I have read all the Isis books several times and was very excited to learn about this new continuation of the series. Once again, Jean Stewart has created a book that kept me on the edge of my seat to the last page and begging to find out what happens next!

I don't understand why this author isn't more popular. She is in that small group of lesbian authors who write books of reliable quality, like Karin Kallmaker, Jennifer Fulton, Marianne K Martin, Radclyffe and a few others. Even though I am not a big fantasy reader, I have been enjoying the Isis series a lot. Ms. Stewart's books are a mix of fantasy, romance, and adventure with well drawn characters and good storylines. The stories are set in a futuristic world with the women of Freeland living in the west of what used to be the USA. On the east is Elysium which needless to say is the patriarchy. I won't go into detail about the plot as other reviewers have explained it really well. But I really like the way this author makes strong political points which are relevant to us right now, but at the same time she uses humor. This means things don't get too preachy, although just a few times I found it heavy going. Ms. Stewart obviously takes time over her work and because of that her stories are full of interesting detail that creates a very realistic feel. In this one Whit and Danu have crash landed in the WRONG place and travel with a group of Amazon rebels as they try to avoid their patriarchal enemies. Their lovers can't bear to sit on their hands back in Freeland, so they set off to find them. The result is a great action adventure and a really surprising climax. Hats off to Ms. Stewart for writing such a gripping tale and one even non-fantasy readers can enjoy. I like this book much more than the flaky, unbelievable fantasy books that are so common.

It's not that Jean Stewart took a long time to produce this latest (and hopefully not final) book in her wonderful Isis series, but that I took so long to read it! There is not enough lesbian-centric sci-fi and fantasy out there, so I tend to dole them out to myself as rewards for significant achievements. I finally lost those last 5 pounds and a calorie-free book was my reward!

It was worth waiting for! The best part is that two very competent reviewers have already said virtually every thing I would point out about this book. That saves me a lot of time.

These days it seems unfashionable to admit to being a feminist or to write tales that reflect our ever-present struggle to wrest some control over our own destinies. There's toxins from rocket fuel in *all* breast milk, right now, in the world we live in. Every woman on the planet ought to be outraged, and the defense contractors who have poisoned major water supplies so that not even a newborn can get something pure ought to be paying to clean up our rivers! But who cares about women and babies when there's profit to be made?

That's what I welcome the Isis series for, a good old-fashioned tale of women bonding together to save their way of life versus the presumptuous, uncaring, mindless ways of people who live for today and refuse to care about tomorrow. In the Isis books the women are winning.

In our world today, I'm not nearly so heartened. But perhaps others feel as I do because I'm thrilled that this book has been nominated for a prestigious Lammy.

Thank you, Miz Stewart, for another great entry in this series.

The Wizard of Isis, opens moments after the close of Winged Isis, and this fifth title in Jean Stewart's Isis novels is possibly the best of the series. As with other Isis books, Wizard is fast-paced and action-packed reading. Tomyris "Whit" Whitaker and Danu Sullivan ended the dogfight that culminated Winged Isis by chasing two jets (one carrying a nuclear weapon) back across the barrier between Freeland and Elysium. In their enthusiasm to defeat the invaders, Whit and Danu find themselves trapped in the racist, patriarchal, theocratic country. Occupying the eastern portion of what was the United States, Elysium arose some nine decades prior to the book's setting in a panicked response to a population-devastating pandemic.

Having established her futuristic, post-apocalyptic world that divided what is now the United States into two extremely divergent cultures, Stewart explores the possibilities of pockets of resistance inside the oppressive Elysium, where women who are not willing to subjugate themselves to men are literally enslaved or killed. She sets this resistance in the difficult terrain of the Appalachias. Dubbed "Amazons Outlaws" by the Elysium authorities, Stewart suggests that these women banding together for survival in mountain enclaves might easily carry the archetypal characteristics of the independent woman, the fighting "Amazon."

While the women warriors of Freeland were lucky enough to preserve and further develop their technology, these Amazon communities have been struggling to maintain what has reverted to a pre-renaissance trade culture in the last three generations. For several years, they have received an added boost in the form of a very psychically powerful Witch. Whit is concerned that the witch might be a nemesis from her past. Certainly, the witch's motivations and control over the community do have a dark side.

