Ink and Steel

Starred review from May 19, 2008
Campbell-winner Bear reveals the secret war between fae and the Elizabethan court in this dramatic prequel to Blood and Iron
and Whiskey and Water
. Framed with the intrigues of queens and courtiers, the story focuses on the mutual respect and growing love of Kit Marley (aka Christopher Marlowe) and Will Shakespeare. As Morgan le Fey rescues Kit from assassins, various factions recruit Will to bolster their political machinations with the magic of poetry. Kit pulls Will into Faerie and both are forced to face their own deepest desires and fears, which cannot be resolved until they deal with a power even higher than mortal Queen Elizabeth or fae Queen Mab. Copious quotes and intelligent speculation about their lives and works mark this sensitive and sensual look at the two supreme playwrights of the English Renaissance. The story's second half, Hell and Earth
, is due out in August.

June 15, 2008
Elizabeth I rules England in the "iron world" of humanity; the other realm, of Faerie, claims Queen Mab as monarch. Both worlds exist in symbiosis, but each world is threatened by treachery from within. When Elizabeth's personal spy, poet and playwright Christopher Marlowe, is murdered, his ability to weave sustaining magics into his plays is lost. His replacement, rival William Shakespeare, possesses talent but lacks magic. In order to save England, Faerie intervenes, raising Marlowe as Mab's servantand Shakespeare's teacher. The latest installment in Bear's historical fantasy series ("Blood and Iron; Whiskey and Water") featuring an Earth infused with magic as well as machinery both explores the fertile literary movements of the Elizabethan era and reveals the origins of the Promethean age. The author's mastery of period detail and her ability to interweave literature and politics while bringing to life some of history's most beloved and problematic characters make this a welcome addition to any library. [Also published simultaneously this month is "Hell and Earth", the follow-up installment about Marlowe and Shakespeare.Ed.]

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