BEYOND SANCTUARY, by Janet
Morris. Author’s Cut Edition © 2012 by Janet Morris, and published by Perseid
Press. Book One in “The Beyond Sanctuary Trilogy.”
Janet Morris’ Beyond Sanctuary is the first volume in a trilogy that includes Beyond the Veil and Beyond Wizardwall, and the events in this trilogy take place before
The Sacred Band, the magnificent
novel by Janet and her husband Chris, which I previously reviewed here for
Black Gate. Beyond Sanctuary is a
complex novel, truly literary heroic fantasy. It is textured and layered,
subtle at times, and yet always powerful. Like the best of all literary
fiction, it has emotional depth and human drama, subtext and a philosophy that
is expressed through the thoughts, words and deed of its characters, and not
through narrative lecture and dissertation that slows the pace of narrative
thrust. This is a novel driven by eloquent, intelligent characters with real
emotions and real problems, with plots and subplots born of the classical
tradition . . . characters that speak to us, that have something to say. And
the action never falters, never loses momentum, and each chapter picks up more
and more steam right up until the explosive finale of the attack on Wizardwall,
and the resulting aftermath that ends like the final note in a great opera or
symphony, on the last page.
War is brewing and the Rankan Empire
hopes to flout Mygdonian expansion into their own lands, and flout the mages of
Wizardwall, as well. And thus Tempus the Black, also called the Riddler,
decides that it’s time to join the fight, leave the sinkhole that is Sanctuary
and go up against the sorcerers and witches of Wizardwall. So he and Nicodemus,
who is also called Niko, along with Janni, Critias, Straton and the other
Sacred Band of Stepsons, set out in pursuit of two powerful and ruthless foes:
Datan the archmage, and the Nisibisi witch, Roxane. This is the novel where
Tempus first becomes involved with Jihan, daughter of a Froth God, who is in
human form for the first time. This is where a young boy named Shamshi, who
comes to play a major role later in The
Sacred Band, has his mage-blood first awakened by Roxane’s caresses. This
is where young Niko, who is heartsick over having lost two battle-partners,
loses his maat, his sense of balance and inner peace. And this is where Roxane
first spins her web to attract Niko, to play her games with him . . . and wants
to use Tempus to destroy Datan. Ah, but Datan has his own plans to use
Tempus—to destroy Roxane! No honor among thieves? There is even less honor
among mages and witches.
If you are familiar with the classic ™Thieves World shared-world series, you
will encounter many old friends and foes herein: Lastel, (aka One-Thumb), Molin
Torchholder, Hanse (aka Shadowspawn), Walegrin, Grillo, and so many others. Oh,
and you’ll also revisit the Maze and that most infamous den of iniquity, the
Vulgar Unicorn. The gods, too, play a huge role in this novel: Askelon of
Meridian, regent of the seventh sphere and entelechy of dreams and shadows;
Enlil, Storm God of the Armies, who has snubbed Tempus; Stormbringer, the
father of Jihan; and Vashanka, the former patron of Tempus, who has been left
behind but not forgotten, and whose shadow, like those of all the gods, hangs
over the lives of all the characters, for good or for ill, sometimes helping,
sometimes interfering.
The main plot and the various subplots
are complex, and to go into more detail would only cause me to give away too many
surprises and twists and turns. But I can safely say that you won’t be
disappointed in the array of fantastic characters, the intrigue and
Machiavellian maneuverings of priests and politicians, and the exciting siege
of Wizardwall. Demon dogs, were-snakes, soldiers, demons, and the heroes of the
Sacred Band—those warriors “of a higher octave of being,” all clash in mighty
battle. Cime the Mage Killer, sister of Tempus, lends a hand. Randal, the
allergy-prone enchanter and shape-shifter, so young and so eager to prove his
worth, comes into his own and earns the respect of Tempus and the Sacred Band.
Niko, too, who is still very young and uncertain, hopes not to disgrace himself
in front of his elders and fellow members of the Sacred Band.
