Point of Hopes

Rating:
Summary: A worthy addition to any fantasy library.
Review: Let me begin with a bold statement: I will be on the lookout for the next book by Melissa Scott & Lisa Barnett. They certainly know how to spin an enjoyable tale. Point of Hopes brings the reader into a fantastical mystery, set in pseudo-Renaissance time. All the characters are thoroughly intriguing, some downright enthralling (though some of the names are a bit of a mouthful). The reader is drawn into their espacades and actually cares what happens to those involved. I have only two regrets for the book: first the pacing was marvelous up until the very end; I became worried when I realized I was 80% done the book and there was still too much of the unknown left in the mystery. What follows happens in such a quick pace that I think the reader will feel out of sorts by the suddeness of things revealed (and dealt with). My second gripe was that there were romantic leaning developing between the two main characters throughout the book but these never, ever, came to fruition. So I was left feeling a bit jaded. I can only hope that a sequel is written that can solve this last problem. Still, this novel shows excellent craftsmanship and should be included in any die-hard fantasy-lover's bookshelf.

Rating:
Summary: A Pity There Aren't More Like This...
Review: One of the more irritating tendencies of fantasy literature is the constant depiction of extremes of class. In many novels, every major character is either a member of at least the lower ranks of nobility or else some kind of petty criminal. _Point of Hopes_ is refreshing in that most of its characters are somewhere in the middle; ordinary people with honest trades trying to get by. The main characters are a temporarily out of work mercenary (he's worked his way up from the ranks to a minor officer's position, but it's difficult to find an employer who's willing to hire a commoner for a commissioned rank) and a constable (the local title is Pointsman), and the most of their associates are tavern keepers, shop owners, and the odd underpaid scholar. Add to this an environment based roughly on sixteenth century France (with a few changes such as a pagan state religion, women's equality with men, and unquestioned toleration of homosexuality), a renegade alchemist plotting against the reigning monarch, and a mysterious series of kidnappings, and one has a novel worth reading and re-reading. I hope Scott and Barnett are planning a sequel, and in any event I look forward to their next work.

Rating:
Summary: A Pity There Aren't More Like This...
Review: One of the more irritating tendencies of fantasy literature is the constant depiction of extremes of class. In many novels, every major character is either a member of at least the lower ranks of nobility or else some kind of petty criminal. _Point of Hopes_ is refreshing in that most of its characters are somewhere in the middle; ordinary people with honest trades trying to get by. The main characters are a temporarily out of work mercenary (he's worked his way up from the ranks to a minor officer's position, but it's difficult to find an employer who's willing to hire a commoner for a commissioned rank) and a constable (the local title is Pointsman), and the most of their associates are tavern keepers, shop owners, and the odd underpaid scholar. Add to this an environment based roughly on sixteenth century France (with a few changes such as a pagan state religion, women's equality with men, and unquestioned toleration of homosexuality), a renegade alchemist plotting against the reigning monarch, and a mysterious series of kidnappings, and one has a novel worth reading and re-reading. I hope Scott and Barnett are planning a sequel, and in any event I look forward to their next work.