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The Armor of Light
The heavy summer air of 1595 is full of portents for Elizabeth, England's Queen, and James VI, King of Scotland. A coven of witches secretly controlled by the Wizard Earl of Bothwell has summoned a storm to sink the ship that bears James' bride to Scotland. Though the ship made port, the success of their summoning has emboldened them; the coven is now launching wizardly attacks on the King himself — and James is terrified.
But this is not quite the England that we know. The Queen's champion Sir Philip Sidney did not die at Zutphen, nor was poet and spy Christopher Marlowe murdered in a Deptford tavern, and both are powerful magicians, if in different traditions. The Queen must send them north to break the prophecy and save the King of Scots — and England's future.
But this is not quite the England that we know. The Queen's champion Sir Philip Sidney did not die at Zutphen, nor was poet and spy Christopher Marlowe murdered in a Deptford tavern, and both are powerful magicians, if in different traditions. The Queen must send them north to break the prophecy and save the King of Scots — and England's future.
504 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
12 people are currently reading
311 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Scott
100 books447 followersScott studied history at Harvard College and Brandeis University, and earned her PhD. in comparative history. She published her first novel in 1984, and has since written some two dozen science fiction and fantasy works, including three co-authored with her partner, Lisa A. Barnett.
Scott's work is known for the elaborate and well-constructed settings. While many of her protagonists are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered, this is perfectly integrated into the rest of the story and is rarely a major focus of the story. Shadow Man, alone among Scott's works, focuses explicitly on issues of sexuality and gender.
She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction in 1986, and has won several Lambda Literary Awards.
In addition to writing, Scott also teaches writing, offering classes via her website and publishing a writing guide.
Scott lived with her partner, author Lisa A. Barnett, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for 27 years, until the latter's death of breast cancer on May 2, 2006.
Scott's work is known for the elaborate and well-constructed settings. While many of her protagonists are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered, this is perfectly integrated into the rest of the story and is rarely a major focus of the story. Shadow Man, alone among Scott's works, focuses explicitly on issues of sexuality and gender.
She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction in 1986, and has won several Lambda Literary Awards.
In addition to writing, Scott also teaches writing, offering classes via her website and publishing a writing guide.
Scott lived with her partner, author Lisa A. Barnett, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for 27 years, until the latter's death of breast cancer on May 2, 2006.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 31, 2022
This is a very entertaining historical fantasy set in an alternate magical Elizabethan England. In this world, Sir Philip Sidney did not die after the battle of Zutphen; he recovered from his wounds and lived to save Christopher Marlowe's life at the tavern in Deptford. When the Wizard Earl of Bothwell threatens James VI of Scotland with deadly magic, Elizabeth of England sends Sidney to defend him; Robert Cecil sends Marlowe along to spy, whereupon Marlowe is also pulled into the magical battle, with very interesting results.
The historical detail and language were good, the magic is powerful, and the characters were darned convincing. I enjoyed it a lot and will continue to look for the authors' other books (which are apparently set in the same universe).
The historical detail and language were good, the magic is powerful, and the characters were darned convincing. I enjoyed it a lot and will continue to look for the authors' other books (which are apparently set in the same universe).
March 11, 2014
In this alternate history tale, Sir Philip Sidney didn't die at the Battle of Zutphen, and is instead Queen Elizabeth's champion. He is sent to Scotland to defend King James from Bothwell's witchcraft. With him comes Kit Marlowe, whose life he saved in 1593 and who has continued to spy for Walsingham. Five hundred pages later, Sidney and Marlowe defeat Bothwell using some bible verses. The writing is so repetitive, the magic so deus ex machina, that I could barely finish this.
The authors clearly know the Elizabethan period very well, but this is not a good novel. The plot is very basic, the plot beats poorly paced, and the characters almost indistinguishable. The narration switches point-of-view frequently, with no signal and to no real purpose, since everyone has the same basic mindset. The only character who stands out at all is Marlowe, mostly because he can't look at a young man without thinking about fucking him. It's tiresome. Equally unnecessary are the side plots featuring Frances Sidney and the players. The players consume a good hundred pages at least, but their point in the novel is obscure. Frances does even less. She gets word that her husband will be attacked by witches, so she creates a convoluted plot to get Queen Elizabeth to speak with her in order to get permission to ride all the way to Scotland with Raleigh in tow (no reason this historical figure should be included either). I have no idea why she felt the need to do this, since the ENTIRE REASON Sidney is in Scotland in the first place is to defend against witches' attacks. He already knows he'll be a target; Frances's hundred-odd pages of plot to warn him are completely superfluous. But then, this book in general feels like it's made entirely out of padding, like the writers really just wanted to play dolls with their favorite historical personages (the descriptions of their clothes are seemingly endless) and they inserted a bare little plot at odd intervals to maintain the illusion that this is an actual story.
The authors clearly know the Elizabethan period very well, but this is not a good novel. The plot is very basic, the plot beats poorly paced, and the characters almost indistinguishable. The narration switches point-of-view frequently, with no signal and to no real purpose, since everyone has the same basic mindset. The only character who stands out at all is Marlowe, mostly because he can't look at a young man without thinking about fucking him. It's tiresome. Equally unnecessary are the side plots featuring Frances Sidney and the players. The players consume a good hundred pages at least, but their point in the novel is obscure. Frances does even less. She gets word that her husband will be attacked by witches, so she creates a convoluted plot to get Queen Elizabeth to speak with her in order to get permission to ride all the way to Scotland with Raleigh in tow (no reason this historical figure should be included either). I have no idea why she felt the need to do this, since the ENTIRE REASON Sidney is in Scotland in the first place is to defend against witches' attacks. He already knows he'll be a target; Frances's hundred-odd pages of plot to warn him are completely superfluous. But then, this book in general feels like it's made entirely out of padding, like the writers really just wanted to play dolls with their favorite historical personages (the descriptions of their clothes are seemingly endless) and they inserted a bare little plot at odd intervals to maintain the illusion that this is an actual story.
February 12, 2013
As many other alternative history works of fiction this book is set in England during the reign of Elizabeth the Great. It was the brightest and yet the most putrid age of British history, a time when history itself could have changed its course: it did, but unfortunately only to a certain extent.
It cannot be a mere chance that so many authors choose this age for their alternative history novels: so many opportunities to make the western world a different place have been wasted then.
(One could add, cursorily, that many fantasy novels seem to be set in an Elizabethan-like kingdom).
These authors seem to have done their research. They give many details about everyday life but they do not overindulge, except perhaps where clothes are concerned; every other real life reference is functional to plot and characterization, not a mean feat indeed.
The plot is interesting, sensible, well contrived. Characters are not as satisfying: Elizabeth is adorable (for a harridan) but everyone else is either shallow or unremarkable or inconsistent or obnoxious for some reason. Sidney is far to obsessed with his protestant faith to be likeable; Marlowe, it goes without saying, could have been a great character but he is such only at times; James is not too bad. All the others play choir when they should have been side kicks. Villains are essentially non existent so that the main characters' very personal demons end by being more interesting.
Writing is professional but not distinguished: several passages are rich of humour or interesting in some way, but there are also problems: the constant shift of POV never signalled by a new paragraph; the constant shift of language register within the same utterance of the same character; some inconsistencies; a wrong use of pluralis maiestatis; some outright grammar mistakes.
Marlowe is a gay character (James is too even if he seems devout to Queen Anne) so gay sex is mentioned but never graphically. The book can be considered safe for teens but I doubt many of them will be interested in the several moral and metaphysical digressions.
This is a nice read, enjoyable and out of print: I recommend you buy it if you find it in some second hand bookstore.
It cannot be a mere chance that so many authors choose this age for their alternative history novels: so many opportunities to make the western world a different place have been wasted then.
(One could add, cursorily, that many fantasy novels seem to be set in an Elizabethan-like kingdom).
These authors seem to have done their research. They give many details about everyday life but they do not overindulge, except perhaps where clothes are concerned; every other real life reference is functional to plot and characterization, not a mean feat indeed.
The plot is interesting, sensible, well contrived. Characters are not as satisfying: Elizabeth is adorable (for a harridan) but everyone else is either shallow or unremarkable or inconsistent or obnoxious for some reason. Sidney is far to obsessed with his protestant faith to be likeable; Marlowe, it goes without saying, could have been a great character but he is such only at times; James is not too bad. All the others play choir when they should have been side kicks. Villains are essentially non existent so that the main characters' very personal demons end by being more interesting.
Writing is professional but not distinguished: several passages are rich of humour or interesting in some way, but there are also problems: the constant shift of POV never signalled by a new paragraph; the constant shift of language register within the same utterance of the same character; some inconsistencies; a wrong use of pluralis maiestatis; some outright grammar mistakes.
Marlowe is a gay character (James is too even if he seems devout to Queen Anne) so gay sex is mentioned but never graphically. The book can be considered safe for teens but I doubt many of them will be interested in the several moral and metaphysical digressions.
This is a nice read, enjoyable and out of print: I recommend you buy it if you find it in some second hand bookstore.
November 10, 2022
Rep: gay mc, gay side characters
April 11, 2022
I didn't finish this book. Victorian royalty is boring to me; adding wizards didn't help
April 9, 2019
Magical Elizabethan fantasy
What if Phillip Sidney and Kit Marlowe not only survivef their historical deaths, but were wizards? great court intrigues and magic doings in this ahistorical history.
