The nature of magic changes, this novel theorizes, as human beliefs change. First there was matriarchal paganism, then patriarchal paganism, then the coming of Christianity, then reason and science, and each of them affected people's assumptions about how the world works. In medieval Provence, where all of these belief systems co-exist, a worker of magic never knows for sure who or what she will call up when she casts a spell. For some spells don't work anymore, and others work in frightening new ways. And with the rise of Christianity, and the idea that everything is either absolutely good or absolutely evil, the old gods and spirits are in trouble. They meet one of two fates: They either become prim Christian saints, or are subsumed into the figure of Satan. Needless to say, the practice of magic is perilous these days, and a sorceress must always be on her toes.

Enter Pierrette, an intelligent young girl who sees an apocalyptic vision of the future. She can only save the world by training to become a sorceress, and _The Sacred Pool_ is the story of her education. Pierrette must experiment with long-forgotten spells and newfangled science in order to defeat a demon that plagues her sister, and in the long run, to save magic itself from being destroyed.

This book starts out slow, but gets interesting once Pierrette begins her studies. It is thought-provoking and intelligent, and one of the few novels dealing with paganism and Christianity that says anything more profound than that one is "good" and one is "bad" (take your pick which is which; there are plenty of books taking each side). If you like fantasy that makes you think, check out this tale of magic, belief, science, and philosophy.

I am a lover of fantasy and historical fiction. This has been my favorite book this year. It even prompted purchase of the second book in the series.

This trilogy examines the duality of good and evil in the context of the spread of Christianity. Historically accurate and very engaging, you will learn much and have cherished beliefs challenged in an intellectually refreshing story. Good stuff.

Mmm... The plot of this book is really good. The story gets you since the start, but at the end you miss a better plot. I'm sure this book was written to have a second part sometime...

This is the best book I have read ever, and that is saying alot. I really wish the author had done a sequel, because this book really deserves it. this is the sort of book you can read over and over again, and it never gets old. the caracters are always vibrant, and as you read it a second and third time, details start to emerge that you didn't see the first time. His flow is smooth, background excellent, and the story is very plausible. If you happen to find this book, GRAB HOLD AND DON'T LET GO! I assure you that this book is truly a find, and you will treasure it forever.

Hmmm... I have realized that you may not be aware of the plot of the story. The Protagonist, Yan Bando, is an archaeologist/historian in the distant future, about 3000 AD. He and his colleague/mentor find the wreckage of a spaceship in a bog- a _human_ spaceship. His colleague dies when he is attacked in the early mornig hours, and Yan goes into a berzerker rage, killing the attackers and burning down the house. We find out that this is a family trait of his, and that he has left his family to avoid spreading it. Then some history is introduced, including the fact that Earth has had some non-indigenous visitors in the past millenium, but they have left us to advance further. The world by now has undergone some serious changes, both in it's climate and it's government. There is no more world super-powers, and most lands are part of one kingdom or another. Science is losing ground due to the general ignorance of the population and the lack of near-instantaneous communication we have today. Yand finds himself alone in a world that has lost much of the civilizatoinal advances we takle for granted, pursued by the Church who killed his mentor and would do anything to suppress any evidence of a human-piloted spaceship, and two questions: what happened to the pilots of that spaceship, and where are they now?

This is the only one of the Arbiter tales I have thus far found and read. However, it is good enough that I'm on the hunt for more of them. The tale itself, a physical and legal hunt for which of two subspecies of humans have first claim on the planet Glaice, is gripping in and of itself. Underlying the tale though, and I would suspect the rest of the series, is the difficult question: How do you have equality, mutual respect, and fairness under the law when there are very real biological differences between the groups being adjucated? Humanity has split into several subspecies (genetically created), and each has it's own culture and needs, sometimes mutually exclusive. Mostly this is dealt with by simply having the various groups live on different planets, but sometimes this doesn't work, and what do you do then? Simple good will won't work, and the races keep having this nasty tendancy to forget that the others are sapient too. Enter the Arbiter, whose job it is to deal with these issues before they could explode. Only the Arbiter has a little problem, his weapons are gone, and he can't afford to let the warring parties know. A very enjoyable read.

The thought-provoking "Sorceress's Tale" series concludes, as far as I know, with this book. The sorceress Pierrette, seventeen years old in body and ancient in spirit, still dreams of the day when she will finally meet her dream-lover, Minho of the Fortunate Isles, and become his queen. But the goddess Ma throws a wrench in her plans when she insists that Pierrette must kill Minho and destroy the Fortunate Isles. Pierrette is heartbroken, and doesn't know why this must be.

Soon after, she is reunited with the scientist ibn Saul and his apprentice Lovi, still beautiful, still conflicted about his sexuality. Ibn Saul is also on a mission to find the Fortunate Isles. Pierrette now believes she understands Ma's demand--if ibn Saul finds the Isles, he may rationalize them into something wholly mundane. And so maybe she has to destroy them before ibn Saul can ruin them. Hoping she can find a less extreme solution than the Lady's, Pierrette joins them on their journey.

From here, the story goes fairly slowly for a while, bogged down in travel minutiae. But hints begin to appear that something is terribly wrong somewhere--that the balance of good and evil in the world is messed up yet again, threatening to unleash the terrible Black Time.

The plot picks up when Pierrette actually reaches the Fortunate Isles. What sort of place is this, and what sort of man is Minho? And how is Minho's utopia connected with the Black Time? Once Pierrette is in Minho's kingdom, _The Isle Beyond Time_ becomes quite exciting, recalling both the thoughtfulness of _The Sacred Pool_ and the action of _The Veil of Years_. I won't say anything more, since I don't want to spoil the plot twists for you.

This is an interesting end to the trilogy. I wonder what Pierrette will do with the rest of her life--after all, she is quite young in physical years.