For me the theme, the heart of Beyond Sanctuary is untried youth, of
untested boys growing into men, of recruits becoming soldiers, warriors and
heroes. It’s a great treat for me to revisit this series, to see the threads
and foreshadowing that begin in this first book of the Trilogy and evolve and
grow through the next two volumes, and how they all play out, for better or
worse, in The Sacred Band. We see the hand of Fate at work here, and the
influence of the gods. And what I especially like is how Morris involves the gods,
how they influence mortals, take on human form, become human and fallible, but
never over-shadow the mortal characters or the story itself. Though not always
seen, not always taking an active part, the gods are ever there, their presence
always felt; this is all superbly choreographed in the classic tradition of
Greek mythology. Beyond Sanctuary is
a wonderful novel, and this edition is a brand-new, revised and expanded
Author’s Cut. This is a lucid, lyrical and powerful story of love and war, loss
and betrayal, life and death. Death is the price we pay for war. Grief is the
price we pay for love. Indeed. I’ve already started reading the second book in
the Trilogy, Beyond the Veil. I urge
you to start here, with Beyond Sanctuary,
and don’t stop reading. Ever.
BEYOND THE VEIL, by Janet
Morris. Revised Author’s Cut, published by Perseid Press, copyright © 1985,
2012 by Janet Morris. 396 pages. Cover art: detail from Battle of the Amazons,
by Peter Paul Rubens (1617 – 1618.)
I continue with my review of the 5-star,
Author’s Cut editions of Janet Morris’ classic of Homeric Heroic Fantasy, the
Beyond Sanctuary Trilogy, of which Beyond
the Veil is the second book. Once again, she does not disappoint in this
stirring novel of political and religious intrigue, dark magic, gods and men,
witches and mages, and the price of love and war. This is a pivotal book in the
trilogy, where foreshadow and story threads begin to weave in and out to form a
tapestry, telling a tale of friends who become foes, enemies who become allies,
and what Fate lies in store for certain demigods and mortals. Now, after the
battle to win Wizardwall that took place in book one, Beyond Sanctuary, Tempus, Niko and the Sacred Band are caught
between the local rebels and the empire of Mygdonia’s blackest magic. Once
again, “War is coming, sending ahead its customary harbingers: fear and falsity
and fools.”
It begins with the murder of a courier
on his way to meet with Tempus, and the arrival of a young woman named Kama, of
the 3rd Commandoes, (a unit of special rangers originally formed by Tempus) who
seeks audience with Tempus, who is also known as Riddler. Her mission is to
take 11-year old Shamshi, the young wizard-boy back home to Mygdonia. Shamshi,
once a pawn in the game played by the late sorcerer Datan in the previous
novel, is still under the spell of Roxane the witch, but is now being held as a
guest-hostage by Tempus and the Sacred Band. Though he may be a child in the
eyes of men, Shamshi is already plotting against Tempus and Niko. He is guided
and goaded by the “voice” of Roxane, who has been in hiding since the death of
Datan, her former partner in crime, and the loss of Wizardwall at the hands of
Tempus and his Stepsons. Roxane has her own agenda, of course: she is one of
the most seductive, dangerous and deadly foes in this trilogy.
To further complicate matters, Shamshi
is in love with Jihan, Froth Daughter of the weather god, Stormbringer; she has
come to earth to spend one year as a mortal, and Shamshi can’t wait to grow
into manhood so he can take her for his own. Even though Roxane has already
introduced him to the pleasures of the flesh, Shamshi knows he must wait to
seduce Jihan, wait until he is a man full-grown when she will accept him as
such, or so he believes. Jihan, however, loves and cares for Shamshi only as if
he was her own son. But she has fallen in love with Tempus, much against her
father’s wishes, and wants to stay with him, permanently. Relationships, plots
and counterplots are complicated in this series and, oh . . . what tangled webs
these mortals and immortals weave. “When men and mages fought gods in perverted
theomachy, no one was safe, not on earth or in the heavens.”
Tempus, still without the patronage of
Enlil, the Storm God of the Armies, is weakened and uncertain, and concerned
for Niko, his right-side partner, whose life and fate hang in the balance. He
sends young Randal, the seventh-level Hazard Class mage who proved his worth in
the battle of Wizardwall, to the Bandaran Isles to find Niko, who has gone into
retreat there. Together, Niko and Randal then travel to mystical and mysterious
Meridian, where they meet with Askelon, Dream Lord and regent of the seventh
sphere, who seeks Niko’s aid and offers him his patronage. Reluctantly, Niko
agrees to become the avatar of Askelon who says he wants “to secure the
stability of the seventh sphere through its human connection, to prevent the
possibility of someone threatening the right of man to dreams of comfort and
healing.” But is that all the entelechy of dreams and shadows wants? Or does
Askelon have a hidden agenda that is yet to be revealed? Are gods to be trusted
any more than men? And let’s not forget about Roxane, the snake-eating,
soul-devouring witch whose grim shadow hovers over all: she wants Niko for her
own; she seeks to regain Wizardwall for all her kin, and “to find out if Tempus
is truly immortal and whether a Froth Daughter might be turned to drizzle upon
the air.” And young Shamshi is her tool, her weapon against Tempus and Jihan.
