Divine Right

As in all the anthologies in this series, _Divine Right_'s stories are written in a braided format, so that the effect is almost seamless as the events of the book flow forward. My comments are organized more by author than by appearance in the book. This volume (which has only had 1 edition to date) has a painting of a cat-whale on its cover, which I mention only to joggle the memories of those who may have read it before.If you're hard up for a Merovingen-like story, try _The Shadow of the Lion_; Mercedes Lackey, one-third of the writing team, gave medieval alternate-history Venice some distinctly Merovingenish touches.Abbey, Lynn "Red Skies" Richard Kamat's getting an ulcer, mainly from dealing with Mondragon, not just from playing politics with Boregy and Anastasi Kalugin. He'd happily get Mondragon a *real* boat instead of the sorry hulk he just bought, and pray to get him out of the city. Coping with his sister's so-far-unwed pregnancy and his mother's addiction, Richard's not amused to banter words with a deacon at Cassie Boregy's on the subjects of deathangel and abortion. Dr. Lambert encounters him, and offers frank advice - and Mondragon is less than thrilled to learn of the Sword revolutionary's presence, physician or no.The Samurai security force is protecting trade properly, and giving Anastasi a counter to his sister's blacklegs. Then a large, mysterious box arrives, marked with symbols from the same reference book that inspired the Samurai's name, and everything changes yet again.Asire, Nancy "Draw Me a Picture" Marina Kamat is convinced that Tom Mondragon is supplying her mother with deathangel. Raj, with his Takahashi honor, puts aside the temptation to use this as a lever on Marina's affections. He draws his College art student friend Justice into a plan to identify the real source of Andromeda Kamat's drugs.Cherryh, C.J. "From the Files of Anastasi Kalugin, Advocate Militiar" - Various background documents, included for flavor.Cherryh, C.J. "Seeds of Destruction" - The mysterious seeds sown by the Janists on the canals back in spring have spread all over the city canals as tangle-lilies - so called because where they grow thick, they tangle boat-poles. Change one thing, and you have to change another - as the canalers are forced to run their engines to be competitive, the engines break down more often. Fortunately, the Janists' study of ecology has given them a talent for predicting the consequences of tampering, and they're good at long-range planning.Fish, Leslie "Run Silent, Run Cheap" And here's where the Janes fire up the next stage of their plan for getting a foothold in Merovingen: dealing with the old engine problem.Lackey, Mercedes "Turning Point" A message from Rigel's grandfather has sobered him, carrying with it the full burden of Takahashi honor. His knowledge of medicine may not lead him to the life he wanted, but it may help repay the Kamats for their protection; as a former swampy, he knows some things about dea