Darkwar

Teaching an old dog new tricks can be a world-shaking task, as documented in this omnibus collection of mid-1980s proto-steampunk science fantasies from noted fantasy author Cook (Chronicles of the Black Company). In "Doomstalker," Marika, a young pup of a matriarchal canid race, has her world overturned when northern nomads raid her packstead and she develops psychic abilities. In "Warlock," Marika learns of the politics behind the raids, involving a power-hungry, space-faring sisterhood and rebellious males including her own littermate. In "Ceremony," her talents and cold logic threaten the social structure of her world as she struggles to save it from global cooling and contact with aliens. Played out against an intriguing and well-detailed culture of feudal guilds contending with wooden spaceships, Marika's tale is affecting even as her path leads over the bodies of many she once loved. (Dec.)