Rhapsody
Elizabeth Haydon
Tor, 479 pages
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Rhapsody is a former prostitute turned Singer, practitioner of a musical magic that manipulates reality by use
of the true names of things. Fleeing from an irate former client, Rhapsody begs protection from a pair of strangers
she encounters in an alley. In the process, accidentally, she calls upon her Naming ability, and re-Names one of
them.
The re-Named man--once known as the Brother, now called Achmed--is a professional assassin on the run from the
demon who enslaved him. Rhapsody's inadvertent use of her craft, it turns out, has done more than just change his
name: it has altered his essential nature, thereby breaking the demon's hold. Knowing the demon will never rest
until it has found its former slave, Achmed and his companion--a giant, green-skinned ex-soldier named Grunthor--decide
to seek refuge in a place of power greater than the demon's: within the root system of Sagia, the sacred white
oak that stands in the forest where time began, and is tied to all things that grow. Because of Rhapsody's magical
strength, and also because they aren't certain they won't need her to change Achmed's name back again, Achmed and
Grunthor kidnap her, and take her with them underground.
Traveling Sagia's enormous root system, which extends to every part of the earth, the three reluctant companions
gradually become fast friends. Their journey takes them through the fire at the heart of the world, which transforms
all of them in some way; they also encounter the Primal Wyrm, asleep within the earth. When at last they emerge,
in a strange land on the other side of the world, they are shocked to discover that more than fourteen centuries
have passed while they were underground. As they explore the unfamiliar country, colonized by the descendants of
their own ancestors, they begin to recognize the workings of a frighteningly familiar evil. They aren't the only
ones, it seems, who successfully crossed time and space. Achmed may not have escaped his nemesis after all.
In true epic fantasy fashion, Rhapsody is a big book (the less-than-500 page count, relatively restrained
for Big Fantasy, is achieved by means of cramped print and small margins). Yet Haydon manages to avoid a sense
of padding. The plot developments flow logically, without gratuitous subplots or points of view, and the many detailed
descriptions enhance the story without slowing it or tipping over the line into excess (the excruciatingly extended
sex scenes are an exception, but fortunately there aren't many of them).
Rhapsody, Grunthor, and Achmed are likable, multi-dimensional protagonists with believable motivations. The trust
and affection that grows between them during their journey underground is nicely rendered--one of the best things
in the book, in fact. Haydon's world building is also solid, drawing on a variety of cultural and mythic traditions
to craft convincing societies with plausible timelines and interesting histories. She's good at avoiding infodumping,
weaving explanations and information easily into the action--quite a feat, given the amount of complex background
there is in this book.
The novel does lose tension when Rhapsody and the others emerge from beneath the earth; and its second half, which
relies on some pretty standard fantasy tropes and allows character development to fall into the background, carries
a disappointing sense of formula. Also, Rhapsody's inability to perceive a certain key change worked in her by
the earth-fires becomes progressively less convincing as the story goes on--not good, since this blind spot plays
an important part in the plot--and Haydon surely did not intend Jo, a waif whom Rhapsody and the others rescue
and adopt halfway through the book, to be quite so thoroughly unpleasant.
Haydon avoids ending with a cliffhanger, but only just: the main plot points are wrapped up, but the book finishes
with what is clearly the beginning of another story. Still, readers will be left satisfied for the moment. Overall,
Rhapsody is a solid start to Haydon's projected mega-series (reportedly, there are to be three separate
trilogies set in Rhapsody's world); while it may not please fantasy buffs looking for something new and
different, fans of doorstop fantasymeisters such as Eddings and Jordan are certain to be thrilled by this new author.
Copyright © 1999 Victoria Strauss
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