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Flesh And Fire (2009)

by Laura Anne Gilman(Favorite Author)

3.57 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1439101418 (ISBN13: 9781439101414)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Pocket

series

Vineart War

review 1: My first exposure to Laura Anne Gilman, Flesh and Fire (2009) is the first of a series. Some series come about when a book receives a warm welcome from the reading public. Flesh and Fire shows Gilman planned this series from the start as she uses book one to paint her alternative world with broad strokes while introducing us to characters and conflicts. The protagonist is a young man risen from slavery to become a wine master (Vineart), but an impending conflict which threatens the world he barely has become familiar with interferes with his normal elevation. Gilman's writing is clean, her descriptions make us comfortable in these strange surroundings, and her story is developed with a patience that may put off some readers especially in the early chapters where Jerzy is l... moreearning the ropes that tie magic and wine.I'm ready for Book Two.
review 2: Fantasy where magic is based on wine; surprisingly, it worked for me even though I have no particular palate for wine. Fascination with the world-building is going to have to occupy most readers through the slow beginnings of this book, since the main character, Jerzy, starts out as a slave, with the incumbent cringing and rote obedience.What I personally found more interesting was the analogy made: as grapes must be stressed to produce good wine, so do people need to be stressed for their magical talents to emerge. There's an incredible system set up whereby these mages (called Vinearts) live pretty much in isolation, preoccupied wholly by the growing of their grapes, with only slaves around them to tend to the land and harvest. Once in a while a slave will show a glimmer of understanding for what exactly dwells in these grapes, and he will get plucked out of the miserable ranks to become an apprentice. In fact, all Vinearts were once slaves.Jerzy's growth in confidence is almost excruciatingly hesitant at times, and there's quite a lot of detail in his training, from the horticultural aspects to the magical. Meanwhile, the world and its traditions (religious strictures forbid Vinearts from meddling in politics, after a disastrous era where magic was unrestrained) are becoming increasingly threatened by what seem at first to be ordinary incidents: out-of-season grub infestations. Storms. Then sea serpents wiping out entire villages. Rulers' minds being bent by unseen influence. As the stakes rise, Jerzy thankfully becomes more involved and takes more risks.Unfortunately, the last bit of the book comes through as a bit rushed. Jerzy suddenly makes quite a few decisions that I would call questionable -- despite explicit instructions from a man he fears disappointing, he throws his trust in a couple of acquaintances, which feels more narratively convenient than a true development of relationships -- and the flurry of action that sets up the uncertain tone of the ending is clearly a lead-in to the next book in the trilogy.But hey, it worked. I'm planning to pick up the next one, and I hope that now Jerzy's personality is given some room to reveal itself, out from under the slave-boy's timidity, the transition from vineyards to adventure will offer better pacing. less

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