See how the new recruit goes, and if the Guild of Moerators needs
another member, I will gladly help out, though the Coercer Guild is
also considering offering me a post.

High Thoughts

Niall

--- In Julian-May-discuss@yahoogroups.com, "Leticia Anderson"
<leticia@r...> wrote:
> Niall wrote:
> > i was about to mail Leda, offering my services too, but guess i
> don't
> > need to now.
>
> The offer still stands Niall!
>
> As of now Nicolette is now a moderator.
> Unfortunately torcs are not available at present....
>
> Leda

How enormously fascinating. As you will have noticed from the description of
our group as being devoted to a single author of science fiction literature,
we are all of course entirely obsessed with motorcycling and little else -
how foolish we all feel for not having more publicly declared our indecent
obsession with the Ducati 550.  I am about to start an e-group to do with
cheese - shall I call it "All About Otters " ???

I do hope you have further similar success when you spam the bee-keepers and
the philatelists.  (Although the bee-keepers aren't as sarcastic, since they
are usually in quite a lot of pain).

Do run along now

Moz


-----Original Message-----
From: shibaihoucheng [mailto:shibaihoucheng@...]
Sent: 12 September 2003 04:39
To: Julian-May-discuss@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Julian-May-discuss] Find a motorcycle coachfellow in your city
to ride together.


A great group helps riders in your city and nearby areas to share
their favorite riding areas, trails, dual-sport rides, and any
motorcycle news. Membership is open to all, whether single, couple or
family.
http://www.bikerkiss.com/i/1



To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Julian-May-discuss-unsubscribe@egroups.com



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If we're going to have spam and transportation, too, we could always
d-jump (s-jump?) over to Duat for a group picnic. Bring your own
bread and mustard. Music by the little-known but lively Noetic
Accordians.

----- Original Message -----

From: Maurice Thomas

To: Julian-May-discuss@yahoogroups.com ; shibaihoucheng@...

Sent: Sunday, September 14, 2003 1:22 AM

Subject: RE: [Julian-May-discuss] Find a motorcycle coachfellow in your city to ride together.

How enormously fascinating. As you will have noticed from the description of
our group as being devoted to a single author of science fiction literature,
we are all of course entirely obsessed with motorcycling and little else -
how foolish we all feel for not having more publicly declared our indecent
obsession with the Ducati 550.  I am about to start an e-group to do with
cheese - shall I call it "All About Otters " ???

I do hope you have further similar success when you spam the bee-keepers and
the philatelists.  (Although the bee-keepers aren't as sarcastic, since they
are usually in quite a lot of pain).

Do run along now

Moz


-----Original Message-----
From: shibaihoucheng [mailto:shibaihoucheng@...]
Sent: 12 September 2003 04:39
To: Julian-May-discuss@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Julian-May-discuss] Find a motorcycle coachfellow in your city
to ride together.


A great group helps riders in your city and nearby areas to share
their favorite riding areas, trails, dual-sport rides, and any
motorcycle news. Membership is open to all, whether single, couple or
family.
http://www.bikerkiss.com/i/1



To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Julian-May-discuss-unsubscribe@egroups.com



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Julian-May-discuss-unsubscribe@egroups.com



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

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Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.514 / Virus Database: 312 - Release Date: 28/08/2003

On 14 Sep 2003 at 12:11, alixnc wrote:

> If we're going to have spam and transportation, too, we could always
> d-jump (s-jump?) over to Duat for a group picnic. Bring your own
> bread and mustard. Music by the little-known but lively Noetic
> Accordians.

....followed by music from that metal band Manticora, with their #1 song, 'The
Nightfall
War'.........

High Thoughts
- Nicolette :-)

On 14 Sep 2003 at 12:11, alixnc wrote:

> If we're going to have spam and transportation, too, we could always
> d-jump (s-jump?) over to Duat for a group picnic. Bring your own
> bread and mustard. Music by the little-known but lively Noetic
> Accordians.

....followed by music from that metal band Manticora, with their #1 song, 'The Nightfall
War'.........

