SPIRITRIDE

Rating:
Summary: The good gets better with this book
Review: I have noticed a spate of "Native American" themes in fiction in the last five years, so it was with suspicion that I undertook Shepherd's Spiritride. Fortunatlely, he creates his own indian tribe with an interesting twist: It has Elven blood! (Maybe that's why it bears slight resblence to existing Indian tribes. It's fiction!) Forest Tribes may have started in the East, but how many still live there? We have Andy Jackson to thank for that. (see other review) Anyway, the plot quickly becomes complicated, with all the gating here and there. I couldn't figure out what was happening next. . . which is sort of the point, In my Humble Opinion. (The reference to Rocky Horror wasn't lost on me, either) The slow, insidious way in which Lucas is sucked into the Satanic cult was creepy, bringing to mind the Rad Right Fundamentalists in Wheels of Fire (which, in some ways, predicted the Waco cult/fire) and their methods for indoctrination. It appears to be well researched, making you stop an wonder about the Real cults that are out there. A big plus in my book, particularly when Shepherd refrains from being overly preachy on the matter. The evil speaks for itself. Mort is the villian you love to hate, and he returns in this story (And, ahem, is not. . .well, I won't spoil it) . I just wish there was more background on where he came from. I'd like to know where this little **** hails from. I loved this book, and could easily have read it if it were a third longer, even. I hope there is more on the way.

Rating:
Summary: The good gets better with this book
Review: I have noticed a spate of "Native American" themes in fiction in the last five years, so it was with suspicion that I undertook Shepherd's Spiritride. Fortunatlely, he creates his own indian tribe with an interesting twist: It has Elven blood! (Maybe that's why it bears slight resblence to existing Indian tribes. It's fiction!) Forest Tribes may have started in the East, but how many still live there? We have Andy Jackson to thank for that. (see other review) Anyway, the plot quickly becomes complicated, with all the gating here and there. I couldn't figure out what was happening next. . . which is sort of the point, In my Humble Opinion. (The reference to Rocky Horror wasn't lost on me, either) The slow, insidious way in which Lucas is sucked into the Satanic cult was creepy, bringing to mind the Rad Right Fundamentalists in Wheels of Fire (which, in some ways, predicted the Waco cult/fire) and their methods for indoctrination. It appears to be well researched, making you stop an wonder about the Real cults that are out there. A big plus in my book, particularly when Shepherd refrains from being overly preachy on the matter. The evil speaks for itself. Mort is the villian you love to hate, and he returns in this story (And, ahem, is not. . .well, I won't spoil it) . I just wish there was more background on where he came from. I'd like to know where this little **** hails from. I loved this book, and could easily have read it if it were a third longer, even. I hope there is more on the way.

Rating:
Summary: Elves, Shamans, Satanists, Bikers, and Wingless Angels...
Review: If that sounds complicated, it's supposed to be. There's little future in trying to offer a synopsis of this urban (well, sort of) fantasy romp, which takes place in the same world invented by Mercedes Lackey for her SERRAted Edge Series, and is a direct sequel to Shepherd's "Elvendude" (it helps if you've read that first). The battle between Seleighe (Light Elf) King Aedhan's clan and its Unseleighe (Dark Elf) rival led by Japhet Dhu spills over into the human world, where it sweeps up 15-year-old Lucas Trask, a confused teen wavering between suicide and Satanism, and Wolf, a Native American Gulf War vet who is the last member of his tribe and the grandson of a shaman. Wolf's presence, in turn, involves Thorn Wilson, a Rider Guardian--a sort of angel who's been dead since 1922 and serves the Lord of the Land of Shadows as the helper of motorbikers everywhere. From Faerie to the Real World to the half-formed limbo that lies between all realities, the characters pursue each other through the interdimensional Gates, with abductions, human sacrifice, and assorted deceptions along the way. Though fast-moving, I found the story easy to follow, and there's action enough to suit any gaming enthusiast. I especially liked Thorn and would love to see him make a reappearance somewhere; he doesn't seem to have a lot to do here.

I have yet to be disapponted by any book written by Lackey or any of her co-worlders, and this novel maintains the qualitu of its predecessors.

Rating:
Summary: Elves, Shamans, Satanists, Bikers, and Wingless Angels...
Review: If that sounds complicated, it's supposed to be. There's little future in trying to offer a synopsis of this urban (well, sort of) fantasy romp, which takes place in the same world invented by Mercedes Lackey for her SERRAted Edge Series, and is a direct sequel to Shepherd's "Elvendude" (it helps if you've read that first). The battle between Seleighe (Light Elf) King Aedhan's clan and its Unseleighe (Dark Elf) rival led by Japhet Dhu spills over into the human world, where it sweeps up 15-year-old Lucas Trask, a confused teen wavering between suicide and Satanism, and Wolf, a Native American Gulf War vet who is the last member of his tribe and the grandson of a shaman. Wolf's presence, in turn, involves Thorn Wilson, a Rider Guardian--a sort of angel who's been dead since 1922 and serves the Lord of the Land of Shadows as the helper of motorbikers everywhere. From Faerie to the Real World to the half-formed limbo that lies between all realities, the characters pursue each other through the interdimensional Gates, with abductions, human sacrifice, and assorted deceptions along the way. Though fast-moving, I found the story easy to follow, and there's action enough to suit any gaming enthusiast. I especially liked Thorn and would love to see him make a reappearance somewhere; he doesn't seem to have a lot to do here.

I have yet to be disapponted by any book written by Lackey or any of her co-worlders, and this novel maintains the qualitu of its predecessors.

Rating:
Summary: The elves are BACK!
Review: Okay, okay...yeah, I didn't like this as much as the first novel. Who could? The plot was every bit as good, don't get me wrong...but I sometimes hated the way that things were done. Yes, it's a great read. It's fast-paced, and if you don't get TOO annoyed with the dark elves, then it's pretty good. I just wish that they would get a new villian. In other words, YES, I AM ANNOYED BY THE DARK ELVES!!! Anybody wonder what ever happened to Mort?

Rating:
Summary: Handles landscape better than characters
Review: SPIRITRIDE is one of the "Elves on the Road" series Mercedes Lackey began. The plot is classic Good Guys vs. Bad Guys; the part set in Elfhame Avalon is a sword & sorcery Western, which is actually quite fitting, considering the setting.

SPIRITRIDE takes place in Albuquerque and the flat country south of the city around the road to Mountainair. Shepherd's best comment in the entire book is that the energy in these parts is scattered all over the landscape, as much in the air as in the earth. I live there. He's right. It is. He's caught the flat dry flavor of the country, the scratchy scrub vegetation, the heat and the dust, perfectly. Pity he didn't do the same for his people.

SPIRITRIDE's best character is the ghost of the motorcycle racer from the 20s, now watching over all bikers. His next best is Wolf, part-Indian veteran of Desert Shield, coping with Gulf War Syndrome and a grandfather who insists on teaching him tribal legends before it is too late. Unfortunately, those legends and the tribal history bear no resemblance to any Southwestern cultures I ever heard of - and given their history as a forest culture, what's the old man doing living in a trailer in the middle of New Mexico? And if they are descended from a lost explorer from the Viking period, why does the first expedition's wisewoman bear the remarkably modern name of "Margot Jameson"? Why do the details of her faith and practice bear more resemblance to a book written in 1952 than to any of the rather well documented practices of the 10th Century? Time travel?

But the most disappointing part of the book is his handling of the sixteen-year-old boy caught in the war between the bad elves and the good elves. The boy has seen his best friend commit suicide. He has tried it himself, and been hospitalized. He has a stepfather who refuses to discuss any of this, but instead greets the most appalling events with cheerful denial. (Why?) The boy gets involved with a pack of melodramatically drawn Satanist/druggies, then as far as his family is concerned, vanishes for however long the events of the book take. And there the author leaves him, personal problems totally unsolved and a whole new set waiting for him when he returns home - if he does. Shepherd never says. But he's sixteen. If he doesn't go home, he has even more problems ahead. Is Shepherd planning a sequel? If not, he's dropped the ball and dropped it badly.

And, excuse me, "Avalon" as our local Elfhame? That's outlandish!

Read it for the local flavor.