|
Browse our Categories!
Arms and Armor
Celtic Lore
Historical Fiction
Historical Non-Fiction (A-H)
Historical Non-Fiction (I-R)
Historical Non-Fiction (S-Z)
King Arthur Legends
Miscellaneous Fiction
Miscellaneous Non-Fiction
|
 Miscellaneous
From the Ashes
 by Meghan Brunner
$25.95 / First Books Library
/ 2002
With an eye for detail and an excellent sense of comic timing,
Meghan Brunner brings her setting and the characters of From
the Ashes delightfully to life. Readers unfamiliar with Faire
life may stumble a little bit at first, but will find their feet
if they persevere. On the other hand, readers who have been living
and working at Faire for years will feel at home immediately.
This sense of reality becomes increasingly necessary as the story
continues, for into this theatrical setting, Brunner inserts
a century-spanning tale of magic and romance.
We begin with Ryna, a Gypsy whose family travels from Faire to
Faire to play Gypsies at Ren Fests. Ryna has just ended an unsatisfactory
love affair with Liam. Taking refuge in her work at Faire she
meets Bea, a soft-spoken newcomer. The two become fast friends,
but it soon becomes clear that there is more to their relationship
than they suspect.
To reveal more would spoil an intriguing plot, but suffice it
to say that in addition to her fine eye for detail, Brunner has
an excellent hand for romance. Unfortunately, the rest of the
plot, which involves magical derring-do, Faire Folk, and the
utterly despicable Liam, is not handled quite as well. Similarly,
the climactic confrontation, with Ryna and Bea on one side, Liam
and his minions (or are they?) on the other, is effective. However,
it would have been more so if Liam's actions leading up to the
conflict had more coherence.
Additionally, some of Brunner's delightful RenFaire incidents
are entertaining to read but do not advance the plot, and some
scenes begin too early and go on too long. This does not destroy
what is, at heart, a perfectly good story-and a lot of readers
probably will not mind, so successfully does Brunner bring us
into the hearts and minds of her protagonists and their friends.
This is, however, a place where a judicious editor might have
helped.
A final quibble involves certain scenes which take place in the
past. Reading these scenes, it becomes clear that Brunner is
not as familiar with Elizabethan England as she is with Ren Faires.
These scenes lack the detail of those set in the modern era.
As a result,
the social tensions of the Elizabethan era are never quite made
clear. Additionally, Brunner's use of quasi-Shakespearean dialog,
liberally sprinkled with "thees" and "thous,"
proves distracting.
Despite these flaws, From the Ashes is an entertaining
read. Brunner's affection for her characters is palpable, which
helps endear them to the reader. By one benchmark at least, this
book is a success: it leaves a lingering impression long after
one has turned the last page.
—Genevieve Williams
|
 Click here to order: From
the Ashes
 To order Renaissance
Magazine, click here.
 To order medieval
tapestries and other period products, click here.
|
