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"Rampant" by Uther Pendragon (historical romance) 10, 10, 10
"Rampant" by Uther Pendragon (anon584c@nyx.net). Those of us who are imbued with the spirit of romantic love often forget that the notion of a woman falling in love and marrying the man of her dreams is a modern innovation. We are reminded of that fact in this historical short story, in which Elizabeth is assigned in marriage at the age of sixteen to the son of a neighboring nobleman. The story explores Elizabeth's thoughts and feelings as she goes through her sexual awakening in the thirteenth century. The author seems to know his history, and so I am going to assume that the events are historically plausible. {Heck, I'm even going to assume that I learned some history while reading this story!} Elizabeth is a naive virgin on the night of her wedding, and her husband is a kind and gentle lover. The six chapters of this story describe the beginnings of their life together, with a heavy emphasis on their growth in sexual intimacy. Authors rarely explain their titles. That would ruin their mystique. The title word appears only twice in the story, both time in the phrase, "Argent, second quarter griffin rampant, gules." These are terms from heraldry. They summarize as concisely as possible the symbols emblazoned on a knight's shield. By reading this label, an observer could classify a knight as friend or foe and even narrow him down to a specific family. The term "rampant" refers to an animal pictured on the shield as standing erect on one hind leg. I'll let you figure out the significance of the title, if you wish to do so. If you have followed the work of this author, you know that his previous masterwork is a series about Bob and Jeanette Brennan. If you are familiar with that story, you'll see some similarities to this one. All the stories in the Brennan saga can be identified by the letters f-o-r at the beginning of their titles. Let me go on record right now as predicting that the Elizabeth and Karl series will include three more stories, entitled "Passant," "Couchant," and "Dormant." Don't ask me how I know - it's part of my mystique. Ratings "Rampant" Athena (technical quality): 10 Venus (plot & character): 10 Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10 |