Rating: 
Summary: entertaining
Review: This book was recommended in the "Book Lovers Calendar" a year or so ago. It had much more detail about life in the Louis XIV court than I expected, but that turned out to be very interesting. I felt the story left out a lot of background that is needed that we end up having to piece together throughout the story -- it initially doesn't explain much about Marie-Josephe's background (how did she get to Versailles from Martinique, and what was her life like before she got to France?). That would have helped to explain her character, her relationship with her brother and with the church, much better than having to divine all that as I was trying to keep track of all the different courtiers. (I recommend reviewing the list of characters at the beginning to keep this straight.) By not supplying more about her background, and maybe more about her struggles before Versailles, it seems a bit contrived when she suddenly demonstrates aptitude for everything (science, drawing, riding, AND composing). But I liked the whole sea monster aspect of the story, which got a little lost in court politics at times. Overall worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Unique
Review: This story is one of the few original stories written in a time when plots seem to be recycled from one author to another. The characters were real: likeable and flawed. The plot was not predictable but satisfying. One of the best reads I've had all year.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but not the experience I expected
Review: Vonda McIntyre presents us here with a pretty good novel set in the decadent court of Louis XIV...where extravagantly dressed nobles with tragic birth defects dance in sumptuous and glittering halls that reek of sewage. It is this rotten-at-the-core revelation that is the strongest part of _The Moon and the Sun_. McIntyre does a stellar job of showing us the falseness of the image of the Sun King's court.Unfortunately, the plot and the characters didn't live up, in my mind, to the gushing blurbs on the back cover. When reading the novel, I couldn't go three pages without, mysteriously, flashing back to "Free Willy". McIntyre, in her afterword, mentions that she originally planned this book as a screenplay; it shows, with plot taking a back seat to spectacle. I could have gotten over the plot, though, had I fallen in love with the characters. Too bad the most interesting character in the whole book was Madame la Princesse de Palatine, who has a bit part--she was a real historical figure who was married to Louis's gay brother but loved Louis. She is interesting. But she's not the central character. Instead we have Marie-Josephe de la Croix, a paragon of Pollyanna innocence, who is just too perfect to seem real. And her beloved, Lucien, is such a brown-nosing sycophant that I wanted to slap him. At the beginning, he slavishly follows King Louis around and thinks of nothing but pleasing him. Later, he changes his ways--and begins slavishly following Marie-Josephe around instead, and thinking of nothing but pleasing her. The man never gets a backbone of his own. And he was always so bad-tempered that I couldn't like him. The book was successful in that it inspired me to go read more on the history of the period, but I wouldn't recommend it especially highly unless you're interested in that period. The story doesn't really stand apart from the historical scenery.
Rating: 
Summary: A sea-monster brings humanity to the court of the Sun King.
Review: Vonda N. McIntyre has once again spread her wings and flown with a novel that is unlike any other I have read. It seamlessly weaves historic fantasy, legend, and gothic influences into 17th century reality with a deft touch and lyrical telling. Simply one of the best novels I have read in a very long time. Marie-Josèphe's bond with the creature, and coming to understand the sea woman's eerily beautiful singing language, brings realization that there is a heart and soul not so far from human. Marie-Josèphe finds that her views on the creature's "humanity", her budding love for the king's advisor, dwarf and atheist Count Lucien - are bringing her into conflict with the Pope, Louis's courtiers, her brother and the very Sun King himself. This is the very heart of the story and it is beautifully told, questioning the perceptions and convictions of the characters populating the story and the reader alike. Sub-plots that truly bring the 17th century to life include: Marie- Josèphe being the math tutor of the young genius composer Domenico Scarlatti; the Sun King's protection of his married brother whose male lover (The Chevalier de Lorraine) is the epitome of indiscretion and randiness; and the power struggle between Louis and his visiting cousin Pope Innocent
Rating:
Summary: Better your usual historical romance
Review: With the sci fi and fantasy elements spliced in, this book was better than the usual historical romance. The setting was very well researched and had a distinctly authentic feel. I liked the way McIntyre delt with homosexuality and that fact that the male lead is non-traditional. My disappointment was in Marie-Joseph -- as usual, a woman who is conventionally beautiful and young, nothing new or daring there. The sea woman was a much more interesting character. And it took way too long for MJ to realize the latter was sentient. It started feeling like a lassie story, where the guy she's barking at doesn't know she's "talking." I'm thinking, "Come ON, you fool, can't you understand there's danger at the old mill?"
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