Book Description
In this powerful and elegant story set in a future Earth very different from our own, a new kind of human has evolved to challenge the dominion of Homo sapiens. This new breed is stronger, smarter, and far more beautiful than their parent race, and are endowed with psychic as well as physical gifts. They are destined to supplant humanity as we know it, but humanity won't die without a struggle.Here at last in a single volume are all three of Constantine's Wraeththu trilogy: The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit, The Bewitchments of Love and Hate, and The Fulfilments of Fate and Desire.
Customer Reviews:
couldn't get throught the first book.......2007-05-26
it took me two years of regular attempts at the behest of a good friend to get through the first 2/3 of the first book. it was not worth it.
interesting concepts, horribly written.
Delightfully strange, and completely sincere.......2006-08-29
Storm Constantine started her epic stories of the Wraeththu with this fascinating trilogy--and I still think these books are her best. What starts as a fairly routine post-apocalyptic journey rapidly becomes weirder and weirder! The handsome stranger who takes young Pell away from his dreary homeland is not human--not male and not female. Cal is a member of new race of mutants--the Wraeththu--but the har, as they are called, are some of the most fascinating mutants in science fiction. (They remind me a little of the vampires in Anne Rice's early books. Just a little.)
Romantic, dramatic, vain and at times completely irrational, the har range from brutal, violent warriors to delicate creatures "renowned for their beauty". In lesser hands, a lot of this would have been somewhat ridiculous, but Storm is a fearless and creative writer who treats her characters with dignity. She presents her unique and complex plots in a sincere fashion. (No smirking, no winking, no smart-aleck references or asides.) She also does a better than average job of creating characters who are convincingly androgynous, and even makes it clear that some of the har are masculine, and some are more feminine. In other words, she doesn't attempt to eliminate all sexual characteristics from a race which has only one gender.
I reread this book with delight from time to time, and always enjoy new books about this fascinating world. When the current glut of unoriginal fantasy makes me blue, I can always turn to the Wraeththu trilogy for an enjoyable read!
A world I never wanted to leave.......2006-06-29
I bought this book 2 years ago during my freshman year of college...not the best time to read a book, much less three, that require you to sit back and to sink into the post-apocalyptic Earth that now in the hands of Wraeththu. I didn't get this book then... I know better now.
I recently picked it up again, finally giving into the feeling that I was really missing something special. I let Storm's magic work its way around me. And did it ever pull me in! The story of Pell & Cal's love that is twisted in the hands of Thiede, who seeks to use Pell for his own purposes, to the shadowy, mystical world that is We Dwell in Forever in which the beauty, Cobweb rules, is truely unforgetable. Rarely do I find myself walking the halls of a fictional mansion or wandering a desert land full of decaying human cities and culture. But I did in Wraeththu.
Re-reading Wraeththu is an experience I'll never forgot. I only wish I had done it sooner.
I loved this book!
A Fresh Look At Fantasy.......2006-06-17
I agree with every review posted below this one, positive and negative. But the one thing that no one really seems to have noticed or pointed out in either case is what Constantine really accomplished with these books; she took an old character, the faerie (no pun intended), and provides an alternate origin for it. She even goes so far as to flesh it out and make it relatable on an understandably human level, even though they're not remotely human at all.
For isn't that what wraeththu really are--faerie folk, elves, whatever you want to call them? They're intensely, androgynously beautiful, and magical; aloof sometimes, mercurial others. Simply put, she is brilliant in her creativity.
That's all I wanted to add. The other reviews say everything else you need to know.
The Art of Being Har...........2006-03-21
These were the very first fantasy/scifi books I ever read..and like the antihero Calanthe, I started in the middle of the trilogy and went from there. These three books took my breath away! I have had them since they came out almost 20 years ago, and and they are read once a year, I simply must spend time with the Wraeththu. Now I see Storm Constantine has fleshed out her Wraeththu world and has written three more books, I'm in the middle of the first of those and it is fantastic. These books got me into this genre, completely.
Book Description
Darquiel har Aralis is different from any other har. After a disastrous attempt to incept his closest friend, he attracts the attention of the mysterious Thiede, and learns that his origins are more astounding than he imagined. Loki har Aralis is the favoured son of the Tigrons in Immanion. When he is kidnapped to the stark realm of Thanatep, he must learn to walk the secret ways between the worlds before he can escape. The struggle between these two brothers is both powerful and mythic, and brings this cycle of Wraeththu history to a marvelous conclusion.
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful ending.......2007-05-07
This book is one of the reasons why I love Storm Constantine's work. She manages to take everything she built up in the first two books of the trilogy, and bring it all together. There's no stretching the text or trying desperately to fill pages; the pacing is wonderful, and it's a page turner right to the end.
And it gets complex! All the hints from the first book, as well as some from the original Wraeththu trilogy, are brought together here in a plot that's more bizarre and fascinating than I'd imagined. Ancient angelic lore, occultism and interplanar travel are featured as Wraeththu work through a truly monumental period of growth in their history. The story is full of suspense, with an incredibly satisfying ending.
As is Constantine's style, we get to see some really interesting sides of various characters; I was particularly surprised to see what happened to Ponclast in this book. She has a good sense of balance for switching from one set of characters to the next, not letting us go too long without checking on everyone.
This book really brought the trilogy together, and it's going to be a favorite read of mine for years to come.
