Subject: Storm Constantine, WRAETHTHU (Part I)

From: [email-masked] (Paul W. Cashman)
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 1994 23:13:48 GMT

Storm Constantine, WRAETHTHU (Tor/Orb)
                    reviewed by Paul W. Cashman
                          [email-masked]

Tor Books' WRAETHTHU is an omnibus trade-paper edition collecting
three full-length novels, and I've elected to split this review in
three parts:  not only because each segment will be shorter and more
readable, but also because there'd be fewer spoilers this
way!  The series is full of surprises, and the central character is
not who you'd think he'd be.  Parts II and III will follow after I
finish 'em.

The three novels collected in WRAETHTHU are, in order, THE ENCHANTMENTS
OF FLESH AND SPIRIT, THE BEWITCHMENTS OF LOVE AND HATE, and THE FULFILMENTS
OF FATE AND DESIRE.  Published in the US by Tor in relatively small
quantities, the first and third paperpacks were never too common, while
BEWITCHMENTS was even more elusive.  Thankfully, this new omnibus
edition has made the series more accessible to readers in the
States.

Spoiler warning!  When Tor collected the three books into this WRAETHTHU
omnibus, they included the list of characters and (horrors!) the
glossary from the last book, FULFILMENTS, in the back, and the map from
FULFILMENTS in the front.  First-time readers beware:  the glossary is
chock-full of spoilers (it's the same glossary that followed the last
book, with all the prior events included), and the map and characters
will not be needed until the third book, so skip over 'em.  Alas, the
appendices, especially the list of Wraeththu castes and levels, ARE
useful, so be careful when flipping pages in the back!

           Book 1:  THE ENCHANTMENTS OF FLESH AND SPIRIT

As ENCHANTMENTS begins, we see a future world in the throes of
human apathy.  Humanity is dying, not solely from wars or disease
or cataclysm, but from a combination of these; they've lost
interest in what is befalling them.  Against this tattered backdrop, a
mutation of male human stock has occurred, somewhere in a dying city north
of the farm where Pellaz, a human boy about fifteen, lives.  This new race,
outwardly male human, is gifted with powers of the mind, hermaphroditic,
physically a bit stronger, and nearly immune from aging after they attain
their 20s.  They possess a wild, sensuous, almost supernatural
beauty.  As products of the city's dark underground, most have a
dark past; they resemble a (long-haired) gang of street-tough youths.

At first, further south, it's thought that Wraeththu are merely a violent
gang of urban punks, so when Calanthe, a strikingly beautiful Wraeththu
(or "har") arrives at the farm, Pellaz finds him intriguing, a part of the
hitherto-unseen wild outside world.  Meanwhile, Cal finds Pell's innocence
and beauty irresistable.  Pell slips away with Cal into the barren lands
to the south.  Cal's destination is Saltrock, where his friend Seel has
established a rough settlement, and where Pellaz can be Incepted into
Wraeththu.  From there Cal wants to go to Immanion, fabled First City
of Wraeththu.  The tale of their travels told entirely from Pellaz's
point of view, cobbled together from his notes and journals.

--So now you're thinking "aha, so this is merely a quest tale!"  Far
from it, and don't be fooled!  As the series unfolds, you'll discover
these books are an exploration of human feelings using Wraeththu as a sort
of foil:  supposedly, hara (plural form of 'har') are above petty human
emotions like love and hate that, they say, helped bring about Man's
downfall.  In reality, Wraeththu are no more immune from emotions than
we ourselves, and the (forbidden?) love that develops between Cal and Pellaz
becomes a driving force throughout the series.  Of course,
complications arise:  Other characters fall in love with Pell and Cal
and they develop (mostly fleeting) outside interests in turn....but at
heart, this is a well-told romance about a love that knows no bounds,
not even death.

Pellaz's Inception into Wraeththu at Saltrock settlement must be
accomplished by receiving an infusion of blood from a higher-caste
Wraeththu adept, initiating the changes in his own body.  The adept who
appears at Saltrock is not the expected 'hienama' (or holy one) but a
har called Thiede, whose power and stunning appearance instill awe and
respect (and distrust) from other hara.  Thiede is a pivotal figure in all
three books, and only later is his true identity revealed.

Pell's transformation takes about three days and is 'fixed' permanently
by (finally!) having intercourse with Calanthe.  Heretofore, Cal's Wraeththu
semen would have killed the human Pellaz.  Hereafter, they are inseparable
in feeling, and not even 'death' and separation make them forget.

--Cal and Pell, while both Wraeththu now, still resemble human males
to outward appearance.  Some readers get uptight at this point in
Book 1, not ready mentally for what seems to be a carnal, homosexual
relationship.  Strictly speaking this isn't quite the case:  during
'aruna,' or sex between hara, one adopts a male role ('ouana')
and the other the female ('soume'), so physically the basic act is similar
to human intercourse.  Wraeththu are fully a different species from homo
sapiens, but for some readers the seemingly gay relationship can be a
distraction.  I think Storm's treatment of sexuality and gender (male=fire,
woman=water, etc.) transcends such contemporary interpretations,
but mileage for more conservative readers might vary.  Gay readers,
naturally, will find Cal and Pell's relationship to be more
familiar and perhaps refreshing.

With Cal's support, Pellaz begins his caste-progression, mostly a
matter of honing his newfound psionic abilities with some healthy
earth-magick thrown in.  He can only advance to low levels at Saltrock
because a higher-caste ("Nahir-Nuri") tutor is required, so they
decide to seek out the desert-dwelling Kakkahaar tribe, whose leader
Lianvis has the necessary skills.  Pell receives training there and
advances his caste to Acantha level, but they also discover blood
sacrifice and the darker directions the Wraeththu path can take.

