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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5558007" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Magazine Issue 233: September 1996part 4/8Bookwyrms: Oh dear. Another column gets a punny name. Not that it's a terrible pun. But I still rolled my eyes when I saw it. I wonder how long this change'll last. Archangel by Mike Conner sets a mysterious and deadly plague on 1930's america, that for whatever reason, doesn't affect black people. This obviously has serious political repercussions, and a whole bunch of other interesting things are happening against that backdrop. There may not be overt supernatural elements, but there's plenty of speculation in this fiction. The forgotten beasts of eld by Patricia McKillip is an old book that's been reprinted. It's writing style evokes nostalgia in the reviewer for the books he read as a kid, which is a good thing. Pastiches may try, but a book written in a particular period will always bear the hallmarks of it's real time in terms of cultural influences. Immortals by Tracey Hickman gets a rather odd recommendation. It would be perfect as a text for teaching in school? Bwuh. Okay then. I don't think that's going to get much traction. The wind after time by Chris Bunch is a bit of high action sci-fi adventure that seems to have more than a little in common with Star Wars. It once again gets a recommendation. You know, these are a good deal shorter and less critically rigorous than the role of books. This is not a very good change, and worries me quite a bit. Tales of the fifth age: Thunder and ice by Douglas Niles. Meet the new magic, not the same as the old magic, but a good deal more similar to the average portrayal of magic in fantasy stories than D&D's vancian magic system. This allows them to do things more narratively, but just as importantly, it democratises magic enormously. People from regions and cultures that formerly wouldn't get the formalised education to tap into the moons are discovering new powers in a haphazard way and refining them into an art. Which makes them valuable, but not in the same reliable and relatively trusted way as the old mages and clerics. So as so much of the 5th age, this is about faith and it's sincerity and justification, hard sacrifices, and being challenged by the forces of nature as much as any monster. I think I'm starting to get the picture. After the last few stories built the drama up, this lets it unwind a little, but not all the way. I'm pretty ambivalent about it, actually. Feels like filler. I suppose you've got to have a few plateaus before you get to the climax, and it has been a mostly upward trend so far. They've still got a bit of time. Iron & blood: warriors of Ravenloft? Way to break the mood of your license. Really, I can't even parody this.</blockquote>

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