Customer Reviews

To Weave a Web of Magic

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

It's easy to get misled by the cover, which says these are stories of fantasy and romance. People will buy the book for either the fantasy or the romance, or perhaps both, and be disappointed that it's not all of one or the other, or a mix.
I'm familiar with Delacroix and Kurland from the romance world, McKillip and Shinn from the fantasy world, and didn't expect McKillip and Shinn to be writing the romance stories, and Delacroix and Kurland to attempt something more in the fantasy side of things.

I liked the snappy conversation from the Gorgon (McKillip), though yeah, it's pretty unbelievable that the hero manages to call her up from practically nothing. And it would've been really nice if they did live happily ever after.
Kurland's story is not her usual fare, and I'm not surprised at the one-star ratings for her. The fairytale mode did pall, and more emphasis could've been placed on the 'present' instead. I did like the ending, though I'm not sure how sequels (this story is stamped 'prequel' all over) will read.
You really need to have read Shinn's angel series to appreciate her story. It's not supposed to be blasphemous and is a welcome addition to the entire series.
Delacroix' Melusine story was my least favourite. It was a good attempt at dark fantasy but entirely too depressing and I wanted happy endings.

Romance readers are likely to be disappointed that the stories don't follow the usual 'and they met their princes and lived happily ever after' formula, but keep an open mind.

Patricia McKillip. Artist Harry Waterman feels like a failure because he lacks a muse to motivate him. That changes when Medusa calls him from a painting he drew. She plans to inspire him by pointing to a model Jo who vanished.

Lynn Kurland. Using a cloaking spell, part Elfin Maher flees from her father because she refuses to wed her sire's choice of a spouse for her. Her father Robert wants to forge an alliance with Hagarth through his daughter. She refuses and seeks the help of King Harold to learn how to use a book of spells she possesses. However, her father insists she is a valuable asset to further his ambitions.

Sharon Shinn. In Samaria, Jesse the fallen angel desires the young Manadavvi woman who returns his love. However, her mother insists her family is too important to have her marry a loser insisting the daughter will wed into a wealthy family or the next Archangel.

Claire Delacroix. An elderly woman overhears two gossips discuss Melusine, a demon who chose to live in the mortal world to cast her evil influence on Raymond who she married and had ten children with him. The old woman informs the two women that Melusine came to this world out of love for Raymond. Is she a malevolent devil or a female in love?

All four well-written romantic fantasies contain solid lead characters though in a couple of the tales the antagonist pales in comparison. Sub-genre fans will appreciate the quartet as all fun to read.

Harriet Klausner

The stories were good, but they left me going "What, wait it can't be over" and not in a good way they just seemed unfinished like the authors got to the word limit and stopped. I'm glad I bought the book to add to my Lynn Kurland collection but was still a tad bit disappointed.

As you can guess, this book contains four completely separate stories. Each is a venture into fairie-land, as those lessons used to be told: dark, no happy ending guaranteed.

Though the stories are not at all related, there is a common theme: learn to look beyond what you see. There is always something more, and often something richer, behind the appearance.

The first story is a deus-ex-machina kind of tale, the second a true hero tale. The third is a story about angels, yes, but casts them more as a hybrid somewhere between humans and G-d. The final tale is the darkest, the truth behind an ages-old tragedy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good work of fantasy.

(*)>

Lynn Kurland and Sharon Shinn wrote beautiful stories -- and good reading. I've read all of Kurland's other books and this one was nice, too. I've never read Shinn, but I am going to start. I love her angel world.

The other stories were a disappointment. The last one had a sad ending -- nobody was happy. The romance soured and they all lived horribly ever after. Byuk! The first story was almost a romance. It was more a story of falling out of infatuation than falling in love.

Read this for Kurland and Shinn, but skip the other two stories.

I bought this book for Lynn Kurland's story, called "The Tale of Two Swords." The other stories aren't bad, but they're not my style, so I'll let others tell you about them.

"The Tale of Two Swords" is, however, a little story that I absolutely adore. I love the way it's sandwiched between young Harold's dreams of adventure, and I love the way this story is referred to in the first Nine Kingdoms trilogy.

Young Harold is ready for an adventure. The problem is that there's a blizzard raging outside the drafty and lonely castle he lives in, and no one to help him on his quest. And so he settles for the story that we get to hear with him.

