H (no longer expecting notifications) Balikov's Reviews > Dragonsbane

I had never heard of Hambly but I am impressed. In the world of sword and sorcery, most authors find it convenient to go the "hack and slash" route with the beautiful maiden thrown in to make the hero "extra-heroic". Few are willing to invest what Tolkien did in creating a whole world that has humans and other intelligent creatures.

Hambly is more than able in this regard, giving us both a deep study of relationships and a threat to the order of the world. Her view of magic is complex and nuanced. Her other creatures are multi-dimensional; each with a unique weltanschauung. She has created a layered plot and gives it time to develop and this makes for satisfying interactions of the characters.

We also receive a very complete view of the choices some women must make and the consequences of those choices. Even good and evil are presented in a way that encourages thought rather than taking sides. Magic, too, is not the looked at as a result, but as a process.

Here is a typical bit of her writing: "Never has she felt so conscious of the traces and turnings of the wind, and of the insignificant activities of the animals in the surrounding woods. She found herself prey to strange contemplation and odd knowledge of things before unsuspected---how clouds grow, and why the wind walked the way it did, how birds knew their way south, and why, in certain places of the world at certain times, voices could be heard speaking indistinctly in empty air. She would have liked to think these changes frightened her because she did not understand them, but in truth the reason she feared them was because she did."

A pleasure to read.