Tying up the loose ends.......2006-07-22
This is not just a finale for this trilogy, it's a satisfying conclusion to the entire Wraeththu arc. Characters you haven't even though of since the first book show up, and there are new revelations about other longtime characters that will surprise you.
Pell is still his ornery self, and he gets much more "screen time" than he's had in a while in the series.
Everything left hanging since the beginning of the series is answered here: Do you want to finally know where Wraeththu and Kamagrian come from? It's here. Do you want to know what happens when a harling is conceived by three, rather than two, hara? It's here. What of Lileem and her library? Yup, that's here too.
If the above confuses you, it's meant to. If you don't understand that, you really shouldn't read this book yet. Some books in some trilogies or series can be read as a standalone novel. While I suppose you might get some enjoyment if you tried it with this one, you'd also be immune to many of the surprises here... if you don't remember Velaxis, for instance, you're going to miss something big. Go get the Tor Omnibus book of the first trilogy (
Wraeththu) and start there.
For the rest of you, though, those who want to know what Theide's been up to and whatever became of Ponclast, this conclusion does not disappoint.
Fantastic finale.......2006-06-22
Darquiel was raised amidst the Olopade tribe, but though he has no idea who his parents are he believes he is the offspring of humiliated, dead or both Wraeththu of renown. As he grows up he realizes he is different from his tribesmen as he has magical prowess that no other seems to have. He experiments trying to "incept" his best friend, the human Amelza, but that fails tragically; Thiede the powerful detects Darq's magical effort especially his psychic plea to help his friend and realizes how different this har is from his tribesmen.
Loki, the son of the mighty Tigron, has a well earned reputation in the use of magic and diplomacy. However, Geburael and his half-brother Diablo, believing that the hold on society by their grandfather Tigron must end must kidnap Loki, whose attempts to escape fail. As Darq learns how to control his magic and who his parents are, his path will intersect with Geburael, Diablo, and Loki.
Though action saga fantasy fans will want to pass as the story line moves at a moderate pace, readers who appreciate a deep look at a future evolved species of humanity will fully relish this Wraeththu entry. Darq is the fascinating character though he shares top billing with the more accomplished Loki as the former's coming of age in the realm of magic brings deep insight into the abilities of his race. Storm Constantine provides a fine tale that shines a powerful light on the Wraeththu.
Harriet Klausner
Magnificent finale.......2006-06-19
Seldom you see a fantasy trilogy conclding itself in a manner so rich and satisfying. All the threads come to end in a stunning yet convincing way, and the plot unfurls in an intriguing, fascinating way. Seven years after the war on Fulminir, we witness the predicaments of three second-generation hara conceived during the fateful eventsin Shades: the proud and troubled Darquiel, growing in the far nothern realm of Olopade, the pampered and naive Loki, the favoured son of the Tigrons Calanthe and Pellaz,and the devious Geburael, son of the enemy of the Tigrons, Ponclast, andof the traitorous son of Pellaz, Abrimel. Geburael lives in the dark dimension of Thanatep with his brother Diablo, that teached him only hate and desires of revenge. The lives of Geburael, Loki and Darquiel will come at a crucial point in the magic land of Anakhai. Meanwhuile, the Kamagrian Lileem, in the realm of the Multiversal Library (in which one hears the echo of the Infinite Library of Jorge Luis Borges), will discover the very secret of the birth and meaning of Wraeththu. And even the all-powerful Thiede will have a part in this final disclosure.
Magnificently narrated, rich in details of strange and arcane realms, with charachters described in a so vivid and superbly detailed manner, that the reader will never forget them, this novel is a worthy conclusion of a trilogy that I think is no less magical and beautiful than the first Wraeththu Trilogy.
Book Description
When Jassenah har Sulh arrives in the Wraeththu town of Jesith to train magically with the famous hienama Ysobi, he's unprepared for the effect this har will have on him. Ysobi opens Jassenah's mind to the potential that hara can reach for and in doing so, also opens his heart. Just as it seems Jassenah has achieved his heart's desire, a new student arrives, in the form of Gesaril, a damaged young creature with mysteries lurking in his past. The magic of both the unseen world and that of harish emotions conspire to destroy Jassenah's idyllic life, until he feels he's forced to stoop to equally cruel methods to salvage his happiness. But at what cost? The Hienama is a rich and deeply erotic tale of the Wraeththu, set in the magical land of Alba Sulh. This is not a story of great leaders who affect the destiny of all, but simply that of hara who live on the land and in the wake of human passing are trying to establish communities. They strive to cast off human limitations but sometimes this task proves difficult, especially when it involves matters of the heart, when all the dark anxieties and jealousy of their previous human condition can rise to torment them. This story is the first in a series of Wraeththu novellas planned by Storm Constantine, involving the hermaphrodite race who comes to replace humanity, first explored in her seminal trilogies: The Wraeththu Chronicles and The Wraeththu Histories.
Customer Reviews:
melts under the tongue.......2007-03-23
Constantine's style is liquid sex for your eyeballs. It is a bit steep for such a smallish book - but the prose is so exquisite that this read is enjoyable for more than once.
definitely worth it.
Tantalizing and satisfying.......2005-11-12
The Hienama is different from the new Wraeththu Histories, but has the original element that is always so satisfying about Storm Constantine's books. As the advertising claims, it's not about larger politics or cosmic events, but about ordinary hara. Only, this has the maturity of the new Histories, with the personal voice that was so alluring about the first trilogy.