High Thoughts
- Nicolette :-)


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--- In Julian-May-discuss@yahoogroups.com, "Nicolette Lewer"
<n.lewer@n...> wrote:
> Hi there,
>
> Hmm....we could read say, three chapters by Wednesday (UK time) of
each week (or > each fortnight?) which would be Thursday (NZ time)
for NZ / Aus.
>
> Even though we would stick to discussing what was in the chapters,
I would like to > occasionally refer to the other books as there is
quite a bit of foreshadowing in TMCL > and it would be good to point
that out when appropriate.....


Good luck to the NZ/Aus/UK Concilium reading group taking off soon
for the Auberge and the Pliocene. Hope you're planning to share
your journal with us. I'm getting ready to start out with a
USA/Canada group in a few weeks, and found this geologist's view of
the Mediterranean basin in the late Miocene … pretty much on schedule
for the original Group Green:

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/latemiomed.jpg

There's no legend for the map, but if you'll place your mouse pointer
over the lower right corner, it will give you a magnification switch.
The map is from Dr. Donald Blakey at Northern Arizona University.
(Check out your bookmarks for broken links,too – a number of sites
have gone down or dropped relevant content, including the NASA-GISS
paleontology site.)

Last one back thru the time gate is a rotten egg …

alixnc

So am I the only one who is actually reading JM's latest offering?

I have to say as someone who doesn't usually like the sword and
sorcery genre of SF, I'm actually quite enjoying it, though the
arcane (Olde English - must have the 'e' on the end) language is
already wearing a bit thin.

Just got to the bit where - oops hang on if I am the only begger
reading his I could do some serious spoiling here..,

So anybody else? Anybody? Anybody at all?

My and how quick everybody was to get Harry Potter OotP as well -
shame I say, shame. *grin*

Bob

So am I the only one who is actually reading JM's latest offering?

I have to say as someone who doesn't usually like the sword and
sorcery genre of SF, I'm actually quite enjoying it, though the
arcane (Olde English - must have the 'e' on the end) language is
already wearing a bit thin.

Just got to the bit where - oops hang on if I am the only begger
reading his I could do some serious spoiling here..,

So anybody else? Anybody? Anybody at all?

My and how quick everybody was to get Harry Potter OotP as well -
shame I say, shame. *grin*

Bob




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Hiya,

The TMCL group read? Hmm....let me think <g>. Well, if no one has any objections
lets make a start.

['Timewarp' song from Rocky Horror Picture Show playing in the background]

For those interested, you are hereby commanded to read the first three chapters
of
'The Many Coloured Land'   '. Discussion of said chapters to start next
Thursday,
Southern Hemisphere time. For those close to the North Pole, this would be
Wednesday. References to future books are allowed from time to time because of
frequent foreshadowing in this book.

These rules are not set in stone however, if people decide that we need to read
more/less chapters as we go along, feel free to complain, jump up and down etc.

Pliocene Earth (aka Middle Earth on acid) here we come.

Cleo, thanks again for ordering the hardback!

High Thoughts
- Nicolette :-)

On 15 Sep 2003 at 15:12, Cleomadjai wrote:

>
> Nicolette
>
>
> When does the Concilium get underway for our TMCL book review thingy? Soon,
soon, please!
>
> Also,your hardback of has arrived.! I'll probably post it from Rotorua.
>
> Cleo

Hiya,

Thanks for the link - it certainly deserves to go in our Links (and I should
weed out
some of the dead ones too).

Good luck with your group read - it looks like there will be a lot of tourists
going to the
Pliocene! <g>. Keep us posted.....

High Thoughts
- Nicolette :-)

> Good luck to the NZ/Aus/UK Concilium reading group taking off soon
> for the Auberge and the Pliocene. Hope you're planning to share
> your journal with us. I'm getting ready to start out with a
> USA/Canada group in a few weeks, and found this geologist's view of
> the Mediterranean basin in the late Miocene … pretty much on schedule
> for the original Group Green:
>
> http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/latemiomed.jpg
>
> There's no legend for the map, but if you'll place your mouse pointer
> over the lower right corner, it will give you a magnification switch.
> The map is from Dr. Donald Blakey at Northern Arizona University.
> (Check out your bookmarks for broken links,too – a number of sites
> have gone down or dropped relevant content, including the NASA-GISS
> paleontology site.)
>
> Last one back thru the time gate is a rotten egg …
>
> alixnc
>
>

Hiya,

I would like to get my hands on a copy of 'Conqueror's Moon' but so far I
haven't
seen it in the shops (I'm sure book shipments take the slow boat around China
before they get to New Zealand).

