Ellen Steiber, A Rumor of Gems Review

A Rumor of Gems

Ellen Steiber

Tor, Jun 2005, $25.95

ISBN: 0312858795



The city of Arcato is under some sort of mystical siege. First magical gemstones began appearing with the potency to cast spells. On top of that the ancient port city has become a place teeming with gods and other mythological creatures pretending to be humans only to vent havoc on the locals while time is multiple with varying epochs coexisting in an interactive spiral.



As chaos rules the city, human Lucinda de Francesco detests males whether they are god, shapeshifter or mortal as she wants no one to dictate to her how to live and yet she still thirsts for true love. She is especially wary of antiques dealer Sebastian Keane, who obsessively courts her in spite of her acrimonious rejections of him. At the same time; eleven years old Michael Fortunato has apparently become a killer because someone seems to have used the power of a gem to control the lad. Could that have been a God, a rogue shaman like Alasdair or even the sentient miniature dragon gemstone?



The weird city and its supernatural cast that includes the thinking gems and most humans are well rounded and solid so that the audience believes in what is going on inside of Arcato. However, the heroine on the other hand pontificates on her life slowing down an exhilarating plot that moves on all cylinders when Lucinda is not musing about the shortcomings. Fans of strange fantasy tales will appreciate this fine story wondering whether the preadolescent is a killer, a victim of a gem, or set up by one of the Gods.



Harriet Klausner