Wraeththu is gripping because admist the new evolution into hermaphrodites, in its unique blend of science fiction merging into fantasy, it is at heart about enlightenment. In the middle of politics and war and "greater events," it has always been about rising about the petty concerns and finding spiritual awareness and understanding. The Histories do not lose sight of this, and The Hienama, the story of late-incepted har Jassenah har Suhl whose life in a smalll community in Alba Suhl, brings 'slice of life' to a transcendant level. The characters are beautifully mapped out, their relations with each other are developed and complicated.
The book itself is a joy - the scrolls and illustrations, reminiscent of Art Nouveau, are beautiful.
I was wary at first - novella? common hara? no Cal? but now I'm avidly waiting Storm Constantine's future Wraeththu novellas.
Love's labour lost in the Wraeththu world.......2005-04-26
In a remote corner of the Wraeththu world, far from the splendid Immanion and the grim Fulminir, a late-incepted har in the country of Alba Sulh comes to the peaceful village of Jesith to be trained by the renowned local Hienama (wraeththu High Priest), Ysobi. From here develops a tale of love (and lovemaking), difficult relationships, misundertandings and disappointements between the hara of Jesith, precipitated by the arrival of a problematical student for Ysobi.A tale of love and thorns, friendships and affections strained and conflicting, a very good piece from Storm Constantine, this time very graphic in describing Wraeththu lovemaking, Aruna. A little, hot masterpiece
Book Description
Hailed as "a literary fantasist of outstanding power and originality" by Michael Moorcock and "a mythmaking Gothic queen" by Neil Gaiman, Storm Constantine is one of the most exciting and innovative fantasy writers of her generation. The author of many acclaimed works of science fiction and fantasy, she is best known for her daring, stylish and provocative "Wraeththu" trilogy (The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit , The Bewitchments of Love and Hate, The Fulfilments of Fate and Desire). The series, which chronicled the rise of a new race of seductive androgynous beings, with awesome powers, was hailed as a modern fantasy masterpiece, winning an avid international following of devoted readers.In her current series of work, Constantine has returned to the world of the Wraeththu, and the history of the first ruling dynasty in Immanion. Shades of Time and Memory continues the story of the emotional struggle between the triad of Pellaz, the Tigron of all the Wraeththu; Caeru, the Tigrina chosen for him by Thiede, and hostling of Pellaz's heir; and Calanthe, the Tigrina of Pellaz' heart -- Cal who incepted Pellaz, murdered Thiede, and whose wild seductive nature captivates all who know him.But while these three struggle for mortal political power, others are discovering that the psychic abilities of the Wraeththu and their sisters, the Kamagrian, are far greater, and far stranger, than any of them had ever supposed.
Customer Reviews:
Path of the Seeker.......2007-02-24
The opportunity to read anything written by Storm Constantine is a gift. I was most moved in this presentation of Chaos Magick by Constantine's ability to put forth a system that fosters such intense evaluation of self and the release of personal assumption. In that regard few systems of magick stand out of their own way so gracefully.
I knew from reading the Wraeththu series that Constantine knows her stuff when it comes to elementally tapping into and moving life force. The rituals she's developed in this practice carry the same power that I felt through all of my Reiki attunements and the more "Enochian" level work that I've done. It's impressive, to say the least.
Yes, I'm a fangirl, and I had to subdue a squeal through the whole read. The thing is, the magick is real. From one who thrived on the Wraeththu mythos and thought Constantine had so artfully brought their world to life in words, I am moved by her dedication to her own imagination to share their system of magick so effectively and so clearly close to her heart. The book's teachings are no less remarkably packaged in beautiful prose and artwork.
An interesting piece of paradigm-specific pop culture magic.......2006-07-28
I was introduced to the Wraeththu mythos and "Pop Culture Magick" by Taylor Ellwood (who contributed to the Grimoire) about a year ago. Being an adventurous magician, I found that using modern mythology in magic was just as effective as ancient mythology. This book, the first in a series of three, is an excellent tool for those wishing to do the same.
Utilizing the Wraeththu mythos, surrounding androgynous, hermaphroditic deities from Constantine's books, "Kaimana" weds the mythos to basic neopagan practices and holidays. It's a superb look at how the gods need not be found in Bulfinch or Hamilton's books of mytholog to be appropriate to the cycles of the seasons and life.
While the book is primarily aimed at fans of the Wraeththu mythos, those who have not yet been introduced to it may find this to be a fascinating take on spirituality. Reading the fiction that the mythos come sfrom is helpful, and well worth the read. However, Constantine proves she can write nonfiction every bit as well as fiction.
Book Description
A dark tale set in Megalithica, Breeding Discontent tells the story of Lisia, a hostling in a secret Varrish breeding facility, forced to make pearls - new life - on demand by the military.
The Gelaming general, Ashmael Aldebaran, and a unit of his troops are on duty in Megalithica, when they uncover the hidden facility, which has been abandoned by its administrators. Only a group of struggling survivors remain: former hostling Lisia and nearly two hundred harlings.
Lisia, suspicious of the Gelaming, fears the possibility of death or imprisonment, or at the very least eviction from his home. Will Ashmael follow orders to the letter and tear this community apart, or will he show mercy to the living products of the facility? And how will Lisia and his charges react to those who have come to liberate them, when liberation feels like conquest?
The past and the present begin to overlap, as Lisia's chilling history is told through the pages of his diary and he struggles to fight for his future, and the welfare of those in his care.