It won't be available on Amazon until next January <mutters darkly>.

I have seen it on the UK Amazon but because I would be paying three times the
price
because of Evil Exchange Rates(TM) I'll be waiting for the slow boat, I think...

High Thoughts
- Nicolette :-)



On 16 Sep 2003 at 8:40, Robert Powell wrote:

> So am I the only one who is actually reading JM's latest offering?
>
> I have to say as someone who doesn't usually like the sword and
> sorcery genre of SF, I'm actually quite enjoying it, though the
> arcane (Olde English - must have the 'e' on the end) language is
> already wearing a bit thin.
>
> Just got to the bit where - oops hang on if I am the only begger
> reading his I could do some serious spoiling here..,
>
> So anybody else? Anybody? Anybody at all?
>
> My and how quick everybody was to get Harry Potter OotP as well -
> shame I say, shame. *grin*
>
> Bob
>
>
>
>
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> Julian-May-discuss-unsubscribe@egroups.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>


---------------------------------------------------
Nicolette Lewer
Accounts Payable Clerk
NIWA (National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd)
Private Bag 109695, Newmarket, Auckland
Ph: (09) 375-2041  Fax: (09) 375-2051
E-mail: n.lewer@...
---------------------------------------------------

Hi Cleo,

Well because you asked so nicely… /smile*

I'm about a third of the way through as I'm only reading it on the
train, and have four other books scattered through the house that
I'm reading as well, but, so far I'm pleasantly surprised by
Conqueror's Moon. Although I'm one of the few on the list who has
read all the Trillium books – including Ms. Norton's Golden
Trillium) – I have to admit to never rating them very highly; I
don't think the different writer's styles jelled that well making
the pace suffer and the stories became laboured and disjointed.

However, this new book is something else entirely.

The plot is rich and the characters much better evolved than the
Trillium series. The book reads – and you'll be delighted to know
this – like the best politicking of the Tanu. Picture the sort of
world where the Tanu were evolving their mindpowers, with much of
the population latent or normal, now split that world into civil
unrest, across several different factions, and you're getting a good
overview on this new world.

That's basically the backdrop of this latest book, instead of
mindpowers we have magic, instead of guilds we have countries,
instead of Torcs we have sigils.

The story starts with the balance of power being shifted by volcanic
eruptions that are destroying the economic stability of the planet.
One prince tries to solve the problems by unifying the various
Kingdoms under one sovereign, but due to his father's faffing' it
only partially succeeds. He with the aid of several `talents'
decides to unify the countries by force; his chief allies are a
princess wizard with her own agenda, a young boy with wild talent
and a brother who is closer to his magical religious order than too
his brother. Into this mix are an elder race, The Lights, whose use
of magic far exceeds the human ability and who for the moment lend
or deny their services depending on the protocols used when
activating a sigil, through in a potent mix of sibling rivalary and
an oracle in the form of a long dead king and a nod or two to celtic
legends and you're about there.

There are two disappointments to me; one is a cliché of this kind of
writing and has always `bugged' me, the second is a little more
puzzling.

1) The phrasing of the story, with its wastrels, mead, and `God's
Teeth' cursing is so old hat. Why do all sword and sorcery stories
seem to have a language derived from a bad Hollywood version of
Ivanhoe?

2) There are no and I mean none whatsoever, likeable female
characters.

The first is a given, it's part of the genre and one of the reason
why I never could get to grips with Eddings, Bradley and the like;
the second, I can only hope will change as the story progresses but
leaves me feeling instantly wary when a new female character is
introduced.

Neither I hasten to add detract – well too much - from a story that
is both rich in detail, fast in pace and full in character
development, and for me is a real return to form for JM after the
slightly silly `Spur' series and too laboured `Trillium' series.

I remember waiting for each and every one of the Milieu books,
almost willing JM to write faster, something I didn't do with her
last two series, however I suspect I will again at the end of this
book and there is not a higher recommendation I can give.

So much for my two penneth worth, go on treat yourself to a new
book, you know you want to. *grin*

Regards

Bob


<snippety>

> So, is the latest JM offering good?  I wasnt really pleased with
the 'Heli' series.  Mind you I only read 3/4 of the first one, and
didnt like him much.
>
> Cleo
>
<snip>

Yeah, watsup wid dat?!

