Of Darkness, Light, and Fire by Tanya Huff

I love omnibus editions, even if the novels in the omnibus aren't part of a series, like in Of Darkness, Light, and Fire. The only thing these books have in common are: they're by Tanya Huff, they're fantasy, they're good, and they have some gay characters.

Gate Of Darkness, Circle of Light is an urban fantasy story. I'd rate it as being almost as good as de Lint's stuff. The heroes are all too human (even when they aren't human). The villain is monstrous. The heroes are a fairly oddball bunch. There's a mentally challenged young woman, a cat, a busker, a Hindu social worker, a bag lady, and a sort of angel. I liked this one a lot.

The Fire's Stone is a more traditional fantasy about a diverse group of heroes ( a wizard, a thief, and a warrior) who goes on a quest to retrieve a magic jewel and save a city. It may sound fairly standard, but he characters make it different. The wizard is young and very immature. The warrior is an alcoholic prince whose been dumped on his whole life. The thief is a bit mental because his lover, Ruth, was executed by his father (he's also a repressed homosexual with a crush on the warrior). It's a good book, though the plot is fairly standard.

Over all, it's a good book. I give Of Fire, Light, and Darkness five yo-yos. I have also finished another, very short book, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow to put the review of it up.