Customer Reviews:
Every Fanfic Writer's Dream.......2006-12-06
Storm stumbled onto this story on the primary Wraeththu fan site and felt it was so in the spirit of her created realm that it deserved to be published proper. The stuff dreams are made of!
Ah well. I did really like it. It is the story of a very minor character who did not figure into the canon plot until the second book of the second trilogy, Lisia. Lisia was one of many secretly selected breeders kept in a facility to procreate with soldiers of a particularly vile Wraeththu tribe to keep their ranks replenished. The thing that makes this book stand apart from the rest, other than it was obviously not written by Storm, is that it deals with the question of the feminine aspect of Wraeththu head-on. The other books did not, and even later when Wraeththu began to understand more about themselves and the divergent other tribe that is originated from human females, there was still very much a masculine dominance. This book lacked Storm's established voice, but it was very well done, nonetheless. It fit into the mythos quite well. I must say that it is riddled with typos, which seemed to originate from poor typesetting rather than bad editing. Also, it is written as a plot in the present inset with flashbacks to Lisia's diary. There was one such inset that seemed out of place and affected the power punch climax the book was supposed to have. It didn't ruin it, it just really would have fit better in a different order. I was also reading it speed of light and didn't want to put it down, so it may well be that I missed some subtle tie-in that made its organization tight, as is.
Fan-fiction at a high price.......2005-08-11
I wanted to like this because I've been waiting for new Wraeththu books for sometime. I was ecstatic to see this book, then realized it was a Mythos Novel written by a fan. For the price I paid for it I felt ripped off. I hoped that if it was published by Immanion Press and had Storm's stamp of approval that it would most certainly be as good or close to the original cannon work. However its the product of two-first time authors writing in another authors world which strikes me as odd. Also as you read this you are very aware of when the authors switched chapters or took over certain areas for each other.
I found the story to be very clumsy and jarring. When the mood was set it suddenly went pear shaped then dissolved. The main character Lisia is a very shallow and one dimensional sketch. As the reader you do at first find yourself caring for he/she, but the plodding plot hacks away at those initial feelings. It was very hard to get through this story and the ending seemed tacked on.
This is fanfiction for the sake of fans and not something newbies should take on as a first look into the Wraeththu world. I'll steer clear of Mythos Books from now on and only get things by Storm herself.
Final notes or I guess me just being a quality freak, there are loads of misspelled words and talking in circles in this book. Its hard to recommend this to even the most steadfast Storm fan.
More please!.......2005-03-31
I really enjoyed this book. It is an intriguing storyline which not only adds to the depth of Storm Constantines Wraeththu world, but which also deals with provocative gender issues and stereotypes, prejudice and cultural differences, geopolitics and bureaucratic stuffiness. A thoroughly delightful read!!!!!
"Breeding Discontent" is a stand-alone novel of Storm Constantine's Wraeththu Mythos written by Wendy Darling and Bridgette Parker (Storm Constantine, editor), with the storyline is set sometime between "Bewitchments of Love and Hate" and "Fulfillments of Fate and Desire" of the original Wraeththu trilogy.
The setting is a breeding facility, and the main character is Lisia. The storyline text alternates poignantly with excerpts from the diary Lisia has kept since he arrived as a child at the facility. Lisia is a hostling, who has been indoctrinated, and specially schooled, to believe that his highest purpose in life is to repeatedly become "pregnant" and give birth to an endless succession of harlings (wraeththtu children), that he will never know as his own, in order to keep his tribes' army (the fearsome Varr army) supplied with new soldiers.
However, Lisias' tribe, the Varrs, have lost the war with the Gelaming tribe. The Gelaming army is now moving through their newly conquered territories cataloguing (like all good bureaucrats!) the atrocities they find therein. The Gelaming army is horrified to discover the breeding facility, which has been abandoned by the Varrs, leaving Lisia alone to care for nearly two hundred Wraeththu children. The storyline deals with events that occur as the Gelaming liberators and Parasiel (the new name the Varrs friendly to the Gelaming administration have given themselves) try to figure out exactly what was happening at facility and decide the "best way" to help Lisia and the harlings. There are misconceptions on both sides: The Gelaming army sees Lisia as an unnatural throwback (and even to me his feminine "barefoot and pregnant" status did seem like something out of another time) and they view the harlings in his care as exploited, brainwashed experiments. Despite his growing bitterness at his lot, Lisia sees the Gelaming army as the enemy, a threat to all he has ever known, as well as to the harlings in his care.
My standard warning for the easily offended reader: Although there is not as much sex depicted in this book as in the others I've read there is some (between hermaphroditic beings)...sex is also discussed freely and dispassionately with regards to the Lisias' training, breeding, and childbirth.
Good fanfic... bad pro fic.......2004-08-15
I heard about this novel, which apparently was first published as a fanfic on the 'net, through the Wraeththu fan grapevine. So I hunted it up on Amazon and ordered it despite the hefty cover price ($20 at the time I bought it; $30 if you buy it directly from Immanion Press). I read it on a four-hour train ride during a business trip; it was a short easy read. That irritated me, because when I pay $20 for a paperback I expect it to last longer than the express. But as I read the novel, I began to realize that the length wasn't the only disappointing thing about this book.