It does say in my book "Not for sale in Australia, New Zealand or
Canada". Ah no wait a minute, it actually says, "Not for sale to
Nicolette Lewer in Australia, New Zealand or Canada." That's a bit
rough that is, you being the new co-moderator and everything. *grin*

On the other hand it doesn't say that one of your friends in the now
gently cooling Northern Hemisphere couldn't send you a copy now does
it...

I wonder how much airfare this begger would be?

Bob

<snip>
> Hiya,
>
> I would like to get my hands on a copy of 'Conqueror's Moon' but
so far I haven't
> seen it in the shops (I'm sure book shipments take the slow boat
around China
> before they get to New Zealand).
>
> It won't be available on Amazon until next January <mutters
darkly>.
>
> I have seen it on the UK Amazon but because I would be paying
three times the price
> because of Evil Exchange Rates(TM) I'll be waiting for the slow
boat, I think...
>
> High Thoughts
> - Nicolette :-)
<snip>

Hiya Bob,

On 17 Sep 2003 at 14:58, Robert Powell wrote:

> Yeah, watsup wid dat?!
>
> It does say in my book "Not for sale in Australia, New Zealand or
> Canada". Ah no wait a minute, it actually says, "Not for sale to
> Nicolette Lewer in Australia, New Zealand or Canada." That's a bit
> rough that is, you being the new co-moderator and everything. *grin*

Now look, you stirrer.....<grin>

  > On the other hand it doesn't say that one of your friends in the now
> gently cooling Northern Hemisphere couldn't send you a copy now does
> it...
>
> I wonder how much airfare this begger would be?

I don't expect that to happen, really! There is a big Borders bookshop in my
town and
I'm sure it will turn up there sooner or later. I'm also planning a raid on the
sole sci-
fi/fantasy bookstore in town this weekend and they might have a copy.

After reading your summary of the book I feel like I would get my money's worth
from
it anyway, though I'm a bit wary at the fact that there doesn't seem to be any
decent
female characters. I know I had a look at the plot on Amazon UK and the
wizard-lady
character brought nutcase Madeleine Remillard to mind....

High Thoughts
- Nicolette :-)

Hi Cleo,

Well because you asked so nicely… /smile*

I'm about a third of the way through as I'm only reading it on the
train, and have four other books scattered through the house that
I'm reading as well, but, so far I'm pleasantly surprised by
Conqueror's Moon. Although I'm one of the few on the list who has
read all the Trillium books – including Ms. Norton's Golden
Trillium) – I have to admit to never rating them very highly; I
don't think the different writer's styles jelled that well making
the pace suffer and the stories became laboured and disjointed.

However, this new book is something else entirely.

The plot is rich and the characters much better evolved than the
Trillium series. The book reads – and you'll be delighted to know
this – like the best politicking of the Tanu. Picture the sort of
world where the Tanu were evolving their mindpowers, with much of
the population latent or normal, now split that world into civil
unrest, across several different factions, and you're getting a good
overview on this new world.

That's basically the backdrop of this latest book, instead of
mindpowers we have magic, instead of guilds we have countries,
instead of Torcs we have sigils.

The story starts with the balance of power being shifted by volcanic
eruptions that are destroying the economic stability of the planet.
One prince tries to solve the problems by unifying the various
Kingdoms under one sovereign, but due to his father's faffing' it
only partially succeeds. He with the aid of several `talents'
decides to unify the countries by force; his chief allies are a
princess wizard with her own agenda, a young boy with wild talent
and a brother who is closer to his magical religious order than too
his brother. Into this mix are an elder race, The Lights, whose use
of magic far exceeds the human ability and who for the moment lend
or deny their services depending on the protocols used when
activating a sigil, through in a potent mix of sibling rivalary and
an oracle in the form of a long dead king and a nod or two to celtic
legends and you're about there.

There are two disappointments to me; one is a cliché of this kind of
writing and has always `bugged' me, the second is a little more
puzzling.

1) The phrasing of the story, with its wastrels, mead, and `God's
Teeth' cursing is so old hat. Why do all sword and sorcery stories
seem to have a language derived from a bad Hollywood version of
Ivanhoe?

2) There are no and I mean none whatsoever, likeable female
characters.

