The Margarets
Sheri S. Tepper
Eos, June 2007, $26.00, 526 pp.
ISBN: 0061170658

Margaret Bain lived on Phobos where she was the only child. As lonely children do she created imaginary playmates including a warrior, a healer, a telepath, a linguist, a queen and a spy who had different names and lived on different worlds. At the age of nine one of her imaginary selves split off; Wilvia meets her future husband Prince Jozire. At twelve, she is on earth and is granted a water ration while another one of her imaginary splits off is not granted a water ration. She becomes the foster daughter of the being known as the Gardener on another planet.

At twenty-two another split occurs and on Margaret is a bond slave. Another Margaret marries the man who loves her and goes to the colony world Bright. One Margaret is a shaman while the lone male of the split becomes a warrior. Yet anther Margaret becomes a shaman and two Margarets become bond slaves on different worlds. Different ages and different life experiences go into the making of the Margarets who are the only chance of saving human life from those who openly and covertly try to destroy it. If they fail in their mission it means the withdrawal of help from the races who want humanity to have a chance and the race trying to restore a barren earth. Water is in very short supply so one races sells the people of Earth water in exchange for getting humans as bond slaves.

Sherri S. Tepper has written a fantastic science fiction novel filled with various races inhabiting various orbs in the universe connected by wormholes. These races and places are detailed so that the reader feels like they actually see the worlds and meets these races. The various Margarets have some things in common like bravery, fortitude and the ability to survive in less than ideal conditions. Mesmerizing and enthralling, THE MARGARETS are a sci fi mystery that the readers will want to solve.

Harriet Klausner

Stray
Rachel Vincent
Mira, Jun 2007, $6.99
ISBN 0778324214

Faythe Sanders is a graduate student attending the University of North Texas when a stray “cat” attacks her. Faythe knows the culprit is a rogue belonging to no pack as she fights back defeating her foe. One moment after her triumph, Marc Ramos comes out of the shadows to tell her that her father, the werewolf Pride Alpha demands she come home to the safety of their family compound as another feline werecat Sara has been abducted. Reluctantly she does.

Back at home, Faythe feels like a prisoner as her father and his second in command Marc make demands on her just like they did five years ago when she fled her home to escape them just prior to her wedding to Marc. However when another female werecat is kidnapped; the Sanders Pride concludes that strays are performing the dastardly deeds, but someone is organizing them although their ultimate purpose is unknown. While Faythe and Marc squabble like two tabby cats in love, she knows that she is no fraidy cat so she plans to cat fight the enemy to get out of family incarceration.

There are too many sidebars take away from a fine romantic fantasy yet they also firm up the werecat elements that lead to the audience believing in the Vincent mythos. Faythe is a chip of the alpha block as she fights strays, other rogues, and her love for Marc. He is her equal in many ways although his jealousy of her human boyfriend at college Andrew is overdone. Fans of werewolf sagas will enjoy this war between the cats.

Harriet Klausner

The New Space Opera
Gardner Dozois (editor) and Jonathan Strahan (editor)
Eos, Jun 2007, $15.95
ISBN: 0060846755

In the Introduction to this anthology consisting of eighteen original contributions, the definition of the space opera subplot is discussed with various sources like the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, the New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (Jack Williamson contribution), and Locus (Paul McAuley article) defining it. Each has similarities yet differences, but this strong anthology summarizes space operas as “romantic adventure set in space and told on a grand scale”. Thus there is plenty of room for a myriad of tales with the vastness of space and the subjective definition of grand. This is exactly what the audience receives in this superb compilation as the authors using their own personal definition of space opera to provide excellent tales differing in locale, scope, and supporting scientific theory. Even the tones are dissimilar as some are life and death struggles to survive a dying system (“Verthandi’s Ring” by Ian McDonald) or a war (Greg Egan’s “Glory”) vs. an amusing Poe play on Mars (“Maelstrom” by Kage Baker). The role of earthlings also varies from the conquered to the conqueror. The bottom line is editors Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan and their eighteen authors provide the grand tour of space with strong characterizations starring in short stories written on a grand scale.

Harriet Klausner

Red Hawk’s Woman
Karen Kay
Berkley, Jun 2007, $7.99
ISBN: 0425216039

The Lost Clan tribal bands are cursed to live in the ephemeral realm between life and death because their ancestors killed four of Thunderer’s children. Two days a year the Chosen One will live on the mortal plane as he is the tribe’s only hope for them to escape the curse, but the crosser must perform a heroic sacrificial deed by the time he is thirty or the tribe remains locked in the shadows.

In 1848 during one of his trips onto the mortal plane the least likely Chosen One Red Hawk meets and is attracted to Effie Rutledge, but though time runs out on these two youngsters, neither forgot the other. Effie, a daughter of an archeologist, has made it her life’s work to find four artifacts that she believes will free the Lost Clan and bring back Red Hawk to her. In 1866 Effie and Red Hawk meet again though she does not recognize the adult him as the star of her dreams. He panics as his time for being a hero is almost gone, which means never again seeing his beloved Effie. Together they search for a way for Red Hawk to complete his quest on time even as the gods try to prevent him from achieving his goal.

