Quatrain (Twelve Houses series)

Four Novellas Let Readers Revisit Sharon Shinn's WorldsSharon Shinn has a genius for creating in her books interestingcultures and not just interesting characters, but entire communitiesof interconnected people. In each of these four novellas she revisits oneof the worlds she has created. I wouldn't suggest starting with these,as a new reader would miss lots of context. But for fans of hercreations, these are terrific. I only give it four stars because it'snot something anybody can pick up and get five stars worth out of; forShinn fans it's definitely worth five stars!"Flight", which is presented first, is from Shinn's "Angel" series, andtakes us back to the time of the first book, when Raphael is Archangel.This seemed a bit dark, to me, which may be why so many readers havefound it the least satisfactory of the novellas. It did make me longto reread the whole series, however."Blood" returns us to the world of "Heart of Gold", where there areIndigos and Gulden, with brightly different skin colors and radicallydifferent cultures, and uneasy relations between them. Set twentyyears after Kitrini and Nolan meet in "Heart", Shinn uses the story ofJalci, Kitrini's niece, and Kerk, a Gulden fatherless male, to open upfurther developments in this world, as people seek for options beyondthose determined by their cultures."Gold" also takes us down a generation in the world of "Summers atCastle Auburn", where an army is coming to attack and the heirs mustbe hidden far away. The princess is sent to Alora, where the formerlyimprisoned Aliora live in what is basically fairyland. Whatinterested me most was how the princess, at first resolute inmaintaining her identity and purpose, is gradually worn away to becomelike the hedonistic fairies, succumbing to pleasure and indolence.The love story was predictable but not annoying, at least to me, andAlora was wondrous."Flame" was last, set in the "Twelve Houses" series, mostly about Senneth,the mystic of fire, with a little Kirra and Donal. It seemed to have beenset only a few years after the end of the action in the series. Peoplestill fear and hate mystics even as the kingdom depends upon them. TheKing's Riders make only a brief appearance at the end. But Senneth getsto do lots of fire stuff and make a brief trip back to Lirreth.I enjoyed all of these books, especially "Blood" and "Flame", and Ionly wish that Shinn would write much more. How about a novella fromthe world of "General Winston's Daughter"? But this is definitely notthe place to start reading her books.

I got this book because i read that it was going to contain a story set in the same world as Summers at Castle Auburn. I can safely say that this book was an excellent read minus "Gold" which was said story. The story is the story of Princess Zara the daughter of Coriel and Kent from SACA. I was extremely disappointed with the character and plot. Zara came off as annoying, bratty, and air headed with no redeeming features. In a way, Gold is going to be more well liked if the person hadn't read the original story. SACA is one of my favorite books of all time and i just can't like it. So many things didn't match up with the original story. (Males become kings and not females) and such. Plus i refused to believe Kent and Coriel would raise such a air headed, self absorbed, whiny brat. Zara was more of Bryan's child than theirs. I had to do in the words of mythbusters "reject Sharon's reality and substitute it with mine" in order to keep myself liking the original still. In my mind Zara marries Orlain and goes away, another non-mentioned son becomes king, marries a strong and smart princess, and things go on happily ever after. Plus i give Matthew a long lost returned love. ^flagI would highly recommend people to read this book for the other three stories though. They were all beautifully written and drew you in.

Quatrain (2010) is an SF/Fantasy collection. It contains four short tales based on the author's previous works.Flight is based on the Samaria series. Salome is a former angel-seeker now living on a large farm and taking care of her deceased sister's daughter.Blood is based on the Heart of Gold novel. Kerk is a golden man who works for his stepfather. He is looking for his mother in the city.Gold is based on the Summers at Castle Auburn novel. Zara is a seventeen year old princess who is visiting her uncle in Alora while the castle is under siege.Flame is based on -- and is a prequel to -- the Twelve Houses series. Senneth is a powerful mystic whose talent is fire. She is visiting Kianlever and gets talked into attending a small dinner party.These tales provide small introductions to four of the worlds created by this author. They also give glimpses into other events within these worlds. If these stories are enjoyable, check out the previous works.Highly recommended for Shinn fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of other worlds, exotic cultures, and true romance. Read and enjoy!-Arthur W. Jordin

Four short stories: instantly transported to a world, with it's own standards & values; each presented in a fascinating story. What amazes me is how Sharon can create such a revealing glimpse of this "alternate world" while developing her characters and storyline. It is so complete, I'm just suddenly "there" as the story progresses... no plodding explanations of how this "reality" is different then ours.The themes explored in the stories are thoughtful and explore real relationship development; tucked into the prose, are examinations of what has enduring value. I enjoy "visiting" these new worlds while examining old themes. Stepping out of the known world helps present "problems/issues" in a light unburdened by our own personal history.Good SyFy with quality character development is a rarity but Sharon Shinn does it over and over. It's pure pleasure to read. I can see that each story could easily be developed into a full-feldged book... and hope she does so.