The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit

Storm Constantine 1987 Buy from Amazon.com

The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit is the first book in Storm Constantine’s classic Wraeththu Trilogy, now collected into one volume. It is set not too far into the future, but there is very little reference to current geography, all place names are the Wraeththu names, with newly defined borders and cultures.

In this first book, we see the story from the point of view of Pellaz, a young man living on a remote farm. His family has heard stories about the Wraeththu but largely discounts them as exaggerated. When Cal arrives one evening, only Pell knows that he is Wraeththu, and leaves with him to travel to the small Wraeththu settlement of Saltrock. Pell thinks only that Cal is gay, not realising where the true differences lie until his inception into the new species.

The Wraeththu are magical and beautiful androgynes who have inherited the earth. They are sexual, seductive, magical, strong, and almost immortal. They have a fascination that you can feel off the page. Cal, the companion and lover of Pellaz, is presented from the beginning as the epitome of Wraeththu.

Cal is disturbed during Pell’s inception by the presence of Theide, a powerful Wraeththu who has come to be the one that donates his blood to the ceremony. Mysterious and dangerous, Theide’s interest in Pell is a sign of things to come.

Pellaz seems to be marked for great things and his training in Wraeththu magic is accelerated by a visit to a mysterious desert tribe. They travel together through a variety of landscapes into territory that is largely desolate, with few towns remaining and those that are have no inhabitants. They rescue the beautiful Cobweb, the concubine of a powerful Wraeththu Terzian, from a group of bandits and earn the gratitude of Terzian. They stay with his tribe and learning that the ways of humans may not be quite gone.

The great strength of this work is Constantine’s characters, there are so many unfamiliar concepts in this novel that without interesting, well-developed characters the story would not be believable or consistent, yet her characters are complex and intriguing. As time goes on you learn more about Cal’s history and the influences on his behaviour, and you also have the ability to watch Pell change and grow as a young Wraeththu.

Awards:

Lambda Award Gay Men Fantasy, Post Apocalypse Leave a Reply Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website click to cancel reply Anti-spam word: (Required)* To prove you're a person (not a spam script), type the security word shown in the picture. Click on the picture to hear an audio file of the word. RSS 2.0 Recent Reviews Fool’s Fate Golden Fool Kushiel’s Avatar Fool’s Errand Old Man’s War Genres Classic Fantasy Feminist Medieval Military Mythic Post Apocalypse Science Fiction Sword & Sorcery Young Adult Storm Constantine Reviews Scenting Hallowed Blood Stalking Tender Prey The Bewitchments of Love and Hate The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit The Fulfilments of Fate and Desire About : Contact : Support : Links © 2005 - 2010 Novel Reflections