Moving on into the second half of the nineteenth century, Karen Kay keeps fresh her delightful Indian romantic fantasy even as the premise remains the same as the previous stories in her saga (see THE SPIRIT OF THE WOLF and THE ANGEL AND THE WARRIOR). Red Hawk is a strong protagonist tasting failure as his clock is running out yet also feels optimistic due to Effie although he also knows he may have give up love to save his Lost Clan. His desperation Hail Mary with his beloved assisting and keeping him safe from the wrath of Thunderer makes for an entertaining tale.

Harriet Klausner

Goddess of Love
P.C. Cast
Berkley, Jun 2007, $14.00
ISBN: 0425215288

Venus muses that being the Goddess of Love should have perks instead she finds herself alone with ennui as her companion because her family and friends are preoccupied. Needing to shake herself out of the doldrums, Venus figures a trip to earth is always entertaining although it seems like a lifetime in Goddess years has passed since her last trek to the mortal plane. She wants to go to some place new so she decides to visit modern day Tulsa.

Venus has a good time in Tulsa, but really gets energized when she detects a human desperately needing a dramatic change on lifestyle as no one could be more pathetic with men than Pea Chamberlain is. Venus works on Pea’s self esteem while revealing who she is and her unhappiness with her platonic marriage to the God of Fire Vulcan. Neither female is aware that Vulcan is watching them from afar; which leads to his falling in love with the human. Venus is also falling in love with a mortal, firefighter Griffith who sets her soul ablaze.

Only P.C. Cast could come up with the romantic entanglement of this fab four. As always with Ms. Cast’s Goddess sagas, the blending of mythology and the modern world feels smooth and effortless. The story line is fast-paced and filled with entanglements as is the norm whenever humans and Gods meet. Fans of romantic fantasy will want to read this delightful tale (and the previous legends) starring a fabulous Cast of characters who make for a wonderful reading experience.

Harriet Klausner

Ragamuffin
Tobias S. Buckell
Tor, Jun 2007, $24.95
ISBN: 0765315076

The Benevolent technologically super-advanced Satrap controlled galaxy consist of forty-eight inhabited planets containing a variety of different sentient species interconnected by thousands of wormholes. The lesser races have lots of freedom and thrive under the benevolent but firm oligarchy. The only to rules are behave yourself and don’t develop technology outside of the Satrap allowance; if a species does they will suffer pandemic punishment by being cut off from wormhole use. These isolated “islands” lag behind the more cooperative orbs.

Earth is one of the isolated planets as humans tend to break rules. Thus earthlings must choose between abject poverty on their home planet, being pets to other superior races in order to be pampered or rebels with a cause. The Ragamuffin crowd chose freedom fighting; the Satrap labels it piracy by insurgents. Recently they have decided to end the Raga ragtag revolt, which means ethnic cleansing of the human race. However, they did not count on the resistance and persistence of a few Raga; especially Nashara “Nash” who may be more machine than human except for her heart and soul. Inside her she carries a weapon of mass destruction that the Satrapy fears so they send their preprogrammed Hongguo human militia to destroy her and her two cohorts.

This is an exhilarating outer space opera that never slows down especially during the latter quarter of the action-packed story line. That climax is one of the longest most exciting cat and mouse chase scenes in recent years. Nash is a superb heroine, part comic book superhero (and part futuristic humanoid. The Satrap are actually the more fascinating species with their “White Man’s Burden” syndrome that what they do to lesser species is for the other race’s good and much better than what that less significant group can do for themselves. Readers who appreciate a testosterone (even though Nash is a woman) science fiction thriller starring a super female heroine will want to join the Raga in space as “Davidette” battles Goliath.

Harriet Klausner

Ragamuffin
Tobias S. Buckell
Tor, Jun 2007, $24.95
ISBN: 0765315076

The Benevolent technologically super-advanced Satrap controlled galaxy consist of forty-eight inhabited planets containing a variety of different sentient species interconnected by thousands of wormholes. The lesser races have lots of freedom and thrive under the benevolent but firm oligarchy. The only to rules are behave yourself and don’t develop technology outside of the Satrap allowance; if a species does they will suffer pandemic punishment by being cut off from wormhole use. These isolated “islands” lag behind the more cooperative orbs.

Earth is one of the isolated planets as humans tend to break rules. Thus earthlings must choose between abject poverty on their home planet, being pets to other superior races in order to be pampered or rebels with a cause. The Ragamuffin crowd chose freedom fighting; the Satrap labels it piracy by insurgents. Recently they have decided to end the Raga ragtag revolt, which means ethnic cleansing of the human race. However, they did not count on the resistance and persistence of a few Raga; especially Nashara “Nash” who may be more machine than human except for her heart and soul. Inside her she carries a weapon of mass destruction that the Satrapy fears so they send their preprogrammed Hongguo human militia to destroy her and her two cohorts.

This is an exhilarating outer space opera that never slows down especially during the latter quarter of the action-packed story line. That climax is one of the longest most exciting cat and mouse chase scenes in recent years. Nash is a superb heroine, part comic book superhero (and part futuristic humanoid. The Satrap are actually the more fascinating species with their “White Man’s Burden” syndrome that what they do to lesser species is for the other race’s good and much better than what that less significant group can do for themselves. Readers who appreciate a testosterone (even though Nash is a woman) science fiction thriller starring a super female heroine will want to join the Raga in space as “Davidette” battles Goliath.

Harriet Klausner

The Silver Moon Elm
MaryJanice Davidson, Anthony Alongi
Berkley, Jun 2007, $9.99
ISBN: 0425215261

High school student Jennifer Scales knows how tough a mixed racial heritage can be on a teen. On her maternal side, Jennifer descends from powerful beaststalkers; on her paternal side, she comes from powerful were-dragons. That blending would prove difficult for anyone in spite of the obvious love between her parents, but beaststalkers have always hunted were-dragons and were-dragons have always attacked beaststalkers.

Jennifer wishes everyone would learn to get along. With that in mind she visits her father’s clan only to have Xavier Longtail the elder dragon informs her that she is crazy going against the natural order of life and death. Her former boyfriend Skip the were-arachnid gives her a necklace and takes her to a movie where she dozes. Afterward, she finds her family vanished with no record of their existence as the were-arachnid mages cast an eradication spell; she lives because the necklace caused the spell to skip her. Jennifer needs to restore the old order before the new order finds her.

This terrific dark teen fantasy scales stratospheric heights with an exciting story line that takes a deep look at mixed racial couples and their biracial offspring. Unlike Jennifer Scales and the Messenger of Light in which the heroine plays Nancy Drew in fantasyland, THE SILVER MOON ELM is a pure fantasy quest as Jennifer is at her best risking her life to bring back her non-existent loved ones.

Harriet Klausner

The Harlequin
Laurell K. Hamilton
Berkley, June 2007, $25.95, 432 pp.
ISBN 0425217248

Vampire executioner Anita Blake never thought she would see the day that Malcolm, head of the vampire Church of Eternal Life, would come to see her for help. When he does, she thinks he wants to get her lover Jean-Claude, Master of St. Louis, to withdraw his order to have his congregation perform the blood oath. Instead he tells her that something powerful that he fears is watching him but that he can only dimly sense it though he won’t reveal any details to her.

When she tells Jean-Claude he mentally raises his shields so she can’t read his mind and tells her if she is lucky she will never have to know what Malcolm is talking about. That hope is shattered when someone gives Anita a white mask. When she tells Jean-Claude about the gift he is scared and tells her to meet him in his office at the club. While there someone mentally manipulates Anita, and some vampires and shifters that are in Jean-Claude’s office using amplified anger to start fights. Jean-Claude who has also received a white mask tells Anita that The Harlequin, the policing agent of the Vampire Council, are in town. They and their human servants and their animals to call are endowed with special powers from their creator. Jean-Claude thinks they are in town to observe Malcolm’s vampires but then they are attacked by these creatures that are breaking their own rules of only observe. An unforeseen betrayal leaves Anita, Jean-Claude and the werewolves vulnerable to attack but an unexpected ally joins the fray giving them the strength to battle their unbeatable foe.

Laurell K. Hamilton has written an exciting and action driven urban fantasy that has much less sex then her previous Blake novels. This means that the talented Ms. Hamilton has many more plotlines she fully develops that crisscross the main plot of the HARLEQUIN and adds depth to the storyline. Anita is portrayed as a person more at peace with herself. She realizes there is nothing wrong with having several lovers and is overjoyed that she is gaining control of her powers. Though the Harlequin is a caricature of the evil vampire, readers will thoroughly enjoy this creative, spellbinding and provocative work.

Harriet Klausner

Witch Fire
Anya Bast
Berkley, Jun 2007, $7.99
ISBN: 0425216144

Orphan Mira Hoskins is a waitress at Mike’s Diner unaware that she is a witch whose power is elemental air. Instead she believes she is just a human female living a normal but dull life until now when the hunk reading the paper in the diner changes her life.

That patron elemental fire witch Jack McAllister has abducted Mira and tied her to a bed. He hides from her how much he wants her especially sensing the fiery passion inside her that he covets releasing as much as freeing the magick she is unaware that she possesses. However, first he must complete his mission as the Coven assigned him to keep her safe from rogue warlocks who drain witches of their power and consequently their essence as they did her parents; a tragedy he witnessed. He also knows she is off limits as the cousin of his superior; still fire and air area volatile mix especially when love enters the relationship.

This is a terrific romantic fantasy starring two volatile lead characters as fire and air mix into an uncontrollable inferno. The story line is fast-paced from the abduction to the final alteration, but it is the relationship between fire and air that makes the tale a blast to read. Though more of what happened to her parents especially Jack’s involvement that has him carrying tons of guilt, fans will enjoy this delightful mixing of elementals.

Harriet Klausner