Australian Women's Book Review: Online

Hecate's
Australian Women's Book Review

ISSN 1033-9434
Editor:  Barbara Brook
Contributing Assistant Editor:  Katie Hughes
Photomontage:  Set in Stone, Adele Flood

Volume 12, 2000

Back to earth with women's science fantasy

The Nameless Day. Book One of The Crucible Series, by Sara Douglass,Voyager, 1999, hb., $36.95.
Sevenwaters Trilogy. Daughter of the Forest: Book One by Juliet Marillier, Macmillan, 2000, paperback.
Son of the Shadows:Book Two by Juliet Marillier, Macmillan, 2000, paperback.

Reviewed by Gill Goodman

Science fiction and mythological fantasy has come a long way from space cadets piloting the outer rim and fighting intergalactic wars. All the way back to earth in fact, where the majority of recent books in this very popular genre seem to be based - and old and middle earth at that.

From Asimov and Clarke to Tolkien and Eddings, male authors have largely been dominant in writing of reluctant youths wielding big swords and high morals, saving the world from global destruction and hideously disfigured mad men. Women featuring in such plots have generally been portrayed as either precocious or arrogant with a tendency to melt only in the arms of dragon-riding heroes. Then again, there are the female characters who are ambitious, evil and manipulative and breed evilly-damaged offspring. Or those who are gentle, self-effacing and wet and in need of chivalrous and unimaginative loving that is somehow promoted as admirable. No redeeming features here.

Well it's good to say that two Aussie women are attempting to incorporate modern-thinking, strong women and contemporary issues with the magic and charms of science fantasy. Sara Douglass, from Bendigo, former nurse and with a PhD in early modern English history, has followed up her phenomenally successful Axis series with The Nameless Day, Book One in The Crucible series.

The Nameless Day refers to the winter solstice, the day that the worlds between humankind and demon touch and a passage, the Cleft, opens. In ancient times the people called this time the Nameless Day for to name it would give it power. A solitary priest, aged and disease-ridden, has kept vigil on the passage for countless years, sending demons fleeing back with incantations and spells. Unfortunately this latest successor dies before he has chance to name a new Keeper, and the Cleft remains open. Demons stay earthbound and history begins to change.

Thirty years later enter Brother Thomas Neville, a former knight of King Edward II, now a dogmatic zealot and man of God, unaware that destiny has chosen him to be the new Keeper of the Cleft.

Rape, pillage, heavenly visions and a bloody war between France and England form the backcloth against which the battle between good and evil rages. The corruption of the Catholic church, the intrigues of a mad King's court, the lives of peasants and nobles all weave a story of horror, torture and bloody death. Joan of Arc, St. Michael, Prince Hal and mad Richard aid and oppose Thomas as he lurches from demonic encounter to astral rape. Marriage and fatherhood follow as he renounces his vows to fulfil another destiny and have his soul enslaved by “wanton and despised womanhood”.

Seems all a bit over the top? Well maybe, but Sara Douglass writes well enough to keep the plot action moving along at a fast gallop. Her characters are vividly drawn; her vast knowledge of medieval history ensuring a very believable story line: you can almost smell the stench of the eating halls and damp stone castles. Her men are not attractive nor particularly attracted to her women. Thomas is not a hero that you warm to (in fact the opposite is true) and he is portrayed as quite despicable most of the time.

Her women are scheming, yet damaged, and capable of enormous horror. Whether Thomas succeeds in his quest, whether he finds the casket containing the spells to banish demons, or whether his new wife will enchant him enough to abandon his mission will no doubt be revealed in the forthcoming sequels. As to the question posed - have the demons have already won and we don't know it yet? - intriguing and, given the current state of the world, quite possible!

Juliet Marillier lives in Perth and wrote her debut novel Daughter of the Forest last year. It is set in Ireland and Great Britain in the days of early Christianity, when the Mother of the old religion still held sway over most of the people and magic and mystical enchantments enslaved the ensorcelled.

Sorcha, the youngest child and only daughter of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters, is strong in the healing magic. Her older brothers are also strong, have foresight, empathic magic, and charismatic leadership - all worthy traits that unfortunately do no good in saving them from the evil scheming of the Lady Oonagh, their father's new young bride. So insanely jealous is she of the powerful bond that enables the Sevenwaters clan to rule in total safety and omnipotence in a land at war with the dread Britons, that she entraps the brothers in a powerful spell. She turns them into swans, to never again be human. Sorcha has to flee for her life, frantic that she will never see them, or her home, again.

Enter the Mother who speaks to Sorcha in a dream, telling her that she alone can save her brothers but the task will be horror indeed: weave six shirts from starwort, a plant that sounds like the stinging tree and is equally painful, and clothe the swans in turn, but she must never speak of the challenge to any living soul lest she forfeit the deal.

The tale weaves through ancient Celtic legends and myth and through the lands and people and society of a barbaric time. The writing is nicely paced; Ms. Marillier has a very convincing sense of early British history and geography. The characters are real and they have pronounceable names, a great relief when every second fantasy novel has people with multiple consonants favouring the latter end of the alphabet. We care about them, especially the strong Sorcha, a formidable woman in anyone's time. When the end arrives in a bittersweet triumph, we are still sufficiently excited and curious to want to know more.

