Rating: 
Summary: Fun read but less engaging then Point of Hopes
Review: ***1/2 stars to be more truthful...For those of you who've read Point of Hopes and are hoping for more romance between Philip and Nico you won't be totally disappointed. Unfortunately, the authors made the odd choice of setting Point of Dreams 6 months after the case of the missing children has been solved and Nico and Philip are already involved physically and are moving quickly toward 'leman' status. There is no sex of any kind in this novel so if you are looking to be titilated and nothing else, look elsewhere. You won't even be allowed to witness a passionate kiss between the lovers. The reader is treated to a few charming and cozy domestic scenes in which Philip's nurturing nature emerges. Perhaps the authors wanted them to be at the more comfortable stage for this story in which case I wish they had saved it for another book so we could have been the voyeurs of the early stages of their romance. You know, the ROMANTIC parts! In the first book we are left hanging with vague feelings of attraction the men feel toward each other but barely acknowledge to themselves beyond vague feelings. The artistic decision to bypass the magical early moments of mutual attraction is questionable. The mystery wasn't too hard to figure out and it took me awhile to figure out the significance of the flowers and the Alphabet book. I imagine the flowers, which were raised from expensive and delicate corms were based on the violent,intrigue-filled history of tulips in Western culture, albeit with a different twist. In this novel, the flowers are believed to have magic properties when used in conjuction with the book in question. It is Rathe's job to discover if there is any validity to the magic or if it is just a hoax. I would have liked to have seen more of Chresta Aconin, the playwrite responsible for the furor over the Alphabet and the corms. He is obviously based on poet/playwrite Christopher Marlowe, or at least Scott's characterization of him in Armour of Light. That said, I enjoyed the book for the characters and the setting. I do look forward to another "Point" novel as there is the makings of a very engaging series here.
Rating:
Summary: Fun read but less engaging then Point of Hopes
Review: ***1/2 stars to be more truthful... For those of you who've read Point of Hopes and are hoping for more romance between Philip and Nico you won't be totally disappointed. Unfortunately, the authors made the odd choice of setting Point of Dreams 6 months after the case of the missing children has been solved and Nico and Philip are already involved physically and are moving quickly toward 'leman' status. There is no sex of any kind in this novel so if you are looking to be titilated and nothing else, look elsewhere. You won't even be allowed to witness a passionate kiss between the lovers. The reader is treated to a few charming and cozy domestic scenes in which Philip's nurturing nature emerges. Perhaps the authors wanted them to be at the more comfortable stage for this story in which case I wish they had saved it for another book so we could have been the voyeurs of the early stages of their romance. You know, the ROMANTIC parts! In the first book we are left hanging with vague feelings of attraction the men feel toward each other but barely acknowledge to themselves beyond vague feelings. The artistic decision to bypass the magical early moments of mutual attraction is questionable. The mystery wasn't too hard to figure out and it took me awhile to figure out the significance of the flowers and the Alphabet book. I imagine the flowers, which were raised from expensive and delicate corms were based on the violent,intrigue-filled history of tulips in Western culture, albeit with a different twist. In this novel, the flowers are believed to have magic properties when used in conjuction with the book in question. It is Rathe's job to discover if there is any validity to the magic or if it is just a hoax. I would have liked to have seen more of Chresta Aconin, the playwrite responsible for the furor over the Alphabet and the corms. He is obviously based on poet/playwrite Christopher Marlowe, or at least Scott's characterization of him in Armour of Light. That said, I enjoyed the book for the characters and the setting. I do look forward to another "Point" novel as there is the makings of a very engaging series here.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy this book!
Review: Buy this book so the publisher will contract for another one! It is a sequel to the authors' Point of Hopes, and both of them are very worth while fantasy reads. The characters are warm and compelling; the mystery is complicated and interesting; and the fantasy universe is detailed and believable, somewhat reminiscent of the charm and the combination of mystery and magic in Randell Garrett's "Lord Darcy" series, the slyness of Leiber's Lankhmar, and the daily griminess of Thieves World's Sanctuary, but certainly unique and stylish enough to stand out from the myriad fantasy universes now in print. I bought it the first day it was available on Amazon, and now I am going to buy some copies for gifts. I hope the authors and Our Heroes --painfully honorable Adjunct Point Rathe and slightly scoundrely ex-soldier Eslingen-- will be encouraged to work their way 'round all the other "points" (districts) in the city of Astreiant in future adventures.
Rating:
Summary: Buy this book!
Review: Buy this book so the publisher will contract for another one! It is a sequel to the authors' Point of Hopes, and both of them are very worth while fantasy reads. The characters are warm and compelling; the mystery is complicated and interesting; and the fantasy universe is detailed and believable, somewhat reminiscent of the charm and the combination of mystery and magic in Randell Garrett's "Lord Darcy" series, the slyness of Leiber's Lankhmar, and the daily griminess of Thieves World's Sanctuary, but certainly unique and stylish enough to stand out from the myriad fantasy universes now in print. I bought it the first day it was available on Amazon, and now I am going to buy some copies for gifts. I hope the authors and Our Heroes --painfully honorable Adjunct Point Rathe and slightly scoundrely ex-soldier Eslingen-- will be encouraged to work their way 'round all the other "points" (districts) in the city of Astreiant in future adventures.
Rating: 
Summary: Rich and satisfying
Review: I set this aside with a feeling of satisfaction, as if I'd had a good meal. The mystery was well-done, the fantastic elements of the story and the world well-conceived, the backstory well-integrated and relatively easy to pick up once I got into the rhythm of the plot.
Scott and Barnett write with an attention to detail and a richness of atmosphere not often found in fantasy. The story moves along leisurely, over the course of a few days, and (forgive the clumsy metaphor) feels like dark chocolate syrup, rich, bittersweet, and luxurious. The Italian Renaissance atmosphere (to me, the city seems like Venice) and the stylized social structure is fascinating. The behind-the-scenes theatre action seems true-to-life, at least so far as my theatre experience has been.
It seems to me the society is matriarchal, as all the truly powerful positions were held by women, which is a refreshing change from most fantasy. And everyone seemed to have a mother, but I can't recall a mention of anyone's father.
And I rather like the idea of the "ghost-tide," in which our dead appear to us at a particular time of year. I wouldn't mind seeing my paternal grandparents again.
I'll be keeping my eye out for the previous two novels set in this world.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect blend of fantasy, mystery, & historical
Review: If you have not read "Point of Dreams" or its prequel, "Point of Hopes," give yourself a treat and do so. A perfect blend of mystery, fantasy, and historical. There's something here to delight just about any reader.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect blend of fantasy, mystery, & historical
Review: If you have not read "Point of Dreams" or its prequel, "Point of Hopes," give yourself a treat and do so. A perfect blend of mystery, fantasy, and historical. There's something here to delight just about any reader.
Rating:
Summary: Superb murder mystery within an enchanting fantasy tale
Review: In the city-state Astreiant, it is the time of the year when ghosts are visible so city lawyer Kurin Holles expected to see the apparition of his lover, but the specter fails to appear. Kurin knows the most likely reason is his beloved is magically unable to return, which leads to the conclusion that her death was caused by a murderer. Adjunct Point Nico Rathe asks his superiors for permission to investigate the death, especially since the victim possessed a copy of the spellbook The Alphabet of Desire. However, the assignment goes to a subordinate Voillemin, who intends to do nothing in order to further his career. Nico decides to serendipitously make inquiries.
Former soldier Philip Eslingen provides weapons training to those performing in the upcoming The Alphabet of Desire midwinter festival. Soon corpses begin to appear on stage accompanied by the appearance of The Alphabet of Desire spellbook. The book provides a link back to Nico's other case, but if the cop digs too deep he will learn what death by magic means.
POINT OF DREAMS cleverly places a well-crafted murder mystery inside an enchanting fantasy tale. The cast makes this Renaissance world of magic seem real as Nico and Phillip are wonderful heroes while every hard worker has had to deal with a sycophant shirker like Voillemein. The taut story line works in such a way that fans of both genres will enjoy the plot and seek out the previous novel of Melissa Scott & Lisa A Barnett set in this realm, POINT OF HOPE. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Superb murder mystery within an enchanting fantasy tale
Review: In the city-state Astreiant, it is the time of the year when ghosts are visible so city lawyer Kurin Holles expected to see the apparition of his lover, but the specter fails to appear. Kurin knows the most likely reason is his beloved is magically unable to return, which leads to the conclusion that her death was caused by a murderer. Adjunct Point Nico Rathe asks his superiors for permission to investigate the death, especially since the victim possessed a copy of the spellbook The Alphabet of Desire. However, the assignment goes to a subordinate Voillemin, who intends to do nothing in order to further his career. Nico decides to serendipitously make inquiries.
Former soldier Philip Eslingen provides weapons training to those performing in the upcoming The Alphabet of Desire midwinter festival. Soon corpses begin to appear on stage accompanied by the appearance of The Alphabet of Desire spellbook. The book provides a link back to Nico's other case, but if the cop digs too deep he will learn what death by magic means.
POINT OF DREAMS cleverly places a well-crafted murder mystery inside an enchanting fantasy tale. The cast makes this Renaissance world of magic seem real as Nico and Phillip are wonderful heroes while every hard worker has had to deal with a sycophant shirker like Voillemein. The taut story line works in such a way that fans of both genres will enjoy the plot and seek out the previous novel of Melissa Scott & Lisa A Barnett set in this realm, POINT OF HOPE. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A weak little sister to Point of Hopes
Review: Point of Dreams is the plain little sister of the delightful fantasy/mystery Point of Hopes. Though the books share background, genre, and main characters, Dreams just doesn't shine the way Hopes did. The plot of Dreams is fairly weak. It's hard to write SF/mystery that obeys all the rules of traditional mysteries, and though Barnett and Scott succeeded in Hopes, they fail here - the mystery is remarkably easy to solve and is transparently clear by the book's midpoint. Also, the setting, which was easily the best part of Hopes, is in Dreams just a backdrop for a (relatively) normal theater production. Hopes established a fascinating world. Dreams inhabits a tiny portion of it. The real problem, though, is the further development of the main characters. At the start of Dreams, Rathe and Eslingen are living together, having gone from unexpressed mutual interest to an ongoing, committed relationship between books. Scott and Barnett, in choosing not to show the early stages of the romance, are making an unusual, daring, and ultimately unsuccessful choice. They can't, or won't, write the relationship convincingly without the early bits. (I love Melissa Scott's writing, and I honestly believe she *could* do this right, but that only makes this book's failure worse.) In Dreams, it's hard to believe that Rathe and Eslingen actually love each other. In the brief interludes they spend together, they show very little affection, let alone romantic love. The strongest emotion they seem to feel is mutual jealousy; that's not exactly proof of true love. And it doesn't help that the one passionate sequence in the book is between Rathe and an ex-lover. The intensity of that bit just underscores the absence of any such feeling between our heroes. Despite the problems, though, the book is still a good one. Fantasy/mysteries are rare, as I said, and the book would be worth reading for that alone. Add in the marvelous setting and the light, fun writing, and Point of Dreams becomes more than worth the purchase price. I just hope that the third book in the series reveals more kinship with Hopes than with Dreams.
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