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Gate of Ivrel: Fever Dreams
Second of the Gate of Ivrel graphic full color, glossy, done by artist who became novelist in her own right; author of Gate of Ivrel also did some art, lettering, etc.
- GenresFantasyGraphic Novels
70 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1988
10 people want to read
About the author
Jane S. Fancher
29 books42 followersOn October 24, 1988 in Oklahoma City, OK, at a suggestion from SF author C.J. Cherryh, I began writing. I kept writing because two hours after starting, I had to find out what happened. A little over a year later, I was the startled owner of a three book contract based on the rough draft of my first novel.
I've been writing ever since.
What appeals to me about writing in general is the constant challenge. I'm a generalist and writing is the one thing that will happily use every bit of information and experience you have to put into it. It's constant problem solving, method acting and soul-searching all rolled up into one 24/7 job.
What I love about writing SF/F is...everything. I love the optimism of believing there is a future for humanity. I love the challenge of imagining what that future might be. But most of all, I love the thrill of exploring that future with the interesting and courageous people I find living in it.
But SF/F has another, less obvious, appeal: the ability to write with a social conscience without preaching. It lets writers create worlds in which they can shed light on aspects of current society in a less charged environment. Its a way to help raise awareness without pointing fingers at anyone.
Yes, I have same gender relationships. Yes, I have gender-identification-challenged characters. Yes, sex and obsessive attraction are definitely issues in my books, as are power and its use and abuse. But the genre's one-step-removed perspective also lets me explore the human ramifications of a too-effective educational system (be careful what you wish for), or the curious problems of being siblings and growing up with the kind of misconceptions only close association can create, or what it means to a culture to lose an entire generation's knowledge.
Can you do this in contemporary fiction? Absolutely. But SF/F lets you add extreme ramifications...like what if those sibling misconceptions were suddenly stripped away with the ability to know exactly what those sibs were thinking? What if the educational system were so effective, the subsequent misinformation threatened the very fabric of the universe itself?
In my contemporary vampire fantasy...I hesitate to call it urban fantasy, because in all honesty, it hasn't the right tropes...I'm enjoying exploring the perspective of virtual immortality and what might make life worth living after three thousand years.
And with SF/F you can do all this while have a rip-roaring adventure! What more can a writer ask for?
My formal educational background is in Math, Physics, Astrophysics and Anthropology. I've raised and trained horses, flown planes, and at 51, took up figure skating. I love building things, from costumes to computers, model ships to koi ponds. I play a little guitar, some piano and like to sing.
I actually got started in the publishing world doing art. I worked on WaRP Graphics' Elfquest, helping with inking on the last few volumes of the original black and white, also helping with the colors in the original color volumes. After that, I moved on to my own project, an adaptation of C.J. Cherryh's first novel, Gate of Ivrel.
These days, after many years away from art, I find myself returning to it to do covers for my newest venture, Closed Circle Publications. A couple of years ago, C.J., Lynn Abbey and I decided to join the ebook movement and bring out both our orphaned backlist and some new works that weren't quite what NY was looking for but which our loyal readers were demanding.
I absolutely love hearing from my readers. My blog should echo here, but feel free to join us at:
http://www.janefancher.com/TheCaptain...
I've been writing ever since.
What appeals to me about writing in general is the constant challenge. I'm a generalist and writing is the one thing that will happily use every bit of information and experience you have to put into it. It's constant problem solving, method acting and soul-searching all rolled up into one 24/7 job.
What I love about writing SF/F is...everything. I love the optimism of believing there is a future for humanity. I love the challenge of imagining what that future might be. But most of all, I love the thrill of exploring that future with the interesting and courageous people I find living in it.
But SF/F has another, less obvious, appeal: the ability to write with a social conscience without preaching. It lets writers create worlds in which they can shed light on aspects of current society in a less charged environment. Its a way to help raise awareness without pointing fingers at anyone.
Yes, I have same gender relationships. Yes, I have gender-identification-challenged characters. Yes, sex and obsessive attraction are definitely issues in my books, as are power and its use and abuse. But the genre's one-step-removed perspective also lets me explore the human ramifications of a too-effective educational system (be careful what you wish for), or the curious problems of being siblings and growing up with the kind of misconceptions only close association can create, or what it means to a culture to lose an entire generation's knowledge.
Can you do this in contemporary fiction? Absolutely. But SF/F lets you add extreme ramifications...like what if those sibling misconceptions were suddenly stripped away with the ability to know exactly what those sibs were thinking? What if the educational system were so effective, the subsequent misinformation threatened the very fabric of the universe itself?