What if Phillip Sidney and Kit Marlowe not only survivef their historical deaths, but were wizards? great court intrigues and magic doings in this ahistorical history.
July 19, 2018
A touching book because it’s such a beautiful vision of Sidney and Marlowe that I wish it was true. But it has some serious flaws, it feels like the author changed her mind about what it was about half way through (witches?) but then didn’t go back and revise. There are maguffins (the book Dee gives Sidney) that then don’t get used. There is no connection between the things in the Elizabeth plot line and ultimately in the King James one. There were so many characters that many felt underused. And it’s very thin on world building, I would have loved more place and more descriptions over and above clothes. For all that I did enjoy it.
September 2, 2019
3.5 stars. I read this book partly to fulfill the “alternative history” slot in the 2019 Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge.
This tells how Sir Phillip Sidney, with the aid of Christopher Marlowe, is sent by an older Queen Elizabeth to save young King James of Scotland from the Wizard Earl of Bothwell. Magic is alive and well and rooted in folk beliefs and Catholic rites and beliefs, and Virgil as well. It is very dense and the first third or so of the book was rather slogging for me. I’d not have predicted i would end up giving it 4 stars.
I found myself rooting hard for Marlowe.
I wish that the authors would go back and write the alternate history of Sidney’s and Marlowe’s younger years, which are so frequently referenced here.
The cover does not do this book justice. It makes it look like a light-hearted romp, which it is not at all.
This tells how Sir Phillip Sidney, with the aid of Christopher Marlowe, is sent by an older Queen Elizabeth to save young King James of Scotland from the Wizard Earl of Bothwell. Magic is alive and well and rooted in folk beliefs and Catholic rites and beliefs, and Virgil as well. It is very dense and the first third or so of the book was rather slogging for me. I’d not have predicted i would end up giving it 4 stars.
I found myself rooting hard for Marlowe.
I wish that the authors would go back and write the alternate history of Sidney’s and Marlowe’s younger years, which are so frequently referenced here.
The cover does not do this book justice. It makes it look like a light-hearted romp, which it is not at all.
January 13, 2016
Alt-history Elizabethan fantasy starring several people who apparently technically should have been dead at the time (I knew about Marlowe but not anyone else). It was a good read, and I enjoyed seeing magic interwoven with history, but there were way, way too many unexpected POV shifts. Like, sometimes in the middle of a paragraph. It's good -- especially if you liked the Points books, I think -- but a little slow, and honestly I was kind of expecting it to, uh, go there. With Marlowe and the demon. Which it did not.
(Also there are way too many typos in the Crossroads ebook version. Does no one proof these things anymore? They fixed misspellings and left the original words actually in the text next to the edited versions.)
(Also there are way too many typos in the Crossroads ebook version. Does no one proof these things anymore? They fixed misspellings and left the original words actually in the text next to the edited versions.)
January 17, 2016
I definitely liked it. It wasn't anywhere near as good as the Points books, but it was really interesting to see some of the things from those being developed here. I liked that it was a 'real' historical setting (with magic). I adored Kit Marlowe (duh). I wasn't as thrilled with some of the side plots, and the POV switching was super-irritating. I didn't want it to end (though by the time it did, the story more than needed to have come to some sort of climax.
...Since Marlowe, well, you know. Didn't.
...Since Marlowe, well, you know. Didn't.
December 31, 2010
This was a re-read from several years ago. The plot is only slightly less convoluted on the second try (I still attribute that to the book having two authors- each had plot twists they refused to surrender), but knowing what was coming allowed me to see the characters in a little more detail. As a fan of Christopher Marlowe's works, I'm a sucker for a story where he lived a longer life, especially one so full of intrigue.
January 16, 2014
The wonderfully skilled writing team of Melissa Scott and the late Lisa A. Barnett has created a compelling alternate history novel, set in an Elizabethan age where Sir Philip Sidney and Christopher Marlowe escaped their historical deaths and are sent by the queen to Scotland in order to quell a dark, sorcerous power threatening her chosen heir, the king of Scots. Filled with magic and intrigue, this densely woven and brilliantly written book is an absolute delight to read.
June 13, 2010
Alternate history with fantasy elements in which Sir Philip Sidney and Christopher Marlowe dodge their respective historical deaths and join forces to combat Lord Bothwell. An excellent read which I always hoped would have a sequel.
August 16, 2010
Fun alternate history of the end of Elizabeth I's reign with magic and religion intermingling.
December 12, 2013
To reread, in the brand-new Kindle edition, now that I've become madly besotted with Melissa Scott and all her works.
October 6, 2025
One of my very favorite historical fantasy books ever.
August 4, 2015
Though it has been many years since I read this book, I do remember that I liked it quite a bit. And I wondered if the authors set any more books in this universe.
October 4, 2016
somewhat slow to start but hugely enjoyable by the end. loved the historical world building.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews