The book is full of delicious twists on familiar tropes, witty bits of dialogue, and hard-SF extrapolation worthy of the masters. Between this novel and her outstanding 2008 fantasy, The House of Stag, Baker has put herself well up on my list of authors to keep an eye on.
* * * *
LAVINIA
by Ursula K. Le Guin
Harcourt, $24.00 (hc)
ISBN: 978-0-15-101424-8
Taking a secondary character of the Aeneid, the Italian woman whom Aeneas marries, Le Guin gives us a new look at one of the key epics of European civilization.
Le Guin's focus is on the pre-Roman society of which her protagonist is a member, and on the changes spurred by the arrival of the Trojan exiles led by Aeneas. And while the larger shape of her plot is dictated by Virgil's epic, she finds plenty of room for invention.
The story begins by filling in the bare outlines of the world Lavinia inhabits. The daughter of King Latinus, she is in a privileged position to see the whole sweep of her society. At the same time, she is under considerable constraints. As a marriageable young woman, her course is clearly determined: she will marry a prince and cement an alliance with one of the other tribes inhabiting the land around the mouth of the Tiber. Her mother is determined that she marry Turnus, the warlike king of the neighboring Rutulians. Turnus is handsome and ambitious; but Lavinia has her doubts.
As we learn early on, Lavinia, as the only child of her father, has long assisted him in the rituals that constitute a central part of a king's role. And in so doing, she has had an unsettling encounter that she can only understand as a prophecy of her own future. A poet—whom the reader will recognize as Virgil himself—appears to her and tells her that she is destined to marry a foreigner. After hearing the basic outline of the Aeneid, Lavinia is determined to follow the path her poet has outlined. The rest of the book shows her doing so, even as she is appalled to see the birth throes of a new world tearing apart the one she has grown up in.
Le Guin tells the story with subtle touches, building from domestic scenes to violent battles, with a large cast of well-drawn characters. The Aeneid was once among the essential texts of European literature; the decline of Latin is probably the main reason for its current state of neglect. One consequence of that is that material that would have been richly evocative to an earlier generation of readers is likely to be uncharted ground to many moderns.
Still, Le Guin's recasting of one of Virgil's story lines, with glimpses at the others, is clear enough to give a hint, at least, of the mythical richness on which she is drawing. The power of the original comes through—although it takes on a very different cast when shown through the eyes of a character whom the old Roman saw as a distinctly minor part in his tale of the birth of an empire.
Anything by Le Guin is a treat, but when several of her strengths combine, the result is something special.
* * * *
SHADOW MAGIC
By Jaida Jones & Danielle Bennett
Signet, $25.00 (hc)
ISBN: 978-0-553-80697-7
The sequel to the authors’ debut novel, Havemercy, is set in Ke-Han, a society analogous to China. A peace conference is underway to negotiate terms between Ke-Han and Volstov, the Russia-like society that was the setting of the previous book.
The action is seen through the eyes of four characters. Prince Mamoru, younger son of the Ke-Han emperor, and his servant Koujie are set against two members of the delegation from Volstov, General Alcibiades and the magician Caius Greylace. As the novel begins, the old emperor has just committed suicide to atone for losing the war, and Mamoru's older brother has taken the throne. This happens just as the Volstovan delegation arrives.
The four point of view characters are a study in contrasts, allowing a wide view of the world they inhabit. Alcibiades is a stereotypical military man, brusque and unsophisticated. Caius is a bit of a butterfly, preoccupied with style and decorum. Mamoru is a creature of the imperial court, with little down-to-earth knowledge of his nation beyond what he saw in a brief participation in the war. Koujie is his practical, fiercely loyal right hand man, rigidly traditional in his adherence to the norms of Ke-Han society.
The death of the old emperor is just the first is a series of waves that crashes over the peace conference. Shortly after the formal dinner that initiates the conference, the new emperor declares his brother a traitor, and sends men to kill him. Koujie overhears this, and he and Mamoru hastily flee the capital—with the prince disguised as a woman. Meanwhile, the foreign diplomats find themselves trying to make sense of a society whose rules are utterly different from what they have come to expect; Alcibiades, in particular, finds the Ke-Han incomprehensible. The food is awful, the language impenetrable, and the manners infuriating.
More to the point, he also finds Caius incomprehensible—and irritating to the point of madness. Caius, meanwhile, makes Alcibiades his project, trying to dress him in appropriate colors and introduce him to more sophisticated ways of life. Things don't click between them till they're on a trip out to the city, where Alcibiades discovers peasant food, and they get a look at the satiric popular theater of the city.
Koujie and Mamoru, meanwhile, flee the capital and find themselves in a world that the prince has never even imagined. Disguised as a woman, he is exposed to the harsh realities of gender difference in peasant society. The fugitives find that internal border guardposts have been alerted to watch for them, and cast their lots with various groups of travelers—including a troupe of itinerant actors—to ease their way through inspections. In the process, the previous relations between master and servant have to be jettisoned, with traumatic consequences for both men.
Eventually, the plot brings together the four protagonists in common cause. This one feels a bit slower getting started than the previous novel by Jones and Bennett, but the play of characters and the clash of well-drawn exotic societies works to make this an even stronger novel in the end. Highly recommended.