The first is a given, it's part of the genre and one of the reason
why I never could get to grips with Eddings, Bradley and the like;
the second, I can only hope will change as the story progresses but
leaves me feeling instantly wary when a new female character is
introduced.

Neither I hasten to add detract – well too much - from a story that
is both rich in detail, fast in pace and full in character
development, and for me is a real return to form for JM after the
slightly silly `Spur' series and too laboured `Trillium' series.

I remember waiting for each and every one of the Milieu books,
almost willing JM to write faster, something I didn't do with her
last two series, however I suspect I will again at the end of this
book and there is not a higher recommendation I can give.

So much for my two penneth worth, go on treat yourself to a new
book, you know you want to. *grin*

Regards

Bob




> So, is the latest JM offering good? I wasnt really pleased with
the 'Heli' series. Mind you I only read 3/4 of the first one, and
didnt like him much.
>
> Cleo
>



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You'll be relieved to know that there is now one decent female
character - though in the grand tradition of princesses in these
books her family are wrong-uns.

Wizard lady isn't really as twisted as Madeline Remillard, she's
more of an (early) Cloud type person at the moment, strong mentally
but fighting against her family, with little regard for those she
manipulates.

You'll also be relieved to know that the Olde Englishisms have
either been severally diluted (Perhaps now the background has been
painted, JM doesn't need to belabour the details) - or the mental
switch in my head that copes with that sort of thing has been
triggered. Either way the story is flowing at a goodly pace without
all the verbal distraction and I'm seriously enjoying it!

Needs more Snudge though - read the book and you'll see what I mean.
*grin*

regards

Bob



<snip>

> After reading your summary of the book I feel like I would get my
money's worth from
> it anyway, though I'm a bit wary at the fact that there doesn't
seem to be any decent
> female characters. I know I had a look at the plot on Amazon UK
and the wizard-lady
> character brought nutcase Madeleine Remillard to mind....

<snip>

This is an option for you Nicolette

Galaxy Books of Sydney will ship to NZ for freight of AU$ 10.00

book costs, AU$55

http://www.galaxybooks.com.au/items.asp?id=235145

The book goes on sale October here in Oz, so unfortunately won't be
reading it for a couple of weeks :-(

good searching to you,

Niall

Dear Bob,
  Thanks so much for your on-the-hoof running review of 'Conqueror's
Moon'... I hope the book is as much fun, and I do hope you'll gather
the pieces together and submit the review ASAP to go with your others
on the amazon site.
  I say "amazon" without a dot-blank, because amazon.com (the US site)
has only recently chosen to acknowledge the existence of the book,
and only the hardcover release at that ... and "ASAP" because I'm
dying to see how quickly they'll post it -- .uk, .com, .ca, and all.
  I mean, what is this? A ploy to protect high UK prices? A Byzantine
form of market research? I don't know the NZ, Aus, and Canada dates,
but in the US, it will be January for the hardcover, March for the
mass market paperback, and May if you want a trade paperback.
  Maybe it's a plot, a la Pynchon, to increase postal revenues? A
friend in Canada is planning to have her brother in the far reaches
of the UK mail her two copies, then send one to me. By the time the
book actually gets here, with probable total mailing costs of about
$25-30 US, the reluctant 'Moon' may well have crossed ocean on its
own.
  All this, with the work of an established US author? To borrow from
a legendary UK group ... this is entirely too silly. My sympathies to
those suffering similar frustrations in NZ, Aus and CA.
  ... Meanwhile, send more review installments. I'm really curious
about the menacing "Green Men" mentioned on one UK site. Is this some
sort of Celtic Grendel, or what?

Thanks for the preview ...
alixnc (as in NC, USA)

Hi Cleo,

Since you're already bringing the 'Special Edition' TMCL over I
can't really ask you to use up more baggage space for 'Conqueror's
Moon' m'dear.

However, as Niall has pointed out, a copy would be available from
Galaxy Books in Sydney in October if I don't find a copy here (and
the NZ/AUS exchange rates are fairly compatible at the moment - the
last time I looked anyway!).