In my contemporary vampire fantasy...I hesitate to call it urban fantasy, because in all honesty, it hasn't the right tropes...I'm enjoying exploring the perspective of virtual immortality and what might make life worth living after three thousand years.
And with SF/F you can do all this while have a rip-roaring adventure! What more can a writer ask for?
My formal educational background is in Math, Physics, Astrophysics and Anthropology. I've raised and trained horses, flown planes, and at 51, took up figure skating. I love building things, from costumes to computers, model ships to koi ponds. I play a little guitar, some piano and like to sing.
I actually got started in the publishing world doing art. I worked on WaRP Graphics' Elfquest, helping with inking on the last few volumes of the original black and white, also helping with the colors in the original color volumes. After that, I moved on to my own project, an adaptation of C.J. Cherryh's first novel, Gate of Ivrel.
These days, after many years away from art, I find myself returning to it to do covers for my newest venture, Closed Circle Publications. A couple of years ago, C.J., Lynn Abbey and I decided to join the ebook movement and bring out both our orphaned backlist and some new works that weren't quite what NY was looking for but which our loyal readers were demanding.
I absolutely love hearing from my readers. My blog should echo here, but feel free to join us at:
http://www.janefancher.com/TheCaptain...
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 1, 2017
This is the second of two comics based on CJ Cherryh's Gate of Ivrel, but it's not necessary to read the original novel to get what's going on here: the storytelling is deft, the art is gorgeous and evocative, and it's hard not to get swept up in both the courtly intrigue and the comic relief of this part of the story. The pacing works well, dividing the original novel into smaller story arcs that can stand on their own as comics. I only wish Fancher had been able to continue; I would have loved to see her take on what happens next, and I hold out hope that she might come back to this story sometime in the future.
February 22, 2022
I don't know what I appreciate more: the story, the art, or the forward/afterward. So much fun all around, with the added bonus on learning who these authors are and discovering their backgrounds. Next we meet there will be even more to talk about!
By the way, Thank you Jane for sharing these with me. I know you well understand how this helps a budding author create a tale outside of solely the printed word.
By the way, Thank you Jane for sharing these with me. I know you well understand how this helps a budding author create a tale outside of solely the printed word.
June 1, 2021
They spent the entire book in a castle and I understood little of the nuance.
->You need to know the prose book series to enjoy this<-
->You need to know the prose book series to enjoy this<-
February 24, 2023
This was one of my least favourite C.J. Cherryh stories ... but it made a LOT more sense when read as a graphic novel - now I kind of get it and enjoyed it.
December 24, 2013
CJ is one of my favorite scifi/fantasy authors and when I saw that there was a graphic novel of Morgaine I got curious enough that I ordered the first book in this series.
I quite enjoyed Gate of Ivrel: Claiming Rites and I gave the book 5-Stars. I thought Jane Fancher did a fantastic job gathering the varied threads of the original story and reducing them, and organizing them for a graphic novel. I cannot say the same for FEVER DREAMS.
FEVER DREAMS is a quagmire, in my opinion. The artwork is as good as the first volume, but if you came to this book cold, without having read the novel first, you'd be completely lost. Heck, I read the novel --granted it has been years-- and I still found found myself wondering what was going on and what the scenes were trying to portray.
Three Stars because it's obscure and only a wacky fan would acquire it anyways. But I would not recommend except to hard-core fans.
I quite enjoyed Gate of Ivrel: Claiming Rites and I gave the book 5-Stars. I thought Jane Fancher did a fantastic job gathering the varied threads of the original story and reducing them, and organizing them for a graphic novel. I cannot say the same for FEVER DREAMS.
FEVER DREAMS is a quagmire, in my opinion. The artwork is as good as the first volume, but if you came to this book cold, without having read the novel first, you'd be completely lost. Heck, I read the novel --granted it has been years-- and I still found found myself wondering what was going on and what the scenes were trying to portray.
Three Stars because it's obscure and only a wacky fan would acquire it anyways. But I would not recommend except to hard-core fans.
August 28, 2013
This is the sequel to another Gate of Ivrel adaption that I picked up at a used book store. Two books at once, very inexpensive. I like Gate of Ivrel, but I don't like these books. The art is very very wrong with broken limbs, bad pacing, and gawky awkward figures. It is a fan art book. If it were a webcomic I might not mind so much, but I expect more from a publisher. It's just not very good.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews