The Red-Stained Wings

March 15, 2019
Second part of the fantasy trilogy (The Stone in the Skull, 2017) set in the Lotus Kingdoms, splinters of the collapsed Alchemical Empire, where by night a cauled sun gives heat but little light, while days are lit by a brilliant ribbon of stars.Anuraja, the malevolent, despotic, and ambitious ruler of Sarathai-lae, has captured Sayeh, the princess of devastated Ansh-Sahal. Now, his armies and sorcerers besiege the old imperial seat, Sarathai-tia, ruled by Sayeh's cousin, Mrithuri. A mighty river protects her city, and the rainy season's beginning, so Mrithuri considers her situation impregnable. But what if the rains sorcerously fail? And who among her closest confidants is a traitor? Sayeh, reasoning that she can help Mrithuri by subverting Anuraja, works her wiles on her guards without revealing her concern for her young son, Drupada, who's been kidnapped by Himadra, Anuraja's nominal ally. Himadra, surprisingly, proves to be solicitous of the boy's welfare. Elsewhere, the Gage, an immensely powerful brass automaton with a human soul, introspectively pursues his nebulous mission into a poison desert beneath an alien sky and provides spectacular travelogue. There's plenty of intrigue and interplay among the characters, who have real complexity and depth (with, oddly, one exception), while the lack of action surprises even the characters themselves. It's almost as if the plot's waiting for the author to catch up. Illogically, the good wizards quickly reveal their limitations while the evil sorcerers don't seem to have any--though a yet more powerful player may still be hidden. And once again Bear illuminates the narrative through her talent for linking landscape with character. Yet despite it all, there's a persistent sense that her attention isn't fully engaged.Despite many alluring parts, this one has to qualify as a disappointment, if only because of Bear's previous lofty standards.

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April 15, 2019
In this satisfyingly complex sequel to The Stone in the Skull, the descendants of the Alchemical Emperor vie for dominion over the remnants of his empire, or for simple survival for themselves and their people. In the city of Sarathai-tia, the young rajni, Mrithuri, faces a siege by the power-hungry raja Anuraja. She is supported by her own court and by new arrivals—including Serhan, the Dead Man, a former bodyguard and her new lover—but one of her inner circle may be a traitor. Anuraja holds hostage Sayeh Rajni, the trans or “third-sex” ruler of Ansh-Sahal, whose realm was destroyed by a volcanic eruption caused by Anuraja’s wizard accomplice, Ravani. Sayeh’s son, Drupada, has been kidnapped by a fourth royal, raja Himadra, who hopes to assume guardianship over the boy and thus control the refugees and army of Ansh-Sahal. And Serhan’s friend the Gage, a brass automaton with a human soul, continues his journey through a poisonous landscape in search of the Singing City of the dragons and possible allies there. Sorcery and scheming successfully propel the characters and plot lines of this rich and lovely India-tinged fantasy.

December 1, 2018

Winner of the 2005 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, plus two Hugos for her short fiction, Bear launched her "Lotus Kingdoms" series with The Stone in the Skull. Here, brass automaton Gage is in the desert picking apart a riddle, and the Lotus Kingdoms are at war.

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