Illumination

Rating:
Summary: Terry McGarry-Shaper of Worlds
Review: "Illumination" is the finest, most original, best written fantasy novel I have read in ten years. I'm not just saying this because I once had a crush on the author (though I did). In an age when every third fantasy is a rehash of: a) Tolkien; b) Michael Moorcock; c) Anne McCaffrey; or d)our dear, departed Roger Zelazny, it's a breath of literary fresh air to find a first novel this new, a world as fascinating as Terry's creation, Eiden Myr. Liath completes all of the steps of the classic "warrior's journey," but at each turn is met with new and unique twists and turns. No character, from Liath herself, to Torrin Darkmage, the members of the complex, evil Ennead, or even Liath's taciturn protector, Heff, is quite what he or she seems. Terry keeps the reader guessing at every turn, and peoples her world with believable, three-dimensional characters who we come to care about, and, in some instances, either love or loathe. This is such a fully realized world, so alive with color, description, smell, taste, touch that I could easily imagine myself living there. The ending was a total surprise, and was crafted with Terry's requisite skill and artistry. Her descriptions of the rituals of magecraft were so lush and vibrant, I could feel every word resonate off the page. The joy I experienced in completing this novel was way beyond what I expected when Terry first told me about her "book about the triads" years ago. I look forward to the upcoming sequels with the same enthusiasm and vigor I feel when reading a new book by Storm Constantine, Michael Moorcock, Anne McCaffrey or any of the other masters and mistresses of the fantasy genre. In future, I believe Ms. McGarry's work may outshine even those venerable authors. If all of her works are as spectacular as "Illumination," I have no doubt she will rise to greatness, as she richly deserves. Makes me glad that a friend of mine introduced me to Terry at a New York City Irish bar in the 1980's. Even then, I was impressed by her work. Now, I am truly proud. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Oh, and she plays a mean penny whistle, too! Robocat rules (in joke)!

Rating:
Summary: One of those books
Review: I finished reading this book about a month ago. And i was hesitant to write a review. I'm a good enough book shopper that i rarely buy things that I don't like, and so sometimes it is hard for me to tell if a book will stick to me, find a spot in my mind, claim it and keep it for its own. Tonight, in the shower, i found myself thinking about this book, and i realized it had done just that. It'd nested. It'd become one of _those_ books, the ones that you stick on your shelf and smile at when you pass by, the ones that make you look forward to a rainy day so you can reread them.

I found its lack of fantasy tripe refreshing, no namby pamby elves, no dragons, no magic objects, none of the things that so many fantasy books rely on so they can avoid finding an original plot.

I won't lie, it's a tough read, the situations and the characters are demanding -- they want your undivided attention. And they'll get it, too, if you give them a chance.

It's one of those books. And that's a very good thing.

Rating:
Summary: Illumination
Review: I had thought that the Fantasy genre had about petered out. Then along comes Terry with Eiden Myr and I suddely have found a new world to play in. Despite the names I can't pronounce, reading this book made me feel like I did when I used to act out my childhood fantasies. In an age when science fiction gets all the attention, this is a serious fantasy that will bring you in and keep you entranced until it's way too late to be up!

Rating:
Summary: Great world-building
Review: I must say, I enjoyed 'Illumination' very much! The writing was really excellent throughout and there were descriptive passages that just made me despairingly jealous. I wish I could write like that! The world-building--all that history just sitting there through most of the story. Excellent! Well done! I particularly liked how the things I questioned early on turned out to be the things that _should_ be questioned. And yet, the pieces were all integrated into a whole that made sense, that promised that this was a world with history, a society with a past and a depth that grounded the story so that I was willing to set small questions aside and continue trusting that things would come together as the story unfolded. Although there were some things I figured out quite early, there were still plenty of things that were unexpected and that gave added pleasure to the tale when they were revealed. What I particularly liked was the slow building of facts, laid layer on layer, the cultural truths revealed to the reader in synchronization with the unfolding of the world of Eiden Myr.

Liath, the stubborn, was a great choice for the main character. She was clearly caught up in things too big, in things she didn't want to understand, in things that would tear her whole life apart and yet, because she was stubborn and determined she had to continue and by continuing eventually--though slowly and painfully and resisting most of the way--come to take a stand.

Some of the small things I liked were the way the author handled women and pregnancy, the casual way that we discover certain things that are simply not a big deal in this world, that when there's fighting people talked of sending children away, but not women, the way everything works in threes and nines.

As a first novel it was _more_ than impressive. I look forward to the sequels!!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, if Unintended, Find
Review: I picked this book up on a fluke in the library, just randomly browsing and choosing books based on their covers (just to prove that old cliche wrong and kill some time between appointments). I was pleasantly surprised by this random choice.

Being something of a self-proclaimed fantasy dabbler, I had plenty of other novels in this genre to compare this story to and I was pleased to find that, while it stuck true to the theme of the fantasy vein, it didn't rely on the old stock characters and plots as much as others. There are no elves or dwarves or magic swords or rings like you find in so much other fantasy that's nothing more than blatant Tolkien-rip-off.

Instead, McGarry has given us a very interesting and strong (but not "she-male" quality) female character to lead us through this story that's more about discovery and understanding than gaining absolute power.