As I stated earlier, this is a
complicated novel, rich and complex in the machinations of its characters,
whether they’re mortal, divine or numinous, whose motives may or may not be
what they seem. It begins with a mystery and keeps that going throughout the story:
the reader knows only as much as what the characters know and learns things
only when the characters learn them. When the answers and revelations come,
they hit fast and hard. There is also wisdom and philosophy in this novel, and
a wealth of wonderful quotes. Janet Morris was determined that Beyond the Veil not suffer from what I
call MBS—Middle Book Syndrome, and she has succeeded. More than that, halfway
through the story this novel goes from being as solid as its predecessor to
upping the ante and raising the bar.
Now let me mention Janet Morris’ prose,
her style, her approach. She is a musician, a bass player, and she writes with
the ear of a musician. There is what I call “poetry of earthiness” in her
prose, and a certain rhythm in her style. For example, here’s a passage,
elegant in its simplicity, from a scene set in a whorehouse, that puts you
right there:
“Gayle was here now—beside her among the
bubbly pipes and smoke. Candlelight flickered with the drafts, glimmering on
cup and shield rims, on blades and armor; snatches of intrigue; lovers cuddling
in corners; schemers whispering in booths nearby; wisps of low connivance
leaking out from a dozen paper screens. Gayle must know something, be useful in
some manner. This place he’d chosen was one for confidences and calumny. She
began to open him up with canny questions and careful flattery.”
And here’s a bit about Tempus that
reveals something of his character, something of his past, without giving away
the mystery of the one they call the Sleepless One. His presence, whether or
not he takes center stage in a scene, dominates all:
“As a haughty young philosopher, ages
ago, before the curse which had made him a tireless wanderer, bereft of sleep
and love and what men call peace, Tempus had concluded that god is day and
night, winter and summer, war and peace, satiety and hunger. . . . Further,
that out of all things can come unity and out of unity, all things.”
Tempus, Morris’ most famous character,
her legacy character, is a stoic hero, a great warrior, a demigod . . . and
philosopher. We get to know him, but not as well as we get to know the other
members of the Sacred Band. Morris keeps the mystery, the enigma of him there
to tease us. He is not called Tempus the Obscure for nothing.
And for all the glory of its flesh and
blood characters, the beauty of prose, the literary depth and textures and
levels of this classic, there is no shortage of inhumans, once-humans,
half-humans, magic-working, mortals fighting in the streets, mage war,
embattled gods, fire-spitting demons, shape-shifters, and a rousing night raid
that reaches a powerful crescendo. Oh, yes . . . there’s also a golden
homunculus, a creepy little thing that becomes the whispering master of one
recurring character, and nearly succeeds in doing to Tempus what few men, few
mages have ever attempted. The final scenes involving a young warrior-woman who
has found herself pregnant, and who is torn between keeping the baby or having
an abortion, is played out perfectly, with restraint and delicacy, with
compassion and humanity, and a deft touch that neither underplays nor
overwhelms.
Once again, as I highly recommended the
first book in this magnificent trilogy, I say that you will not be disappointed
in this second book, Beyond the Veil.
Beyond Wizardwall, by Janet
Morris. Revised Author’s Cut, published by Perseid Press, copyright © 1985,
2012 by Janet Morris. 415 pages. Cover art: (English) The Fall of Phaeton, by
Peter Paul Rubens, 1604-1605, oil on canvas.
Image copyright © The Perseid Press,
2013.
I finish my reviews of the 5-star,
Author’s Cut editions of Janet Morris’ classic of Homeric Heroic Fantasy, the
Beyond Sanctuary Trilogy, with the third and final book, Beyond Wizardwall. This was the toughest of the three books to
review because there is so much that happens and so much ground to cover. This
is also the most dramatic, tense and emotionally powerful of the three books.