The story begins with Mehar of Angesand fleeing from her father and an arranged marriage on one of the famous Angesand steeds. All she's got is her mother's book of spells and hope that maybe the king's mage will teach her to read them. Unfortunately, she arrives to find the palace of Chagailt nearly destroyed and no one around, other than the cook and two men...one of whom has pale, fae eyes that stare into her soul. It is not long, however, before she learns that the man she is quickly falling in love with isn't quite who she thought he was. Even more surprising...neither is she!

And for that matter, neither is Harold! ::grins::

To those who are wondering where this story falls in the Nine Kingdoms books, here is the list:

Two Prelude short stories, found in anthologies with other authors:
The Queen in Winter (When Symon, the first king of Neroche, woos and wins Iolaire)
To Weave a Web of Magic (this book)

Miach and Morgan's story is told in:
1- Star of the Morning (The Nine Kingdoms, Book 1)
2- The Mage's Daughter (The Nine Kingdoms, Book 2)
3- Princess of the Sword (The Nine Kingdoms, Book 3)

Ruith and Sarah's story (which OVERLAPS Miach and Morgan's story in the timeline) is told in:
4- A Tapestry of Spells (The Nine Kingdoms, Book 4)
5- Spellweaver (The Nine Kingdoms, Book 5)
6- Gift of Magic (Nine Kingdoms)

And she's said there are more Nine Kingdoms trilogies planned for successive Januaries.

I love to read both fantasy and romance and found this anthology to be the perfect blend of the two genres. Patricia McKillip is one of my favorite authors so it is no surprise that her story is my favorite. Her pen paints stories as luminous and glowing as the works of art she is writing about. I loved this story about the power of dreams and illusions, and how love makes reality surpass all. I'd never read Lynn Kurland before, but I must say I too found this story "prequel-ish" -- yet I hope she will return to this world and write more. I adore Sharon Shinn's way of having her heroine's voice so down to earth as she tells of things fantastical. And Claire Delacroix's retelling of Melusine is heartbreaking. I was very sorry indeed to come to the end of the book. It may unnerve some romance fans who don't truly appreciate fantasy, but those who like a bit of otherworldliness with their romance won't be disappointed.

my breakdown of the book:

McKillip's story-OK, average story-but I could have skipped it.

Kurland-I enjoyed this story-not her best but better, in my opinion than the other three.

Shinn-could not finish-the heroine was too flighty and too much of a girl looking to rebel by going after the "bad boy".

Delacroix-ick-hated it-a "love story" based on one characters blackmail of another is not my kind of love story.

Sadly this book is not fantastical enough for fantasy readers or romantic enough for the romance fan. By trying to catch both fans the book appeases neither.

My advice-skip it, buy used or get from the library. Definately not worth forking $14 out new.

3 stars for the Kurland story.

I don't think Sharon Shinn EVER writes a story that's not completely magical and that doesn't engulf a reader from the first sentence. Her story definitely is a 5.

Delacroix's story was very close to Shinn's in quality. I don't require a happy ending if the ending is the right one for the story and this one definitely was. The ending was haunting but true. Another 5.

Kurland's story was OK, if obvious all the way through, probably a 3-4, and I didn't finish the McKillip story. Nothing new here - in an anthology, the quality of the stories will vary. If you're a fan of Shinn (like me) or of Delacroix (I'd never read anything by her before), you should definitely enjoy their stories.

Because Claire Delacroix and (especially) Lynn Kurland have been two of my very favorite authors for many years, I had been waiting many long months in anticipation of the release of this book. I was so very, very disappointed. To be totally honest, the first story (The Gorgon in the Cupboard by Patricia A. McKillip) was the only story I read in its entirety. And that was only because I forced myself. As for the other three, I read as much as I possibly could of each one, but refused to force myself to finish them, since reading fiction is supposed to be an enjoyable pasttime. (You should know that I am an avid reader who very rarely wastes a book by not finishing it.) The thing these four stories have most in common is that they make the reader feel like they came in in the middle of the story, and were never given enough information to catch up, get truly immersed in the story, or feel like they were part of the story. If I could give it a zero star rating, I would. But since I do not have that option, I assign it one star. I guess the only favorable thing I can say is that the book did have a pretty front cover.