Elizabeth Bear, Ink and Steel

[ellarien]

First volume of a diptych covering the lives and loves of Will Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe/Marley in the waning days of Elizabeth I, in the same universe as Blood and Iron and Whiskey and Water. It starts with the aftermath of Marley's death and goes on from there, with much intrigue both political and amorous, in and out of Faerie and Elizabeth's court.

I found the running "Marley was dead" gag in the early chapters a little off-putting; yes, it's clever and funny, but does it actually add anything to the story? Other than that, the evocation of Elizabethan London feels flawless. Faerie mostly seems to consist of half a dozen rooms and a wood, but that's rather in the nature of the place, I suppose; dreamlike and debatable, shaped by story and perception. Not all of what takes place there has the texture of fairy-tale, much of it does, when it isn't downright mythic, whereas what goes on in London is realistic down to the soggy straw and splintered wood and bad light. There's poetry as incantation -- in the hands of some of the greatest poets ever -- and other, darker magic, and Lucifer, and murky Promethean plots, and digs at the idea that the Earl of Oxford was the real writer of Shakespeare's work. And a troll, and a rather charming lamia, and Robin Goodfellow.

All these elements are welded together into a rather clearer and more coherent narrative than Blood and Iron ever managed to be -- with that, I admired the scenery but had a hard time following the plot.

Comments

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

I'm currently reading Ink and Steel and enjoying it. I thought there was some good writing in Blood and Iron, but I gave up half way through because I didn't have a clue what was going on with regard to plot, assuming it had one.

[ellarien]

I think there was a plot, but it was a bit too cleverly hidden under everything else. Whisky and Water was already better in that regard.