The re-reading continues, and will do so until such a time as I can again find gainful employment that will justify expenditure on new books. And that’s fine (the re-reading, that is, not my current impecunious state) since I have a library worth re-reading.
Today I finished Brian Daley’s A Tapestry of Magics. The book is a loosely linked collection of three stories. Our protagonist, Crassmor, is a reluctant knight errant, a native of the Singularity: the realm at the center of the multiverse. Crassmor is tasked to patrol the Beyonds, a mutable border region surrounding the Singularity, into which stray people/beings/creatures from the innumerable Realities. Some of these newcomers stay in the Beyonds, not even realizing they’ve left their home Realities behind. Others make it into the Singularity, creating a singularly (see what I did there?) fascinating land, particularly the eclectic mixture concentrated in the capitol city. The stories are studded with cameos and supporting roles played by characters from myth, literature, and history, most veiled but recognizable, others named outright.
There is a hint of Roger Zelazny’s Amber about the setting, but what Tapestry most reminds me of is John Myers Myers Silverlock.
I recall a certain disappointment the first time I read Tapestry. That was due solely to the marketing, not the contents of the book itself. The back cover led me to believe that I would be reading a novel, a complete narrative. That isn’t what I got. This time through, knowing that I was, in essence, reading a collection of stories, I had no expectation of a resolution and was able to enjoy it for what it was. As with my re-readings of Silverlock, I just relax and enjoy the ride, take in the scenery.
The first story is an exciting piece of heroic fiction, the sort that would fit well in comic book form, with scenes fit for painting on the side of a van, or that could have been animated for Heavy Metal. The second story is a much more humorous tale, the kind that L. Sprague de Camp might have written. The third story is rather more involved, a tale of intrigue, magic, and action. All quality entries.
The third tale (and the excellent Epilogue) leave open the possibility of Crassmor’s ongoing adventures. I don’t know if Daley ever wrote more of them. If he did, I’d be eager to read them.
If you’ve recently finished your own copy of Tapestry and what something else to read, I would suggest Twilight Galaxy: Dekason, the first novel of my three-book series from Raconteur Press.