TAPESTRY
By L. Kurland, M. Hunter, K. M. Moning and S. Kenyon
Jove Historical Romance
ISBN # 0-515-13362-0
September 2002
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"To Kiss In The Shadows" by Lynn Kurland
is the first of four stories in this anthology. Set
against an early medieval
background Lianna of Grasleigh lives in a house of backstabbing,
gutter sniping and vile tongued women. Though her physical scars
have healed they've left behind a lasting testament to the tragedy
she suffered. But her emotional scars still bleed with the constant
taunting from the women around her. Surely no man would want
such an ugly woman for a wife, at least according to Maud and
her cronies. When the much sought after Jason of Artane, former
squire to the Dragon of Blackmour (see From This Moment On)
begins to shower Lianna with his attentions, Maud's jealousy
will know no end. Are Jason's attentions only more taunting
at her expense, or is Jason sincere in his affections?
"In Interrupted Tapestry" by Madeline Hunter tells
the story of Giselle and Andreas. Raised as close as brother
and sister, ten years of separation put a new perspective
on their relationship when crisis has Giselle seeking out
Andreas for help. But Andreas' help comes at a steep price,
one that Giselle is not sure she's prepared to pay.
"Dragon Swan" by Sherrilyn Kenyon moves the reader
from traditional Middle Ages into the fantasy realm when Dr
Channon MacRea's fascination with an ancient tapestry, dubbed
the Dragon Tapestry, becomes and obsession. Channon's adventure
begins when her research is interrupted by a 6foot 5 inch
god among men steps up to her and says "Be kind to dragons,
for thou art crunchy when roasted and taste good with ketchup".
Channon's not sure what's shocked her more, Mr Do-Me-Right-Now's
attention or the story he tells her about the tapestry. She's
so fascinated by both that she can't help but follow him into
his realm, not only out of curiosity but to save her life.
Finally, "Into The Dreaming" by Karen Marie Moning
is a tale woven from fantasy, time travel and historical genre.
Aidan MacKinnon is sentenced to 5 years incaseration as he
finds himself a pawn in a game between the Seelie Queen and
the Unseelie King. Aidan believes himself strong enough to
withstand the sentence in order to protect his clan. But at
the end of the 5 years in a land of shadows and ice he discovers
that these 5 years were just the beginning of 500 fairy years!
Aidan draws inside himself where he imagines his homeland,
warm hearth fires and bonny lasses in order to survive. Emotional
torture soon begins to reshape his thinking until he's transformed
into the Unseelie King's Arm of Vengeance, a killing machine.
At the end of Aidan's 500 year sentence he's granted one full
cycle of the moon in the mortal world to love and be loved,
or spend the rest of his life as a mercenary. He's sent to
his ancestral castle where Jane Sillee has found herself after
being pulled from the future through a tapestry that she's
dreamed about since she was young.
In a word, Tapestry is Brilliant! So many times anthologies
are full of stories that read so much the same. No so with
this collection. Each story has its own personality, each
author maintains her own voice and the stories stand along
on their own feet. I've always maintained that the best way
to discover new authors, either newly published or just newly
discovered, is to pick up an anthology. This theory is once
again proven correct as Tapestry has allowed me to discover
four new authors that I hadn't read to this point. These ladies
can be assured that their books have been added to my list
for my next shopping experience. I'm hard to please but Lynn,
Karen, Sherrily and Madeline have all earned my deepest respect.
