Book Review – Flewelling, Lynn. “Luck in the Shadows” (1996)

Overall 3.5 / 5.0 (competent writing, entertaining read)
Gay Content 2.5 / 5.0 (pervasive, but more as an undercurrent)
Gay Positivity 4.5 / 5.0 (very positive)

Flewelling’s greatest strength lies in the characterization of her primary characters. Protagonists Alec and Seregil are both multi-dimensional and engaging. Seregil, irreverent and mysterious, is a spy in service of the Queen of Skala. Alec is a 16-year-old orphan whom Seregil rescues from a dungeon and takes under his wing.

Seregil is bisexual but leaning toward gay; Alec has yet to discover his own sexuality. They’re begging to become a super-couple, but that doesn’t happen in this book.

Plot-wise, this book really has two parts, which are completely different stories. Part One introduces the overarching plot of the first two books (”Luck in the Shadows” and “Stalking Darkness”). After Seregil rescues young Alec, they try to flee back to Seregil’s homeland of Skala. Along the way, they come across a cursed object which afflicts Seregil. Alec must escort him safely back to Skala before Seregil dies.

Part Two is a novella about a local conspiracy to undermine the current political regime in Skala. The only element linking the two stories are the characters involved. Then, at the very end, the author returns to the original story for 2 or 3 pages and concludes with “To Be Continued.”

I found this approach to be disjointed and disorienting, and I wish the author had managed to integrate the two stories more fluidly into the book.

Some other criticisms: the story meanders too much, the villains are poorly done – caricatured and completely over the top, it was hard to take them seriously – and some things require too much suspension of disbelief (like Alec becoming a competent swordsman after a week).

Having said all that: It’s just a fun book. Flewelling has a easy, conversational writing style that lends itself to a quick read. It’s not great literature, but it’s entertaining reading for a rainy Sunday afternoon. And let’s face it, there are only so many wide-release fantasy novels out there with any kind of substantial gay content.

Not to say there’s a lot of gay content in this one, rather more of an ongoing undercurrent. But it’s treated very matter-of-factly. One of the secondary characters – Thero – is said to disapprove of Seregil’s lifestyle, but it’s not actually clear if it’s Seregil’s sexuality or his irreverent, morally gray worldview that bothers Thero. None of the other characters seem to have any issue with gay people or relationships, and what a pleasure to read a fantasy novel that’s inclusive of people like me.

The story is reminiscent of “The Last Herald-Mage” series by Mercedes Lackey. An older, worldwise protagonist (Vanyel / Seregil) is taken with a younger man (Alec / Stefen), and together they must face the dark forces of a poorly characterized villain. Thankfully, Flewelling sheds the awful negative gay clichés that predominate Lackey’s book – tortured gay relationships, gay people dying, etc.

I recommend this book if you’re hungry for a fantasy novel with gay content and need something to read on a rainy day or at the beach.