When Mr. Ford died, I started trying to lay hands on all his works to read them. I haven't been disappointed yet, though I am convinced that fantasy is really his strength, and these stories play to that strength.
OK, what's it about? Its two short stories "A Cup of Worrynot Tea" and "Green is the Color" and "The Illusionist" a novella, all set in Liavek. Of the three, "The lllusionist" is the strongest and most worth the time. "A Cup of Worrynot Tea" is a much compressed transition from youth to adulthood amidst the plots of sorcerers and kings. "Green Is the Color" is a sharp little story about the mysterious deaths of several sorcerers, the work of a healer to help a little girl dying of nightmares and a very unusual toymaker. Plus, the plot of a group of sorcerers that set out to create a god 30 years ago.
"The Illusionist" I liked the best - not for the title, but because Ford's love of theater shows through like a warm light. Its about Liavek's most famous tragic playwright and how he as decided to write a comedy. The story then takes us through casting, rehearsals, the lives (and secrets) of the cast, and then leads us back to the playwright and director and his secrets - leading back to the murder of an entire acting company in a land far away where they venerate the ancient plays to the point of banning new ones. And there are secrets in this bunch - some big, some small, many of them tragic. And our playwright forges them together into a company and something more.
Worth it if you can find it folks.
OK, what's it about? Its two short stories "A Cup of Worrynot Tea" and "Green is the Color" and "The Illusionist" a novella, all set in Liavek. Of the three, "The lllusionist" is the strongest and most worth the time. "A Cup of Worrynot Tea" is a much compressed transition from youth to adulthood amidst the plots of sorcerers and kings. "Green Is the Color" is a sharp little story about the mysterious deaths of several sorcerers, the work of a healer to help a little girl dying of nightmares and a very unusual toymaker. Plus, the plot of a group of sorcerers that set out to create a god 30 years ago.
"The Illusionist" I liked the best - not for the title, but because Ford's love of theater shows through like a warm light. Its about Liavek's most famous tragic playwright and how he as decided to write a comedy. The story then takes us through casting, rehearsals, the lives (and secrets) of the cast, and then leads us back to the playwright and director and his secrets - leading back to the murder of an entire acting company in a land far away where they venerate the ancient plays to the point of banning new ones. And there are secrets in this bunch - some big, some small, many of them tragic. And our playwright forges them together into a company and something more.
Worth it if you can find it folks.
