Stand-alone novels & collections:
 Burying the Shadow — (1992) Publisher: Rayojini lives an idyllic life amongst the soulscapers of Taparak until she reaches the age at which she will be initiated into their ranks. Her initiation rite, though it follows the traditional pattern of thousands of others, is different in one vital respect. The guardian-pursuers that are invoked to watch over Rayojini's progress are real.
In far off Sacramante, the artisans who are patronised by the upper echelons of Bochanegran society, live in isolated atelier courts. The public may watch performances at chosen times, but only the patron families have constant access to the astounding creations of the eloim artists. The eloim themselves are more than content to remain a race apart, for so they are, and if the majority were to know their true nature, their lives would be forfeit. After eons of contented cohabitation, a phenomenon known as the Fear is beginning to infect the eloim, who have previously considered themselves free from the petty psychological problems of humanity. They have been virtually immortal-thanks to the protection of the patrons, who exchange their life's blood for culture-but now the artisans are beginning to die in despair.
Gimel and Beth Metatronim, an actress and a painter, set out to find a Tappish soulscaper, who will be proficient enough to enter the racial soulscape of the eloim, track down the cause of the Fear and eradicate it.
The soulscaper of their choice, Rayojini, is puzzled that her guardian pursuers should be so much more real than those of other soulscapers. Then, as she delves deeper into the cause of the terrible 'non-death', a mysterious affliction akin to the Fear, their attentions become unavoidable.
 Sign for the Sacred — (1993) Publisher: Lucien is a vibrancer of the Church of Ixmarity, dedicated since childhood to an enslaved life of religious dance... until he meets Jeopardy. Cleo is a child-bride of a poisoner, until one of Jeopardy's offspring is brought to her home for disposal and she falls in love with both the child and his father... Jeopardy. Delilah is orphaned when a berserker named Trajan attacks and kills everyone in her village. She is the only one who is immune to the plague that Trajan carries, and promises to watch over him as he returns to the sanctuary... of Jeopardy. Dauntless Javelot is a chivalrous knight of Ixmarity on his last campaign... until he joins Cleo on her journey to seek Jeopardy. Lord Pliance is a courtly vampire who accompanies the pilgrims in the hopes for a cure... from Jeopardy. And as they all seek the elusive Jeopardy, they are haunted by a ruthless adversary. Wilfish Implexion is an ecclesiarch in the Church of Ixmarity. Threatened by the power of the pagan Jeopardites, he will use any means possible to kill their prophet... Jeopardy! And what of Resenence Jeopardy himself? Is he all that he seems? What is the secret of his charismatic power... and what will he decide to do with it?
 Calenture — (1994) Publisher: Casmeer is the only living soul left in Thermidore, high atop the mountains of Overhang. So it has been for hundred of years. Immortal historian and chronicler, Casmeer is the self-appointed keeper of the city's remains and its crystalline inhabitants. Finnigin is a young terranaut, whose people collect the crystal fragments from Thermidore that wash down from the mountains to use as pilot stones to guide the floating cities across the Flatlands. Finnigin is forced to leave his people on an initiation of manhood, to journey across the plains and confront the mystery of the pilot stones.
Ays is a Priest of Hands, a consoler to the dying, in the floating city of Min. His faith shaken by the words of a dying man, he undertakes a journey of his own, and leaves his floating city to face the unknown on the Flatlands. But as both Ays and Finnigin travel throughout their world, they are huanted by a mysterious figure who seems to know more about them than they do themselves. And as Ays and Finnigin cross paths, they find their lives linked in ways they could not have imagined. While in Thermidore, Casmeer, the last immortal, has one last chronicle to write.
Mythangelus — (2009) Publisher: Angels dark and light have inspired Storm Constantine throughout her writing life. In Mythangelus, all of her stories with an angelic theme, or inspired by angel mythos, are collected for the first time. This includes two Wraeththu stories, 'By the River of If Only' and 'Paragenesis' — as the Wraeththu novels were originally inspired by magical angelic legends. Included too are 'Fireborn', and 'The Feet, They Dance', pieces that were written while Storm was working on her Grigori trilogy, which are tales inspired by the myths of the Fallen Angels and the Nephilim. 'A Change of Season' is the short story that eventually became the opening chapters of 'Stalking Tender Prey', the first in the Grigori series, and 'Heir to a Tendency' features the lead Grigori character of Peverel Othman, years before hisfeet led him to Little Moor and the events of the first novel. From the fairy tale lore  of 'Spinning for Gold' and 'Living with the Angel' to the more science fiction oriented 'The Green Calling', and the dark urban fantasy of 'Return to Gehenna', these stories are among the most sumptuous and vivid from the imagination of the celebrated Shadow Priestess of Fantasy.
 Mythangelus
Storm Constantine has frequently taken inspiration from the legends of the angels. Mythangelus is a collection of her angel-themed short fiction. The stories deal with issues of religion, gender, and sexuality; and are filled with lush prose:
At first light, a flock of birds known as the guardabarrancas, the guardians of the ravine, wake Silva with their tinkling song. It sounds as if a thousand wind chimes are being subtly excited by a tantalising breeze. The light, when Silva opens her eyes, is opalescent, glowing. Gold-green radiance falls in spears across her bed, shining motes held in the beams. The air is cool, caressing, and has a sparkling taste, like fern wine. Silva is caught in a transient moment of pure Earth beauty, those times when the planet unveils itself, when it does not realise it is being observed by a member of the hungry race it spawned.
Constantine's Grigori series was inspired by angelic lore, and as it turns out, so was her Wraeththu series. Each of these universes is represented by several stories in this collection. In addition, there are a number of standalone stories, ranging from fairy tales to urban fantasy to science fiction. Constantine provides an extra treat in the back: "Story History," in which she talks a little bit about where each tale came from. (I love it when authors do that!)
My favorites were:
- "The Green Calling," the science-fiction story, which explores themes of aging and decay.
- Urban fantasies "Return to Gehenna" and "The Oracle Lips," both of which revolve around
young women looking for an escape from the hellish drabness of their lives. I especially
loved the drinks in "Return to Gehenna," which contained emotions rather than alcohol,
and the way the protagonist of "The Oracle Lips" inhabits a strange middle ground
between being sympathetic and being a little creepy.
- The fairy-tale cycle, which consists of three stories concerning Jadrin, a miller's son who
falls in love with a King. Note: When making bargains with supernatural beings, be careful
about the wording!
I highly recommend this collection to fans of mythic fiction. These strange, haunting stories will draw you in, and then leave you thinking about their themes (and in some cases, their ambiguous endings) afterward. —Kelly Lasiter |
links. Or donate.
