But her next assignment turns out to be far more complicated than anything to date has prepared her for. She is to travel to the capital city of Lutetia, where rumor has it that Queen Sandalia is hatching plans against Lorraine. Belinda is to pose as a Lanyarchan exile, persecuted because of her adherence to the true religion, and use the pose to get close to the Lutetian queen. Belinda's route leads through Sandalia's son, supposedly fathered by the late Lutetian king. This son, Prince Javier, the reader quickly realizes has to be the “substitute” mentioned in the opening chapter.
Belinda maneuvers her way into Javier's company. Then she learns something unexpected: the prince and she share a power she has only tasted hints of, the very power that led her to be identified as a witch in Khazar. Nor has Javier ever encountered someone with the power—they experiment eagerly, forming a closer bond than either has ever found with anyone else.
Eventually, though, Belinda must meet Queen Sandalia and discover what threat, if any, she poses to Lorraine. She discovers that the intrigues of the Lutetian court are more complex than she expected. A Khazarian diplomatic delegation arrives, and Belinda finds her cover story in danger of being ripped apart.
Murphy's approach to historic material is reminiscent of Guy Gavriel Kay's, and while very few writers are in a league with Kay, Murphy makes a good run at it. She has a good sense of how to build a plot, and several of her characters are interesting twists on their likely historic models. Lorraine is clearly Elizabeth I, but Sandalia is not really Mary Queen of Scots—and Javier is not even remotely James I. So much the better—too close an adherence to historical events is a recipe for predictability, and the book is charmingly unpredictable.
There is clearly a sequel (or two) to come, so those looking for a complete story won't find it here. But actions does come to a satisfactory stopping place, and the journey there is enjoyable.
* * * *
TIM: DEFENDER OF THE EARTH
by Sam Enthoven
Razorbill, $19.99 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-595141-84-2
In this YA novel, Enthoven turns loose a giant dinosaur and a feisty young protagonist in a future London. The results are highly entertaining.
Anna Mallahide is a bright, independent schoolgirl on a class trip to the British Museum, where she is teamed with her dorky classmate Chris on a sort of scavenger hunt. But Chris strays into the lower depths of the museum, where he encounters a strange woman who gives him an amulet and tells him he has been chosen as the channel of Earth's Defender, whether he likes it or not. Anna is furious when he rejoins the student group—the last to return, and with no explanation where he's been.
But Anna finds a bigger surprise later, where her father, Prof. Mallahide, arrives home uncharacteristically early. Anna doesn't quite realize that her father is a mad scientist. Even worse, he has government funding—the Prime Minister has just given him an enormous budget to develop his ideas for a nanotechnology swarm. However, his project has gotten funded because the Prime Minister has canceled another: the one that created the giant dinosaur, T.I.M.—short for Tyrannosaurus, Improved Model.
That might not be a problem, except that T.I.M. needs to be gotten rid of—not an easy job, considering that he's hundreds of feet tall, and still growing. His creator decides to do the job by filling his cavern with cyanide. But T.I.M. gets a cryptic mental message telling him to break free of his prison. When he gets the first whiff of the poison gas, he does just that—and breaks through the surface in the middle of Trafalgar Square. Panic time! The next section of the book is nothing quite so much as a “Godzilla stomps London” spoof.
Eventually, T.I.M. wanders down the Thames to deep waters offshore, and England takes a deep breath of relief. Not so fast—Prof. Mallahide's nanotech swarm is poised to wreak its own version of havoc on the nation. Anna and Chris are in the middle of things, of course—as is T.I.M., once the young protagonists have things explained to them.
Rather than being a threat to civilization, T.I.M. turns out to have a crucial role to play in saving the world from an ultimate danger. As so many mad scientists have done before him, Mallahide finds himself caught up in the momentum of his own invention. It seems like a good thing to him, so it must be the best thing for everybody. So if people don't voluntarily join his swarm of nanobots, more forceful measures must be necessary...
It's up to Anna, Chris, and T.I.M. to save the world. Anna is of course conflicted about fighting her own father, and the swarm is a threat sufficiently powerful to stretch even a neo-Godzilla to the limits of his ability. And T.I.M. has the usual dinosaurian level of intelligence, so it's up to the kids to save things in the end.
Enthoven plays a bit fast and loose with probability—what happens to all that cyanide once T.I.M. breaks out of his cave, for example? But given the initial premise and the playful atmosphere, most readers will let details like that slide, and enjoy the romp.
Keep this in mind if you're looking for a gift for younger readers. Recommended for light-hearted grownups, too.
Copyright (c) 2008 Peter Heck
[Back to Table of Contents]
* * *
Department: SF CONVENTIONAL CALENDAR
by Erwin S. Strauss
The Halloween conventions are always a great place to see a good quantity of high-quality costuming. Plan now for social weekends with your favorite SF authors, editors, artists, and fellow fans. For an explanation of con(vention)s, a sample of SF folksongs, and info on fanzines and clubs, send me an SASE (self-addressed, stamped #10 [business] envelope) at 10 Hill #22-L, Newark NJ 07102. The hot line is (973) 242-5999. If a machine answers (with a list of the week's cons), leave a message and I'll call back on my nickel. When writing cons, send an SASE. For free listings, tell me of your con 5 months out. Look for me at cons behind the Filthy Pierre badge, playing a musical keyboard.—Erwin S. Strauss
OCTOBER 2008
10-12—AlbaCon. For info, write: Box 2085, Albany NY 12220. Or phone: (973) 242-5999 (10 AM to 10 PM, not collect). (Web) albacon.org. (E-mail) [email protected]. Con will be held in: Albany NY (if city omitted, same as in address) at the Crowne Plaza. Guests will include: Anne & Todd McCaffrey, Barclay Shaw, Gary S. Blog, Travis Tea.
