The Veil of A Thousand Tears: The Pearl Saga Volume Two Book

Like its predecessor The Ring of Five Dragons, Eric von Lustbader's The Veil of a Thousand Tears is a frustrating mix of stylishly unpleasant imaginings, and overly complicated plots, too many lazy uses of default sf and fantasy material. The previous book gradually revealed that the oppression of the spiritual Kundalan people by the brutal militarist Vo'orm invaders is just the superficial aspect of a broader attempt by demons to move back into the world and overthrow the Goddess who exiled them into nothingness. Specifically, the corruption of the Vo'orm war lord Kurgan turns out to be only the first of a whole series of corruptions and possessions; Lustbader is very good indeed at the nightmare of personalities being expunged and desecrated--the stuffy convent of the first book is gradually turned into an abomination. His protagonist Riane, a male Vo'orm soul implanted in a martyred female Kundalan, gradually grows into the role of messiah; the journeys Lusbader sends Riane on involve some very clichéd Arabian material and some rather arbitary use of magical skills. Fans of Lustbader's dark heroic fantasies and martial arts thrillers will love having more of the same; other readers will find some engaging material here and some not so good.--Roz KaveneyRead More