But don't worry, there's still plenty of plotting and "ruling the world" to keep you interested.

While there's a little bit of fluff here (meaning things that could have been eliminated without losing much of the plot) it was all very entertaining and the whole thing was quite enthralling by the middle of the story. There are a lot of characters to attempt to keep straight (though, for the most part, you can forget many of them without much guilt since the main characters are so striking and memorable as to not be forgotten).

The theory of three (or multiples of three) being needed for success in McGarry's version of sorcery is a nice, new twist on an old theme and keeps it fresh for the reader. In other words, you're not sitting there, reading it and going "God, this plot AGAIN??" which, unfortunately, seems to happen all too often in fantasy.

Liath is a character that's quite easy to relate to. Even though the chances are good none of us reading this are mages, we've all had the struggle for ascertaining truth amid a huge, confusing mess of people and "leaders" claiming to be right and figuring out our place in the world. This is Liath's main fight and it's interesting and completely believable. Hats off to Ms. McGarry for her abilities here. None of the other characters are *quite* as well developed, but they've got dimension and life that's their own and since they're memorable to me a few weeks after reading this, I think they're well enough developed as to be considered "good." They also avoid (for the most part, anyway) that whole "stock character" label. As in, somewhat original and not just a slight variation on something someone else has already done. Not ALL, mind you, but most.

The world-building is not extravagant, but nicely done. It's a soft, gentle hand that guides us through this realm that's so like our own, but just different enough to be fun. It's not grandiose and it's obvious the writer has much higher ambtions than just making a cool place for boring characters to live. The focus isn't on the setting, but it's given such fine attention as to be considered almost perfect as far as I'm concerned.

So, the whole review in one sentence?

Excellent showcase of originality, fun, and talent by a writer in a genre that's overpopulated with a "been there, done that" theme.

It's definitely worth the read, especially if you've been bored with what's on the bookshelves lately. Highly recommended to lifetime readers of fantasy, or those who are just starting to cut their literary teeth on the stuff.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Novel, great first time author w/ lots of promise
Review: I read the entire book in two nights. The plot is very involved throughout the whole book. Some of it doesn't make sense at first but all the ends are tied at the conclusion, I was very impressed. The ending was not traditional, surprised me. This is the first book for a long time that I've cried after finishing.

Rating:
Summary: well put together, original ideas/plot
Review: I read the entire book in two nights. The plot is very involved throughout the whole book. Some of it doesn't make sense at first but all the ends are tied at the conclusion, I was very impressed. The ending was not traditional, surprised me. This is the first book for a long time that I've cried after finishing.

Rating:
Summary: completely without a spark
Review: I'm obviously in the minority here but I found this book virtually impossible to wade through. The prologue was a classic example of obfuscation at its finest. I was at almost the last page (skimming I admit) before I had even a glimmer of what she was trying to set up at the beginning and once I understood I remained completely clueless as to why she chose to start the book with that scene. So from my perspective, the book started off badly, ended on a down note and contained nothing engaging, enlivening or even particularly interesting between the beginning and the end. A fact which I found particularly disappointing because it's clear that McGarry can write (which is something I can't say anymore about certain other well known fantasy authors). My advice is to read a few pages of the book and see how they strike you before you buy - if it doesn't click right away - based on my experience it won't get any better.

Rating:
Summary: completely without a spark
Review: I'm obviously in the minority here but I found this book virtually impossible to wade through. The prologue was a classic example of obfuscation at its finest. I was at almost the last page (skimming I admit) before I had even a glimmer of what she was trying to set up at the beginning and once I understood I remained completely clueless as to why she chose to start the book with that scene. So from my perspective, the book started off badly, ended on a down note and contained nothing engaging, enlivening or even particularly interesting between the beginning and the end. A fact which I found particularly disappointing because it's clear that McGarry can write (which is something I can't say anymore about certain other well known fantasy authors). My advice is to read a few pages of the book and see how they strike you before you buy - if it doesn't click right away - based on my experience it won't get any better.

Rating:
Summary: A rich and complex stand alone epic fantasy
Review: In the land of the Ennead, the triad consists of a binder, an illuminator, and a wordsmith. They are the basis of Society's good health. When the weather needs a little change, or when somebody is sick, or a birth is hard the triad eases the suffering and makes the person well again. When death is near the triad takes away the suffering so the soul can leave the body peacefully. Liath has trained all her life to be an illuminator but after she earns her badge, the light fails her.

She travels to the home of the Ennead, the most powerful mages in the land, in the hopes that they can bring out her light. They fail but tell her that a renegade mage working in a triad can help her if he is brought back into the fold. She seeks Torrin but when she finds him he is nothing like the evil man the Ennead has described. He tells her things about her world that frightens her, but something about him attracts her even though she should feel nothing but revulsion for him. The time will come when Liath must separate the truth from the lies but when that happens will she have the courage of her convictions and act accordingly.

ILLUMINATION is a rich and complex stand alone epic fantasy that mesmerizes the reader. The society that Terry McGarry describes feels so real that audiences will believe she has visited that world. The characters are so complex and colorful that nobody could doubt that these people once lived, loved and laughed. Thanks to the author's skill, we have a variation of the Atlantis legend subtly adapted for this fabulous fable.

Harriet Klausner