They depart the Kakkahaar encampment with relief and shortly find
themselves accosted by the Irraka tribe, poor and caste-less, who have
fallen from the Path.  There, by sheer force of newly-empowered will,
they liberate themselves and an injured prisoner, Cobweb.  It turns out
that Cobweb is the consort of Terzian, a powerful and respected leader
of the warlike Varr tribe, and it is to Terzian's stronghold at Galhea
that Pell and Cal take the badly hurt Cobweb.  Terzian and Cobweb, who
is a true mystic, have been able to work the ultimate Wraeththu magic,
supposedly only possible between high-caste hara:  they have begat a
son, Swift.  

(In these early days of the existence of Wraeththu the procreation process
was fraught with danger; no-one really knew if it would work, or even
how.  Pure-born hara at this time are quite rare; most hara were
once human males and were Incepted in their teens.  Cobweb, who was
soume (female) during their intercourse, had grown a 'pearl' inside
himself, which was ejected from its 'hostling,' still growing, after a
few weeks.  A few weeks later an infant harling, Swift, emerged.)

Pellaz and Calanthe are welcomed to Terzian's stronghold as the saviors
of his consort, and Cobweb is healed.  Terzian becomes enamored of
Calanthe, though (you'll get used to this happening!) and is deeply
hurt when Cal elects to continue with Pellaz.  This entire sequence of
events is important later in the series and forms the backdrop for Book
II.

A feeling of dread and fate hangs over them as they head away from
Terzian's manor house.  Just a few days later disaster strikes.  They
are fired upon by a straggly human survivor, and Pellaz is killed
instantly by the bullet.  Cal is shocked and grieves over the body
for a day.  Then he buries it, and his story picks up elsewhere.

....Pellaz's narrative returns as he realizes that he is not dead,
but that his conscience and essence have been transferred into a
new (but sorcerously similar) body by Thiede, who has greater plans
for the young har.  Ironically, Pellaz now finds himself back on the
way to Immanion, graceful capital of the powerful and advanced
Gelaming tribe of Wraeththu.  He wonders what became of Cal but he's
in no shape to do much about it; later he discovers that his
seemingly-instant rebirth consumed several -years-, out in the
normal world.

Escorted by the beautiful yet seemingly emotionless har Vaysh, they
stop in the Wraeththu city of Ferelithia, a happy and prosperous place,
and Pellaz meets a striking har named Caeru ("Rue") Meveny.  Believing
now that Cal thinks him dead after the passage of years, Pell takes
aruna with Rue and conceives a son by him.  He describes their
coupling with Storm's usual panache:
    "...after that, reality disappeared.  With that unity we could
    have exploded the world.  A microcosm flared in Rue's body, and
    I was the god that moved it."

Rue, confused, has no idea what has transpired, and Pellaz, with
uncharacteristic blitheness, has moved on with Vaysh toward Immanion.
It turns out that Vaysh was an earlier attempt by Thiede to
transform a har into an improved existence, much like he has done
with Pellaz.  With Vaysh, he left a sad, unsuccessful legacy.  

The mighty Thiede awaits them in Immanion.  He engineered Pell's
temporary death to get him away from Calanthe to suit his own
designs:  to make Pellaz Tigron (king, emperor) of Immanion.
Immanion's sitting Gelaming oligarchy, the Hegemony, objects, but
Thiede has his way, in part because he -is- the very first
Wraeththu, with powers very nearly godlike.  Pellaz is crowned
Pellaz-har-Aralis, Tigron of Immanion, in Thiede's hopes that
Pell's innocence -- that very quality that Cal admired when he
first discovered him on the farm -- will make him a wise and just
ruler....who just incidentally answers ultimately to Thiede.

So, everything's resolved, right?  Everyone's happy?  Nope!  In his
heart Pellaz still pines for Calanthe, and Caeru comes to Immanion
with Pellaz's harling in tow, demanding an audience with the newly
crowned Tigron.  And on that curious and bittersweet note, Book 1,
THE ENCHANTMENTS OF FLESH AND SPIRIT, ends.

Even this lengthy review can only hint at the depth of Storm's
oft-quirky, gothic writing style and the detail she imbues into
her various cultures.  For example, you can see the Wraeththu
civilization's gradual development and "coming of age" as the
years pass:  from a disorganized, confused band of newly-Incepted
city punks, to the development of tribes, each with its own
customs and defining physical attributes, up to the establishment of
Wraeththu cities and strongholds (and the elimination of humanity over
wide swathes of both continents).

Her characters are vividly described and you find yourself really
caring about them.  Does Pell welcome Rue, or is his heart still
truly given to the wild, unpredictable Calanthe?  Speaking of the
incredibly charismatic Cal, we know he's still out there somewhere;
what happened to him?  Does he go back to Terzian and his Varrish
stronghold?  Does Pell ever mesh with the Hegemony in Immanion, or
do those snotty Gelaming always look down on the country-rube newcomer?

I enjoyed this first book so much that, after some frantic searching for
the second book, BEWITCHMENTS, I knuckled under and bought it,
imported, hardback and signed (!) so I could continue.  I admit it,
I was hooked!  That's a sign of a well-written book.

I recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a well-written fantasy
tale with many trappings of SF -- a post-apocalyptic world, etc. --
and a depth of feeling so often lacking in the genre.  If you get
it and enjoy it, please drop me e-mail; fans are still relatively
scarce here in the States.

--Paul    [email-masked]

%A   Constantine, Storm
%T   Wraeththu
%I   Tor/Orb
%C   New York
%D   1993
%G   ISBN 0-312-89000-1
%O   trade pb, US$17.95 / CA$24.95
%S   Wraeththu