Which we do in the second book of the series, Son of the Shadows. Approaching the sequel I must admit I was feeling some trepidation, as often second novels in a series can be disappointing, the author seemingly treading water between the rush of the first and the climax of the conclusion. Thankfully this was not the case, as again we became reacquainted with the clan of Sevenwaters, like calling in on old friends.

Sorcha, now long married to Red, is mother to three grown children. Niamh, the eldest, a stunningly beautiful young woman, is headstrong, wilful and set for a fall. Liadan and Sean, the twins, are linked telepathically, Liadan the image of her mother and inheritor of her gift of healing and Sight. Sean is a warrior and inheritor of Sevenwaters and guardian of the forest. At the feast of Imbolc, Niamh meets and falls in love with a red-haired young druid called Ciaran, neither realising that his parentage means their love is forbidden. They are separated: Niamh to a loveless marriage with an abusing husband and Ciaran to discover his origins and a path conflicted between good and horrendous evil.

Liadan is kidnapped by a band of outlaws who need her skills as a healer to save the life of a comrade. During her captivity she meets the outlaws tough and uncompromising leader - the notorious Painted Man. Through her stubborness, wit and bloody-mindedness, Liadan gains the grudging respect and later the love of not only the men but their emotionally distant leader. They begin a relationship that leads to the conception of a child; the child that legends say will be the saviour of the forests and of Sevenwaters itself.

Her father still needs her, however, as Sorcha is dying and she chooses to return home, pregnant and proud, and determined not to reveal the name of her unborn son's father for fear of her lover's safety. Time passes, her son is born and, inevitably, truths are revealed. A chain of events is set in motion that see Liadan on a path to save not only her sister, but her lover also and in so doing reveal the truths behind the Painted Man and the ancestry of Ciaran.

The blending of myths and legend and old world magic with contemporary storylines of incestuous love, sexual and child abuse, and strong feminist women hold one's interest. It is a book that very comfortably carries the plot into the final instalment.

It appears paradoxical that modern issues are being addressed using a genre of science fiction /fantasy set in ancient times. However maybe today's women authors, using this populist genre, have found a palatable vehicle to promote the message that women are strong, clear-thinking, nurturing and powerful. They are the equals of, and as omnipotent as their male counterparts, the message reaching many more than if couched in the pages of an academic feminist text. Magical thinking indeed!

Originally from Wales, Gill Goodman has worked as a family therapist for the last 20 years. Currently, she lives and works in Geelong, Victoria.

Hecate's Australian Women's Book Review

ISSN 1033-9434		Editor: Barbara Brook Contributing Assistant Editor: Katie Hughes *Photomontage: Set in Stone, Adele Flood*
Volume 12, 2000

