Festival Moon (Merovingen Nights, No. 1)

Rating:
Summary: First of the anthology, two in the series
Review: Let me clarify the numbering is really confusing on thisseries. Angel with a Sword is written by Cherryth alone, and has nonumber on the cover. Festival Moon is the first anthology, and islabeled #1 on the spine of the book. And I'm sure because I'm staring right at the book and just re-read both books this weekend. Angel With a Sword definitely preceeds Festival Moon.

Staring with Angel with a Sword, you get your introduction to the space/medieval world of Merovin, though the whole series takes place in one city, Merovingen. It is a Venice-like city of canals and corruption both, with Borgia like clans plotting against each other.

Medeival/space worlds are fun, and there is no world builder like Cherryth. The mix in this world is due to a human colony being bombed back to, if not the stone age, to barely industrial civilization after the planet must by treaty be handed over to the alien sharrh. Who don't do anything else (up to now) and leave the survivors to fragment and interestingly enough, decide that if they don't develop technology they will be left alone.

That may be true or not, but one of the most amusing parts to me is the religions that spring up over the whole issues of 1) how do we explain what happened and why we are here 2) how to control the masses. It is an analogy not difficult to draw back to Earth and provide a good spoof on the whole organized religion wagon. The only exception in the religious main triad of adventist, revantist, and janist, is that the janists (followers of jane morgoth) wish to bring BACK technology, though out of caution to do so subtly.

No relationships in the book are simple, with tension and confusion being entertainments standards with Cherryth and a guarentee of fun reading for other bookaholics, I mean, highly motivated readers. Well perhaps the attraction that Altair Jones has in the beginning for Tom Mondrogan is the only easily understandable one. Street girl of seventeen, tough and hard shelled, but long overdue in a medeival society for a 'intimate relationship' when tossed nearly into her canal boat is handsome, mysterious, Tom Mondragon. But the scrapes and plots they get into are anything but simple, and the book will keep you turning pages.

I also have to say that the anthology is so well done, and so well edited, that I am not really cognizant while reading of the fact that I am switching authors as I go. This was far MORE apparent in the Thieve's World anthology, so if you were put off there, you may enter the Merovingen world without fear. END

Rating:
Summary: First of the anthology, two in the series
Review: Let me clarify the numbering is really confusing on thisseries. Angel with a Sword is written by Cherryth alone, and has nonumber on the cover. Festival Moon is the first anthology, and islabeled #1 on the spine of the book. And I'm sure because I'm staring right at the book and just re-read both books this weekend. Angel With a Sword definitely preceeds Festival Moon.

Staring with Angel with a Sword, you get your introduction to the space/medieval world of Merovin, though the whole series takes place in one city, Merovingen. It is a Venice-like city of canals and corruption both, with Borgia like clans plotting against each other.

Medeival/space worlds are fun, and there is no world builder like Cherryth. The mix in this world is due to a human colony being bombed back to, if not the stone age, to barely industrial civilization after the planet must by treaty be handed over to the alien sharrh. Who don't do anything else (up to now) and leave the survivors to fragment and interestingly enough, decide that if they don't develop technology they will be left alone.

That may be true or not, but one of the most amusing parts to me is the religions that spring up over the whole issues of 1) how do we explain what happened and why we are here 2) how to control the masses. It is an analogy not difficult to draw back to Earth and provide a good spoof on the whole organized religion wagon. The only exception in the religious main triad of adventist, revantist, and janist, is that the janists (followers of jane morgoth) wish to bring BACK technology, though out of caution to do so subtly.

No relationships in the book are simple, with tension and confusion being entertainments standards with Cherryth and a guarentee of fun reading for other bookaholics, I mean, highly motivated readers. Well perhaps the attraction that Altair Jones has in the beginning for Tom Mondrogan is the only easily understandable one. Street girl of seventeen, tough and hard shelled, but long overdue in a medeival society for a 'intimate relationship' when tossed nearly into her canal boat is handsome, mysterious, Tom Mondragon. But the scrapes and plots they get into are anything but simple, and the book will keep you turning pages.

I also have to say that the anthology is so well done, and so well edited, that I am not really cognizant while reading of the fact that I am switching authors as I go. This was far MORE apparent in the Thieve's World anthology, so if you were put off there, you may enter the Merovingen world without fear. END

Rating:
Summary: Origin of some fascinating intrigues in the series.
Review: This is actually *not* the first book in the series; see _Angel with the Sword_, as well as the Kathleen O'Loughlin's previous review.