High Thoughts
- Nicolette :-)



--- In Julian-May-discuss@yahoogroups.com, Cleomadjai
<cleomadjai@y...> wrote:
> I thankith thee, Bob, for thy kind synopsys (oops slipped into
another century by mistake).  I will definately order it from
Amazon!  I have  loved the political intrigue of GM/Exiles,  and the
moral (?) issues asked certainly has given us lot a fair bit of
discussion so I look forward to this.
>
> Nicolette, if you are out there moderating, I can add 'Conquerer's
Mood' to the hardcopy of TMCL I'm bringing over in November, if you
want.  Might be a fair bit of dosh to part with tho, the exchange
rate is great for us but shocking for you.  Maybe you can persuade
your family to part with the dollars to give it to you for christmas?
>
> Cleo
>

Hiya,

On 18 Sep 2003 at 8:24, Robert Powell wrote:

> You'll be relieved to know that there is now one decent female
> character - though in the grand tradition of princesses in these
> books her family are wrong-uns.

It's a relief to hear that! I have picked up some books where it has been hard
to
sympathise with the female characters so at least there's hope yet with this
book.

> Wizard lady isn't really as twisted as Madeline Remillard, she's
> more of an (early) Cloud type person at the moment, strong mentally
> but fighting against her family, with little regard for those she
> manipulates.

Sounds interesting. Are there any other characters where you think 'hmm, that
person
reminds me of such-and-such from the Milieu/Exiles series' (hopefully none that
remind
you of Fury, though).

> You'll also be relieved to know that the Olde Englishisms have
> either been severally diluted (Perhaps now the background has been
> painted, JM doesn't need to belabour the details) - or the mental
> switch in my head that copes with that sort of thing has been
> triggered. Either way the story is flowing at a goodly pace without
> all the verbal distraction and I'm seriously enjoying it!

[makes note to self: Get Book Quickly....]

High Thoughts
- Nicolette :-)

<snip.>
> Dear Bob,
>  Thanks so much for your on-the-hoof running review
of 'Conqueror's
> Moon'... I hope the book is as much fun, and I do hope you'll
gather
> the pieces together and submit the review ASAP to go with your
others
> on the amazon site.
<snip>

I don't know about fun but this book is very entertaining, and I'll
be delighted to post my observations on amazon.


<snip>All this, with the work of an established US author? To borrow
from
> a legendary UK group ... this is entirely too silly. My sympathies
to
> those suffering similar frustrations in NZ, Aus and CA.


Weird isn't it, we get movies weeks if not months after their US
release, but traditionally get books before you. I'd have to guess
it's probably a legal/financial thing between distributers, rather
than publishers, but even so you'd think US authors would want their
work published to their 'home crowd' as it were, not to mention
their biggest market.


>  ... Meanwhile, send more review installments. I'm really curious
> about the menacing "Green Men" mentioned on one UK site. Is this
some
> sort of Celtic Grendel, or what?
>

Very close indeed actually, JM has again borrowed on some
mythological characters to add familiarity to an alien situation.

Right then, last update for this week, as this is Friday and I'll
have finished the book by Saturday night.

Full review come Monday.

My earlier reservations have been quashed, this book is excellent! I
nearly missed my station this morning as I was so absorbed in the
story. The primary characters are evolving perfectly and just when
you think you've got one sussed, they change subtly and you're left
guessing.

Dammit I'm even starting to like the Sorcerer Princess now!!

The political relationships are complex and compelling as indeed are
the range of species involved in the various machinations. The
interrelationships between these species is as distinct as any
created by JM before and the interplay between them as they strive
for their own goals both known and unknown is deftly handled.

The story although vast in scope has all of those wonderful little
asides that made the Exiles such a lush read and once you get used
to JM's use of chronology (jumping backwards and forwards a few
hours at a time) to keep the character's experiences current with
each other the sheer pace of the book is on a par with anything she
has written before.

I'm down to the last hundred pages or so and I've reached that nasty
but familiar balance stage where I have to stop myself skipping
ahead to get to the next bit yet wanting to savour every last
paragraph set piece; I have to say am really not looking forward to
the story ending.

As to similar characters…

Well to be honest any comparison to JM's other characters is really
unfair, the characters in the Exiles and Milieu books were such
archetypes that traits from them will show in many if not all her
fictional characters. Blenholme's people, I am sure, are going to be
as familiar and distinct to me in time as the entire Remillard clan,
I may not ever love them like I do say Rogi or Aiken, but I will pay
them a visit from time to time, of that I am also sure.

