This is the immediate sequel to The Silent Tower, and as such should be read immediately after you have finished the first one. (If you've read it, you know what I mean.) The opening line is one of my absolute favorites in a fantasy book, though unfortunately I do not think I should reproduce it here as it spoils the hell out of The Silent Tower's ending.Right. You may recall, at the end of the previous book, that Joanna was forced to make an agonizing decision that turned out to be utterly and completely wrong like a wrong wrong thing. So now she has to fix it. And then she, Antryg, and Caris have to go running back and forth across the empire of Ferryth to stop Suraklin for real this time.I have the vague impression that a lot of people who like these books like this one better, plotwise. I think for me it's the other way around. Silent Tower spent a lot of time hitting my "these people must work together but don't know if they can trust each other and might be falling in love" kink. Hard. So there's that.This one certainly has some lovely character development -- and, yes, of course I was pushing for Antryg/Joanna -- but the plot has always felt unbalanced to me. It's, what, a quarter of the way into the book before we even see Antryg again? And then they spend another, what, half of the book playing Hide and Seek looking for Suraklin because first they think he's here, but he's not, no, wait, he's over there, no, wait... and things like the fizzled-out search of the Citadel just seem to make the pacing... very, very weird.The ending is, of course, kind of deus ex machina (and you know it's a problem when even the characters point this out!) but I feel I can't really hold it against them, because, you know.... wheeee.Not that there's not things I like. Caris seems to have more depth to him this time, and I really, really liked Pella, because, yes, this book actually did need more than one female character in it, and she's pretty awesome. I really like the Dead God, but I think everyone does. And of course the Antryg/Joanna relationship is awesome, and I really have always liked that she rescues him. Because, yes. The positives definitely outweigh the negatives. And, oh God, the scene with the lightning elemental, all the angst, oh, Antryg. Maybe the book is worth it for that. That, and everyone being awesome together. That's definitely worth it.Also there's that line about the hacksaw.Overall, still one of my favorites. (Though I would like to mention to anyone picking up the e-books that the Open Road editions are currently lousy with typos. The first book was apparently missing a page (I am not sure if it still is; I didn't compare) and has a bugged TOC that only goes up to chapter 14. A lot of words are misspelled. In this book every use of the word "string" (I'm assuming) is instead "stringer," and in both books every scene break within chapters actually contains what should be the last paragraph of the ending scene as the beginning of the new scene. But they're still good books.)
Premise: Sequel to The Silent Tower. Joanna is back home in California, but she might be the only one who knows that the periods of formless depression that seem to strike the entire world are not her imagination, but the machinations of a wizard from another dimension. With an explanation like that who could she tell? Horrified by her part in the events at the end of The Silent Tower and sick with worry, she plans to try to get back across the worlds, to find someone to help her, and try to rescue her love.I liked this book quite a bit. It was full of complicated characters, all both abrasive and likable, who are trying to do their best, but sometimes screw up. And there's two sweet subtle romances, one of two young people both trapped by their choices and their oaths, one of two adults who care about each other beyond all logic, but know they can't promise more than right now. All of that is dealt with such a light touch alongside the plotting, action and danger that I just adored it.It had been a while since I read the first book in this series, but I was absorbed back into this world almost before I realized it. Joanna and Caris and Antryg came back to me very quickly.A few quibbles: I really liked Pella, an ally Joanna finds unexpectedly, but she was introduced so quickly that she felt a bit shoved in to the narrative. And then she disappeared again just as abruptly, which was odd.Also the formatting on my Kindle copy had some serious issues. Occasionally there's a typo, but more annoying is that mid-chapter breaks often appear a paragraph before or after the break is clearly supposed to go. Sometimes this crashed the flow of reading and was very confusing, because a change of scene, character or time should be indicated by the break.Despite this, I am glad I returned to this story and these characters. The blend between technology and magic is still well handled. The relationship between math, magic, logic and intuition works beautifully. Joanna is still a wonderfully unlikely heroine; I love the way she approaches her problems with her stubborn determination and her logical mind.
What do You think about The Silicon Mage (1988)?
I simply adore Antryg Windrose. I figured out when I first read it, soon after it came out, that he was the Doctor, Tom Baker variety, nice to know I was right. I named my first computer, a little Mac Classic 2, Antryg, and it was probably about right for the time; the computer stuff in this is pretty dated(what the heck, they got three men to the moon with computers that had a LOT less power than what we have now), but the story isn't. Only Barbara Hambly, of the authors I've read, anyway, can do this combination of fantasy and technology, and get it just right.
—Sue Bursztynski
Copied from my review of book 1:I've tried reading other books by Barbara Hambly, but none have ever made the same impression on me as the books about Antryg Windrose and Joanna Sheraton. I first borrowed book 1 from an acquaintance years ago, and could hardly eat or sleep, and when I had finished it and didn't have immediate access to book 2 I thought I would perish. The worldbuilding isn't spectacular, it's pretty run-of-the-mill; but the plot and especially the characters stand out. Antryg and Joanna both really resonate with me, and their love feels real, which is not always the case for me with literary romances. Re-reading the books, even so many years later (fifteen? Twenty? I can't remember), they naturally didn't have quite the same impact as the first time around, but they were still joyful page-turners, just the kind you should hate but can't: Can't stop reading, while knowing that the more you read, the faster you approach the end. This book precipitated my first ever fanfiction, long before I know such a thing even existed (this was way before online fandom became a Thing, at least in any context that I knew existed). Thankfully, it is now long lost. :)
—Pernilla
WHAT IT'S ABOUTIt was impossible, Joanna knew. When she betrayed her lover Antryg Windrose to the Council, he had been sentenced to death. Then she had believed his brain was possessed by the Dark Mage Suraklin, though now she knew that Suraklin had chosen Gary Fairchild. But guilty or innocent, Antryg was separated from her by the awesome Void between the worlds, far from any hope of rescue.Nevertheless, she had to save him. Suraklin was planning to gain immortality by placing his mind in a computer that would get its power by draining the life-force from all on both worlds, dooming everyone to eternal misery and hopelessness. And only Antryg was strong enough a wizard to challenge the Dark Mage.Once again, Joanna dared the fearsome tunnel through the Void, praying desperately that Antryg still lived and that she could find help to free him. If not...But she refused to think of that.MY TAKEThis is a great continuation of the first book, The Silent Tower. Joanna takes control of her circumstances and sneaks across the Void herself this time, following Gary/Suraklin. She might not have been there to see what the church witch finders do to Antryg after she drugged him and turned him over to them, but she dreamed it. Ack! She has to get to him to free him before he is executed.In the first book, you really don't get to see Antryg magic that everyone's always raving about because using it would be like placing a pointer on his location. Both the Mage Guild and the church's witch finders were after him. Antryg is brilliant though and managed to get using cleverness.Caris, their warrior accomplice, does pose the question in this book. What would Antryg do if he was faced with capture. Well, we find out. I love Antryg. His childlike interest in anything and everything is a delight. His compassion and concern for others, in spite of spending nearly a decade of his formative years being Suraklin's student, makes me want to hug him. I admire anyone who becomes more than their horrible circumstances.I enjoyed the resolution of the story, especially with the unexpected ending--not unexpected in how it ended but the manner in which it was accomplished.
—Donna Weaver
