Book Review --
A Book Review
DREAMS OF THE COMPASS ROSE
written by Vera Nazarian
ISBN 1-59687-393-0
On Sale 04-07-06
It is the secret ambition of many a contemporary fantasy writer to create a classic - a book that can stand with Dunsany, or Morris, or Tolkien, or Peake, and hold its head up high. Few of those contemporary writers, however, will attempt to write their stories as if they are free verse poetry, lost children of the Arabian Nights, or perhaps a misplaced myth cycle. The risk of embarrassment is too high.
Vera Nazarian has dared, however, and in finding her own voice, she offers us a new poet of fantasy, whose tales can either stand alone or weave themselves into an extended epic you will hate to see end.
Nope. I’m not kidding. She’s really done it.
COMPASS ROSE is a book filled with the kind of stories that may have been based on real people and real places, but have slowly evolved into “story” and then into myth. A captain sails an unsinkable ship and must bargain with the Sea itself for safety, an old woman claims to be the last descendant of a house that is now considered a temple, a young orphan’s love and loyalty is rewarded with power and a place outside of time - but she must lose the love and loyalty that brought her to this pass.
The collection of stories can be read straight through, or you may skip ahead to a title that catches your fancy, and find that other tales lock seamlessly into a new story like some fantastic quilt. With each tale, there is a wonderful supporting world to step into, even as a part of you says “Ah! This was the sailor in that story!”
On the Amazon scale, so far I give this collection four and a half stars - I’d give it five stars, but readers who are looking for a thrill a minute should look elsewhere. These stories can move swiftly, but you’ll try to hold them back so you can savor them.
DREAMS OF THE COMPASS ROSE
written by Vera Nazarian
ISBN 1-59687-393-0
On Sale 04-07-06
It is the secret ambition of many a contemporary fantasy writer to create a classic - a book that can stand with Dunsany, or Morris, or Tolkien, or Peake, and hold its head up high. Few of those contemporary writers, however, will attempt to write their stories as if they are free verse poetry, lost children of the Arabian Nights, or perhaps a misplaced myth cycle. The risk of embarrassment is too high.
Vera Nazarian has dared, however, and in finding her own voice, she offers us a new poet of fantasy, whose tales can either stand alone or weave themselves into an extended epic you will hate to see end.
Nope. I’m not kidding. She’s really done it.
COMPASS ROSE is a book filled with the kind of stories that may have been based on real people and real places, but have slowly evolved into “story” and then into myth. A captain sails an unsinkable ship and must bargain with the Sea itself for safety, an old woman claims to be the last descendant of a house that is now considered a temple, a young orphan’s love and loyalty is rewarded with power and a place outside of time - but she must lose the love and loyalty that brought her to this pass.
The collection of stories can be read straight through, or you may skip ahead to a title that catches your fancy, and find that other tales lock seamlessly into a new story like some fantastic quilt. With each tale, there is a wonderful supporting world to step into, even as a part of you says “Ah! This was the sailor in that story!”
On the Amazon scale, so far I give this collection four and a half stars - I’d give it five stars, but readers who are looking for a thrill a minute should look elsewhere. These stories can move swiftly, but you’ll try to hold them back so you can savor them.