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A review by magicalwoodlands
Point of Hopes by Lisa A. Barnett, Melissa Scott
5.0
Ooooh, just delightful! I'm so glad to have stumbled across this, it's exactly the sort of thing I enjoy vanishing into: lush worldbuilding, with loads of thick description I can wander around in. If anything, there's almost too much, but it's just right for me, really--the challenge of words used in unfamiliar/creative ways, and the heady blend of invented Euro-esque designations and names is the sort of thing you just have to roll with until you get into the groove of it (and also, be warned: it's a copyediting mess). Rathe and Eslingen are terrific characters, the zing between them handled with a light, deft touch--tantalizing and classy! A wonderful cast of characters large and small, in fact, with high marks for Monteia, Ister b'Estorr, and the Butcher's guild generally. On the whole, POINT OF HOPES calls to mind most of all Heather Rose Jones's Alpennia series (which I completely adore), although it's quite different both magically and romantically.
I was going to give this 4 stars because I'm trying to rein in my tendency to overload on stars, but you know what? I freaking well really enjoyed POINT OF HOPES. Give this thing 5 stars, and stand back now while I dive into reading the sequel.
Final note: POINT OF HOPES was published 1997, and Bujold's utterly perfect THE CURSE OF CHALION published in 2003. There's a distant, vaguely referenced land in POINT called Cazaril -- which is of course our protagonist's name in CHALION. Spontaneously co-arising name inventions? Anyone?
I was going to give this 4 stars because I'm trying to rein in my tendency to overload on stars, but you know what? I freaking well really enjoyed POINT OF HOPES. Give this thing 5 stars, and stand back now while I dive into reading the sequel.
Final note: POINT OF HOPES was published 1997, and Bujold's utterly perfect THE CURSE OF CHALION published in 2003. There's a distant, vaguely referenced land in POINT called Cazaril -- which is of course our protagonist's name in CHALION. Spontaneously co-arising name inventions? Anyone?