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The Tale of the Five #3.1
The Levin-Gad
In this 20,000-word novelette set in the main character through-line of the Door Into... novels, the first man in a thousand years to bear the Blue Flame of Power, Herewiss s'Hearn, is now happily married to King Freelorn of Arlen, their lover Segnbora tai-Enraesi, the fire elemental Sunspark and the dragon Hasai. But he tells none of them why (at a most delicate moment) he must undertake a clandestine mission to the city of Darthis.
His reasons are secret: his intentions desperate. So why does Herewiss wind up spending his whole visit in a tavern? Only the Stuck Pig's indefatigable bouncer, Iras, can learn the reason why... and finds herself caught up in a kind of tavern brawl that no one's ever imagined.
"The Levin-Gad" is the first of five novelettes to be published during 2018, spanning the years between Book 3 of the Tale of the Five, The Door Into Sunset, and the forthcoming The Door Into Starlight.
His reasons are secret: his intentions desperate. So why does Herewiss wind up spending his whole visit in a tavern? Only the Stuck Pig's indefatigable bouncer, Iras, can learn the reason why... and finds herself caught up in a kind of tavern brawl that no one's ever imagined.
"The Levin-Gad" is the first of five novelettes to be published during 2018, spanning the years between Book 3 of the Tale of the Five, The Door Into Sunset, and the forthcoming The Door Into Starlight.
65 pages, ebook
Published August 1, 2018
68 people want to read
About the author
Diane Duane
170 books2,423 followersDiane Duane has been a writer of science fiction, fantasy, TV and film for more than forty years.
Besides the 1980's creation of the Young Wizards fantasy series for which she's best known, the "Middle Kingdoms" epic fantasy series, and numerous stand-alone fantasy or science fiction novels, her career has included extensive work in the Star Trek TM universe, and many scripts for live-action and animated TV series on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as work in comics and computer games. She has spent a fair amount of time on the New York Times Bestseller List, and has picked up various awards and award nominations here and there.
She lives in County Wicklow, in Ireland, with her husband of more than thirty years, the screenwriter and novelist Peter Morwood.
Her favorite color is blue, her favorite food is a weird kind of Swiss scrambled-potato dish called maluns, she was born in a Year of the Dragon, and her sign is "Runway 24 Left, Hold For Clearance."
(From her official website)
Besides the 1980's creation of the Young Wizards fantasy series for which she's best known, the "Middle Kingdoms" epic fantasy series, and numerous stand-alone fantasy or science fiction novels, her career has included extensive work in the Star Trek TM universe, and many scripts for live-action and animated TV series on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as work in comics and computer games. She has spent a fair amount of time on the New York Times Bestseller List, and has picked up various awards and award nominations here and there.
She lives in County Wicklow, in Ireland, with her husband of more than thirty years, the screenwriter and novelist Peter Morwood.
Her favorite color is blue, her favorite food is a weird kind of Swiss scrambled-potato dish called maluns, she was born in a Year of the Dragon, and her sign is "Runway 24 Left, Hold For Clearance."
(From her official website)
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 1, 2018
So nice to get back into this world (and closer to the door into starlight!) Like several other of her short stories (available at her store) it's a small tale. Don't start with this one, find the Door into Fire. Interesting to see a bit of how poly relationships can work, also Iras is a wonderful new character as the bouncer of a small bar. It makes me hungry for bacon. Advances the story a bit of Herewiss and Freelorn and Segnbora and the rest of their family. I'm looking forward to more.
January 26, 2023
I’ve missed the Middle Kingdoms.
May 12, 2019
Heresiss s'Hearn, the first man in a thousand years to channel fire, had thought that the successful end of the war, Freelorn safely on his throne as King of Arlen, and the two of them married to each other and their three other spouses, would mean peace, progress, and happily-ever-after.
Silly Herewiss.