One of the interesting points about Stewart's Freeland democracy is that it is not some mystic tofu utopia. The political struggles and factions are a lively, complex element of the society. While these women are not afraid to defend neither their homeland nor their loved ones, the method of rescue for Whit and Danu is subject to debate by the ruling council. During these council negotiations, Kali, Whit's life partner, and Tor, Danu's girlfriend, decide to circumvent the time-consuming political haggling by launching their own rescue mission. Needless to say, this impulsive venture compounds the problem.

As non-mainstream, speculative fiction, Stewart's Isis series raises some frightening questions about our political system, health care, and our environmental responsibility. These issues ring even truer today than when the series first appeared in 1992. Indeed, Stewart's Isis has long been a warning parable for our times. She furthers this exhortation in regard to the controversial issues of freedom, independence, diversity, safety and community; issues with which the United States has been struggling with since the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

An exemplifying moment is a scene of Danu reciting the Preamble to the Freeland Declaration of Independence concluding, "We are the summit, the democratic ideal that mankind has been aspiring to throughout the ages. It is our duty to protect liberty and freedom in order to ensure it for those who come after us." p111 Despite the ironically sexist and unlikely use of "mankind," the ideals stated so eloquently sent shivers through this reviewer.

The point becomes more blatant near the book's climax when Kali tells a crowd of Elysians "A long time ago, your ancestors exchanged freedom for promises of safety, and you're doing it still. You stopped being Americans." p 210 (Kali was doing great until those last four words since the Elysians present at this moment were not likely to remember or have knowledge of "America" given the repressive cultivation of illiteracy some 90 years after the fall of America.)

Despite the heavy political topics, bleak circumstances, and explicit violence, Wizard of Isis has some charming to downright funny moments. When an imprisoned Kali faces the local Elysian warlord, her strength of will and defiant nature prompt her to use what weapons she has left, namely her wit and voice (and perhaps a touch of her psychic abilities) to strike out at her captors. For this reviewer, the humorous pay-off of this scene is practically worth the book's purchase.

Wizard of Isis has all of the qualities that readers have come to expect from Stewart. The story is thoughtful and intelligent, action-filled and exciting. Her characters are interesting, complex women (and men). While she deals with archetypal elements, not all of her women are noble and heroic and not all men are evil. Indeed, one of the themes of Wizard is the idea that most Elysians are trapped themselves rather than actively supporting the regime. With a signature high-energy climax, Wizard of Isis adds a few surprises to the Isis Saga and it will be interesting to see where Stewart takes readers next.

At long last, this sequel resolves the cliffhanger we were left with at the end of the fourth installment of this immensely entertaining sci-fi/fantasy series. When last we saw Isis's leader Tomyris "Whit" Whitaker, her jet and that of fellow soldier Danu Sullivan had been chased by enemy forces into Elysium territory. In this continuation of the WINGED ISIS storyline, Whit and Danu crash land and are faced with the difficulties of hiding and surviving in enemy lands. By a stroke of good luck, they fall in with a group of Amazon rebels. But the enemy is hot on their trail, and they are outnumbered hundreds to one.

The women of Isis live in Freeland, a democratic city-colony on the western side of the U.S. On the other side is Elysium where religious fanatics, corrupt men, and the Regulators, a Gestapo-type of police force live violent, miserable lives. The highly technological and deadly Elysium men want nothing more than to destroy Isis and take their resources, and only the Border shield powered by satellites stops them. Unfortunately, the Border has developed inconsistencies, and that's how the enemy got in. Though the Freeland forces did repel the Elysium attackers, they can't afford to lose Whit or Danu, and a rescue mission must be planned. Unfortunately, as with most Isis emergencies, the plan is not quickly decided upon, and Whit's partner Kali and Danu's girlfriend Tor are tortured by the wait. When the two women take off prematurely on a journey to rescue the two fighters, they set in motion a series of events resulting in battles, chases, and the death of a key character.

Stewart's plotting is deft and focused, her characters well-rounded, and the storyline compelling. Nobody writes lesbian adventure fiction like she does. I have said it before that Stewart's work in its own special category: a hybrid of science fiction, adventure, and romance in a uniquely lesbian framework. WIZARD OF ISIS has an exhilarating pace and engrossing plotline. I couldn't put the book down until I came to the end, and I eagerly await the next installment. ~Lori L. Lake, author of Stepping Out, Different Dress, Gun Shy, Under The Gun, and Ricochet In Time, and reviewer for Midwest Book Review, Golden Crown Literary Society's The Crown, The Independent Gay Writer, The Gay Read, and Just About Write.