sonia%aids-unix@sri-unix.UUCP (01/03/84)
From: Sonia Schwartzberg <sonia@aids-unix> Among all the new authors, one has come to my attention, and I thought I'd pass on my review of R.A.MacAvory's second (to my knowledge) recent book, "Damiyano". (My spelling of author's name may be subject to faulty memory). I am not sure, upon reflection, exactly where I got the information that the author is a woman, and my apologies if I am wrong, but I will continue under the assumption that I am right. MacAvory has written two books that I know about, this being her second and "Tea With the Black Dragon" being her first. I don't know if I'd call "T.W.T.B.D." fantasy, but "Damiyano" definitely is. After reading "T.W.T.B.D.", I felt reading this new book might be a good gamble. Her first book definitely had charm, wit, and an almost-quite-decent plot (a friend of mine huffily calls this a "matter of opinion" and would remove the "almost," but I won't). "T.W.T.B.D" was not without its flaws, but these flaws were fairly easy for me to overlook, both because this is a first book and because of the author's very nice execution of the story and characters. Now for the second book. Since I'm not sure just what constitutes a "spoiler", I won't outline the plot at all, I'll just tell you what I think. I confess I raised a suspicious eyebrow (or two) when the back cover proclaimed "Damiyano" the first in a trilogy -- how many new authors begin by advertising a trilogy? (Yes, but how many of these are GOOD?) But the proof is in the reading, so I gave it a try. "Damiyano" has more flaws than "T.W.T.B.D.", unfortunately. MacAvory is bent on describing everything, and though she does not fall into the unbearable superlative modes that many (often otherwise quite decent) authors do, this does get a little tiring. The plot is a little weak and this being the first in a trilogy, (though we'll see about that -- the 2nd part is due April '84) doesn't excuse that as far as I am concerned. Her characterization, however, is quite good, and her humor is superb, as it was in "T.W.T.B.D." I can see her writing some very good stuff, but I feel she needs some work. Despite all these critisisms, I must admit to having enjoyed the story. It reads well and is entertaining. And to anyone who read "Tea With the Black Dragon" and loved it (or liked it a lot), "Damiyano" is worth reading. sonia@aids-unix
ariels@orca.UUCP (Ariel Shattan) (01/04/84)
Her name is MacAvoy, and it said she was a she on the back cover of Damiano. I'm in the middle of Damiano, well, actually, very near the end. I thought the book started out slowly, but I as I read I find the story and the character of Damiano more and more interesting. Tea With The Black Dragon is MacAvoy's 1st novel, and it's nice. Nothing spectacular, but it's a new idea, with an eccentric old lady, a dragon turned human, computers and computer crime. It's worth reading if you like your SF with a fantasy flair (or your fantasy with an SF flair, for that matter). Ariel Shattan