Instead, the world is trying to settle back into its old, familiar ways, and Herewiss has an urgent, indeed deadly problem to confront. That problem has him in the city of Darthis, alone, in a tavern called the Stuck Pig, where the bouncer has noticed something odd and disturbing about him, and is wondering if she needs to toss him out immediately, before disaster strikes.
This is the first of five shorter tales in the world of the "Door into..." series, set between book three, The Door into Sunset, and the forthcoming book four, The Door into Starlight. It's very good, true to the series, and thoroughly enjoyable.
Recommended.
I bought this book.
Silly Herewiss.
Instead, the world is trying to settle back into its old, familiar ways, and Herewiss has an urgent, indeed deadly problem to confront. That problem has him in the city of Darthis, alone, in a tavern called the Stuck Pig, where the bouncer has noticed something odd and disturbing about him, and is wondering if she needs to toss him out immediately, before disaster strikes.
This is the first of five shorter tales in the world of the "Door into..." series, set between book three, The Door into Sunset, and the forthcoming book four, The Door into Starlight. It's very good, true to the series, and thoroughly enjoyable.
Recommended.
I bought this book.
August 20, 2018
After many long years, Diane Duane is returning to the World of the Middle Kingdoms, to the tale of the Five, the story of Herewiss and Freelorn, Segnbora and Sunspark and Hasai. In preparation for the publication of the long-awaited concluding volume, The Door into Starlight, Duane plans to release five shorter works, intended as bridging pieces between the first three novels and the series’ conclusion.
The first of these is The Levin-gad, which is a word meaning lightning rod in one of the old Middle Kingdom tongues, and features Herewiss, who has ventured alone out into the night to call out a dangerous foe who otherwise might do great harm elsewhere.
It’s a strong return to the world, a powerful statement of the central themes of the series and a delightful reminder that this is a world where love is welcome as it comes, without limits of gender or number. Family is family, even when it includes multitudes and not all of them human. It is Duane’s vision of the power of love, personified in a Goddess who embodies herself in the world and takes form without regard to male or female, and the idea of life and the joy we find in it as the bulwark against the withering force of despair, that captivated me so many years ago, and holds me still in admiration and appreciation.
So happy to see the return to the Middle Kingdoms.
The first of these is The Levin-gad, which is a word meaning lightning rod in one of the old Middle Kingdom tongues, and features Herewiss, who has ventured alone out into the night to call out a dangerous foe who otherwise might do great harm elsewhere.
It’s a strong return to the world, a powerful statement of the central themes of the series and a delightful reminder that this is a world where love is welcome as it comes, without limits of gender or number. Family is family, even when it includes multitudes and not all of them human. It is Duane’s vision of the power of love, personified in a Goddess who embodies herself in the world and takes form without regard to male or female, and the idea of life and the joy we find in it as the bulwark against the withering force of despair, that captivated me so many years ago, and holds me still in admiration and appreciation.
So happy to see the return to the Middle Kingdoms.
September 28, 2023
I always love a "little people in the big-destiny world" kind of story, and that's exactly what this is - a look inside a tavern, and inside the head of its bouncer, on the night when the high-stakes magical hero came to call. I adore Iras, her opinions, and how her down-to-earth nature is exactly what's necessary to save the day. My one complaint is that every point this story makes, it makes multiple times, to the point where it gets a bit tedious. It could have been a lot shorter and likely would have packed more of a punch if so.
August 17, 2018
I was SO DAMN EXCITED to get more of this series I love so much and it was a delight from beginning to end. Diane's doing four more of these novellas and I can't wait to get the perspectives of the other four of the five! The Middle Kingdoms series has been such an important work for me for so very long and I couldn't be happier that we're getting EVEN MORE OF IT while she finishes Door Into Starlight!
August 13, 2018
A wonderfull novellette that only adds to the reasons I hold the Tale of the Five series dear to me.
Dusty really does manage to get himself into trouble too easily sometimes...
Dusty really does manage to get himself into trouble too easily sometimes...
November 9, 2023
Fun little novella, though there were a lot of unexplained things that I'd probably understand if I read the actual novels in the series.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews