Heather Gladney

Teot's War is excellent--funny and inventive, and featuring gritty writing with complex characters--but out of print and hard to find (try abebooks.com). The characterization is superb, the plotting effective (this short novel has a very effective fast-slow-fast structure), and the world building is impressive. . . all in a 260 page book that I read comfortably over three sessions. In some ways it is reminiscent of the dark military fantasy of Glen Cook's Black Company books, but with more complicated and compelling protagonists. Naga is a great hero, in some ways profoundly gifted, and yet in others deeply troubled. On the one hand he is a musician, a martial artist, and a strategist. On the other hand, he is a member of a minority that faces rampant discrimination, and he suffers from a sort of post traumatic stress syndrome that causes occasional debilitating fits accompanied by mystic visionary insights. The relationship between Tanman Caladrunan and his bodyguard/servant Naga is an interesting one, really a unique relationship between two men in my fantasy reading. The Naga and Drin share a powerful personal relationship of deep love and intimacy. Some fans have seen the relationship as homoerotic, but frankly I didn't see it as sexual. I appreciated Gladney's use of ambiguity in describing the action in some of the melee scenes, forcing the reader to go back over a scene, much like I would imagine the scene is experienced in real time. This book was an extremely promising beginning to a series that made it through two books and has never been continued. If you are lucky enough to find it in a used book store, buy it!. I am happy to report that Gladney has now written further installments and one or two more volumes should be forthcoming in the not too distant future.… (meer)

I'm writing this review for the Teot's War entry, but my comments cover both it and Bloodstorm, the second book in the Song of Naga Teot.

The story is, as the series title suggests, about Naga Teot, a desert-dwelling Upai warrior/harper, who risks life and limb to deliver an urgent warning to Caladrunan, the Liege Lord of Tan. Teot's people have been nearly wiped out by the vicious flame-throwing machines of the Osa, and he has to convince the Tannese that the Osa threat is much greater than they think, and that they should prepare for a much worse war.

But that's only the plot.

For me, one of the two great strengths of the story lies in the rich, complex detail that Gladney has put into her world. Every sentence, nearly every word, gives the reader another clue about the culture, another insight in the characters. It's a dense read, and I pick up missed details nearly every time I read the books again. I admit, I tend to dislike the "toss the reader into the deep end" school of explication, mostly because so few writers can pull it off without leaving the reader confused and frustrated. Gladney, though, completely made it work for me.

That's not to say that the story drags down in detail. Even though the details are crucial, the broad strokes of the plot flow along well enough even if--as I did on my first reading--the reader doesn't quite absorb all the nuances. The different cultures are all well-crafted, and the author has done an especially good job of portraying the alliances and conflicts and shifts of power between them.

And then, of course, there's the other aforementioned strength: the relationship between Naga and Caladrunan. It's a strong "duo" partnership, founded on mutual respect and trust, and I hope very much that Gladney is able to explore it in a future book.… (meer)