The Spell Singers Review

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The Spell Singers ReviewThe original title of this anthology was BARDIC VOICES ONE, which can be confusing since Lackey's Free Bard stories are unrelated to her two contributions to this collection, which are set in a world that to date appears unrelated either to her Velgarth (the world containing Valdemar) or the Free Bards' world.
A word of warning: while Bradley's two contributions herein are both Lythande stories, neither appears in the collection LYTHANDE, and both immediately reveal the Pilgrim Adept's great Secret (all the previous Lythande stories keep the reader guessing for at least a little while). Consider yourself warned against possible spoilers if you haven't yet read the previous Lythande stories, particularly "The Secret of the Blue Star". The lute-playing Adept is also a professional-class musician; otherwise there isn't much music in this collection.
Bradley, Marion Zimmer: "The Walker Behind" The title is drawn from a few unattributed lines of verse given at the beginning of the story; they're from Coleridge's THE ANCIENT MARINER. As implied by the poem, Lythande walks into the story on a lonesome road, sensing "a frightful fiend doth close behind him tread", in Coleridge's words. Quickly taking shelter at the nearest inn, Lythande may well have left the fire for the frying pan: the old woman who runs the place is a *very* suspicious character, and the inn's servant girl is worryingly perceptive, for an Adept who must forever hide at least one secret.
Bradley, Marion Zimmer: "B****" [The title is a canine reference rather than a curse in this context.] Mostly the Pilgrim Adepts are loners, who are only required to work together at the end of the world, when the Temple of the Blue Star - their training ground, the heart of their order - falls under assault by the forces of Chaos. As it happens, the previous encounters we've seen between our enigmatic Pilgrim Adept and the brethren have not been a pretty sight, but for once a fellow Adept has turned up who not only isn't a personal enemy, but is even something of a friend. Unfortunately, the two of them pick the *wrong* old woman to put them up for the night - someone who not only changes them into dogs out of spite, but lands Lythande with the body of a *female* dog, which has the potential to *seriously* complicate life if the now voiceless, handless Adepts can't escape the spell pretty quickly.
Emerson, Ru: "Two-edged Choice" centers upon a long-retired, now married female mercenary who for various high-sounding, necessary reasons sneaks away from her present life to resume her old skills, only to be torn on realizing how much she's missed her old calling, despite some of the prices she must pay (which may be a bit startling to the reader).
Lackey, Mercedes: "Balance" and "The Dragon's Teeth" have since appeared in Lackey's collection FIDDLER FAIR, and should be read back-to-back, as they feature successive incidents in the life of Martis, who as a Masterclass mage, only works directly for the Mage-Guild. Consequently, when she's sent out on assignment, it's always something *very* dangerous, and when a new guardsman presents himself at the opening of the first story looking like a dancer tricked out in silks, we get some character development in the form of the chief guardsman stalking up to her quarters to exercise his privilege, as an old friend, to yell about her implied insult to his competence (and incidentally, to point out that she complains about *everybody*, in one case because the guy *snored*; the new guy, once one looks past the surface, appears to be an ideal partner for her, starting with how quiet he is). Lyran, as it happens, is *very* good at his job - he has to be, to have survived with his looks and unusual customs. His Way of Balance makes for interesting paired contradictions in his behaviour. The actual assignment in "Balance" is pretty standard; Lyran is the interesting point. The assignment in the second story emphasizes the nature of the magic system and the prices it exacts from magic-users, starting with sterility. The 'dragon's teeth' refer to a Greek myth (part of the golden fleece cycle) about sowing a dragon's teeth to produce a crop of warriors - a metaphor for the unusual problems mages run into in training the next generation.
Roberson, Jennifer: "Of Honor and the Lion" is one of only two Cheysuli short stories I know of, and is a prequel to the entire Chronicles of the Cheysuli storyline, featuring Alix's mother, who abandoned her life as a Homanan princess to run away with her father's Cheysuli liegeman. *She* thought that for once she was acting of her own free will, but Cheysuli, of course, generally believe very strongly in fate. (The other Cheysuli short story appeared in SWORD AND SORCERESS 1, and served as a kind of extract of what would later become DAUGHTER OF THE LION.)The Spell Singers Overview

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