First a synopsis. The story is clearly aimed at existing Wraeththu fans rather than newbies, although a number of awkward infodumps have been woven in here and there to make it more newbie-friendly. "Breeding" takes place between books 2 and 3 of the original Wraeththu trilogy. In the land of the bloodthirsty warriors formerly known as the Varrs (now rechristened "the Parasiel" and trying to become a kinder, gentler tribe), an ugly experiment has taken place. The Varrs, in an effort to keep their armies strong, built breeding facilities where specially-trained, brainwashed hara were kept literally barefoot and pregnant for years. The story focuses on a breeder named Lisia who is thrust into a dire situation when the Varrs lose their war against the Gelaming, abandon the facility, and leave Lisia stuck with nearly two hundred Wraeththu children and no supplies. Lisia's a resourceful fellow, though, and with the aid of the older children he and they make do until a party of Gelaming soldiers discovers the facility at the start of the novel. The story then covers the next several months as the Gelaming and Parasiel try to unravel the history of the facility and decide the fate of the harlings and Lisia. Some of this unraveling occurs through the pages of Lisia's diary.
And that's pretty much it for the plot of the story. The central conflict is whether Lisia and the children will be permitted to remain in their home, or taken away by the Gelaming to be separated and "un-brainwashed" -- i.e., re-brainwashed to think like the Gelaming. There's very little actual tension surrounding this conflict. All the "good guys" want them to stay together; only one "bad guy" wants them separated, and his reasons aren't very plausible. So with the plot a foregone conclusion, the focus lies instead on the characters and how each deals with the changes.
The characters held my attention pretty well. I did grow to care what happened to Lisia, and I'm always glad to see Swift, my favorite character from Constantine's trilogy, though he was just a supporting character in this case. But although I tried my best to read this story as a kind of media tie-in for the Wraeththu universe (which was how I interpreted the cover design, which has a prominent "Wraeththu Mythos" logo above the title -- the start of a series?), I found it hard to accept this as a professional novel. It didn't have the same feel as, say, a Star Trek novel. It never stopped feeling like fanfiction. Specifically, I kept noticing certain flaws:
-Poor editing. There were more typos than I expect to see in a commercial work, and a lot of stylistic flaws (e.g., redundancies, overuse of the passive voice, unnecessarily long expositional paragraphs) which weakened the narrative and made the whole story feel bogged down/bloated in some places. This makes me wonder whether the story was even shorter in its original form, and the authors padded it with unnecessary filler to make it long enough to publish. The poor editing isn't the authors' fault, but it didn't help my overall impression.
-Shallowness. Aside from Lisia, none of the characters of the story were explored in any great depth. This made sense in the case of the "canonical" characters, since readers already know them (although I still would have liked to see their personalities explored further). But the original characters were also a bit on the flat side, and they're the ones who *needed* depth for the story to work. For example, one of the most interesting non-canon characters, a "chauvanistic" Gelaming commander who initially scorns Lisia as weak despite the obvious hardships Lisia has endured, suddenly becomes respectful at the end of the novel. What changes the commander's opinion? It's not clear. Assumably it has something to do with his more sympathetic lover talking sense into him, but although we witness several of these conversations, we never see the arguments sink in (in fact, they seem to make him dig in his heels even more). We don't get to share the moment of revelation when he suddenly begins to understand Lisia's strength, and his own limitations. He just starts acting nicer. It feels as though the authors either got tired of his grumping, or they recast his personality so the book would have a warm fuzzy ending.
-The "tell, don't show" style of the story. Many of the most (potentially) interesting events of the story occur off-camera and are discussed by the characters in passing, or described in the narrative after the fact. This is aside from the 40% or so of the story that takes place through Lisia's journal entries.
-I've already mentioned the lack of any real conflict or dramatic tension. There are few surprises in the plot (and those few are left unexplored for some reason -- sequel, maybe?); the characters don't grow or change much and when they do there's no real struggle involved; the ending is predictable practically from the beginning of the book. All this makes the story a little boring.
Now, I should be clear; these flaws weren't enough to stop me from reading the story. It kept me awake during a long train ride, which means it obviously wasn't *that* boring. I grew to like several of the original characters, and I wished they'd been given more depth because I wanted to get to know them better. I was glad to see familiar characters again, and of course the familiar world of Wraeththu. The story had little of the magnificent and artful prose, aesthetic eroticism, or power of Ms. Constantine's works, but to my own surprise that didn't bother me while I was reading -- possibly because my mind accepted the story as fanfic (i.e., authors playing around with familiar characters and concepts, but in their own way) and not true pastiche (i.e., a deliberate attempt to mimic the style and substance of another writer's work).
But BREEDING DISCONTENT isn't fanfic -- not anymore. Immanion Press is, I assume, a real honest-to-goodness publishing house. A real honest-to-goodness editor helped get the story ready for publication. And unlike fanfics which are available for free on the 'net or cheaply in homemade, xeroxed fanzines, this story exists as a high-quality trade paperback... with a premium price.
This last point was the clincher. How to judge this novel? Clearly the story is fanfiction; it was created in that spirit, and is best enjoyed in that spirit. But like it or not, a higher standard exists for commercial works than for fanfiction. What the average reader is willing to overlook in a free story becomes another matter altogether when that reader has to shell out a week's lunch money for the privilege. By the standards of fanfic this is a great story -- it passes the time nicely, it satisfies my urge to see familiar faces and places, it doesn't challenge my assumptions too much, it gives me a nice pleasant feeling at the end. But by the standards of commercial fiction it leaves me wanting in a major way. When I pay for a story I *want* to be challenged, and frightened, and amused, and entranced. I don't want a nice pleasant feeling at the end, I want to be weeping in anguish and/or joy. And in the case of a purposefully-derivative novel like this one, I want to feel at least a little of the same wonder and excitement that made me fall in love with the original series. Those are the standards by which Kevin Anderson's JEDI ACADEMY novels, Jean Lorrah's Sime/Gen novels (a series originally created by Jacqueline Lichtenberg), and all other "professional fanfics" are judged, so those are the standards I feel compelled to apply to BREEDING DISCONTENT.
So can I recommend it? If it were available on the 'net as a fanfic, definitely. As it is? No. This book costs as much as a hardcover written by an established author, and it's simply not good enough to justify that price.
So I'm giving my copy to my local library. Maybe others will do the same, and then you'll be able to read this fanfic in the usual way -- freely available to all, if better-packaged than most.
Breathtaking.......2004-04-19
this book is really breath-taking! During my time as journalist I find it hard to have some time for reading! But I tokk three days off to finish tis exquisite book! It made my day for nearly two weeks! Wonderful plot and story-play and great follower of Storm Constantine's work of Wreahthu books.
Dark story in a dark future with a helpless little creature who is in the end stronger than everybody could imagine!
Book Description
With The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure, Storm Constantine returns once again to the saga of the Wraeththu with an epic that reveals previously unknown truths about the origins of these remarkable beings. Long before the Wraeththu assumed total mastery of the Earth, and dominion over the dwindling remnants of the human race, they were a wild and passionate people, living in scattered tribes, worshipping strange gods, increasing their numbers by transmuting humans into their own kind. But on a festival night that surpassed all others, the world changed forever, and the Wraeththu began to realize their awesome destiny.
Download Description
Storm Constantine returns to the world of her cult classic WRAETHTHU TRILOGY with a new volume in the saga. WRAETHTHU.
Customer Reviews:
Returning to an amazing place.......2007-05-07
This book continues the story of Storm Constantine's first trilogy surrounding magical androgynous hermaphrodites in a post-Apocalyptic world. Years after she wrote the first trilogy, she returns to this complex realm to weave more mythos.
There's a definite difference in quality of writing between this series and the previous. This isn't bad; it's not a matter of one being better than the other. However, the feel of her writing has matured, adn doesn't have quite as many rough edges as the original trilogy does.
As with the first time, though, we're brought back into a world of well-developed characters and even better stories. There's more information on the Parazha, a second group of hermaphroditic beings who sprung from women instead of men, and we get to see the development of hara who were relatively minor players in the first trilogy come into their own. Ulaume, who had a rather small, negative part in Wraeththu, ends up becoming quite a different person through the adoption of Lileem, an abandoned harling. Flick leaves Saltrock and is oenof the first hara to work with the Dehara, the gods of Wraeththu, through shamanic experiences in the desert. And there are some very unexpected twists and turns to the tale beyond even these.
I really enjoyed getting back into Storm's writing, especially as Wraeththu is a favorite of mine. Highly, highly recommended for a good read.
"I touched myself to see if I was ok and I nearly bit my own hand off.".......2006-12-06
This is the first book in the second Wraeththu trilogy by Storm Constantine
Again, I'm really blown away by her beautiful writing style and the characters I keep falling in love with. This book actually is timed between the second and third in the first trilogy. It is very much the story of the secondary characters in that trilogy. You would think initially that would belabor the story, or at best be "Ground Hog's Day" ad nauseum. It works splendidly. I found myself very grateful not only for the fill-in of detail to the original story, but her deft ability to draw the reader into several characters at once. It's awfully hard to choose a side in her writing, which is the whole point of androgyny anyway. There is no side.
This one really shows the struggles that the incepted Wraeththu have in contrast to those of the pure-born Wraeththu. Only males can be Wraeththu, usually boys or teens. Their inception involves exposure to Wraeththu blood, after which they are no longer human but hermaphroditic forms of perfection, for the most part. Eventually certain castes of the race could reproduce. For many of the young men who were incepted, they are still very much trapped in their masculine personas and their feminine virtues are suppressed, out of fear of them and discomfort with them. The ones that are pure-born don't struggle with that as much, especially if they conceive and bear life. Tthey are more accepting of their feminine. It's very interesting, cos I can see how in the depiction of sexual balance in how the main characters live in first trilogy the reader could easily feel it is just another literary projection of a masculine dominance. But she shows the characters struggling with that too. They know they aren't purely masculine. The Wraeththu don't know who they are yet, and are afraid they will destroy themselves before they can find out.
Oddly the 'women' in the book go through the same thing with regard to their masculine virtues. How familiar.
Interesting to observe how the voice of the feminine evolves in this trilogy. It's very fitting and artful for Constantine to allow it to emerge and shape now. She has an excellent grasp of how her characters grow and evolve and how to "teach" the reader much in the same way to remain included in the lack of sexual polarity she's created. I find that as I enter into the second book of the second trilogy, I don't bring any thoughts of them being human or a gender at all. It's really wonderful and shaped my worldview really well.
Apart from physical androgyny, there is also the presentation of nonpolarized "will," meaning, her presentation of the storyline is so artful that the reader learns in a very well timed succession WHY the characters make the decisions that they do, their true motivations and inner events, that you really can't judge any of them as right or wrong, good or bad. You see the whole picture. That is not an easy style to write, and I admire her for that.
