Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding adventure romp
Review: "This Rough Magic" is an excellent sequel to "Shadow of the Lion;" it is a seamless collaboration between three fine authors, Dave Freer, Eric Flint and Mercedes Lackey, and uses their best points of great characterization and fast-moving plotlines to good advantage.The best thing about "This Rough Magic" is that there's no lost time; instead, it picks up where "Shadow" left off. Benito Valdosta (the mischievous brother in "Shadow"), who keeps finding new ways to get himself in trouble, was jilted by his love, Maria, who married another at the end of the last book. Consequently, the first thing he does in this book is engage in some rather public coitus to try to forget her (or at least have a good time in the process) and manages to get banished from Venice, unfortunately being sent to where Maria and her new husband have landed -- the island of Corfu. There, the cruel Emeric of Hungary (egged on by his great-great-aunt, Elizabeth Bartholdy, who's even worse than Emeric) has plans to take over the island; he wants to take over Corfu as a military staging point, and expends many men and much effort into that purpose. And he nearly succeeds in doing so. But Corfu itself resists him; the island is magical, and that slows Emeric's advance down long enough for word to be sent to Venice. Benito, of course, is the only messenger who has the street smarts and the upper class credentials to be believed, so despite his banishment, he goes anyway. And after Benito returns, the sparks really start to fly, because y'see, Emeric didn't reckon on Benito, Maria and their friends . . . . How Benito, Maria and the others thwart Emeric, along the way figuring out the mystery of Corfu and finding a way for Benito and Maria to reunite, is way too much fun for me to spoil. Just go buy the book already, will you? Five stars. Highly recommended. Barb Caffrey P.S. I hope there's another sequel planned; this world is way too rich and meaty to leave after only two books.
Rating: 
Summary: STUNNING CONTINUATION OF AN EPIC!
Review: Can a sequel ever outshine the original? If you thought not then THIS ROUGH MAGIC may prove the exception. Maybe to say outshine is a bit much, SHADOW OF THE LION was good, very good, and now ROUGH MAGIC has taken that great story and built upon it, not only furthering the story but expanding it to truly epic proportions. Characters were and are the strongest part of this tale. In RM the focus shifts away from Venice and Marco to Corfu and Benito. Although his life is in taters little Benito begins, with a great deal of help, to pull it together. We also have the pleasure of again traveling with Manfred, Eric, and Francesca and a number of our old favorites along with and new slew of goodies and baddies. Although I believe characters really make this story you can't belittle the plot and storyline either. These three veterans authors have taken a slice of old world history and spliced in a touch of fantasy creating an alternate history that is at once vibrant and believable. Keeping it from being darn near perfect is it's ending. Once again proving that the hardest part of any story is how to tie up the loose threads. Aside from the fact that this particular conclusion is nothing of the kind, the story begs, no, demands more, the finale certainly left me with a slight gamy taste. It could very well be that this ending is required for what comes in the future, but only time and the authors will tell. As it is it left me a bit flat. All in all a truly great piece of work which I would unhesitatingly HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Be aware though, reading THE SHADOW OF THE LION is an absolute must. No two ways about it, you have to do your homework to fully, or even partially enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: STUNNING CONTINUATION OF AN EPIC!
Review: Can a sequel ever outshine the original? If you thought not then THIS ROUGH MAGIC may prove the exception. Maybe to say outshine is a bit much, SHADOW OF THE LION was good, very good, and now ROUGH MAGIC has taken that great story and built upon it, not only furthering the story but expanding it to truly epic proportions. Characters were and are the strongest part of this tale. In RM the focus shifts away from Venice and Marco to Corfu and Benito. Although his life is in taters little Benito begins, with a great deal of help, to pull it together. We also have the pleasure of again traveling with Manfred, Eric, and Francesca and a number of our old favorites along with and new slew of goodies and baddies. Although I believe characters really make this story you can't belittle the plot and storyline either. These three veterans authors have taken a slice of old world history and spliced in a touch of fantasy creating an alternate history that is at once vibrant and believable. Keeping it from being darn near perfect is it's ending. Once again proving that the hardest part of any story is how to tie up the loose threads. Aside from the fact that this particular conclusion is nothing of the kind, the story begs, no, demands more, the finale certainly left me with a slight gamy taste. It could very well be that this ending is required for what comes in the future, but only time and the authors will tell. As it is it left me a bit flat. All in all a truly great piece of work which I would unhesitatingly HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Be aware though, reading THE SHADOW OF THE LION is an absolute must. No two ways about it, you have to do your homework to fully, or even partially enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Nice mix of alt history, romance and magic
Review: Defeated in his attempt to capture Venice (see our review of THE SHADOW OF THE LION) the demon Jagiellon hasn't given up on his plans to destroy the empire and his temporary ally, Emerick, King of Hungary is the perfect tool. Using Jagiellon's money and Byzantine ships, Emerick attacks the Venitian island of Corfu. Emerick hopes to weaken Venice, but Jagiellon has a darker motive. Corfu swarms with an ancient magic--a magic that, harnested by Jagiellon, could tip the balance of power between good and evil. Unfortunately for Jagiellon and Emerick, Benito Valdosta, Prince Manfred, and Manfred's fearsome bodyguard Erik, along with a large group of martial monks, are on their way to Corfu. But Emerick doesn't give up easily and he has plenty of assistance, both magical, treacherous, and from his own cannons, to make sure that his conquest succeeds. Best of all, between his Byzantine allies and Jagiellon's sea-monster shaman, Venice remains in complete ignorance of the fate of its critical colony. Authors Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint and Dave Freer combine to deliver an emotionally satisfying and militarilly adventurous tale. The combination of alternate history and fantasy is strengthened by strong emotional ties and romantic entanglements amongst the characters. If the first novel in the series belonged to Kat and Marco, this one belongs to Benito and Maria--separated by Maria's stubornness and Benito's youthful mistakes. THIS ROUGH MAGIC should be read as part of the series. Much of the story only makes sense in the context of THE SHADOW OF THE LION. Both of these are substantial books and require a significant investment in terms of reader time. In my opinion, they are well worth it and, if anything, THIS ROUGH MAGIC is even better than SHADOW.
