Worldmaker of Yand - Polaris by Andri E. Elia
From the free-wheeling, fantastic imagination of Andri E. Elia comes a further installment of the adventures of the amorous, polygamous, winged warriors of Yand with Worldmaker of Yand – Polaris. If you haven’t been following along at home, here’s what you’ve been missing: The Worldmaker of Yand series follows the exploits of the sexy and powerful Yanara and her family — husband Frost, wife Mandolen, and a brood of clan children, pets and other kin.
Yanara has the awesome, wizardly powers of a “bender,” able to bend cosmic bodies to her will — moons, planets — even creating wormholes for traveling through space. She wears a tight leather halter. She’s telepathic and capable of mentally teleporting from one planet to another. Oh, and did I mention she also has wings? (Read our review of the first book, Worldmaker of Yand – Yildun, here.)
A HAVEN FOR HEALING AND NEW BEGINNINGS
Polaris finds Yanara and her extended family stranded in the bleak landscape of Tuncay, a moon orbiting the fifth planet of the star Polaris B, after an invasion by the K’tul almost totally destroyed their homeworld. It’s a Swiss Family Robinson affair as they struggle to find food and shelter and set up a new life and a new colony. But that’s not the only challenge they are facing. Each has had their share of the fight and are grappling with the aftermath, whether it be physical wounds or mental and emotional ones.
Yanara’s wings have been horribly crushed and broken, but the Yandar seem to have powerful healing methods for overcoming injury. Yanara herself uses her “bending” to remove an ugly scar from the face of another character, Mouse. During this process the scar transfers to Yanara’s own skin, becoming a line down her face that she claims makes her look “rogue.” The swords of the Yandar warriors are powerful, not just for fighting but for healing and magic, including some rather violent, erm, “treatments”:
“… He stabbed Asimia and took her heart into his own. Then he threw himself onto Bite This [my sword] and skewered both their hearts through and through… But the two of them were dying. I could take both their hearts into my own and save them … So I sliced through my heart with Bite This … and transferred all three of our hearts into my sword.”
Anybody fancy Brazilian steakhouse for dinner?
A DROLL AND EDGY FANTASY ADVENTURE
The individual members of the family are given time to develop their stories and recall their own war experiences. The colorful Yandar clan consists of fantastic characters such as wolf pups, telepathic hawks and dragons-in-law. Amid the struggles to heal old wounds and forge a new life, Yanara and her spouses squabble about domestic details and address each other with pet names like “Sweetie” and “Love.” But beneath the banter lies a dark thicket of secrets about Yanara’s lineage and past that start to unravel amid the ever-present danger that the marauding K’tul will hunt the colonists down to their new home.
Worldmaker of Yand – Polaris is an escapist pop-culture mélange of magic swords, strange planets, telepathy, dragons, “dragoons,” pathfinders, mages, amulets, and the gorgeous Worldmaker herself, always the focus of someone’s lusty intentions, whether from her wife or her hubby. The otherworldly landscapes and fantastic situations these frolicking Titans find themselves in approach whimsical nonsense that is delightful and entertaining … and let’s face it, pure fun.
The conflict with the K’tul may not be over, and intrigue and traitorous betrayals may be around the corner. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait long for the next installment in this particular story arc of the Worldmaker universe. The author has already dropped hints there is a Worldmaker of Yand – Draco in the making.
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