10-12—NecronomiCon. stonehill.org. Hyatt, St. Petersburg FL. F. Pohl, J. Czerneda, T. Zahn, R. Wilber, R.L. Byers.
10-12—SitaCon. sitacon.com. State U. of NY Institute of Technology, Utica NY. “Central NY's First Anime Con Returns.”
10-12—Anime USA. animeusa.org. Hyatt, Crystal City (Arlington) VA (near DC). P. Seitz, C. Glass, Applegeeks, Chen.
10-13—GaylaxiCon. gaylaxicon2008.org. Near DC. G. Ryman, A. Austin, C.S. Friedman. For gay, etc., fans & friends.
11-12—DeryniCon. derynicon.remuthcastle.com. Holiday Inn West, Harrisburg PA. Katherine Kurtz. Deryni & Adept.
17-19—CapClave. capclave.org. Hilton, Rockville MD (near DC). Writer James Morrow, critic Michael Dirda. Short SF.
17-19—Con*Stellation. (256) 883-5922. con-stellation.org. Holiday Inn, Huntsville AL. Duane & Morwood, the Resnicks.
17-19—Rising Star. rising-star.org. State College, Bluefield WV. A. Holohan, White Plectrum, D. Laney, B. Fischer.
17-19—Arcana. pages.prodigy.net/rekal/. Best Western, St. Paul MN. F. Paul Wilson. Celebrating “The Dark Fantastic.”
17-19—Con*Cept. conceptsff.ca. Day's Hotel, Montreal QC. D. Brin, S. Ferris, Y. Dutil, S. Dumas. Bilingual SF media con.
17-19—Another Anime Con. (603) 888-9970. Radisson, Nashua NH.
17-18—ZenkaiCon. zenkaicon.com. Scanticon Hotel, Valley Forge (near Philadelphia) PA. Anime.
18-19—Ireland National Con. octocon.com. Dublin, Ireland. Ken MacLeod, John Vaughan, Derek Gunn, Harry Harrison.
23-27—OklaCon, 4601 Mackenzie Dr., Oklahoma City OK 73160. oklacon.org. Roman Nose State Park. For furry fans.
24-26—MileHiCon, Box 487, Westminster CO 80036. milehicon.org. Hyatt Tech Center, Denver CO. Butcher, Powers.
24-26—
HallowCon, 395 Stancil Rd., Rossville GA 30741. hallowcon.com. Howard Johnson Plaza, Chattanooga TN.
24-26—BakuretsuCon, Box 5342, Essex Jct. VT 05453. bakuretsucon.org. Hampton Inn, Colchester VT. T. Grant.
24-28—Anime Banzai, Box 1109, West Jordan UT 84088. animebanzai.com. Sheraton City Centre, Salt Lake City UT.
31-Nov. 2—World Fantasy Con. worldfantasy2008.org. Hyatt, Calgary AB. David Morell, Tom Doherty, Barb Hambly.
31-Nov. 2—ICon, 308 E. Burlington, #300, Iowa City IA 52240. iowa-icon.com. Marriott, Coralville IA. Tanya Huff.
31-Nov. 2—ValleyCon, Box 7202, Fargo ND 58106. (701) 232-8722. valleycon.com. Doublewood Inn. George Takei.
31-Nov. 2—Vulkon, Box 551437, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33355. (954) 888-9697. vulkon.com. Orlando FL. Dorn, Mumy.
NOVEMBER 2008
6-9—IlluXCon. illuxcon.com. Altoona PA. B. Vallejo & J. Bell, B. Eggleton, M. Kaluta, C. Vess. Fantastic illustration art.
7-9—AstronomiCon, Box 31701, Rochester NY 14603. (585) 342-45975. astronomicon.info. Clarion. S. Law, P. Sweeny.
7-9—Creation, 217 S. Kenwood, Glendale CA 91202. (818) 409-0960. creationent.com. Burbank CA and Cherry Hill NJ.
7-9—NekoCon, Box 8486, Virginia Beach VA 23450. nekocon.com. Hampton Roads VA. Anime. “A Luau on the Beach!”
7-9—BASCon, Box 282197, San Francisco CA 94128. bascon.org. Embassy Suites, Burlingame CA. Adult media fanzines.
21-23—PhilCon, Box 8303, Philadelphia PA 19101. philcon.org. Crowne Plaza, Cherry Hill NJ. Powers, Picacio, Sava.
21-23—New England Fan Experience, 26 Darrell Dr., Randolph MA 02368. nefe.us. Cambridge MA. Anime, gaming, SF.
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Visit www.dellmagazines.com for information on additional titles by this and other authors.
Asimov's SF, December 2008 Page 21