to be minor changes to the stories, for the sake of continuity, but none of the series' major events are altered. This double-story volume might be a nice gift for a fellow fantasy reader...particularly those who appreciate the non-judgemental way the characters' sexuality is explored. The only drawback is that readers have no way of knowing when they'll be able to peruse the elusive final volume in the series, "The Door Into Starlight."

Personally, I'm just happy to see such an excellent serie finally attracted the attention of a publisher who's willing to reissue them. Diane Duane dealt with the issue of liberal sexual orientation with extraordinary grace and eloquance. The story plots themselves are seamlessly meld with the relationships between the characters, thus avoiding the pitfall of a story written with male-female pairing in mind, but substituted with male-male/female-female characters for one reason or another. If you have been as frustrated as I have been in tracking down the last volume of the series, have courage. According to the author's official website,... the second volume of the "Tale of Five" edition is due to come out some time this year, 2003. The forthcoming book (title unannounced in the website) will contain both "The Door into Sunset" and "The Door into Starlight."

This is one of the few books that I press upon everyone I meet.

This volume contains both "The Door into Fire" and "The Door into Shadow." Both are fine fantasies, with enough adventure for those who mostly want slam-bang plot, and enough character development for those who prefer that. But the setting is probably this series' biggest draw, a land where one doesn't have to *believe* in the Goddess, because everyone meets Her once during their lives. Bisexuality seems to be the norm, and people love according to personality and chemistry, not gender. It's a great series for anyone, but it will especially appeal to Pagans, polyamorists, and GLB folks. Both stories have lovely messages about openness, tolerance, and facing one's fears without feeling like "message stories" that sacrifice plot and character to the message.

One caveat: the second book deals partly with the main character's recovery from child sexual abuse, and the resolution that the character reaches about this may feel offensive to some real-life survivors of child sexual abuse. Of course, others will find the story edifying or freeing.

Cory

The Sword and the Dragon (1993) is an omnibus edition of the first two novels in the Tale of the Five series. It includes The Door Into Fire and The Door into Shadow. Herewiss is the heir to the Brightwood, a principality within the Kingdom of Darthen. Freelorn is his loved, the uncrowned king of Arlen. Segnbora is a scion of the forty families and a powerful sorceress whose power is blocked, but who speaks with the tongue of dragons.

In The Door Into Fire, Herewiss is the first male in centuries who is capable of using the Power of Flame. However, the fire within him will not express itself in any useful way without a focus and his every attempt to use Rods and swords as focuses have destroyed the objects. When Freelorn sends a message asking for his help, he puts his quest aside for a while and rides to the rescue.

In The Door Into Shadow, Herewiss has found his focus, but he has a true dream that the Shadow is very angry and is going to lean heavily on the Royal Bindings keeping him in check. Since these bindings have worn thin, the Shadow could well escape. Herewiss knows that he must journey to the Morrowfane to master his Power, despite the dangers to his mind and person. Freelorn, Segnbora and the others ride with him.

This omnibus edition brings these two novels back into print after a long absence. Recommended for all Duane fans and anyone else who enjoys well-crafted tales of powerful magic and strange cultures.

-Arthur W. Jordin

This is a rerelease of the first two books in one of Diane Duane's earlier series. It's very good, though some of the relationships in it makes it unsuitable for younger readers. Very surprising if you've only read the authors 'Young Wizards' or the spinnoff of that series 'Cat Wizards' series.

The central character is a young nobleman, who is trying to unleash his dormant magical abilities. Abilities that only women have been able to use for untold generations. Along the way, he aides his boyfriend the renegade prince of a neighboring kingdom, as well as a fire elemental, and a distant cousin. Not to mention a dragon. Oh, did I mention that the demonic Shadow wants the guy as dead as possible, and out of its way?

If you read fantasy, and don't have a problem with unconventional lifestyles, you should pick up this book.

As a teen, I had a copy of the original Door Into Fire, 1979 printing. Unfortunately, that copy met a bad end, and for years I looked for it and its sequels in vain. Imagine my elation when I discovered that the quartet was to be reprinted in a pair of omnibus editions! The print quality was excellent, the cover art was gorgeous, and the story... well, the story was exactly what I remembered. Finally getting to read the second of the four was a brilliant bonus.

Now if only they would print the second omnibus, so I could finish the series....

Having read Fiona Patton's Stone Prince, I got an Amazon recommendation for this book, and the reviews were all praise, so I bought a copy. The three core characters as well as the elemental Sunspark and the dragon Hasai are painted carefully, and the background mythology of the Goddess is one of the most memorable I found in any fantasy. But nearly everything else remains quite vague, including geography, history, culture, sciences, language, arts and philosophy, or simply scenery and weather. It reminds one of an old text adventure: "you look west into the wastes", "you are standing at a keep in the mountains" etc. The main antagonist is just a "shadow", and similarly its puppet, the usurpator Cillmod, lacks any character description. Even the three companions of the main characters, Lang, Dritt and Moris, get no face or history for the whole of the 500 or so pages. If "love, love, love" does not keep you awake, you won't find decent battle tactics or spellbinding adventures of the heros (except perhaps for the Glasscastle episode in book two). Summing up, some things are really lovely, but on the whole I could not keep my eyes open. My recommendation: find a friend and take him/her to the zoo - if you are like me, you will find this a much better way to be loved, go on a quest, and not fall asleep.

I already own the orginal releases, but i bought this copy so i don't have to worry about wearing the older ones out.