Fortune”s Fool by Mercedes Lackey (ISBN-13: 978-0-373-80266-1 or ISBN-10 0-373-80266-8) is another story from the 500 Kingdoms and is published by Luna, an imprint of Harlequin in 2007.

         Like the previous 500 Kingdom stories (one of which I reviewed), Fortune’s Fool is set in a fantasy land that has a magical force called The Tradition that nudges (or pushes) people toward well-known story-paths. The hero and heroine of Fortune’s Fool both come from families who have learned to, if not manipulate The Tradition, at least to influence it to the benefit of their respective kingdoms.

         Sasha’s great-grandfather, while he was still a Prince, procured the help of a Godmother to teach him, made a bargain with a dragon for the needed dragon blood and set about learning all he could about The Tradition. He taught his family that there always needed to be a Scholar, one who studied The Tradition and could predict and guide the family so that they and the kingdom prospered.

         Katya and her Sea-King family also knew of and used The Tradition to aid their kingdom. As magical creatures, mer-people were even more at the mercy of The Tradition. Katya’s father, while still a Prince, determined that they would instead control The Tradition. One such tradition he changed was the one that mermaids would sing sailors to their death. He sent out bards singing songs depicting an alternate story for mermaids, that said sailors merely forgot their One True Loves, at least until the One True Love managed to break the spell. And, soon, because of “seeding” The Tradition this way, that story became prominent.

         Both Katya and Sasha are the youngest in their families, seventh daughter and seventh son. According to The Tradition this was the position of Fool. Both families used this to their advantage. Sasha appeared foolish on the surface, but in reality went about singing songs that manipulated The Tradition and bringing prosperity to his kingdom. Katya, seemingly insignificant to those who bothered to notice her, slipped in and out of the Drylanders and the Sea Kingdoms, watching and listening and bringing reports back to her father, the Sea King of one of the most prosperous and benevolent sea kingdoms.

         Katya and Sasha meet and fall in love while on their many wanderings. Unlike many romances, this is really just the beginning of the story. When Katya is kidnapped by a djinn intent on gathering magical power and taking over neighboring kingdoms, Sasha begins his search. Both face many perils as they struggle to defeat the rising evil surrounding them.

         Mercedes Lackey creates a wonderfully detailed and believable fantasyscape. Her stories are a joy to read, with one exception. Physical intimacy is, while not casual is at least common in the land of the 500 Kingdoms. Sasha and Katya indulge in several explicit encounters. It is refreshing to learn that Sasha is a virgin, but both Katya’s and Sasha’s attitudes in that area are off-center of what is considered moral to a practicing Christian. Fortunately, the bulk of the intimate encounters occur in one short section, about halfway through the story. If you are so inclined, you could easily skip over those scenes. The rest of the story is an enchanting adventure and romance that you might well enjoy. I did.

         I don’t always feel it is necessary to mention in a review, but my view of physical intimacy differs significantly from the common culture. In many of the books I read, sex is seen as a recreational activity, something akin to reading a book or going for a boat ride. Some stories have characters who only have sex within a serious relationship, and, while most romances end up with the characters in a monogamous, lifetime relationship, rarely do you find a character, outside the inspirational genre, who believes marriage is the only time such intimacy is truly appropriate.

         According to the creator of sex, though, we have it wrong. We as a culture have abandoned the original design. Sex is not a toy, not a sport, not a different way of communicating. It is the unique exclusive interaction between a man and a woman committed to a lifetime relationship. Anyone with eyes can see that our culture has rejected and replaced that original design. (This is why there are so many broken relationships and problems that have to be navigated as part of life in our contemporary world, but that is not the topic of this blog.)

         This current way of thinking is reflected in our entertainment. It permeates the books published, the movies produced and our choices of recreation. If it were my way, I could find something objectionable in each and every book I review. As I said, except for specific genres, this recreational-sex mindset is the norm.

         But my way is not to tear down. My purpose is not to find fault. I want to find the good, the lovely, the noble in the books I read. And, even with that erroneous belief that sex outside of marriage is good and fun and without problems, many stories are worthy of approbation. So there may be times when I don’t mention my objection when this pervasive mindset appears in a story. You can be assured that I WILL mention it if it is an integral part of the story, as you’ll see in Friday’s review of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Unleash the Darkness. If, however, it is the occasional passing thought, such as Katie Chandler’s in Enchanted, Inc., I probably won’t mention it. In Enchanted Inc, there is talk of characters desiring that intimacy, but nothing is explicitly shown during the story. And the overall tenor of Katie’s life is one of goodness, of doing what is right because it is right. And we need more stories like that, where right is right and good fights evil.

         So I hope I don’t disappoint you, but I will probably never get nit-picky about sex or alcohol or anything else in the stories I review. I look at the overall message and the pivotal actions of the characters to determine the value of time spent reading the book. Just as each of us is a conflicting mass of good and bad, right and wrong-thinking, I will allow the characters of the fiction I read to live in that same tension. I will do them, and their authors, the honor of viewing the entire story, the overall picture and to remark on the remarkable. I hope as I do so, you will be enriched and encouraged to do the same.