The Shadow of Albion
Literary Quality: 
Christian Morality: Dangerous
Age Appropriateness: Adult
Modified from E. Snyder's Amazon review.
A poorly realised, although ambitious, alternate history. In a time when the word "Regency" is almost exclusively associated with "Jane Austen" and her drawing room romances, "The Shadow of Albion" an alternate history Regency *adventure* is a most ambitious work to undertake. However, undertake it the accomplished Andre Norton and Rosemary Edgehill (a.k.a. eluki bes shahar) do.
The set-up is exciting. Rather than drawing rooms we have the White Tower (a secret intelligence agency), rather than Mr. Darcy, we have the Duke of Wessex, and his Lizzy is none other than the cross-dimensional Sarah Cunningham/Marchioness of Roxbury. Lady Jersey, Napoleon and even the Swedish nobility are scheduled to make an appearance in this international escapade.
So why then the two stars?
The answer lies primarily in characterisation. Our heros, the displaced Marchioness of Roxbury and the incorrigable Duke of Wessex dislike each other and - as we are told more than once too often - are very much engaged, and half way through, very much married. No spark of interest passes between them, although given their personalities we might have had a rather nice Pride and Prejudice romance with a twist of mystery thrown in - but the authors keep our heros in a state of intense personal indifference (not even hate), which makes the reader indifferent to their fate, whether separate or apart. The secondary characters are a tad more interesting, but, lamentably, secondary. The ending twist where Wessex suddenly will-not-lose-his-lady-love-despite-what-dangers-may-come is therefore wretchedly weak, especially next to the charming romance of the turncoat's neice and the missing Dauphin.
The plot, as shown through the language, also left much to be desired. The authoresses attempted to combine too many things at once, and ended up with a mismash of frayed threads. Because, for some inexplicable reason, someone thought it better to bring in a heroine from another world and then give her amnesia, there are interminable and reiterated passages where Sarah attempts to convince herself that she is the Marchioness. (One can only read, "I am Roxbury" so many times!) The same is true for the betrothal - at least five or six people say, "You/I/We are betrothed," to which is almost always replied, "For nine years." OK - I get it already. The alternate history element also tripped up the movement of the plot and the language used to express it.
Nearly once a chapter the authoresses stopped to explain a bit of history. While this is perhaps considerate, it also slows down the narrative, usually has little bearing on the plot, and is tediously written. Those who read alternate histories do so at their own risk of not understanding every nuance. That's half the game. Other plot threads are picked up and never used again, such as the necklace Wessex gives Roxbury. On the other hand, some plot threads are excruciatingly apparent, such as who the Dauphin is, when they are meant to be a surprise.
However, with all that said, I still recommend the book to those who like to read alternate histories, and/or adventurous Regencies. A note of warning - the warring factions of the time are more than brought in to play (i.e., Catholics are maligned), with the added element of the "old religion" which is never fully explained nor realised (except that all the wiccans in the book are "good"). For example, the only sympathetic Catholic heroine is refused aid by God, and so turns to the "old ways" by whom she is aided. (Gack.)
As for myself, if I decide to read on in the continuing adventures of the poorly sketched Wessexes, I shall certainly first borrow the book from the library.
The Leopard in Exile
Literary Quality: 
Christian Morality: Good/Dangerous
Age Appropriateness: Adult
As promised, I borrowed the second of the Carolus Rex books from the library, nor was I disappointed in my choice - although I must concede that the second volume surpasses the first.
Approximately a year after the events of The Shadow of Albion, the Wessexes are living in marital bliss, the heir to the English throne has married a Danish princess, the dauphin and his bride are hiding in the New World, and All Is Right. Except that the Marquis de Sade is suddenly made govenor of Nouvelle Louisianne and is searching for the Holy Grail. (Don't even ask. Just go along with it.)
Part of de Sade's master plan includes the abduction of the dauphin, which he accomplishes in part: Louis falls into the hands of gentlemen pirates. Unaware of Louis' current, relative "good fortune," his wife sets off - not to find him - but to find the grail, led on her way by angelic visions. Following her is Sarah, Lady Wessex, who is in turned followed by her husband, who is himself followed by his spying buddies. Eventually, everybody meets up in Nouvelle Orleans, and they somehow manage to defeat de Sade with the Grail, and then go back to live happily ever after until the next volume. Hurrah!
The storytelling is much better in this novel than in the previous, mainly due to the characters "settling" into their lives, and acting, rather than sitting around and whining about their fate (although Wessex tends to do a good bit of this, still). The plot moves along, aided by the occasional footnote - which are often humorous anecdotes about what actually existed in "our world." The theology, though, is still the stickler. Granted, de Sade's satanism is roundly rebuked, and Louis' wife's Catholicism ultimately saves the World As We Know It, but Edgehill cannot forebear to put in, through her main character, earth spirits and Native American spiritualism (with a coinciding rant about protecting the environment. Something I found terribly amusing, since, as I read about how horrible "our world" had become with its cars and its highways and its metal cities spreading all over the earth, I was flying over Wisconsin and looking out the window at the hundreds of miles of nothing but trees. If I was lucky, I thought I occasionally glimpsed a house. Hrumph!). The upshot is that we are meant to believe not that these religions can peacefully coexist (which they can), but that the differences between them are irrelevant. (I.e., As the Marquis dies, seeing the grail atop the altar of the Cathedral, he asks the devil the "whys" of this treachery. Satan responds that he had fulfilled his half of the bargain: to bring the grail to New Orleans - which statement leads us to wonder if the "angel" Louis' wife saw wasn't actually the Prince of Lies.) The adult rating comes mainly from the several, explicit scenes depicting de Sade's trademark tortures.
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Updated 22 July, 2007
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