Let me begin with a little recap in Janet’s own words:
“Heavy snows had put the war against
Mygdonia and its Nisibisi wizards into hiatus. Niko’s commander, Tempus, called
the Riddler, had employed magic to bring his mixed cadre of shock troops
(Rankan 3rd Commando rangers, Tysian ‘specials,’ hillmen of Free
Nisibis, and Niko’s unit of Stepsons) back to Tyse for the winter. Fighting had
ended inconclusively, with the Mygdonian warlord Ajami still at large.”
They ride into Tyse triumphant and
settle in to wait for spring, content with the season’s work. All except Niko.
Everything in this excellent novel revolves around Niko, (who is also known by
his war name, Stealth), for what trials he endures and what tribulations he
suffers are Herculean and tragic, and form the core of this novel. In the first
chapter he’s at wits’ end, quitting the Sacred Band after he gets rousted by a
pair of arrogant 3rd Commandos, wherein things quickly turn ugly and
he kills one of the soldiers. Niko escapes and goes into hiding at Brother
Bomba’s whorehouse. This is where the triad of Niko’s troubles begins. First, there
is Askelon, the entelechy of dreams, regent of the seventh sphere and an archmage
with delusions of godhood. He rules the sleep of all, from his ephemeral
archipelago of dreams, Meridian. Then there is Roxane—shape changer, soul eater
and vampire-like witch, who devours the essence of life from hapless mortals. Finally,
we have Enlil, the northern Storm Lord and god of the armies. All three come to
haunt Niko.
Askelon wants Niko for the purity of his
soul, who steals his sleep and wants Stealth for an avatar. Roxane the witch,
Death’s Queen, wants Niko’s body and a bit of his soul. And Enlil wants Niko as
a representative on earth. Pulled in three directions by three powerful beings
of higher octaves, Niko is being driven mad, which leads him into a whirlpool
of drink and drugs. To make matters worse, Brachis, High Priest of Vashanka,
(the Rankan storm god who has disappeared), comes to hire Niko to assassinate
Abikithis, the emperor of Ranke, for the good of empire, Vashanka and Niko’s
own soul.
Now, still searching for Niko, wanting
him for the murder of one of their own, the 3rd Commandos trash
Bomba’s bordello, but Niko manages to escape.
Enter Tempus: The Riddler wrestles with
his own demons. Demigod and immortal though he is, he bears a curse of his own:
those who love him die of it, and those he loves are bound to spurn him. And
Niko, being his right-side companion in war and life, may suffer from that
curse, as Tempus himself has long suffered from it. The Riddler’s heart is
troubled, for he has deployed Niko before, pushing him and using him to flush
out Roxane the witch, but she’s still at large. Now Tempus fears that Roxane
has again possessed Niko and is spying through his eyes. He needs to find Niko,
not only to set things to rights, but to find out what Brachis the High Priest
wants, and to save Niko from the 3rd Commandos, the special unit
Tempus formed and trained in his younger days. To top it all off: there is much
anger, competition and jealousy between the Stepsons and the Commandos.
Furthermore, Vashanka, the Rankan Storm God who once was Tempus’ patron, has
disappeared. Tempus blames himself for the witch stalking Niko, and he will finally
bargain with Enlil—save Niko, leave Niko be, and take him, the Riddler,
instead. Ah, but things are never quite that easy.
Enter Randal: Seventh Level Hazard Mage,
who is also part of the Sacred Band, the only wizard with whom they agree to
work. When he returns home he confronts the mysterious suicide of his guild’s murderous
First Hazard Mage. After Niko is found and rescued, Tempus orders Randal to
keep an eye on Stealth, his one-time, right-side partner, to protect him and
keep track of him. But as you can guess, that’s not going to be an easy task,
either. And events are soon set into motion that will quickly throw Randal into
the very thick of things.
Enter Cime: The dangerous, seductive
mage-killer, sister of Tempus in spirit, if not by blood. She breaks into the
mageguild one night, casts a spell and seduces the First Hazard, and then
murders him. She and Tempus will form a joint occupation to rid the world of
sorcerers, except for Randal. If it was up to her, Cime would rid the world of
gods, too. Despite her distaste for wizards, she will team up with Randal to
help track down Roxane who, weakened and ugly and badly injured after the
mage-war, wants a magical globe that Randal possesses. Don’t forget: Roxane also
wants Niko, and she uses an innocent young boy named Grippa to get at him.
