WELL OF DARKNESS by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

WELL OF DARKNESS by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Voyager (Harper Collins) - April 2001
ISBN 0006486142 - Paperback
Fantasy

Reviewed by Rachel Hyde, MyShelf.com
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They gave us the Dragonlance novels, the Death Gate Cycle, Rose of the Prophet and Darksword trilogies and have tried their hands (less successfully) at space opera. Now they are back with another rollicking, quintessential work of fantasy and its business as usual. The city of Vinnengael is enjoying something of a Golden Age, ringed around by rainbow-hued waterfalls and ruled over by a wise and aged king with a reputation for peacemaking. He has two sons; the elder Helmos is destined to become king himself and one of the fabled Dominion Lords who are responsible for keeping the peace between the humans and other races. The younger Dagnarus is very different and yearns to be king and a Dominion Lord himself by fair means or foul. Assisting him in this (albeit reluctantly) is his whipping boy Gareth who becomes a mage - but not the sort of mage that Vinnengael encourages. It looks as though the Golden Age is about to end.

Orken sailing the seas in pirate ships, dwarves riding horses across endless plains, elves scheming stylishly and mages casting good and evil spells. Surely what most people think of when they think of fantasy and Weis and Hickman do this sort of thing so very well, keeping the story bubbling merrily away replete with some memorable characters (although fewer of these than in some of their other novels) and a well realized world full of potential for adventure. A few more female characters would have been a good idea - this is essentially a very male story, which is unusual for this pair - and some of their well timed humor. The lack of this surprised me, as it is so much a part of their other work. It is used to relieve tension at key moments, prevent the Job-like sufferings of characters during sticky situations that might become tedious otherwise and generally makes the whole thing more lifelike as humor is such a basic part of the human condition. I guess they were aiming for a darker effect this time, as unusually the main characters are the villains. It is hard to do this sort of thing well but they have managed to create a pair that the reader can identify with (reluctant Gareth in particular) as they start in a small, human way and end up with more than they can handle.

A well realized tale by two impressive writers; when is the next part coming out?!