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Kantmorie Saga #3
Summerfair
To bring the dead back to life, to stop the world-wide mutiny of Valde soldiery, to block the conquering ambitions of a Tek of many shapes - these were the problems that converged on Jannus, the secret heir of the crown of lost Kantmoire.
Topping off his problems add the dangerous wanderings of his half-human daughters and the machinations of a spaceship down from orbit, and you have the ingredients that mark this amazing new novel of the world first depicted in Pursuit of the Screamer.
Topping off his problems add the dangerous wanderings of his half-human daughters and the machinations of a spaceship down from orbit, and you have the ingredients that mark this amazing new novel of the world first depicted in Pursuit of the Screamer.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
About the author
Ansen Dibell
13 books3 followersFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ansen Dibell was the penname used by Nancy Ann Dibble (September 8, 1942 – March 7, 2006), an American science fiction author, who also published books about fiction writing. Born in Staten Island, New York, she received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the Iowa Writers Workshop and earned a doctorate in 19th C. English literature. She taught literature and creative writing at several colleges and universities until 1980, when she became a freelance editor and author. From 1983 she worked as editor at Writer's Digest Books.
She published a number of stories and poems in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and received two awards for her poetry. Her novels sublimate events in her life into fiction.
Ansen Dibell was the penname used by Nancy Ann Dibble (September 8, 1942 – March 7, 2006), an American science fiction author, who also published books about fiction writing. Born in Staten Island, New York, she received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the Iowa Writers Workshop and earned a doctorate in 19th C. English literature. She taught literature and creative writing at several colleges and universities until 1980, when she became a freelance editor and author. From 1983 she worked as editor at Writer's Digest Books.
She published a number of stories and poems in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and received two awards for her poetry. Her novels sublimate events in her life into fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 11, 2018
Like the previous books, it leaves me wondering how Dibell could possibly follow this. The world has changed drastically yet again and the Tek influence is gone, in an event recalling Lord of the Rings. Since the final two of the series were never published in English, I guess I'll never know.
Correcting the original wrong done by the amoral Tek to the Valde, the planetary natives, involves untangling both the genetics and social changes to the Valde and severing the inter-dependencies tying the Valde with the human societies. There's an aspect to Brohn's relentless pursuit of 'justice' for the Valde that still stinks of manipulation and interference.
At the same time, there is crisis of identity and explorations of 'self'. Poli the Valde has died and been technologically resurrected (not a spoiler) with gaps in her existence. The Shai's 'mobile'--a synthetic being--has been growing more independence with each iteration and his/their interactions back to the progenitor/creator is more human than previously implied. The Shai itself is starting to doubt its all-consuming Rule of One, which has guided its meddling in human affairs.
It adds up to a very complex and textured story with some real emotional points. In particular how Poli grapples with her new life, and how the very act of resurrection has an effect on the entire political situation of the world and the strange long-term plans of the Shai itself.
The last fifth of the book, however, felt like it was spinning out of control, between the dreamlike state of the Valde and the emotional deadness of various other characters. It was wrapped in the mental landscape of Valde telepathy and various terminology that I couldn't quite follow.
Correcting the original wrong done by the amoral Tek to the Valde, the planetary natives, involves untangling both the genetics and social changes to the Valde and severing the inter-dependencies tying the Valde with the human societies. There's an aspect to Brohn's relentless pursuit of 'justice' for the Valde that still stinks of manipulation and interference.
At the same time, there is crisis of identity and explorations of 'self'. Poli the Valde has died and been technologically resurrected (not a spoiler) with gaps in her existence. The Shai's 'mobile'--a synthetic being--has been growing more independence with each iteration and his/their interactions back to the progenitor/creator is more human than previously implied. The Shai itself is starting to doubt its all-consuming Rule of One, which has guided its meddling in human affairs.
It adds up to a very complex and textured story with some real emotional points. In particular how Poli grapples with her new life, and how the very act of resurrection has an effect on the entire political situation of the world and the strange long-term plans of the Shai itself.
The last fifth of the book, however, felt like it was spinning out of control, between the dreamlike state of the Valde and the emotional deadness of various other characters. It was wrapped in the mental landscape of Valde telepathy and various terminology that I couldn't quite follow.
October 31, 2026
Summerfair brings the main English trail of the Kantmorie Saga to a wild, head-spinning crossroads. This 1982 third book has our young buddy Jannus, the secret heir to the lost crown of Kantmorie, juggling a whole mountain of trouble that's heavier than a team of bloated oxen. Not only does he have to figure out a way to literally bring the dead back to life, but those fierce Valde warrior women are throwing a massive, worldwide mutiny that's fixing to tear the whole planet apart at the seams. To make a bad mess downright catastrophic, that shape-shifting, immortal Tek monster-man is back with some grand, conquering ambitions, his own half-human daughters have gone missing on a dangerous wander, and a high-tech spaceship just dropped down from orbit to poke its mechanical nose into everyone's business! This here book is a mighty fine piece of old-school storytelling where Ansen Dibell really lets the horses run, pulling together all the sprawling pieces of the puzzle into a fast-paced, high-stakes caper. It’s got a beautiful, rich flavor that crosses raw, sword-clashing fantasy survival with top-tier spaceship sci-fi. A word of warning for the road ahead, though: while this book wraps up a huge chunk of Jannus's journey, the final two sequels to this series were sadly never printed in English—they only ever came out in French and Dutch!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews