"Double Delight, Magical Love in a Futuristic Setting!"
The story takes place on the planet Celta, 400 years after
colonization. The planet's name is derived from the Celtic
background of the settlers who had fled persecution because
of their Flair (psi ablilities). Druida City Rand T'Ash, 37, is head of, and sole survivor of the
GreatHouse of Ash, one of the twelve First Families. At the
tender age of six his entire family had been murdered by a
rival family. He had escaped to the city's ghetto,
Downwind,
where he had met his familiar Zanth (a cat he is
psychically connected to). Together they had survived and
exacted revenge. He had gone on to regain his title and
family home. He had once touched the mind of his HeartMate (the woman
who is the other half of his soul) during his
last Passage (the change during which one's particular
Flair becomes manifest), but only that once. Eighteen years
had passed. Rand had turned his flair from revenge to
the fashioning of remarkable jewelry. Yet he was still
very much alone. This morning however his specially crafted
divination dice had given him the prophecy he's yearned
for, "Today you will meet your HeartMate". T'Ash's thoughts turn to the HeartGift he had crafted
during
his Passage, imbued with the passion and sexual energy of a
virile twenty year old male. It is then that he realizes
who his HeartMate must be. He had been playing an
exhilarating game by proxy with a female client he has not
met. He had discovered her preferences and had been
fashioning jewelry to tempt her. Now this had become more
than a game. She would see the HeartGift and be instantly
attracted to it. He would be bringing his mate home this
very night. When Danith Mallow arrives at her favorite shop, T'Ash's
Phoenix, she is greeted by the intimidating owner rather
than the usual proprietor. She feels threatened as the
enthusiastic noble urges her to try on what appears to be a
rather expensive necklace. His rough manner, acquired on
the
streets, is off putting and she refuses. Frustrated he
insists. Danith is a commoner, an orphan, with little
recognizable flair. She knows she can't afford such an
item, but nevertheless is attracted. When she notices his
pheromones radiating from the piece she misinterprets his
motives and leaves him with scathing words. Several other customers had entered the shop during the
encounter, and after they leave a frustrated Rand discovers
that his HeartGift has been stolen. He is not a man to
give up, he contacts other nobles for courtship advice and
decides to force anther passage in order to make a new
HeartGift, one that will reflect the man he is now. He is
certain of his HeartMate's taste and still believes she
will not be
able to refuse him. At the advice of his friends, he floods
Danith's home with romantic offerings, driving her crazy. Having lived a lonely and loveless life in an orphanage
after her parent's death, Danith had wanted a simple
relationship and a large family. She had met a man, who
already possessed a large and warm family, and was
considering his proposal. The two did not share a grand
passion, but Danith is convinced she doesn't need that.
Danith also just happens to be on Zanth's food scavenging
route. She appears to have an affinity for animals, and
kindly feeds the strays. Finally Danith having enough of T'Ash's persistence, she
confronts him, hence learning the cat's identity. Danith
had been tested as a child an determined to have little
Flair the which of course determines prestige on the
planet. Rand is convinced that the test had been wrong and
retests her. It
is then that they discover her Flair as an animal healer, a
rare gift which will be greatly valued by their people.
Rand reports the results and arranges for her training. Danith enjoys using her gifts, but the world of a noble is
very foreign to her. She relishes her independence, and
though she is coming to care for Rand, she cannot imagine
living the life she would live as his consort. But when
Rand's closest friend, the Holly heir, calls in a debt of
honor, the pair and the cat find themselves back on the
streets of Downwind. The crisis forces her passages on her
in rapid succession. Only Rand can help her through this
dangerous time. But just when she realizes exactly the kind
of man he is and that she can't, nor wants to, live without
him, he comes to the conclusion that he is not the right
man for her. Because he loves her he will let her go. Now
it is up to her to convince him that they belong together. What I found particularly poignant is the class structure
that has developed on Celta over four centuries. As so
often occurs when a group flees persecution and
establishes their own colony, they somehow manage to forget
the very reasons they fled in the first place. The wide
social gap between the noble families and those relagated
to the violent streets of Downwind, is a reflection of the
society they left behind. Those with great Flair now look
down their noses at those who possess little or none. It is
truly sad to see the desperation of the youth of Downwind,
expressed in a soulless gang mentality, casualties of that
faulty memory. If T'Ash is a hero, his heroism lies in the
fact that he recognizes the disparity and forces his peers
to recognize it and do something about it. This story is magical, the foundation of which is founded
in what we now call paganism, but the magic goes beyond
mere spells, they have mastered more complex abilities like
transporting from place to place in the blink of an eye,
etc.
The reverence for nature is expressed in the family names,
ie. Ash, Holly, etc. The Celtic background of the people is
even evident in their greetings. This aspect makes the tale
doubly delicious as it will appeal to both lovers of
fantasy and futuristic romance. Much room has been left for
sequels which will no doubt involve cats as well as dynamic
heroes and independent heroines. I personally would like to see the Holly heir find his
HeartMate, as he rather enjoyed T'Ash's romantic woes as
only a rakish rogue can. I must say that it did my heart
good to find a futuristic included in the Jove Magical Love
romance line. We certainly can use more of them. Copyright © 2001
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted September 18, 2001
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