Kara Dalkey, Author Kara Dalkey, Author Tor Books $25.95 (448p)
ISBN 978-0-312-89071-1 Reviewed on: 02/01/2001 Release date:
02/01/2001 Reality and fantasy collide in this engrossing tale
of two warring clans vying for power, prestige and the chance to
influence the man who sits on the chrysanthemum throne. Setting
her tale in Japan during the last days of the Heian period
(roughly 1153-1185 C.E.), Dalkey (Blood of the Goddess) deftly
uses her knowledge of Japanese culture, mannerisms and
bloodthirsty politicking to chronicle the wars of rebellion and
counter-rebellion that end in the death of the emperor and the
rise of the first Japanese shogun. Two rival clans, the Taira
and the Minamoto, clash numerous times over a period of 30
years, with each clan calling on the aid of demons or gods to
gain superiority and power. Did demons and gods play a part in
the brutal wars of competing emperors and the rise of the
Japanese shogunate? Dalkey dramatizes the tantalizing
possibilities of what might have been if they