Lace and Blade, edited by Deborah J. Ross

Lace and Blade, edited by Deborah J. Ross, kicks off the introduction with a quote from Alfred Noyes’s “The Highwayman.” Full of sensuous descriptions and melodramatic incident, this Victorian ballad poem also characterizes the themes of Norilana Books‘ anthology. Rogues, romance, and magic mix in these tales of an idealized period with lavish costumes and passionate feelings.

The playful, lighthearted mystery of “Virtue and the Archangel” by Madeleine E. Robins begins the book. Nobly born Velliaune loses her virginity and her prize sapphire in a late-night tryst. She turns to her former schoolmate, fencing instructor Nyana, to retrieve the jewel. A simple, dashing mystery ensues. Robins dances through many romantic tropes—bereft damsel, dangerous back-alley brawl, glittering swordplay, suppressed affection—with tongue admirably in cheek. She seems to have Nyana and Velliaune’s world thoroughly worked out, and “Virtue and the Archangel” is like an encapsulated slice of a much larger and lovingly detailed story. Velliaune may appear first in the text, but it’s the capable, charming Nyana who’s the real star. Because she’s possessed of such verve and cleverness, I wouldn’t mind if she dropped back in for another few stories.

An impoverished gentleman with only his skill at cards to buoy him, Claude arrives in colonial Brazil to escape sorrows and survey his family’s emerald mines. A sexy courtesan, Corquisa, enchants him, so he determines to buy her freedom with a game of cards. In “The Crossroads,” Diana L. Paxson mixes convincing descriptions of the gambling dens and prostitution in colonial Brazil with trickster lore from local mythology to enmesh her protagonist in a story of violent transcendence. Visceral and delirious, this story moves quickly, thanks to Paxson’s economical, well-placed words.

In “Touch of Moonlight” by Robin Wayne Bailey, Elena fends off a loathsome lothario and teams up with a supernatural highwayman to rescue her brother from a werewolf’s clutches. Bailey condenses the traditional plot of romance—in which the protagonists piss each other off until they succumb to mutual attraction and join forces, stronger than before, now that they are together—into an energetic, fast-paced story that’s all the more compelling for bursting at the seams with incident. A balanced blend of love, action, and magic, “Touch of Moonlight” zips along to its neat, logical conclusion, an exemplar of the cross-genre fertilization showcased in this anthology.

In Tanith Lee’s “Lace-Maker, Blade-Taker, Grave-Breaker, Priest,” Ymil, a scribbler of ballads, watches two of his shipmates closely. The genial, arrogant liar Mhikal detests the aloof, priggish Zephyrin. Ymil, who has been tracking the two so that they may be returned to their parents, watches their animosity sharpen until, after a shipwreck, Mhikal and Zephyrin find out the truth behind their attraction and repulsion. I was rather disappointed in this offering; Lee’s signature unusual and overheated prose works overtime to conceal a slight, threadbare story in which most of the action occurs offscreen. Because almost all of Mhikal and Zephyrin’s character development happens in quickly summarized paragraphs about their pasts, it was hard for me to flesh them out as more than hysterically annoyed caricatures. For a better representation of what Lee can do with a backdrop of sword, sorcery, and romance, check out any of her short stories featuring the incomparably dashing detective/adventurer Cyrion.

“The Beheaded Queen” by Dave Smeds brings the high-flying operatic emotion of earlier stories crashing back to earth with a story of what comes after the consuming love affair. If you’re a queen who has committed adultery, what comes after is decapitation, followed by magical revivification so that you can serve as an example to those who would dare to cross the king. The queen, who narrates this story, exists only as a head because she had an affair with a man she loved, rather than with her brutal husband. Now that her son is about to be married in a strategic alliance, the queen advises both him and his fiancée. No character comes across as instantly appealing, but Smeds invests them all with a dignity that makes you really care for them. The most nuanced and emotionally sensitive story in this anthology, “The Beheaded Queen” effectively examines the ambivalence of royal characters caught between their duties and their hearts.

In “The Topaz Desert,” Catherine Asaro eschews derring-do in favor of a love story strongly influenced by her previous expertise in romance novels. Budding magician and jeweler’s apprentice Tanzi flees her cruel master and enters a forced marriage with the gentle hermit Zebb for protection. Lust and trust follow, and the couple eventually turns the tables on the trader who is cheating Zebb. Yay, a happy ending! Asaro writes with flair and clarity, and she creates endearing characters, especially the sexy, but also very innocent, Zebb. At the same time, her poor pacing—especially the sudden, out-of-nowhere event that precipitates the climax and denouement—detracts from the story. Engaging, but not as fulfilling as “Touch of Moonlight.”

“Night Wind” by Mary Rosenblum invites favorable comparison to “Touch of Moonlight,” which hits on many of the same themes. Young magician Alvaro is betrothed to the noble Renata, who harbors a Robin Hood-like secret. Classist prejudice and a bandit with a secret identity conspire to thwart the characters, while also weaving their destinies closer together. With touching parent-child relationships and detailed worldcraft, Rosenblum’s story has more of a historical-fiction ambiance (despite the presence of magic), which aids its believability and solidity.

“In the Night Street Baths” by Chaz Brenchley brings to the fore the sexual currents streaming beneath the “lace and blade” subgenre’s erotic parrying. It follows a teenaged harem servant, Teo, and his partner and lover, eunuch Djago, as they break out from the strict rules of the women’s quarters and enjoy freedom in the public baths. I suppose there’s a plot in there, but the strength of this story comes from its marriage of the excitement of liberation with the excitement of sex. In bright, dreamlike scenes, Brenchley portrays a young boy’s (explicit and gay, just FYI) sexual awakening.

Concluding Lace and Blade is Sherwood Smith’s “Rule of Engagement,” in which Lady Ren loves King Lexan, and Lady Tarsa loves Duke Cath, and then Cath kidnaps Ren, messing everything up. A simple quadrangulation of the characters’ movements doesn’t really do justice to this story, which contains Austenesque touches of a comedy of manners, as well as surprising and entertaining insight into all four players. All the characters match their wits against each other and end up with who they deserve, with Smith’s strong character development making the wrap-up extra satisfying. The best-written story in an overall strong anthology.

Bottom line: Targeted mainly at people who like a liberal dash of romance with their fantasy, Lace and Blade contains engrossing, swiftly paced stories that, in the main, offer equal parts high intrigue and cool characters.

Publisher: Leda, an imprint of Norilana Books (Feb. 2008)
Price: $11.95
Trade paperback: 308 pages
ISBN: 1934169919