Sorcery Rising (Book One of Fool's Gold) by Jude Fisher

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Sorcery Rising (Book One of Fool's Gold) by Jude Fisher

Pub: Earthlight/Simon and Schuster. 502 page hardback. Price: £17.99 (UK). ISBN: 0-7432-2091-9

Check out website: www.earthlight.co.uk

Sorcery Rising The book centres round the Allfair - a huge gathering on neutral ground with merchants, stalls, games, fortune tellers and more. The Allfair brings together the Eyrans from the North, a seafaring people from inhospitable isles. From the South come their old enemies, the slave-owning Istrians with very different beliefs and customs.

Also from all over Elda come the nomadic people - a gentle race who peddle charms and trinkets which until this gathering were harmless items.

This is Katla Aransens first visit to the Allfair along with her family who have sailed to the fair to trade their goods. The Vingo clan from the Istria in the South come to buy a bride for their egotistical eldest son. Tycho Issan has come to the fair to sell his daughter to the highest bidder and the King of the North, Ravn Asharson, comes to seek political alliances while unbeknown to him, others seek his downfall.

As the Allfair progresses strange events occur, conflict and unrest gradually creep in as magic which has laid dormant for many years starts to affect the land and its people.

I must admit my heart sank as I read the prologue and the first chapter. It seemed stilted and difficult to read but all of a sudden the pace changed and you are thrown into a fast-paced bubbly book with some really good characters full of personality. The character of Katla is one that you really start to get attached to and Tanto is a character you just love to hate.

This book really delves into the undercurrent of hatred between the Eyrans and the Istrians. Their cultures are so different as are their religious beliefs. The truce between the two becomes sorely tested. Also the question of what is civilised behaviour is also examined.

Is it right to put a girl to death by burning her if she climbs a sacred rock or are people barbaric because they do not worship your female god or women should be shrouded from men's gaze in public? This aids the development of some wonderful scenes and set pieces.

Some fans of fantasy may see this book as a bit on the light side but its does cover quite explicitly the areas of sex and violence along with a whole host of other human traits such as jealousy, lust, greed, love and so forth and there are moments where Jude Fisher really shines when dealing with human emotion.

The one major problem is the climatic events that occur well before the end of the book, leaving about 150 pages of post-analysis and tidying up. You know it's just sorting events out for the next book. This causes a sharp change in pace and although the writing is just as good, it just makes the ending feel a bit of a let down.

Overall, it's a good book and ideal for those who are new to fantasy but it will also appeal to a wider audience, especially those who are not normal drawn to the fantasy genre with its careful examination of the human condition and easy accessibility.

This is a very enjoyable book.

Phil Jones

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