I've now collected all ten of Paula Volsky's books. The first five are out of print and difficult to find. They are: The Curse of the Witch Queen, The Luck of Relian Kru, and the trilogy The Sorcerer's Lady, The Sorcerer's Heir, and The Sorcerer's Curse. These books are are all set in the same world as her more recent books. They are straight fantasy -- medieval technology and society, swords, magic, the works. The first two have something of a comic turn to them. They're a fun read, light read with good characters and interesting plots. The Sorceror trilogy, while also strictly fantasy, is much, much darker in plot and span generations in plot. I read them quickly and enjoyed them thoroughly, though I couldn't escape the rather depressing tragic aura of the story.
I think Volsky truly hit the mark with Illusion, however, with its mix of magic and enlightenment philosophy. Illusion and the books that follow are very different in tone and treatment from her earlier works. Most of them are set just before the Industrial age, which is a fantasy setting I've rarely encountered. Volsky also introduces references to our own history and literature into these works, which make them rounder and richer. Each of these newer books are set in the same world setting, which also adds to a sense of realism in the midst of magic. Volsky is wonderful at writing dialog that draws a reader even further into her stories and characters.
The Wolf of Winter is another of my favorite Volsky books. Think Shakespear's Richard III, throw in a dash of Peter the Great and a lot of cold snow, and then add in a layer of necromancy. Wolf is an absolutely fascinating tale of ambition, revenge and politics, and how easy it is for the persuit of those goals to ultimately corrupt the seaker. The main character, Varis, is one of the most sympathetic and interesting villains I've ever come across (and I'm a connoisseur of good villains), and the book is worth reading simply because of his richness and complexity of character.
The Gates of Twilight draws from the British colonization of India, but in this India the gods -- visitors from a different plane -- are very real. An agent of the Vonahr colonial government must infiltrate the temple of a god of death, whose followers are encouraging the natives to rise up against the alien Vonhar administration. Inside he finds the horrors of child sacrifice... and a god who is not the fiction he and his countrymen had derided.
In The White Tribunal, magic users are hunted and cleansed from the land by the Tribunal, a frightening combination of England's Star Chamber and the Spanish Inquisition. The Tribunal is strong and its authority unchallenged -- except by a few underground journalists who have noticed that the victims of the Tribunal forfeit all of their lands and possessions when convicted... and only the rich and politically influential seem to be the targets of "cleansing."
Volsky's most recent release is The Grand Ellipse, which is a grand race around the world she has created in her previous books. It is her most technologically advanced setting -- a world in which trains and steam-powered ships cut through rainforests and tundras. Magic still lurks, in many different forms, although now the civilized world considers such tales as nonsense at best. And for the heroine, Luzelle, winning the race may be the only way to save her country from invasion by a growing and seemingly unstoppable empire.
It isn't too difficult to find copies of Volsky's newer books on the shelves, though I hear that Illusion may be out of print now. Nevertheless, I more than recommend reading them all. The Grand Ellipse is still only available in hardback as far as I'm aware, and I've seen copies of Illusion on sites like eBay. Go buy one. I mean it! |