Copyright © 2010 Peter Heck
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Department: SF CONVENTIONAL CALENDAR
by Erwin S. Strauss
It's convention month in Canada—six of them this time—and over the Falls for EerieCon. I'll be at RavenCon. 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
APRIL 2010
17—RavenCon. For info, write: 3502 Fernmoss Ct., Charlotte NC 28269. Or phone: (973) 242-5999 (10 am to 10 pm, not collect). (Web) ravencon.com. (E-mail) [email protected]. Con will be held in: Richmond VA (if city omitted, same as in address) at the Holiday Inn Koger Center. Guests will include: Writer Rachel Caine, artist R. Cat, gamer Steve Long.
9—11—Ad Astra. ad-astra.org. Toronto ON. Todd McCaffrey, Eric Flint, R.J. Sawyer, A. Allston. Horror, SF and fantasy.
9-11—FILKONtario. filkontario.ca. Mississauga (Toronto) ON. J. & M. Bonhoff, E. Neely, Wm. M. Simmons. SF folksinging.
9-11—SteamPosium. rose-society.org. St. Louis MO. Sponsored by the Royal Order of Steampunk Enthusiasts (ROSE).
10-11—HalCon. hal-con.net. Omiya City, Saitama Prefecture (near Tokyo). “The first Western-style con in Japan.”
16-18—Odyssey 2010. oddcon.com. Radisson, Madison WI. Harry Turtledove, Tobias Buckell, Monte Cook. SF/fantasy.
16-18—KawaiiCon. kawaii-con.com. [email protected]. Ala Moana Hotel, Honolulu HI. Anime.
16-18—Sci Fi on the Rock. scifiontherock.com. Holiday Inn, St. Johns NB. Casey Biggs, Tony Amendola, Nalini
Krishan.
16-18—T-Mode. tmode.org. [email protected]. Hilton, Alexandria VA (near Washington DC). Anime and gaming.
16-18—PortmeiriCon. sixofone.co.uk. Portmeirion UK. For fans of the TV show “The Prisoner,” where it was filmed.
16-19—Official Leonard Nimoy Fan Con. theofficialleonardnimoyfanclub.com. Falstaff Hotel, Warwickshire UK.
23-25—ConEstoga, Box 700776, Tulsa OK 74170. scifitulsa.com. Radisson. Stirling, Eggleton, L. Bishop, T.S. Taylor.
23-25—EerieCon, Box 412, Buffalo NY 14226. eeriecon.org. Days Inn at the Falls, Niagara Falls NY. K. Anderson, Moesta.
23-25—Anime Detour, c/o Box 23700, Richfield MN 55423. animedetour.com. Sheraton, Bloomington (Minneapolis) MN.
25-Otaku Fest, Box 2392, Ellicott City MD 21018. otaku-fest.webs.com. Centennial High School.
30-May 2—EatonCon, c/o Conway, UCR Libraries, Box 5900, Riverside CA 92517. eaton-collection.ucr.edu. U. of Cal.
30-May 2—PenguiCon, Box 40426, Redford MI 48240. penguicon.org. Marriott, Troy (Detroit) MI. Open software and SF.
30-May 2—Boreal, 69 ave. Ruel, Montmorency QC G1C 2E2. congresboreal.ca. Quebec QC. French-language SF.
30-May 2—Texas Frightmare Weekend. texasfrightmareweekend.com. Irving (Dallas area) TX. Horror and media.
30-May 2—OutLantaCon, 2582 Addison Dr., Doraville GA 30340. outlantacon.org. Atlanta GA. GLBT SF and gaming.
30-May 2—NoBrandCon, Box 1892, Eau Claire WI 54703. (715) 598-9215. nobrandcon.com. Ramada. Anime.
30-May 2—Middle Tennessee Anime Con, Box 40941, Nashville TN 37204. animenashville.com. Sheraton Music City.
30-May 2—Malice Domestic, Box 8007, Gaithersburg MD 20898. malicedomestic.org. Washington DC area. Mysteries.
MAY 2010
7-9—Nebula Awards Weekend. sfwa.org. Hard Rock, Hollywood (Miami) FL. SF/fantasy Writers of America annual meet.
7-9—CostumeCon, Box 1637, Milwaukee WI 53201. cc28.org. Annual event celebrating costuming in all its forms.
14-16—LepreCon, Box 26665, Tempe AZ 85285. leprecon.org. Marriott, Mesa (Phoenix) AZ. C. Vess, G.R.R. Martin.
14-16—KeyCon, Box 3178, Winnipeg MB R3C 4E6. keycon.org. Radisson Downtown. Emphasis on literary SF and fantasy.
AUGUST 2010
5-8—ReConStruction, Box 31706, Raleigh NC 27612. reconstructionsf.org. The North American SF Convention. $110.
SEPTEMBER 2010
2-6—Aussiecon 4, GPO Box 1212, Melbourne VIC 3001, Australia. aussiecon4.org.au. World SF Convention. US$225.
AUGUST 2011
17-21—RenoVation, Box 13278, Portland OR 97213. rcfi.org. Reno NV. Asher, Brown, Powers, Vallejo. WorldCon. $140.
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Visit www.dellmagazines.com for information on additional titles by this and other authors.
Asimov's SF, June 2010 Page 21