I've found in my time as both a writer in general and as a reviewer that in many cases, greatness wavers. Sometimes, one can write an excellent story and the next can be a dud. Sometimes one can have a brilliant talent for writing, or music, but can have no capacity for dreaming up the story or writing the lyrics that make these works of art complete. So, when I heard that Judith Tracy's first novel, Destiny's Door was great, I didn't automatically assume that the book I was intended to review, Valley of Anjels would be as good. I hoped, but I didn't assume, and I'm glad I didn't. Despite the fact that the novel was unmemorable, Tracy's talent for writing is unmistakable. Judith Tracy has a way with words and description that really brings the pictures she is painting to brilliant, Technicolor life. But despite this, Valley of Anjels, as a story, simply did not appeal to me.
Valley of Anjels begins before the birth of the heroes of the story with the introduction of the world known as Yrth and the legend of the Anjels. The people or Yrth believe in a god named Thoth, and every year, Anjels, a special sect of mutated women from the land named Anjelica who are born with special abilities and remarkable beauty, come to a temple in Ygypt to meet with Thoth's high priest, Zaius. Unbeknownst to the Anjels at the end of their journey is a secret that has been kept for generations: Zaius, leaving them pregnant with a new generation of Anjels, will rape them. Nobody seems to realize that the Anjels are mutants because they are the great-great-granddaughters of the man they are impregnated by-but I digress, for it gets more...sexually odd (for lack of a better phrase) than that.
Anjels also bond irrevocably to someone when they hit puberty, at which point they fall into the service of that one person, their "master" who they will love, obey, and kiss the feet of until they die. The King, in an effort to control this devotion, auctions the Anjels off at birth. The person they will bond to on sight is chosen then, and upon puberty the Anjels are blinded by special eye drops until they come into contact with the one they are to be bonded to. Until then, they are raised to be the perfect spouses, with teachers aiding them in learning combat strategies, medicine, food preparation, and the Art of Pillowing-otherwise known to the rest of us as sex, which is taught through the use of wooden instruments (weird enough for ya? Well hold onto your hats, kids, cuz it only gets weirder.)
The story revolves around the personal tale of each of three particular Anjels, Xandra, Utsukushi, and Risa. Xandra, who is promised to the powerful and insane King Gustav is kidnapped by his brother Jeoffrey, who is sold as the good brother, but who is temperamental and violent, and at one point even tries to rape Xandra. She does not bond with Jeoffrey , but instead, accidentally to a man-bird hybrid named Pthey whose species the kingdom uses as messengers. Now, this was weird, but the fact that they consummated that relationship is even weirder! What is that? Bestiality? Hybrid-ality? Is there even a word for that? Utsukushi is promised to the Haipanese princess, Natsuhime to be done with as she pleases. Now, while the cover story is that she will be given to Natsu's bastard brother, Rintaro, in exchange for his dropping his claim on the throne, in reality, Natsu decides that she is whom Kushi's...um...to be done with. Risa, is immediately kidnapped on her way to her promised by the High Priest of Thoth because she has the power he has been looking for in his Anjels since he began to breed them-the power to breathe under water. All this mismatching leads the reader to wonder how anyone ever bonded with their proper mate, if none of these people can seem to get it right!
Sadly, while Tracy is an excellent writer, her story lacks structure. The tales are supposedly told through each Anjel's eyes, one at a time, but still jump between the sisters. The tale shows hints of feminist agenda, only to be stripped of it time and again by the excuses made for men's poor behavior towards women, such as moments where the Anjels are reminded that they are owned. So, despite moments of promise in theme, the story usually falls into a lack luster tale with nothing to say. There is no message to this story. No moral-In essence, no point!
Judith Tracy has an incredible grip of the English language and quite a way with words, but I am surprised at her lacking grasp on what makes a story a story. While the reader is made to feel for the characters, they are not paid in kind, as the characters do nothing to get themselves out of their dismal circumstances and constantly await rescue. I was surprised to find that the tale was a bit too strange for even me, and normally, I like strange. The story was disappointing at best, and that's not what I expected from a writer with the buzz of Ms. Tracy. Here's hoping her next tale has as much promise as her descriptive skills.
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