The Ancestors, those few humans who refused to be evacuated before Union's treaty turned the planet Merovin over to the alien sharrh, have been cursed for fools by all the generations of their descendants. Festival-time marks the anniversary of the Scouring, when the sharrh razed the abandoned human cities.

Incidentally, Merovin = the planet, Merovingen = the city where the series takes place.

My comments on the individual stories in the book are alphabetized by author, but the book is actually written in a braided format - the total effect from beginning to end is a continuous flow of events. The stories are interdependent to a greater or lesser degree; all of the anthology volumes are written in this style (_Angel with the Sword_ is the anomaly, since it is a novel written by Cherryh alone).

Abbey, Lynn: "First-Bath" - Introducing the Kamat family: Richard, promoted to House-Head on his father's untimely death; Marina, his younger, irresponsible sister; Andromeda, their mother, originally from Nev Hettek, whose unusual love-match marriage with their late father cut her off from her Adventist family. Richard and Marina are only 3rd-generation hightowners; their grandfather, Hosni, was a sheepherder who founded the family business, and discovered the formula for making First-Bath dye.

The Kamats from this point on are major characters, and a rising power in Merovingen. They have a sterling reputation with the merchant clans who form the backbone of Merovingen, and the bulk of their family wealth is actually located outside the city, since they never divested their extensive land holdings - all of which makes them much less vulnerable to outside manipulation than most Houses. They do have their problems - for one thing, their residence on the former Adami Isle came with a lot of Adami hangers-on - not quite servants, but not acknowledged Adami family. These legacies, due to Kamat family honor, can't just be thrown out, and they sometimes take advantage of their protected status.

Asire, Nancy: "Cat's Tale" - Here we have our first look at the College, which is a (Revanantist, naturally) religious institution as well as a place of higher learning. Justice Lee (officially Justus, since he converted from Adventist to Revanantist as the price of admission) is a promising art student working on his career as a painter. His clashes with Krishna Malenkov are a recurring feature in the series, beginning with this story. Krishna's a spoiled hightowner brat and a *very* good duelist - but his father has him on a restricted allowance, and he lives at Hilda's, the same inn/tavern where Justice resides. Instead of settling down and living within his means, Krishna continually comes up with schemes to make money, invariably illegally and with a minimum of effort on his part, usually involving trying to pressure Justice into doing something for him.

Asprin, Robert Lynn: "Two Gentlemen of the Trade" - Introducing the Hannon-Gregori feud, which is a byword in Merovingen for a blood feud with no end in sight.

Cherryh, C.J.: "Festival Moon" - This thread weaves throughout the book, providing a framework tying the other stories into a cohesive whole; it isn't exactly a story in itself.

Fish, Leslie: "First Night Cruise" - Introducing Rif, singer of vaguely subversive songs, supposedly to cover her work as a smuggler - which in turn covers her *real* subversive work as a Janist agent in Revanantist Merovingen. Here we also have the first appearance of Black Cal Halloran, the only honest cop in Merovingen ("nobody knew what to do with him, except avoid him") - he stays alive because he's a cop in the Dirty Harry mold.

Rif hires Jones for a night of cruising Merovingen - with a singer out in plain sight, singing under windows with a basket on the bow for the coins, who's going to look at the barrels stashed in the skip? This thread - the Janist conspiracy to get a foothold in Merovingen - is continued throughout the series.

Lackey, Mercedes: "Deathangel" - Introducing the Takahashi brothers, Rigel and Deneb, the now-orphaned sons of a *stupid* Sword agent, originally from Nev Hettek. After their mother's death, they've been scrounging a living - Denny in Merovingen-below, Raj in the swamp covering the old spaceport, the worst area of Merovingen.

As it happens, Rigel has a phenomenal memory, which was often of use to his mother in the past during covert operations; and he recognizes Thomas Mondragon as someone who might be an ally to a dead Sword agent's children.

Morris, Janet and Chris: "Sword Play" - Introducing Chance Magruder, leader of the trade delegation from Nev Hettek, Sword of God agent, and professional revolutionary. He's brought several other Sword agents with him who have continuing roles, such as Mike Chamoun, intended for an arranged marriage into house Boregy, and the al-Banna brothers.

Morris, Chris: "Night Action" - Michael Chamoun's cover as a member of a supposed Nev Hettek trading family is blown sky-high - and Mondragon, Boregy, and Chamoun manage to tangle the knots of intrigue even *more* thoroughly, in regard to who is a double/triple agent for whom.