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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Different than "The Original" but just as magical, June 25, 2003
Unlike some of the others who've posted reviews here so far, I didn't read the original Wraeththu trilogy as a teenager, but rather as an adult. I think this at least in part explains why my reaction to Wraiths of Will and Pleasure is so very different than theirs. While those reviewers (seemingly making their comments from within a rosy cloud of linger adolescent nostalgia) express disappointment and a feeling that the "magic" is gone, I on the other hand feel that Storm Constantine has breathed life into the series and written a novel which although different from the original, is a wonderful complement and furthermore surely the beginning of yet another wonderful trilogy. If Hollywood came out with Labyrinth II and souped it up with overdone special effects, a David Bowie clone, and a director to replace Jim Henson, I'd be outraged, but with Wraiths, I feel we've all been blessed by a writer at the top of her form. In looking at Wraiths, some have voiced complaints about the narrative and the way it uses the third person rather than the first person of the original trilogy. To me it seems like these readers have completely missed the point! Wraiths is the first volume in a new trilogy that presents the history of the Wraeththu, not the diaries of the Wraeththu elite (i.e. Pell, Swift and Cal). In presenting this history, the book employs the third person to show a more complete picture of the Wraeththu world. Set in a time period which stretches the length of a good deal of the original trilogy, Wraiths offers perspectives on those events covered within the first-person narrative -- perspectives which illuminate the previously "definitive" version. We learn that things are not always what they seem and that one har's perspective on events may be very limited; for example, Swift's view of Seel certainly differs from Seel's view of Swift and Pell knows much more about the Kamagrian than Cal ever imagined! The use of the third person also allows Constantine to create a complex storyline with multiple interweaving threads, bringing in the experiences and perspectives of para and parazha in a way that could hardly be achieved by using nothing but first person! As for those complaints about Wraiths lacking the "magic" of the original books, I have to say I disagree with that as well. It's true that Wraiths is different than those books, but then again I think that's inevitable as Constantine's evolved as a person and a writer since then. I also think that again, the shift in feeling is quite appropriate given that this new trilogy is a history not the musings of individual hara. As a history, Wraiths sets before us a world without the distortion of all the fuzzy (although very seductive) gauze of the original books. To me, it's as if Enchantments, Bewitchments and Fulfilments are stories told from within a dream, the Wraeththu world PART of it, but in Wraiths we have the actual, solid world that has materialized over the years. For this we have to thank Storm's continuously growing imagination and talents, plus the energies of its many fans as well as practitioners of "dehara" magic. For me, Wraiths IS magical and involving and has lots of energy. It's not like George Lucas and Star Wars -- nothing like it! Now, to stop simply defending the aspects I've seen criticized, let me go on to the parts of the book I loved. First off, it might not be some people's cup of tea, but I was blown away by the first chapter which features -- not to reveal spoilers -- a death and a birth. Absolutely gripping stuff that is really profound and signals a change from was Wraeththu WAS to what it becomes from that point forward. After that, the interweaving storylines were fascinating and I loved seeing the way the characters came together, interacted and then developed their personalities and relationships over the course of the book. There are some new characters like the child Lileem as well as old characters like Ulaume, Flick and Seel who we see a lot more of, and in each of these characters we see different aspects of the tapestry of Wraeththu. We also get a whole cast of characters in the "dehara," a god/goddess system Flick discovers and which exists as a product of the collective Wraeththu soul -- and can be very powerful, once hara know how to access it. There are lots of fun, juicy scenes in the book, like Flick and Ulaume going to a party at Forever which takes a serious left turn. And Seel's scenes certainly contain some major shocks! There is more I could say but for now I'd like to say that as part of the Wraeththu fan community (it's gotten quite large online), what I've heard from pretty much everyone is an embrace of this book and lots of grateful, happy cheering. We're not nodding sycophants either (unlike say Anne Rice who think every book of hers is a masterpiece), but people who see pretty clearly and even though we see something different feel it's very, very good. I'm very excited about where this new trilogy is going and am eager to see where this all leads!
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This is a worthy sequel, IMHO, May 12, 2003
Storm Constantine is not a middle of the road fantasy writer. No dragons or unicorns here, but often violent mutant magick hermaphroditic post-apocalyptic political saga. Kind of Julian May meets Michael Moorcock by way of Frank Herbert; you either love her or hate her. Wraiths of will and pleasure is written 17 years after she completed the initial Wraethu trilogy, and indeed her writing style has changed somewhat. You could probably read it without having read the first trilogy, but I wouldn't recommend it. She doesn't disturb the continuity of the original greatly in her revisit, which is a relief. However, this expansion and retelling of part the wraethu saga is more approachable and less mystical than some of her fiction. For once, Constantine is drawing elements together to make more greater sense, instead of taking a left turn pulling for the cosmic interpretation zone. Don't get me wrong, I like her wild, incredible imagery and heavy pagan/magical overtones, but they are not for everyone. Some of her work, worth reading for sheer experience, is not what I would recommend to others for fun. This one is old home week with gossip, emphasizes plot first. Said plot is familiar in one sense, the aftermath of Calanthe's disastrous return to Saltrock, the [demise], rebirth and coronation of Pellaz har Aralis, but from a different point of view-- Flick, a minor character in the first book. Another expanded character is Ulaume of the Colurastes/Kakkahaar (forgive my spelling), the serpent haired assassin .... A memorable, but essentially throwaway role in the first story, Ulaume is the other real center of this volume. Mima, Pellaz's human sister, is another expansion, as are, of course, Seel Griselming, Opalexian, Tel an Kaa, and Thiede. We get teasing glimpses of other strong characters from earlier-- Swift,Vaysh, Ashmael, Arahal, Cobweb, Leef, Tyson, etc. but there just isn't room to get to them-- I sure hope to see more later. What is different from before are tangential stories that embroider more detail into the bigger picture, and hints at a bigger picture than that, as well as some characters who might be big players in future installments. Terez, for example. Lileem definately. And there's a satisfying love story. Meaty character angst. Better dialogue. Characters with flaws carefully exposed yet that aren't ruined. Less stretching past the point of belief within the story frame, well, mostly. I kind of have a hard time with some of the later plot elements involving translocational cross species har + kamagrian aruna, but hey, I'll go with it. And I just find the kamagrians less involving than the har characters-- I personally don't really care about them that much, but I realize they are essential. It's not a perfect story. But what a yarn! It left me wanting more. And it makes you rake through the earlier stories for little bits to savor again. Which was the point.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Wraiths of Will and Pleasure, September 11, 2003
By A Customer
I really enjoyed the original series and I really wanted to love this book. But... The initial scenes of this novel, which starts during the original series, focusing on other characters, are fantastic. But sometime around the capture of Flick and Ulaume by the Uigenna -- an event which should have been highly dramatic, but felt glossed-over -- the writing, for me, began to deteriorate. It becomes increasingly expositional and "telly", until by the end we're getting stuff more or less on the level of "Pell did X. Flick felt Y." There's a reason why writers are instructed to "show not tell": the effect of so much exposition is to flatten the plot arc, lose the sensuality, and distance the reader from the initially very appealing characters. I'm not crazy about some of the directions Constantine takes this. I don't care about the Kamagrian, and I'm much less interested in the Wraeththu as otherworld-exploring ascended master sort of people than I am in them as crazy, sensual, magic barbarians. I would, though, have liked the author's treatment of her chosen material much more had it not been so expositional.
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