And then there’s Kama, Tempus’ beautiful
daughter, a soldier with the 3rd Commandos, who falls in love with a
Stepson named Critias, and who seems to have a secret agenda all her own. Needless
to say, she manages to cause a few problems. What does she want? Whose side is
she on? What does she seek, besides her father’s approval? What part will she
play in the events to come? Jihan, the Froth Daughter of the god Stormbringer,
also returns to complicate Tempus’ immortal life, and with her is the young boy
with wizard’s blood, Shamshi, whose sad fate will eventually play out in The Sacred Band, which I previously
reviewed here and for Black Gate online magazine. (January 12, 2014.)
As Fate and the gods would have it, all-too
soon things heat up further for Niko when he’s captured by priests and goes on
trial in a kangaroo court designed to find him guilty of murder. He is tortured
and maimed beyond all mortal endurance, and what he suffers in one tense,
emotionally-charged scene will cut to the core of your heart as it cuts to the
heart of Tempus the Riddler. And Tempus, near the end of his own wits, finds a
way to capture Roxane, only to end up making a bargain with her, to gain her
help in saving Niko.
This is a novel of passion and love,
powerful and character-driven from start to finish. It’s brilliantly conceived
and executed, packing more in its 415 pages then the previous two books
combined. Just to give you a sample of what else goes on: During a festival of
songs, games and physical prowess, there is a hostage crisis culminating in a
surprising decision by Tempus, and what orders he gives to his Sacred Band. While
the war between Ranke and Mygdonia is on hold for the winter, assassination is nevertheless
in the air, and there’s a military coup in the works to put an old friend of
Tempus’ on the Lion Throne of Ranke. But Ranke is doomed unless their missing
god Vashanka is found, for without their god no hand at the helm of empire
could be steady enough to put her back on course.
Ah, but no strategy of war lasts long
after battle is joined, and everything seems to be going wrong, especially
after Randal the mage decides to go against Tempus’ orders when he is sent to
deliver a message to the Rankan mageguild and discovers, to his dismay, the
truth about who the chiefs adepts of his guild just happen to be. There is also
a very strange and highly unlikely, often pesky little hornet, and the “reveal”
of what that creature is will catch you off-guard . . . and there’s this cool,
orange-haired, gray-skinned demon named Snapper Jo who Roxane summons to serve
her.
Beyond
Wizardwall is
a wonderful novel that expertly caps the Beyond Sanctuary Trilogy in a
surprising and satisfying conclusion. It’s a novel of complex characters caught
up in complicated situations. Once again, Janet Morris gives us a literary
classic of Heroic Fantasy. This is a textured novel, layered with themes of
brotherhood and loyalty, love and betrayal, of the magic and majesty of horses,
of boys growing into manhood, and the tragedy of those who die all too young.
This is a novel filled with fine writing, exciting and talented writing. For
example, here is Morris describing simply and most eloquently, the archipelago
of dreams known as Meridian:
“Here was no life as men knew it, no
days piling one upon the last inexorably; but a different life, a different
nature, malleable and ruled by the flux of nature. Sometimes Meridian was
beautiful, sometimes horrid, for it held every dream and every dreamer from all
mankind’s befuddled flock. These had no tomorrows, no yesterdays, but only
dramas, lusts and fears and doubts—and joys, melodies to set its golden streets
vibrating with the turning of the spheres. Meridian was one of the four
metaphysical compass points of creation; as such, its existence was never
wholly in one realm or another, but roving on a cosmic wind that changed with
every dream and dreamer.”
There is plenty of action, humor, sex, pathos,
magic and mystery, as well, and the narrative moves as swiftly as a blood-bay
stallion at full gallop. This is Heroic Fantasy at its best, the kind I favor,
and this Author’s Cut, which has been revised and expanded for this handsome,
brand-new Perseid Press edition is a classic of the genre. But above all, Beyond Wizardwall has heart and
compassion. Janet Morris writes about people; her characters live and breathe
with the kind of vibrancy and solidity I find inspiring and influential to my
own work. For in the end, without human conflict, without emotional drama,
without character growth, without heart, all
you have is a narrative. And the soul of this novel is this: we feel the
humanity and compassion in Niko; we feel the pain in Tempus’ own heart, know how
deeply he loves, how he fears that love. We feel his aching and longing, and
what torments his soul. And even in the character of Death’s Queen, the
soul-eating witch Roxane, we learn that she can love and that she, too, understands
compassion. Once again, bravo Janet Morris!
Life to you, and everlasting glory.
No comments:
Post a Comment