a new army of conquest in Pillars of Creation
(2001), a search for the antidote to a deadly poison
in Naked Empire(2003), and mass selective amne-
sia in Chainfire(2004).
Goodkind has undeniable storytelling skills
and a talent for inventing detailed and interesting
societies, but it is likely that much of the popular-
ity of the series results from the pervasive sexual
undertones and the frequency of sadomasochistic
scenes in which characters of both sexes are tor-
tured and/or humiliated, sometimes in excruciating
detail. The characters have little depth and a con-
fusing morality that sometimes results in heroes
performing acts every bit as heinous as those of the
villains, sometimes with no apparent justification.
Goodkind’s fantasy world has been revealed in
great chunks in successive books, not all of which
seem in harmony with what has gone before. De-
spite his present popularity, he has yet to produce
anything that would ensure continued interest in
his work in the years to come.
“The Gorgon” Tanith Lee(1983)
Some of the most bizarre creatures in Greek
mythology are the Gorgons, Medusa and her sis-
ters, who sported snakes for hair and whose faces
were so repulsive that their gaze turned living men
into stone. Tanith LEE, who often draws her im-
agery from myths and legends, invokes the Gor-
gons in a very different fashion in this highly
acclaimed story, using a contemporary setting.
The narrator is a writer visiting the island of
Daphaeu off the coast of Greece. Shortly after ar-
riving, he notices a smaller island nearby and in-
quires about it, but the local people will not discuss
it except obliquely and warningly. Even generous
bribes are not sufficient to convince anyone to take
him there. Eventually, he provokes one into talking
about why they avoid the subject, a young man
who insists that it is home to “the cunning one,” a
term historically applied to Medusa. The writer is
understandably skeptical, but his curiosity has be-
come so intense that he decides to swim across the
narrow channel and investigate on his own.
He does so the following day and discovers
that there is a single house on the island, a con-
temporary structure where he is warned off by an
angry servant. The woman who owns the house
emerges and invites him in, and he accepts her in-
vitation, noting that she has a peculiar voice and
manner of speaking. He is also intrigued by the fact
that she wears an elaborate mask that completely
covers her face. Although he apparently never se-
riously considers that she might actually be a Gor-
gon, the reader is less certain, particularly when
she makes no effort to explain it.
The story builds slowly to a climax in which
the reader expects the protagonist to discover that
he is in mortal danger, but in due course we learn
the truth. The woman is in fact a kind of Gorgon,
but a natural one. A nerve disease has left her face
twisted into a horribly distorted expression and
damaged her vocal chords as well. When he swims
back to the main island the following morning, the
protagonist has realized the truth, that rather than
suffering from embarrassment because of her con-
dition, the woman was contemptuous of him for
the ease of his life. He has not accomplished any-
thing significant because he has never had to over-
come great adversity. That realization has left him
emotionally stunned, metaphorically turned to
stone, and he wonders if the original legend started
in much the same fashion.Goudge, Elizabeth(1900–1984)
The British novelist Elizabeth Goudge is best
known for her nonfantasy work, which includes
well known novels such as Green Dolphin Street
(1944), Pilgrim’s Inn(1948), and The Heart of the
Country(1953). Her adult fantasies are not very
well known. The White Witch(1958) involves inci-
dents of genuine witchcraft set in the middle of the
17th century, while The Middle Window(1935) is a
story of reincarnation in which two lovers gradu-
ally become aware of their previous lives together
and come to the conclusion that they are fated to
suffer very similar disappointments and separation
in their new lives.
Goudge’s fantasies for children are somewhat
better remembered, particularly The Little White
Horse(1946), in which a remote castle contains
gateways to other worlds and times through which
people from the present can secretly observe. A
new arrival helps lift a mild family curse throughGoudge, Elizabeth 139