Ah... but the world of the Vodi and Veyar. That worked brilliantly for me. I loved the setting and is one of the big reasons I give this book four stars and not three. The veyar as a people were interesting, the idea of a Copper House to shield the occupants from magic was good. The Vodi's necklace... excellent again. The only thing really wrong with this book was the weak bad guys. They seemed like generic opportunists and were only in the book to give the good guys something to do.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and quick read but it came across as a simple introduction to book two. I am writing this review after finishing The Wreck of Heaven (book2) by the way, so I have the benefit of hindsight, which is 20/20 :¬)

Mark E. Cooper
Warrior Within (ISBN: 0-9545122-0-0)

The Sentinel's circle in Cat Creek, North Carolina, is having problems. First a blip shows on the instruments and later gates start dropping and have to be reset. The last incident was met with a full scale excursion into Oria, but no clues were found ... publicly. The circle starts monitoring all their gates for more events and tries to triangulate from the available data.

The first event was Molly McColl being kidnapped and taken through a World Gate to Oria. There she is welcomed as the Vodi, a being who is powerful in magic. However, she is being kept in a copper covered room that grounds her magic. Seolar, Master of Copper House, has arranged for her kidnapping in order to protect his people from the ravages of other magic users and Molly eventually begins to like him more than a little.

The second event was Lauren Hotchkiss Dane opening the old Hotchkiss gate. Lauren has returned to Cat Creek after the death of her husband, Brian. She discovered that her family home was on the market and used the SGLI payment to buy it and now she has brought her son Jake to the old home place to live. Someone has covered the large wall mirror in the living room with black paint and she spends an afternoon scaping it clear. When she looks in the mirror, she sees a hint of green and it somehow attracts her. Later, after Jake is in bed, she discovers that she can put her hand through the mirror without ill effects. She waits until Jake awakes and then goes through the mirror to Oria.

Eric MacAvery is the town sheriff as well as a Sentinel and is in the center of the whole mess. He knows that Molly has disappeared, but not how or why. He is a childhood friend of Lauren, but she keeps her secrets from him ... for a while. He knows that someone in his circle is a traitor, but not who or why. On top of all this, someone or something has caused a level five rebound breakthrough, which could cause 3 billion deaths worldwide.

This novel adds new life to an old SF plot, creating a hierarchial multiverse where energy flows down and spirituality flows up and introduces a threat which will destoy the inhabitants of all the universes if something is not done soon. Lauren's parents, who were long ago expelled from the Sentinels, have hidden notes describing some forbidden experiments that may be the only hope for the survival of the people in countless universes.

This novel is full of plot twists and turns, but focuses mostly on the interpersonal relationships. One cannot help liking Molly, Lauren, Jake, Eric, and even, reluctantly, Seolar.

Recommended for Lisle fans and anyone who enjoys a new approach to the secret masters of the universe plot.

Lauren Dane discovers that a large mirror in the family house she's just reclaimed is a gateway to another world, and she's haunted by the voice of her deceased husband. Suddenly she has recovered bits of memories from her childhood, that had been hidden with her own permission. She realizes that the home town she's returned to is a stranger place than anyone would guess, and soon learns that her parents had been murdered years ago. Surely she should figure out what her parents had been planning and be prepared to deal with whoever murdered them.

Sheriff Eric MacAvory is wondering whether Molly's disappearance is part of his mundane job or has anything to do with the terrible calamity that the Sentinels see coming up for the Earth. If they can't fix the magical backlash, the level 5 rebound breakthrough is predicted to kill three billion people worldwide; the news already shows people dying of a mysterious `flu'. But soon treachery is going to force the Sheriff/Sentinel to think about doing things outside the rules of either of his jobs.

What are the ties between Molly and Lauren? Can the sheriff and Molly work together, with each suspicious of the other? Who is the traitor among the magical guardians of Earth, and what is the actual cause of the magical feedback that is killing thousands?

With such a mix of conflicting `right things', not to mention the creatures just out for what they can get, will there ever be a long-term balance, or will the Earth end up as lifeless as the next world?

This last question will have to be answered in a future book in this series. I look forward to it!

Since I do live in the heart of one of the story's settings, I read with interest the many references to the Laurinburg, Gibson, and Rockingham areas of south central North Carolina. Having met the author's parents while they resided in Laurinburg, I began reading Holly Lisle as a way to scratch a curiosity itch. I found a tremendous treasure within the works of Holly Lisle. And, like fine wine, this particular author seems to greatly improve with age.

Memory of Fire is the story of two women: Lauren Dane and Molly McColl. Both become enmeshed within the tangled web first spun by parents that neither woman really knew. Part of that webbing includes another world; one on which humans can create and produce magic. Unfortunately, each spell carries a sinister equation: for every spell cast there is an equal and opposing effect on Earth. Each woman learns that old Spiderman axiom-with great power comes great responsibility. Quite frankly, to reveal more would be criminal, for the book's charm lies within its plot's twists and turns.

As Lisle breathes life into wonderful characters and plot, Memory of Fire becomes a procrastinator's worst nightmare-it simply is NOT a book to be put down until every page is turned. Fortunately, Memory of Fire is the first installment of a larger work called The World Gates; there will be more to come.

Books that I plan to read repeatedly are usually bought in the hardback format; however, Memory of Fire is available only in paperback. I find that to be the book's only major flaw.

At first in the very beginning I was kind of getting bored reading it. I came across this scene, At the point where her fingers touched Ewilla's skin, green-white fire glowed in a tiny point that quickly spread." This scene is about Molly inside a cart and has no idea what Yaner was talking about calling her Vodi. Molly had a magical cure power. Molly touches Ewilla's skin and she was healed from her sickeness that was close to death. This scene captures my way of thoguhts because it had to do with magic. It gave a good description as if I'm reading a role-playing game. I was so pulled in the book when it has to do with magic!