Subject: Black Sun Rising

From: [email-masked] (Dani Zweig)
Date: Sat, 08 Aug 92 08:28:07 GMT

C.S. Friedman made the mistake of starting her science-fiction career with
"In Conquest Born", so anything she subsequently writes is held to an
almost-impossibly high standard.  Her second book, "The Madness Season",
was quite good, but a common reaction to it was disappointment -- It was
no "In Conquest Born".

Neither is her new fantasy trilogy, the first book of which is out in
hardcover.  Not that it's bad.  "Black Sun Rising" is a highly competent
quest fantasy.  This book introduces us to Friedman's world, presents an
interesting system of magic, introduces some or most of the important 
characters, and puts those characters through an adventure which, though 
self-contained, serves to set up the rest of the trilogy.

Sound familiar?  It should.  The key word, again, is 'competent'.  The
writing is good, the magic is original in theory if not in practice,
the book is worth reading.  But don't expect anything ground-breaking.

-----
Dani Zweig
[email-masked]

   'T is with our judgements as our watches, none
   Go alike, yet each believes his own
		--Alexander Pope