Rating:
Summary: Why this is NOT a big fat fantasy...why you should read it!
Review: First, it really doesn't read like the sequel it is...it can be read standalone quite well. Second, it reads like a terrifically well realized alternate history, rather than another of the ubiquitous elves-dwarves-and-orcs fantasies we are inundated with. Third, it actually has some closure at the end, so it isn't like certain other fantasy series which are apparently never going to go anywhere, and never end either. Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint, and Dave Freer are a perfectly matched writing trio...and a tripod is the strongest seat. They seamlessly craft this rich, colorful, and highly complex story, filled with historical in-jokes (Eneko Lopez and his friends are the original seven members of the Jesuit order) and even a few Baen Barfly in-jokes ("It was enough to give Erik the mutters.") Even the little, passing-through characters are very vividly realized, and are real people, not spearcarriers. Spiro, the Corfiote fisherman, for example, and his buddy, Taki the fisher captain, are human beings caught in the flash of the story's eye. I'm halfway through my third read of this book, and it is holding my attention so well that I have been sneaking off to read another couple of pages all day long. This is what alternate worlds fantasy should be. Kim Stanley Robinson, Harry Turtledove, and other practitioners, please take note. This is the reigning champion of the field. Walt Boyes
Rating:
Summary: Why this is NOT a big fat fantasy...why you should read it!
Review: First, it really doesn't read like the sequel it is...it can be read standalone quite well. Second, it reads like a terrifically well realized alternate history, rather than another of the ubiquitous elves-dwarves-and-orcs fantasies we are inundated with. Third, it actually has some closure at the end, so it isn't like certain other fantasy series which are apparently never going to go anywhere, and never end either. Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint, and Dave Freer are a perfectly matched writing trio...and a tripod is the strongest seat. They seamlessly craft this rich, colorful, and highly complex story, filled with historical in-jokes (Eneko Lopez and his friends are the original seven members of the Jesuit order) and even a few Baen Barfly in-jokes ("It was enough to give Erik the mutters.") Even the little, passing-through characters are very vividly realized, and are real people, not spearcarriers. Spiro, the Corfiote fisherman, for example, and his buddy, Taki the fisher captain, are human beings caught in the flash of the story's eye. I'm halfway through my third read of this book, and it is holding my attention so well that I have been sneaking off to read another couple of pages all day long. This is what alternate worlds fantasy should be. Kim Stanley Robinson, Harry Turtledove, and other practitioners, please take note. This is the reigning champion of the field. Walt Boyes
Rating:
Summary: DAMN THEM!!
Review: For writing such excellent books, so far apart, more please!! This may just be the best book I've read this year, and is now firmly entrenched in my top ten. I was for some reason surprised to like this better than the first book in the series, which was possibly the best book of the year when it came out. How it never won either a Hugo or Nebula is beyond me, any one who reads either of these books is guaranteed to be drawn in by one of the richest and best crafted worlds I've ever seen. This book pick up not long after the first with Maria and husband heading off to the back of beyond, Erik and Manfred traveling, and Benito getting into even more trouble. This book has all of the strengths of the first and all the rough edges polished off by familiarity.
Rating:
Summary: Sizzling in the beginning, the end fizzles.
Review: I actually give this 3.5/5, but it would have received 4.5 if the ending had been stronger. I hope this book does get a sequel, but the end closes the story satisfactorily if not. Here are some reasons I thought the end fizzled. *The vinlanders, strong viewpoint characters in the beginning, were suddenly abandoned *Satan himself enters the picture *Benito becomes Mr. Stupid Superhero *It is insufficiently explained why one of the other mothers wouldn't become the bride *In general it seems rushed like the authors were in a hurry to be done with it.
Rating:
Summary: Sizzling in the beginning, the end fizzles.
Review: I actually give this 3.5/5, but it would have received 4.5 if the ending had been stronger. I hope this book does get a sequel, but the end closes the story satisfactorily if not. Here are some reasons I thought the end fizzled. *The vinlanders, strong viewpoint characters in the beginning, were suddenly abandoned *Satan himself enters the picture *Benito becomes Mr. Stupid Superhero *It is insufficiently explained why one of the other mothers wouldn't become the bride *In general it seems rushed like the authors were in a hurry to be done with it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I read this book without reading the first one.
Very very good, quick paced, with enough background that you can read it without reading the first.
I have been a long time Mercedes Lackey fan, this book just confirms and renews my faith in her:)
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