If you're going to come at this book expecting the same type of
story and way of writing as the Milieu arc, you'll be disappointed.
If however you want to read a story by a writer who is truly back at
the top of her game, carving out a new style to go along with her
new creation.., you'll love this book!

Now I've just got find a way to make the next two years waiting for
the second book to come out go a little faster.

Regards

Bob

Okay, I lied about it being my last review for this, but I couldn't
resist sharing this with you guys:

*SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS*

The story opens with a narrative by Deveron Austrey, the once Royal
Intelligencer (spy), who now lives in exile for crimes not disclosed.
He fills us in on the background setting of high Blenholme –meaning
Moon Island - which is a large island situated in the Boreal Sea.

The book comes with two extremely detailed maps, so I won't belabour
too much the terrain; just give you an overview of the main areas
concerned in the book. To the far north is the land of Tarn, peopled
by a fey race of humans of which more later. The central and Westerly
parts of the island belong to Blendidion (more commonly called just
Didion) once one of the proudest and richest nations, now laid low
with the fallout from a range of volcanoes in Tarn that have spat
their smoke and ash for three years, this fallout is known as the
Wolf's Breath. To the West lies Moss, a sparsely populated area – at
least by humans, but several older species still survive and their
magic still dominates the land even if they do not. Finally to the
South, lies Cathra, the richest and most stable of the countries and
the once home of Deveron and the main land of our story.

The main forces that dictate rule are politics and magic, small
natural magic can be done by people of talent without aid, such as
communicating or overseeing from great distances for instance.

These people of talent can also use Sigils, fashioned from moonstones
in different shapes and styles and more importantly powers. Small
sigils control things like invisibility, or the ability to control
beasts, large sigils can control the very elements and more. The use
of the sigils come at price though, the magic is given by the Great
Lights who exact payment in pain, the greater the power the more
dangerous and terrifying the payment.

So now a quick breakdown of the main characters:

Prince Heritor Conrig of Cathra.
Vra-Stergos, the prince's brother and member of the the Zeth
Brotherhood a religious order of sorcererors/alachamists
Maudrayne of Tarn, wife to Conrig
Ansel the Red, Shaman, Healer and Alchemist, loyal to Maudrayne
King Olmigon Wincantor of Cathra, Conrig's father
Deveron, more commonly called Snudge
King Achardus of Didion
Ullanoth Sorcerer Princess of Moss
Beynor Prince of Moss
King Lindall of Moss, father to Ullanoth and now a frail old man
since his wife died committing an unspoken act of magic.

To the periphery of these main players are scores of nobility and
four main magic races.

The Salka, merfolk, a strange and powerful magical race who
originally forged the sigils.
The Greenmen,spoken of but not in details
Small lights, magical beings akin to the bogieman. They're also
called Spunklies and are blood drinkers not dangerous singularly but
in large numbers the can a drain an army dry is seconds.
Great Lights, the powers behind the Sigils, who can deny or grant the
power depending on whether the right protocols are used when powering
the stones.
Beacon Folk, users and purveyors of dark magic.

The Story Backbone

Once a thousand years ago all the lands were united under a single
Emperor named Bazekov, but in the years since his death each state
has become more feudal and are now ruled by different kings.

With the Wolf's Breath effecting crops and wind patterns across the
seas, the independence of the four kingdoms are threatened by unnamed
people who live on the continental mainland. Prince Conrig tries to
alleviate this threat by reuniting the kingdoms under Cathran rule
and restore a single Sovereignty, it helps that his wife is from
Tarn - it doesn't help that they're estranged from each other. Didion
refuse to join and forms an alliance with Beynor of Moss, to invade
Cathra. Beynor's sister wants the throne – amongst other things – so
forms an alliance with Conrig.

So the story of the first conflict begins, there are twists and turns
and politics and loves and broken alliances and unlikely alliances
formed throughout. The magic is not used fantastically to overawe, it
is simply treated like a fact, just another facet of the book and
becomes that much more believable because of it.

There are I should tell you at once very few black and white, evil or
good characters. These are complex creations and change subtly
through the story giving them a believability and humanity that I've
found missing in both the Trillium and Spurs series.

This is rich, pure Julian May writing at its best.