Walking with Hara.......2006-06-29
After re-reading Wraeththu and loving it, I had to get my hands on this book. At first, I was a bit thrown off by the fact that there was no Cal, only mentions of him, and very little Pell, but I got over it.
Reading Storm Constantine's works is like find a treasure trove of imagination where you quickly find yourself a part of her world, so it was wonderful to see familiar faces like Flick and Cobweb and see more of intriguing characters like Mima. I loved learning more about the world of Wraeththu and its mystical counterparts. What exactly is the Black Library? Is it a real place, a seperate universe, or is it formed from the collective conciousness of beings? The idea of Dehar is also very interesting and got the wheels turning in my mind.
It was great to see a evolution of wraeththu as a species and culture.
A really fantastic book.
We are no better than humanity, just stronger ..........2005-03-30
Wraiths is a fabulous read. It fed my hunger. It provided a clearer picture of the world of Wraeththu. It gave me background on minor characters that appear in "Wraeththu" (the first three books of the series), and filled in details, and textures that makes this world all the richer and more satisfying.
This story is set during the original "Wraeththu" trilogy. Wraiths storyline begins part way through the first book, and its storyline ends part way through the third book - more detail I cannot give for "spoiler reasons". Wraiths is told in the third person and follows the lives of characters that are introduced as secondary characters in the initial trilogy, as well as a few new ones.
These characters are not the powerful elite destined to rule this new world...these are characters helplessly caught in the wake of the geopolitical events of the times and the whims and actions of the powerful few such as Pell, Thiede, and the enigmatic Cal.
The Wraeththu race is no longer riding a cresting wave of a newness and power; they are caught in a raging powerful tempest of political, and social, strife and uncertainty. The protagonists are forced to confront themselves, their spirituality, their world, and the repercussions of their own actions. As Flick tells Ulaume, "There is something terrible in us. We are no better than humanity, just stronger and more dangerous".
Once again...A warning!!!! This book is not for everyone. I loved it and I am highly recommending it!!! That being said - I realize that there may be sensitive readers that will have "trouble" with the sexual aspects of this book. Your mind must be open to read and enjoy these books. There is sex. While in my opinion the depictions of sex are by no means graphic, or gratuitous, it is "non-traditional" (i.e. between androgynous hermaphrodites).
Loving these books.......2005-03-16
I have bought every last wreaththu book in the series but this one has been my fav. My fav chartater in this book is and always well be FLICK!!! I love him I don't know why though. I suppose it's because he's very strong at heart. (He'd have to be to put up with Seel LOL) If these books were ever made into a movie I would pay to go watch it. And then Buy it. No kiddin. I love them I love All of Storms books they are alll a masterpiece. Angel
Book Description
In the future, the world as we know it has changed. Humankind is in decline and a new race has arisen from the ashes. Insanity, disease and infertility comprise the Achilles' Heel of the doomed human race. Why these problems are on the increase is unknown: all that is known is that humankind has only a few years left to walk the earth.
In this new role-playing game, take on the role of an androgynous Wraeththu `har' within a world where a dying race is struggling to survive. You can transform humans into hara like yourself through the procedure of Inception. But what will happen when all the humans have gone? There are many myths and legends about how the Wraeththu can reproduce, but are they true or simply folk tales? How will you master your new mystical powers?
Based upon Storm Constantine's internationally selling Wraeththu trilogy, which is soon to be followed by three new books in the series, as well as a multitude of other materials to bolster and expand upon the Wraeththu Mythos, this publication is the first of many books to explore the Wraeththu Mythos in a role-playing format. You are taken inside the world of the story and become one of the hara themselves, thrown into a world in turmoil and despair. The scales have been tipped: the human race knows it is doomed and that the Wraeththu are the heirs of the Earth.
Customer Reviews:
full of Informations for fan-fiction writers and good illustrations.......2005-11-24
I've bought the book for more informations about wraeththu and for illustrations that are very good. As for the game, I'm not into RPG, cannot say.
The initial story is very good,also. It's a fun book to have.
Wouldn't recommend.......2005-08-04
Anticipation of the role playing game has been very high. As a long time fan and supporter of the Constantine franchise I have feverishly consumed each new book and never been let down until now. As an avid role player I became very excited to hear that Storm was releasing a Wraeththu role playing game and waited with bated breath for some fan reviews of the game. Then a friend of mine got her copy in the mail (after a very long wait) and I dug in....
This game reminded me of FATAL and (laughing pan's) Deliria mixed with early Vampire Masquerade. It's very inflated and full of it's self. It seems like its trying to fill up a lot more space then it needs to.
The cover art is very very plain. Its depiction of an Egyptian dagger over a symbolic Ouanalim (Wraeththu sex organ) was at first thought some inside joke, a bad choice for a cover, poorly excited and just plain bad for the design. Why wasn't a full color image of a hara used on the cover and why with all the issues Wraeththu already has, make it so inaccessible to people?
The opening story isn't bad. Penned by Christopher Coyle, it takes us into the life of a nerd named Mikey. Then into how he is incepted into the Wraeththu. It takes place in the past, before the fall of man and uprising of the Wraeththu. It also has no relevance to the rest of the game book and seems very out of place. I was surprised that something like "Paragenisis" by Storm Constantine wasnt dusted off and used here since it would have been more in tune with the setting and mood.
