| Blind Vision | ||||||||
| Marguerite Krause | ||||||||
| Speculation Press, 266 pages | ||||||||
|
A review by Georges T. Dodds
Blind Vision tells of Phillipe, a young seer come to
the court of Duke Bernard d'Albin, who must figure out just how to tweak the present in order to avoid
the death and destruction that the majority of Phillipe's visions
foresee for the ducal see. Phillipe who, under a drug-induced
trance, can foresee a number of different timelines must try to
identify who will be a threat to his employer and what critical
events lead to diverging timelines. Unfortunately, the Duke's
young sister Zuli, whose birthmark brands her as disfavoured of
the Goddess, is convinced that Phillipe is just a slick con-man.
Her skepticism and antagonism make it all the more difficult for
Phillipe when he realizes that Zuli's bearing of heirs to the
duchy, a role she believes she is precluded from, is the key to a
happy future. A series of events bring Phillipe and Zuli closer,
but a murder attempt and the arrival of the Crown Prince along
with the Duke's presumed enemies brings events to a head.
Besides the excellent portrayal of both the primary and
secondary characters, the relationship between Phillipe and Zuli
doesn't read like the typical sickeningly saccharine love story
between the brawny romance-novel-cover hulk and the petite and
vivacious woman. Phillipe and Zuli are both interesting as
outsiders, both having had their share of hardships and issues to
work through, both eventually breaking out of their self-imposed
shells through contact with the other. Another strong point of
the novel is that, given the premise of the multiplicity of the
visionary timelines, the possibility of misinterpretation, and
some secondary characters' views/influences on possible
scenarios, the mystery of the ultimate outcome is maintained to
the very end.
Being the author's first solo novel, Blind Vision is
remarkably well done. From a male reader's perspective, it
could perhaps have done with a few more action/adventure
sequences (although those present are well done). However, if you
enjoy well-plotted pseudo-mediaeval fare with an element of
nicely understated romance, then Blind Vision should amply
satisfy.
Georges Dodds is a research scientist in vegetable crop physiology, who for close to 25 years has read and collected close to 2000 titles of predominantly pre-1950 science-fiction and fantasy, both in English and French. He writes columns on early imaginative literature for WARP, the newsletter/fanzine of the Montreal Science Fiction and Fantasy Association and maintains a site reflecting his tastes in imaginative literature. |
|||||||
|
|
If you find any errors, typos or anything else worth mentioning,
please send it to editor@sfsite.com.
Copyright © 1996-2013 SF Site All Rights Reserved Worldwide