A Land of Wine and Magic
This is the fourth in a series of six reviews of the Best Novel nominees for the Nebula Awards. Obviously, I’ve failed to meet my goal of finishing before the awards. I still intend to finish my reviews, after all, I promised.
Flesh and Fire by Laura Ann Gilman
Flesh and Fire continues a long tradition of epic fantasies with skill. Gilman manages to weave enough variety into the traditional formulas to make it feel fresh without alienating fans of the genre. In particular, the system of Magic crafted by Gilman is particularly intriguing, rightfully so given at it rests at the heart of the entire novel.
In short, magic in Flesh and Fire is crafted by the Vinearts who grow the grapes needed to create spellwine. This spell wine contains the spell which can then be cast by anyone with the relatively minimal knowledge necessary. Naturally, the Vinearts are able to cast magic with greater skill and can get the spellwines to do things most can’t conceive of. In exchange for this monopoly on magic creation, the Vinearts are forbidden to have any sort of (political) power and are closely watched by the various powers of the world. However, change is in the air and some force is using magic to nefarious ends.
Into this environment comes Jerzy a young slave boy serving the Vineart Malech. Malech is becoming increasingly aware of this growing evil and it is fortunate that discovers in Jerzy a talent for sensing the magic in the grapes. Malech makes Jerzy as his apprentice and begins his intensive training. For Malech must turn Jerzy into a weapon, a weapon than he and send into battle against the growing forces of evil which threaten the Lands Vin.
Talented writing, strong plotting, interesting characters, and an interesting premise make Flesh and Fire an easy book to recommend. This is a great book for fans of world-building and an exciting adventure.
