Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The most intriguing post-apocalyptic book ever seen!, 23 May 2003
In an alternate reality, something has happened to humanity. Nuclear war,pollution, degradation...and amid the waste a new mysterious terrific mutation:the Wraeththu. Pell has heard terrible things about them, but he doubts they'll come to his farm to take him away.
Then, the unknown arrives, a traveler:"I am Cal", he says.
So begins one of the most original, intriguing and fascinating fantasy series of all-times. Humanity evolves in the Wraeththu race, hermaphroditic beings of intriguing beauty, some cruel and savage, some enlightened and righteous. Storm Constantine unravel magnificently the history and the personalities of the main charachters (Pell the innocent whose inception has been pre-ordained by higher powers, Cal the har whit a past,fascinating trickster whit which everyone falls in love, Cobweb the strange intriguing sorcerous beauty married to the tyrant Terzian,Swift their ambiguous son) while describing the evolution of Wraeththu society from caos to civilization. Uncannily magic, the story revolves essentially around the love of Calanthe and Pell, separated dramatically to fulfill the plans of the shamanic Thiede.Cal shall return to Pell, after an initiatic voyage that will bring him in contact whit many Wraeththu tribes whose bizarre and diverse costumes and cities Storm describes whit the skill of a Jack Vance.Fantastic that his story is, there is in some moments an uncannily resemblance to recenthistory. The Hegemony of Immanion debating whether the righteous Gelaming should attack the cruel Varrs will ring some bell...
In conclusion, this is one of the best literary achievement of the fantastic genre. It is at the same level of Asimov's Foundation (and the skirmish between Pellaz and Ashmael and the political debates have some Asimovian flavor), Tolkien's Lord of The Ring (the evil Ponclast's city Fulminir recalls vaguely Mordor, The Gelaming recall the High Elves) and Clive Barker's Imajica (where there is an androgyne tribe, the Eurhetemec, and their mystif Pie oh-Pah seems a Nahir-Nuri Wraeththu)
Read it, it's worth it!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Storms Book Amazing. Gripping Review., 25 Nov 1997
By A Customer
As ENCHANTMENTS begins, we see a future world in the throes of human apathy. Humanity is dying, not solely from wars or disease or cataclysm, but from a combination of these; they've lost interest in what is befalling them. Against this tattered backdrop, a mutation of male human stock has occurred, somewhere in a dying city north of the farm where Pellaz, a human boy about fifteen, lives. This new race, outwardly male human, is gifted with powers of the mind, hermaphroditic, physically a bit stronger, and nearly immune from aging after they attain their 20s. They possess a wild, sensuous, almost supernatural beauty. As products of the city's dark underground, most have a dark past; they resemble a (long-haired) gang of street-tough youths. At first, further south, it's thought that Wraeththu are merely a violent gang of urban punks, so when Calanthe, a strikingly beautiful Wraeththu (or "har") arrives at the farm, Pellaz finds him intriguing, a part of the hitherto-unseen wild outside world. Meanwhile, Cal finds Pell's innocence and beauty irresistable. Pell slips away with Cal into the barren lands to the south. Cal's destination is Saltrock, where his friend Seel has established a rough settlement, and where Pellaz can be Incepted into Wraeththu. From there Cal wants to go to Immanion, fabled First City of Wraeththu. The tale of their travels told entirely from Pellaz's point of view, cobbled together from his notes and journals. --So now you're thinking "aha, so this is merely a quest tale!" Far from it, and don't be fooled! As the series unfolds, you'll discover these books are an exploration of human feelings using Wraeththu as a sort of foil: supposedly, hara (plural form of 'har') are above petty human emotions like love and hate that, they say, helped bring about Man's downfall. In reality, Wraeththu are no more immune from emotions than we ourselves, and the (forbidden?) love that develops between Cal and Pellaz becomes a driving force throughout the series. Of course, complications arise: Other characters fall in love with Pell and Cal and they develop (mostly fleeting) outside interests in turn....but at heart, this is a well-told romance about a love that knows no bounds, not even death. Pellaz's Inception into Wraeththu at Saltrock settlement must be accomplished by receiving an infusion of blood from a higher-caste Wraeththu adept, initiating the changes in his own body. The adept who appears at Saltrock is not the expected 'hienama' (or holy