FSF, January-February 2010 Read Online Free PDF

portion of my audience is saving the Emperor. I am He, the heart of our nation. Despite my own pounding heart and a mouth parched as a hot stone, I have the authority to thank all of my helpers and watch others drag their cold, suffering bodies into the air.
    Kneeling is easier than swimming; most of my audience pays respect to my jeweled crown, if not to me.
    Each wants to know where I have been.
    "Between Jicktown and Illig,” I say, motioning toward the mainland. “The rest of the court is following me in other boats."
    My conviction meets doubt and some pain.
    Then a young woman steps forward, kissing the back of her hand because mine has not been offered. “But Sire...that shoreline was taken this morning. One of the enemy's lightning brigades struck while your generals were on the beach, still loading their boats—"
    "How do you know this?” I roar.
    "A fisherman friend of ours was watching. He was offshore, and he saw it all."
    "We thought you were dead,” another woman admits.
    Everybody stares at me, and in particular at the stains left behind on my one-of-a-kind uniform, blood and shredded brains refusing to surrender to soap and determined scrubbing.
    "How do you know what this fisherman saw?” I inquire.
    "He came straight back here,” she says. “He arrived almost one bell ago. But he didn't see you out on the water."
    The mist must have hidden me. And I wasted moments drifting, disposing of bodies and changing my clothing while piecing together what still feels like a ludicrous plan.
    Yet it is a plan, and what does an Emperor do better than make ready?
    With a firm voice, I claim, “There is good in this awful thing. My court is dead, yes, but perhaps our enemies believe I am dead too."
    Confusion twists their faces.
    "We have been given extra time,” I point out. “There are no boats to be had on the mainland, and it will take the invaders days to bring new boats overland. They won't realize I am here, with you, until I have left for safer ground. With my new court beside me, of course."
    This city of modest fishermen and bakers and machinists and smart, soggy children is beginning to crowd near me, each one of them wondering how it would be to belong to my chosen few.
    "First,” I say, “I need food and a bath."
    They nod willingly.
    "Next, a number of trustworthy boats."
    A small fleet floats in this little harbor.
    "And I want those boxes and my other luggage unloaded and guarded. And while I rest, you will begin to build a militia, arming your men and women however you can over these next few days."
    With a few words and barely enough breath to fill a child's balloon, the Emperor has changed the character of everyone's life.
    Noble delight bubbles forth, and that first boy asks, “So how soon will we attack the bastards, Sire?"
    "Very soon,” I promise. Then, pointing to the north, I add, “There is a valley waiting for us, son. Between high mountains, and it is the only important place in the world. But you and I will go there together and bring down those mountains, closing it off and winning the war for All Time...!"
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Department: BOOKS TO LOOK FOR by Charles de Lint
    Relentless , by Dean Koontz, Bantam, 2009, $27.
    A Big Little Life , by Dean Koontz, Hyperion, 2009, $24.99,
    * * * *
    Relentless is the new Dean Koontz, a fast-paced thriller about what happens when a writer lets a bad review get to him. It has great characters and writing, mixes humor with drama, and goes at a rollercoaster pace in places. But we've talked a lot about Koontz's novels in this column and I don't know that we need to discuss another at this time except to say that if you enjoy his style of thriller, Relentless won't disappoint you.
    At the moment I'm more interested in talking about A Big Little Life , a nonfiction love letter to the memory of his golden retriever Trixie. Trixie was an assistance dog, trained by Canine Companions for Independence in California, who was retired