WIND FROM THE ABYSS
My Review of Book 3
of
Janet Morris'
The Silistra Quartet
This is the official Author's Cut, published in 2017 by Perseid Press.
This third volume is Morris’ masterful
The Silistra Quartet delves deeper into the heart of her world, which is not
only an echo of our own, but even a dark shadow of what the future might
possibly bring. One of its themes is power — the power of technology, the power
over our own natures, and the power to control others. Events take place
shortly after those of recounted in The Golden Sword (book 2), and this time
around, the main character of Estri, after having gone through so many changes
and experiences in the first two novels, has been captured and held hostage for
over two years by Khys, the tyrannical ruler of Silistra. She has become a pawn
and a slave of this tyrant whose power over his world is all but absolute, a
puppet master who will allow no one to stand in his way or speak out against
him. Estri is forced to make sacrifices throughout her odyssey in order to
liberate herself. He has had Estri’s memories “blocked” in such a way that it
prevents her from being able to take control over him. This is a story about
her soul, the loss of hope and even her sanity. It felt to me that as she gazed
into the “abyss,” where the winds of despair howl and whine, she saw nothing
but the abyss staring back at her. But there is hope and triumph to be found in
her personal journey of rediscovery and the recovery of empowerment. This is a
complicated, engrossing novel filled with prophetic, philosophical and
socio-political themes, as well as complex, all-too real characters. Morris, so
good at giving us characters we can identify with, characters we can love and
hate, strikes at the very heart of the human condition and the duality of
humanity — both good and evil. Her prose is lean and spot-on, every word
carefully chosen to enhance the milieu of her imaginary world and advance the
plot, giving us access to the thoughts, emotions and machinations of the people
whose stories she is presenting to us. Once again, she gives us a “thinking
man’s” science fiction/fantasy that explores the nature of power and sexuality,
and how they can be used, misused and abused. This is a brilliant, mature and
very adult novel that will not only leave you thinking about your own place in
the universe, but questioning the very nature of existence.
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