I love the Diane Tregarde series, but this first short story in the trio was hard work to read. It's a prequel to the Tregarde series and I was quite looking forward to it. Sadly, the heroine was whiny (Look, a lot of us weren't overflowing with dates in high school and it wasn't because we were Guardians or magic. In fact, most of us floundered along feeling like we didn't fit in. So we get that. Only need to say it once.) At any rate, the story/plot is decent enough, but could probably be half as long, maybe only a third. There's some great scenes, but there's also some pretty unbelievable areas (the police just take her word for everything. Yup, she waltzes in, hands them fingerprints from a suspect and the cops reaction is, "Gee, thanks, you're awesome.") All in all, it's a decent story, but a slow read with some eye rolling. I don't think I'll attempt the other two in the book. Premise: Three urban fantasy novellas about magically talented women solving mysteries. Arcanum 101 is a Diana Tregarde prequel, featuring the witch and Guardian trying to find the connection between a fake psychic and a kidnapped girl, while simultaneously starting college. Drums is a sequel to the novel Sacred Ground, in which medicine woman Jennie Talldeer needs to stop an angry ghost from killing a young dancer. Finally, Ghost in the Machine follows techno-shaman Ellen McBride, who is called in to consult with a MMO corporation who find that their perfectly programmed monster may be more powerful than they planned.This was a fun read. I especially liked that the stories worked well together, despite not having much overt in common. The first is set in the early 70's, and the protagonist is a college freshman. The second is set in 1995, and Jennie is established, but young, say, late 20's/early 30's? The third is set in 2010, while Ellen seems semi-ageless, and is definitely at the top of her game.I liked all three stories, although I don't think I ever read Sacred Ground, so I felt a little less sure of Drums than of the other two. Now I want to go re-read some Diana Tregard. Mmmm...Horror/Fantasy. There's some amusing bits in this story about hippies encouraging dangerous metaphysical incursions. I think Ms. Lackey is still a bit pissed about the people who took the Diana Tregarde books way too seriously, and I don't blame her one bit.Ghost in the Machine was a delight, and I adored Ell. She has a familiar spirit in an AIBO (remember those cute robot dogs?) She programmed it to talk like K9. She's a professional with a wicked sense of humor. I love her.These stories had fun characters, tense plots, good action scenes, interesting mystery plots, and emotion with very little angst. I thoroughly approve.
What do You think about Trio Of Sorcery (2000)?
Really enjoyed all the detail and tech-cultural references in "Ghost in the Machine."
—kinolyub
Fun read, really easy and great characters by a really good fantasy/sci-fi author.
—LaVerne
Really good for a collection of short stories. I liked the first one best!
—grstett
Fun. Three new stories about characters we already knew and enjoyed.
—tissskk
good variety; little glimpses into her characters
—margi
