Monday, January 19, 2015

TEMPUS AND NIKO: The origin and original tales of THE SACRED BAND

Janet Morris has always written some of the best and most literate stories in all heroic fantasy. She writes my kind of tale, too: lean, mean, character-driven, creative, and intelligent. I first encountered Tempus and his Stepsons during the heyday of the Thieves World series, and Morris' tales and characters soon became my favorites. I am happy and pleased that she has continued to write of the further adventures of Tempus and his Sacred band of Stepsons. It was a pleasure to revisit such classics as "And End to Dreaming," "Vashanka's Minion," and "Wizard Weather." Reading these stories brought back such wonderful memories; it was like visiting with old friends. The stories written especially for this volume, "A Better Class of Enemy," "For Love of a Ghost," and "Blood and Honor" are just as good as her earlier tales, and help fill in the blanks, so to speak, adding further info and insight into the series, and helping make this collection more than just another anthology -- they pull everything together and turn the parts into a whole novel. TEMPUS AND NIKO is a reason to celebrate, and Janet Morris gets a big SHOUT OUT from me. I look forward to revisiting more of her work, and catching up on those I have missed. Bravo, Janet! Life and everlasting glory to you!

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