The artwork is of the highest quality in some areas, while in others it seems very crude an rushed out. Which is how the overall mechanics, rules and "Storm system" also seem. I know from various message boards that this was originally supposed to be a settings and background book for fans to write fanficton from and to fill in some of the gray areas the books have. At the last minute it was decided to turn it into a rpg, complete with rules and tables. However this seems to have been a very bad choice. In its 430 some pages this tome is for the most part useless as a game. On almost every other page you are encouraged to just throw the rules away if you like so I don't understand why they even bothered to make the rules in the first place. The background information on the Tribes is good, but wading through all the filler material, bad graphic design and margin quotes isn't.
If you have the extra money and want to get this just for the pretty pictures, short story and background info (most of which you can find online anyway) then go for it. However understand that you'll provably just flip through this volume a few times then retire it to your book shelf.
As a long standing fan of Wraeththu (and Storm Constantine's work) I'm very disappointed in this effort and hope that a new writing staff will be selected for future volumes. I think there is hope for this as a rpg, but its not being executed properly at the moment.
Book Description
"The witch," the crowd murmured, as they parted before me.
Dirty unwashed humans. I wrinkled my nose and pressed my sleeping harling closer to my chest. I loathed bringing my son into the presence of the filthy things, but when duty is concerned Zen sets aside all else. Even family. We had arrived three months ago in this overcrowded refugee camp on the high plains of northern Megalithica, after Tigron Pellaz-har-Aralis, lord of the powerful region of Almagabra, had chosen my chesnari to be his ambassador to the savages. Zen had taken to the task with an enthusiasm that I didn't understand. When I'd dropped our son's pearl, Zen had shown an appropriate amount of excitement. But as the harling continued to develop within the protective membrane, Zen had found a hundred excuses to be elsewhere which, I'm sure, in his eyes he considered quite legitimate.
The familiar pattern of Zen's thoughts brushed away my irritation. The crowd opened, and I saw him mediating a dispute between two loud humans. He sat with his chin in his hand. His long white hair spilled over his shoulder into his lap. His red tunic was spotted with fresh ink stains. He scratched his nose idly. When his aide Rika nudged his shoulder, Zen looked up and saw me. His smile warmed my thoughts.
I moved forward. The dimwitted human closest to me sputtered nonsense as I passed. He feared me. They all did. With good reason. My first week in the camp, I had caught a thief in my tent and hung his disemboweled body in front of my home for three days to serve as a warning to others. If I had to keep Zen's household and raise our harling here, I refused to sacrifice my family's safety.
Customer Reviews:
Breath Shared.......2006-12-06
Yes, this is another book written within the Wraeththu mythos, by Victoria Copus, edited by Storm Constantine. The storyline of this addition to the canon stands out more than any other, including Storm's, in that it deeply delves into how hara really live day to day, rather than on the drama of their love lives and dark secrets (not that I haven't gotten a lot of inspiration from those). The trilogies tell the stories of primary characters, while this one really hones in on an extremely minor character, it reveals the story of those hara in smaller tribes left to live in the aftermath of the Tigron coming to power, and we see the story of Immanion unfolding in the background of these less political perspectives. Every har narrator I fall in love with, Terzah, no less. He's not likable because of his compassionate nature. Rather, he's very much of the tribes the other books embittered us against, as killers and heartless thugs. Terzah starts out as much, and still retains his warrior nature, but compassion emerges not just in the reader's view of him, but his view of himself. This author really captures the perspective of a parent who retains an emotional detachment from his harlings really well, in that Terzah loves his children, but his warrior spirit prevents him from being caught in their adolescent manipulations. Apart from the fact that he bears a pearl that is natured just like him. Very interesting study of human-hara relations. Where other installments focused on the gender equality and disparity, this one drew on the hara relationship to humans, and the painful fence where young ones choose to become hara, or face a questionable fate as a human. Well done.
A needed insight on human-wraeththu relations .......2006-03-25
Victoria Copus' contribution to wraeththu mythos is a poignant, psychologically sound insight on the relations between hara and humans. Terzah is the consort of the supervisor of a refugee camp,Zen where human and hara experiment the difficulties and attritions of living togheter as a community. Terzah comes from the fierce tribe of Kheops, and his prejudiced view of humans will be changed after the dramatic death of an human friend, whose children he'll choose to adopt. The description of Zen and Terzah's human/harish family vicissitudes is very interesting, and at times touching. Only fault the introduction of too many characters, bot human and harish, makes following the story a bit difficult. but it's worth it!
fun, and real.......2005-06-29
If you are looking for a Lord of the Rings epic this is probably not the book you are looking for. This is not a great epic this is a story of family and real life, in a mythical world with a race that has evolved from humans. Victoria Copus manages to make characters that could be larger than life seem real and her story is not necessarily about the great heros but the every day ones that live all around us. Her characters are not following some great destiny or going on a quest they are living in a refugee camp and creating a village. The characters drag you in and make you feel like you are a part of it. I read this before I read the Wraethlu saga and was the reason I decided to try it so you do not need to have read it to enjoy this foray in the world. There are terms that may be confusing but for the most part are self explanatory. I enjoyed this so much that I could not put it down and I have read it about 5 times. It is excellent.
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The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure: The First Book of the Wraeththu Histories (Wraeththu)
The Shades of Time and Memory: The Second Book of the Wraeththu Histories (Wraeththu)
The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence: The Third Book of the Wraeththu Histories (Wraeththu)
Luck in the Shadows (Nightrunner, Vol. 1)
As Meat Loves Salt (Harvest Original)