As a fan, I will guiltily admit that I wasn't looking forward to this
book, I don't like Science Fantasy that much, wizards and bearskin
clad heroes bore me rigid and all the marketing suggested this was
going to be a trillium re-run. So was I surprised by this book?

HELL YEAH!!!

This was a joy to read, not since Intervention have I turned the
pages so fast on a Julian May book; Uncle Rogi has a rival now for my
affections, his name is Snudge, and he's another unwilling, slightly
rebellious Catspaw – I think you'll like him when you meet him. *GRIN*

Regards to all

Bob

Hi Cleo,

Yes, as agreed the group read/discussion of 'The Many Coloured Land', starting
with
the first three chapters, starts 'today' (which is Thursday morning for Southern
Hemisphere folk, Wednesday night(?) for Northern Hemisphere folk).

For those new to the Julian May discussion group, hello and welcome! Grab your
dog-
eared copies of 'The Many Coloured Land' and feel free to weigh in with your
opinions
about the first three chapters, i.e. what were your first impressions of the
Tanu/Firvulag
and the Galactic Milieu? All opinions are welcome and we won't bite (well, not
much,
heh).

Cleo, you're welcome to get the ball rolling as it were <g>.

High Thoughts
- Nicolette



On 24 Sep 2003 at 8:01, Cleomadjai wrote:

>
> Are we doing that today? I got a bit confused with the whole time difference
thing.
>
> Cleo
>
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---------------------------------------------------
Nicolette Lewer
Accounts Payable Clerk
NIWA (National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd)
Private Bag 109695, Newmarket, Auckland
Ph: (09) 375-2041  Fax: (09) 375-2051
E-mail: n.lewer@...
---------------------------------------------------

Nicolette, today is Wednesday evening (18:24 right now) for me, in
the Southern Hemisphere, but also in the Western Hemisphere:
Montevideo, Uruguay, South America.

Best

Marcelo
(always willing to start another reading of TMCL)

> Yes, as agreed the group read/discussion of 'The Many Coloured
Land', starting with the first three chapters, starts 'today' (which
is Thursday morning for Southern Hemisphere folk, Wednesday night(?)
for Northern Hemisphere folk).

Hi there,

Thanks for letting me know - it can be confusing when you think of
all the various time zones in the world.....

Feel free to join in the group read!

High Thoughts
- Nicolette :-)

--- In Julian-May-discuss@yahoogroups.com, "Marcelo Pereira"
<marpe@b...> wrote:
> Nicolette, today is Wednesday evening (18:24 right now) for me, in
> the Southern Hemisphere, but also in the Western Hemisphere:
> Montevideo, Uruguay, South America.
>
> Best
>
> Marcelo
> (always willing to start another reading of TMCL)
>
> > Yes, as agreed the group read/discussion of 'The Many Coloured
> Land', starting with the first three chapters, starts 'today'
(which
> is Thursday morning for Southern Hemisphere folk, Wednesday night
(?)
> for Northern Hemisphere folk).

check this out:

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/custom.html?cities=152,196,47,28,236,136,1\
95,43,137,179,256

I use it all the time for setting up International appointments.

I think you will also find that if you put the appointments into the group
calendar, it will automatically adjust it for other viewers, the person who sets
the appointment will have the absolute time, everyone else will see it as they
have set up their preferences of where they are.

I have set up a test appointment, you should get it soon.  Lets see how good it
is :-)



Kindest Regards


Mike Vallender
Executive Chairperson | www.vallender.com |


-----Original Message from Nicolette Lewer <n.lewer@...>-----

Hi there,

Thanks for letting me know - it can be confusing when you think of
all the various time zones in the world.....

Feel free to join in the group read!

High Thoughts
- Nicolette :-)

--- In Julian-May-discuss@yahoogroups.com, "Marcelo Pereira"
<marpe@b...> wrote:
> Nicolette, today is Wednesday evening (18:24 right now) for me, in
> the Southern Hemisphere, but also in the Western Hemisphere:
> Montevideo, Uruguay, South America.
>
> Best
>
> Marcelo
> (always willing to start another reading of TMCL)
>
> > Yes, as agreed the group read/discussion of 'The Many Coloured
> Land', starting with the first three chapters, starts 'today'
(which
> is Thursday morning for Southern Hemisphere folk, Wednesday night
(?)
> for Northern Hemisphere folk).

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