Storm Constantine

[I, Brian]

Anyone here read any Storm Constantine?

I'm currently reading the Wraiththu trilogy and am quite enjoying it.

It's sort of a "'Vampire Lestat' meets 'Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome'".

The story has some interesting suppositions, and I'm glad that the protagonist - Pellaz - is raising a lot of the questions I'd like to see answered as well.

Not least why if the Wraiththu are supposed to be a combination of male and female in a new race, why it's only males who are currently able to become Wraiththu, and also the fact that they often self-segregate themselves in male and female gender roles. I expect to see some interesting challenges to the Wraiththu concept by the characters themselves.

Anyway, any other Storm Constantine readers out there?

[the_faery_queen]

i read stealing scared fire, her angel thing. first book was ok. but i got annoyed fairly quickly with the rest. never liked the characters. at all! and that hinders me. i found them all so self invovled and whiney. and that was it really. it was ok. i like that the men were gay the plot was ok, but the characters were just too selfish and annoying for me.

but i haven't read anything else, so her other stuff might be better.

[rune]

Ive read Wraiththu trilogy too and really enjoyed it. Quite different from anything else I'd read Unfortuantely I cant get my hands on more of her books, as they are rarely in stock at Amazon.

[the_faery_queen]

try abebooks? they do second hand books from all the bookstores in the uk/us. you can choose just uk ones tho. they have everything

[rune]

Originally Posted by the_faery_queen

try abebooks? they do second hand books from all the bookstores in the uk/us. you can choose just uk ones tho. they have everything

ive tried them, but to save money of postage you need to order from one supplier, and the books tend to be stocked by different suppliers, which ends up making the books expensive

[I, Brian]

Don't worry - I was talking to Storm at the weekend, and all things going well, we'll soon be reselling her back catalogue directly from chronicles.

[nixie]

Do you have other authors in mind as well Brian?

[I, Brian]

Yep.

It's not just Storm's work, but her Immanion Press range. Also spoke to some other independent press at Derby.

I guess I should post something later about current plans.

Anyway, back to Storm Constantine - anyone else read Wraiththu? I'm surprised I've not seen more of it mentioned on chronicles.

[rune]

Wonderful news Brian, Im so looking forward to been able to get Constantine's books through Chronicles.

Im wondering if because her works are difficult to get is the reason a lot of readers havent discovered her books. I also think Wraiththu, is probably an acquired taste because of the theme.

[Teresa Edgerton]

The Wraeththu books were quite popular here when they first came out -- or at least much discussed. Published in the US by TOR, which means they wouldn't have been hard to get at all ... circa 1990. I have to admire the way she started her own press so that she could keep her backlist in print, because even if the books are relatively hard to get now, that's better than OP.

I keep meaning to read these books. I even have The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit which I bought about a year ago used, but never got around to reading it. This discussion may give me the push I need.

[I, Brian]

I thought the point the_faerie_queen made was funny, because the protagonist in The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit is something of a brat as well - or at least starts that way.

But it all really reminded me very much of the churlish characters in Vampire Lestat - Louis, Amand, Lestat himself - with the same sort of homo-eroticism thrown in as well.

What Wraiththu has so far as a story that really helps build it is a growing sense of mysticism in it - Wraiththu as people who can have powerful psychic and magical gifts. Found that interesting.

I also liked the unexpected change in the middle of the story...but I won't post a spoiler on it.

[Teresa Edgerton]

Ok, you convinced me to do it. I'm reading the Wraethuthu books.

Once you get past the strong element of wishfulfillment (literally magical sexual encounters with an endless supply of supernaturally gorgeous partners) there are some fascinating ideas.

Although, even though she does (to some extent) address the question rather than just leaving it to lie there and torment the reader, I'd still like to know why there are no females incepted into the Wraeththu.

[the_faery_queen]

i tend not to buy huge series of books from abe, which is i guess why they work for me. i use it to test new authors, or to fill in gaps of series. i still prefer to buy books new if i am sure i will like them.

perosnally i am on a whole other opinion of starting your own press just to keep your own books in print. to me that seems a lot like vanity/self publishing to me. tho slightly different as her books were, of course, accepted into tradional publishing at one point, it still seems a bit off to me, personally.

[I, Brian]

Funnily enough, I've now been able to get around to reading Madeline Howard.

As for the wish-fulfillment - I guess that's a big reason why it reminds a lot of Lesat - no real gratuity, but - Oh, Louis! Oh, Amand! Oh, Marius!

As for vanity - I agree, that's what I wondered about when I first heard of printing her own back-catalogue - but aside from Wraiththu being a pretty cult status work, she's turned the whole project very much into a proper independent publisher, with a raft of established authors and new authors, with print runs made in both the UK and USA.

[Teresa Edgerton]

Originally Posted by the_faery_queen

perosnally i am on a whole other opinion of starting your own press just to keep your own books in print. to me that seems a lot like vanity/self publishing to me. tho slightly different as her books were, of course, accepted into tradional publishing at one point, it still seems a bit off to me, personally.

Really? With something like twenty books (not to mention dozens of short stories) already published, I'd tend to think Storm Constantine has pretty well established her ability to interest major publishers in her work, and would have nothing left to prove. If after all that she's decided to take control of her own backlist, then more power to her.

Certainly I, with my comparatively modest credentials, wouldn't feel qualified to question her professionalism.