Back to earth with women's science fantasy The Nameless Day. Book One of The Crucible Series, by Sara Douglass,Voyager, 1999, hb., $36.95. Sevenwaters Trilogy. Daughter of the Forest: Book One by Juliet Marillier, Macmillan, 2000, paperback. Son of the Shadows:Book Two by Juliet Marillier, Macmillan, 2000, paperback. Reviewed by Gill Goodman Science fiction and mythological fantasy has come a long way from space cadets piloting the outer rim and fighting intergalactic wars. All the way back to earth in fact, where the majority of recent books in this very popular genre seem to be based - and old and middle earth at that. From Asimov and Clarke to Tolkien and Eddings, male authors have largely been dominant in writing of reluctant youths wielding big swords and high morals, saving the world from global destruction and hideously disfigured mad men. Women featuring in such plots have generally been portrayed as either precocious or arrogant with a tendency to melt only in the arms of dragon-riding heroes. Then again, there are the female characters who are ambitious, evil and manipulative and breed evilly-damaged offspring. Or those who are gentle, self-effacing and wet and in need of chivalrous and unimaginative loving that is somehow promoted as admirable. No redeeming features here. Well it's good to say that two Aussie women are attempting to incorporate modern-thinking, strong women and contemporary issues with the magic and charms of science fantasy. Sara Douglass, from Bendigo, former nurse and with a PhD in early modern English history, has followed up her phenomenally successful Axis series with The Nameless Day, Book One in The Crucible series. The Nameless Day refers to the winter solstice, the day that the worlds between humankind and demon touch and a passage, the Cleft, opens. In ancient times the people called this time the Nameless Day for to name it would give it power. A solitary priest, aged and disease-ridden, has kept vigil on the passage for countless years, sending demons fleeing back with incantations and spells. Unfortunately this latest successor dies before he has chance to name a new Keeper, and the Cleft remains open. Demons stay earthbound and history begins to change. Thirty years later enter Brother Thomas Neville, a former knight of King Edward II, now a dogmatic zealot and man of God, unaware that destiny has chosen him to be the new Keeper of the Cleft. Rape, pillage, heavenly visions and a bloody war between France and England form the backcloth against which the battle between good and evil rages. The corruption of the Catholic church, the intrigues of a mad King's court, the lives of peasants and nobles all weave a story of horror, torture and bloody death. Joan of Arc, St. Michael, Prince Hal and mad Richard aid and oppose Thomas as he lurches from demonic encounter to astral rape. Marriage and fatherhood follow as he renounces his vows to fulfil another destiny and have his soul enslaved by “wanton and despised womanhood”. Seems all a bit over the top? Well maybe, but Sara Douglass writes well enough to keep the plot action moving along at a fast gallop. Her characters are vividly drawn; her vast knowledge of medieval history ensuring a very believable story line: you can almost smell the stench of the eating halls and damp stone castles. Her men are not attractive nor particularly attracted to her women. Thomas is not a hero that you warm to (in fact the opposite is true) and he is portrayed as quite despicable most of the time. Her women are scheming, yet damaged, and capable of enormous horror. Whether Thomas succeeds in his quest, whether he finds the casket containing the spells to banish demons, or whether his new wife will enchant him enough to abandon his mission will no doubt be revealed in the forthcoming sequels. As to the question posed - have the demons have already won and we don't know it yet? - intriguing and, given the current state of the world, quite possible! Juliet Marillier lives in Perth and wrote her debut novel Daughter of the Forest last year. It is set in Ireland and Great Britain in the days of early Christianity, when the Mother of the old religion still held sway over most of the people and magic and mystical enchantments enslaved the ensorcelled. Sorcha, the youngest child and only daughter of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters, is strong in the healing magic. Her older brothers are also strong, have foresight, empathic magic, and charismatic leadership - all worthy traits that unfortunately do no good in saving them from the evil scheming of the Lady Oonagh, their father's new young bride. So insanely jealous is she of the powerful bond that enables the Sevenwaters clan to rule in total safety and omnipotence in a land at war with the dread Britons, that she entraps the brothers in a powerful spell. She turns them into swans, to never again be human. Sorcha has to flee for her life, frantic that she will never see them, or her home, again. Enter the Mother who speaks to Sorcha in a dream, telling her that she alone can save her brothers but the task will be horror indeed: weave six shirts from starwort, a plant that sounds like the stinging tree and is equally painful, and clothe the swans in turn, but she must never speak of the challenge to any living soul lest she forfeit the deal. The tale weaves through ancient Celtic legends and myth and through the lands and people and society of a barbaric time. The writing is nicely paced; Ms. Marillier has a very convincing sense of early British history and geography. The characters are real and they have pronounceable names, a great relief when every second fantasy novel has people with multiple consonants favouring the latter end of the alphabet. We care about them, especially the strong Sorcha, a formidable woman in anyone's time. When the end arrives in a bittersweet triumph, we are still sufficiently excited and curious to want to know more. Which we do in the second book of the series, Son of the Shadows. Approaching the sequel I must admit I was feeling some trepidation, as often second novels in a series can be disappointing, the author seemingly treading water between the rush of the first and the climax of the conclusion. Thankfully this was not the case, as again we became reacquainted with the clan of Sevenwaters, like calling in on old friends. Sorcha, now long married to Red, is mother to three grown children. Niamh, the eldest, a stunningly beautiful young woman, is headstrong, wilful and set for a fall. Liadan and Sean, the twins, are linked telepathically, Liadan the image of her mother and inheritor of her gift of healing and Sight. Sean is a warrior and inheritor of Sevenwaters and guardian of the forest. At the feast of Imbolc, Niamh meets and falls in love with a red-haired young druid called Ciaran, neither realising that his parentage means their love is forbidden. They are separated: Niamh to a loveless marriage with an abusing husband and Ciaran to discover his origins and a path conflicted between good and horrendous evil. Liadan is kidnapped by a band of outlaws who need her skills as a healer to save the life of a comrade. During her captivity she meets the outlaws tough and uncompromising leader - the notorious Painted Man. Through her stubborness, wit and bloody-mindedness, Liadan gains the grudging respect and later the love of not only the men but their emotionally distant leader. They begin a relationship that leads to the conception of a child; the child that legends say will be the saviour of the forests and of Sevenwaters itself. Her father still needs her, however, as Sorcha is dying and she chooses to return home, pregnant and proud, and determined not to reveal the name of her unborn son's father for fear of her lover's safety. Time passes, her son is born and, inevitably, truths are revealed. A chain of events is set in motion that see Liadan on a path to save not only her sister, but her lover also and in so doing reveal the truths behind the Painted Man and the ancestry of Ciaran. The blending of myths and legend and old world magic with contemporary storylines of incestuous love, sexual and child abuse, and strong feminist women hold one's interest. It is a book that very comfortably carries the plot into the final instalment. It appears paradoxical that modern issues are being addressed using a genre of science fiction /fantasy set in ancient times. However maybe today's women authors, using this populist genre, have found a palatable vehicle to promote the message that women are strong, clear-thinking, nurturing and powerful. They are the equals of, and as omnipotent as their male counterparts, the message reaching many more than if couched in the pages of an academic feminist text. Magical thinking indeed! Originally from Wales, Gill Goodman has worked as a family therapist for the last 20 years. Currently, she lives and works in Geelong, Victoria.