Subject: The White Mists of Power (review) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

From: [email-masked] (Subrata Sircar)
Date: 19 Dec 91 19:09:58 GMT

Kristine Kathryn Rusch is perhaps best known for her work on the Pulphouse
Publishing hardcover magazine line and editing FANTASY AND SCIENCE
FICTION.  She has also won a John W. Campbell award as best new writer, and
if this is the book she won the award for the decision was excellent.

The story is nominally about a bard and a magician escaping death at the hands
of a cruel lord and traveling together through a kingdom troubled by rumors of
a magical cataclysm approaching.  The plot moves along briskly, and a certain
plot twist comes together rather nicely about 3/4 of the way into the book.
From then on, the book quickly moves to wrap together the larger plot threads.
This rapid resolution feels a little forced (but that's better than
foreshadowing the whole thing to death, as is usually done) and drops one of
my favorite characters, but on the whole does a neat job.  The plotting is
fairly tight, with a good feel for the situations and politics involved, while
the magical elements keep the whole from seeming stale.

The setting of the book combines elements from several "traditional" high
fantasy stories in an evocative way.  The exiled prince returning to claim his
throne moves through a land where magic is strongly tied to the land, and each
area sports a magical guardian whose loyalty is to the land, not the humans who
rule it.  The handling of the Enos is smooth and lends a breath of fresh air
to the plot.  Other stock-in-trade characters include the bumbling magician,
the evil council members, the sinister, perveted lords, and the beautiful
female mage with an ulterior motive.  This would be fairly boring, except that
it is woven together in a seamless whole and given a new life as a combination.
The characters rise above their stereotypes and take on depth and dimension as
the story unfolds.  Seymour, the incompetent mage (child of two of the most
powerful magic workers in the kingdom) in particular was well depicted,
developing a real personality before being dropped to focus on the larger plot
threads (he's left rather out of sorts at the end).

Overall, for a first novel, this book is quite good.  There are some excellent
descriptive passages, some nice characterization, a few nice ideas, and the
quality is even throughout.  The ending was a trifle forced, and there was lot
I felt that needed to be resolved for a completed, laid-to-rest storyline, but
I enjoyed reading this book.  I'll keep an eye out for other things she writes.

Recommended:  6.5 out of 10.

          %A   Kristine Kathryn Rusch
          %T   The White Mists of Power
          %D   November 1991
          %G   ISBN 0-451-45120-1
          %I   Roc, New American Library, Penguin Books, USA Inc.
          %K   Fantasy
          %O   Paperback $3.99
          %P   302 pages
-- 
Subrata Sircar [email-masked]|Prophet & SPAMIT Charter Member
	I don't speak for Princeton, and they don't speak for me.
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