Fantasy/SF Book Reviews
Page One of TwoMoon on the Water: Selected Stories 1972-1999 by Mort Castle
DarkTales Publications, September 2000Trade paperback, 176 pages
ISBN: 096720299X
Award-winning horror novelist Mort Castle showcases
his short-story virtuosity in this anthology which
spans his work from 1972-1999. The collection is
broad in its scope, covering what might be termed
as horror stories, literary short stories and even
a good old fashioned ghost story. A musician
himself, Castle is especially adept at rhythm and pacing,
as we see in "Moon on the Water" which touches
on the lives of two great jazz musicians living in Chicago in
the 1950s, and where jealousy and heroin make for a true
tragedy. "In Henderson's Place," we meet an Everyman
who is slipping away day by day into his own daydream,
with disastrous results.
The theme that unites the stories is the exploration of the underbelly
of the American Dream -- what's really happening behind the
the societal facades with which we cloak ourselves and our society's
most cherished fantasies and prejudices.
The short story is one of the most difficult mediums in which to work, and Castle is a true master of the art. What makes the works so moving is the eerie sense of recognition you feel when reading such stories as "Buckeye Jim in Egypt" or "Hansel, Gretel and the Witch: Notes to the Artist." Castle has the gift of the best horror writers: he takes the everyday and makes it terrifying. This is a collection you'll not soon forget. Highly recommended.
--Claire E. White
Wheel of the Infinite by Martha Wells
Eos, July 2000.Hardcover, 355 pages.
ISBN: 0380973359.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
The imaginative and inventive Martha Wells has
created yet another spellbinding fantasy world in
The Wheel of the Infinite. The Temple city of
Duvalpore houses the Wheel of the Infinite, an
intricate and beautiful sand sculpture of the world.
Each year, the Wheel must be remade to ensure
another year of peace and harmony for the Celestial
Empire. If the Wheel is not remade in time, and
in perfect order, the very world itself will be
unmade. A terrible blackness has invaded the Wheel,
and appears to be spreading. Meanwhile, the exiled
Maskelle has been recalled to the city to help avert the
approaching catastrophe. Maskelle houses the spirit of the
Adversary, the most feared of the spirit Gods of this world.
Speaking as the Voice of the Adversary, Maskelle wields
great magical power. But people fear and revile her because of
her past when she was accused of treason and murder.
Traveling with a group of itinerant actors, Maskelle
meets both friends and foes
on her journey to the city where she will face the biggest
battle of her life: she'll be fighting for the preservation of
her world and of her own soul.
The Wheel of the Infinite is the kind of story that makes even a jaded fantasy/SF reviewer sit up and take notice. The world of the Celestial Empire is a beautiful and complex one, and the magical and religious systems are well-imagined. Maskelle, as the Voice of the Adversary (who may not be quite sane) is a compelling character, who has learned much from her years of exile. Wells is an expert at pulling the reader into the story in just a few sentences, and this story will keep you enthralled until the very end.
Return to the September 2000 issue of The IWJ.
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