one) but a har called Thiede, whose power and stunning appearance instill awe and respect (and distrust) from other hara. Thiede is a pivotal figure in all three books, and only later is his true identity revealed. Pell's transformation takes about three days and is 'fixed' permanently by (finally!) having intercourse with Calanthe. Heretofore, Cal's Wraeththu semen would have killed the human Pellaz. Hereafter, they are inseparable in feeling, and not even 'death' and separation make them forget. --Cal and Pell, while both Wraeththu now, still resemble human males to outward appearance. Some readers get uptight at this point in Book 1, not ready mentally for what seems to be a carnal, homosexual relationship. Strictly speaking this isn't quite the case: during 'aruna,' or sex between hara, one adopts a male role ('ouana') and the other the female ('soume'), so physically the basic act is similar to human intercourse. Wraeththu are fully a different species from homo sapiens, but for some readers the seemingly gay relationship can be a distraction. I think Storm's treatment of sexuality and gender (male=fire, woman=water, etc.) transcends such contemporary interpretations, but mileage for more conservative readers might vary. Gay readers, naturally, will find Cal and Pell's relationship to be more familiar and perhaps refreshing. With Cal's support, Pellaz begins his caste-progression, mostly a matter of honing his newfound psionic abilities with some healthy earth-magick thrown in. He can only advance to low levels at Saltrock because a higher-caste ("Nahir-Nuri") tutor is required, so they decide to seek out the desert-dwelling Kakkahaar tribe, whose leader Lianvis has the necessary skills. Pell receives training there and advances his caste to Acantha level, but they also discover blood sacrifice and the darker directions the Wraeththu path can take. They depart the Kakkahaar encampment with relief and shortly find themselves accosted by the Irraka tribe, poor and caste-less, who have fallen from the Path. There, by sheer force of newly-empowered will, they liberate themselves and an injured prisoner, Cobweb. It turns out that Cobweb is the consort of Terzian, a powerful and respected leader of the warlike Varr tribe, and it is to Terzian's stronghold at Galhea that Pell and Cal take the badly hurt Cobweb. Terzian and Cobweb, who is a true mystic, have been able to work the ultimate Wraeththu magic, supposedly only possible between high-caste hara: they have begat a son, Swift. (In these early days of the existence of Wraeththu the procreation process was fraught with danger; no-one really knew if it would work, or even how. Pure-born hara at this time are quite rare; most hara were once human males and were Incepted in their teens. Cobweb, who was soume (female) during their intercourse, had grown a 'pearl' inside himself, which was ejected from its 'hostling,' still growing, after a few weeks. A few weeks later an infant harling, Swift, emerged.) Pellaz and Calanthe are welcomed to Terzian's stronghold as the saviors of his consort, and Cobweb is healed. Terzian becomes enamored of Calanthe, though (you'll get used to this happening!) and is deeply hurt when Cal elects to continue with Pellaz. This entire sequence of events is important later in the series and forms the backdrop for Book II.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A tale about love that knows no bounds, not even death., 4 Oct 1997
By A Customer
I recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a well-written fantasy tale with many trappings of SF -- a post-apocalyptic world, etc. -- and a depth of feeling so often lacking in the genre. Storm's prose style is so unique that it alone can make these books enthralling. A reminder: the subject material of these books can cause some consternation for those with provincial outlooks on transgenderal relationships and hermaphrodism -- but it can also forge quite an affinity for these books for those who, through lifestyle or open-mindedness, don't mind a bit of fun with gender and sexual crossovers. As the series unfolds, you'll discover these books are an exploration of human feelings using Wraeththu as a sort of foil: supposedly, hara (plural of "har") are above petty human emotions like love and hate that, they say, helped bring about Man's downfall. In reality, Wraeththu are no more immune from emotions than we ourselves, and the (forbidden?) love that develops between Cal and Pellaz becomes a driving force throughout the series. Of course, complications arise: Other characters fall in love with Pell and Cal and they develop (mostly fleeting) outside interests in turn....but at heart, this is a tale about love that knows no bounds, not even death.
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