The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit (Wraeththu, No 1)

by Storm Constantine

Paperback, 1989

Status

Available

Call number

PR6053.O5134 E5

Publication

Tom Doherty Assoc Llc (1989), Paperback, 320 pages

Description

'Wraeththu. I shiver to say the word. Something has happened to them. Where did they come from? How did it happen? Why is it spreading like a plague? I have seen what they do. I have seen their faces. They always take their dead with them, always. There is a secret. Don't you understand? A secret. Wraeththu are not what they seem. They are more than they seem.' Pellaz Cevarro has heard tales of the Wraeththu, a feared and ferocious youth cult, shrouded in mystery, that's taking root in cities wracked by disease, disaster and conflict. Is Wraeththu a symptom of this decline, or something more? It is only when the enigmatic Cal arrives at the secluded Cevarro homestead that Pellaz discovers the unimaginable truth. Lured away by Cal to a different life, Pellaz discovers that Wraeththu are poised to replace humanity upon a ravaged world. Changed in body, mind and soul, Pellaz cannot escape a destiny that was set for him, nor the tragic consequences of his association with the dangerous and beautiful Cal. Ground-breaking when it first appeared in the late 1980s, the Wraeththu Chronicles trilogy charts the history of a new race of androgynous beings who come to replace humanity on Earth. Daring, erotic and magical, these revised editions include 'deleted scenes' missing from the original editions, which the author has expanded and restored.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member nilchance

Very, very queer. Canon intersex, mpreg, polyamory, orgies! The book requires a lot of consulting the glossary in the back, but it's definitely worth it. Layers on layers of imagery and meaning. The story short-changes women, even with a character acknowledging that by creating only male Wraeththu

they are leaving behind women, already a persecuted group. That total lack of women in a book that emphasizes the balance of male/female is a little squicky, to me, but it doesn't overshadow what is a basically good cult sci-fi epic.

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LibraryThing member Emidawg

I read the revised edition that was brought in line with the second Trilogy of Wraeththu chronicles.

To sum it up - Post-Apocalyptic softcore hermaphrodite porn.

But really don't let that turn you off. The book was extremely well written and the characters are ones you grow to care for as you travel

with them.

One of the more bizarre sci-fi books I've read, but after reading this I was compelled to hunt down the rest of the series and devour it.

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LibraryThing member HarperKingsley

I liked this book, honest. So why the 3 star rating? Because even though it had a good premise and the world-building was awesome, some of the imagery was just too much for me.

At the time I read this I didn't yet realize that I had a squick level, but this book blew it out of the water.

Great book.

Just not for me.

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LibraryThing member Isana

It was a pretty good book. My score is around 3.5 but I round up because it was too entertaining for me to round down. The characters are pretty interesting as is the plot. The story's excitement really stops at the middle of the book. Really nothing really happens but just basic story moving

stuff. That kind of bothered me when I finally realized it was ending. It also bothered me how awfully misogynistic the idea of women not being able to become Wraeththu is. I mean, we have one female character who kind of does something at least, but other than her the treatment of women is off-putting. Pellaz mentions it a few times and Storm talks about women's possible loneliness but nothing is done to correct this. I get that there're more books but still. Not even a hint. And, yes. I understand that they are hermaphroditic but everyone is referred to as "he." Yeah, I guess it causes pronoun problems and the book is from the 80s but no one WANTS to be "female." No one ever says, "oh, I prefer 'she'." I suppose it will be interesting to see how the next generation breed by Wraeththu behaves, especially since creating a new pronoun was mentioned in the book, though it was in passing.

ANYWAY. It was fun to read and Constantine really draws you into the story and makes you want to stay there. It ended too soon, if you ask me, but I guess that can happen when it's a memoir from a young person.

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