A Tapestry of Magics

This book was not at all what I was expecting from both the back cover blurb/synopsis and cover art. Rather than the serious, relatively low fantasy/romance it implies, we get a delightful high fantasy romp.
Imagine if the Amber series were less burdened by philosophy and seriousness. Imagine if Tanelorn was a place of silly and entertaining. Imagine if Callahan's were a medieval kingdom.
The Singularity (long predating that terms questionable use in transhumanism) is a kingdom like those above, a meeting place of countless realities, populated by the wanderers from them all.
We follow Crassmore, one of the many knights of the kingdom, through a variety of adventures. This is not a novel, but rather a collection of three novelettes of his show more adventures. We get a variety of interesting cameos from history and fiction of all sorts. There's some really great world-building going on here, and I with Daley would have found the opportunity or inspiration to return to it. Fun, action packed, funny, and creative. show less

A Tapestry of Magics is Daley's answer to Roger Zelazny's Amber series, positing a realm (The Singularity) that is the center of all realities, where beings from other realities--times and places well-known to Earth--can wander in and out. It's less philosophical than Zelazny's work, but also a great deal more light-hearted and fun than his as well.

The book starts rather slowly with a pair of brothers dealing with an invasion of barbarian lizard-riders; Sandur, the elder, the "Outrider" beloved of father and country alike, and his younger sibling Crassmor. The later portions of the book treat Crassmor's maturation into a full-grown Knight of a decidedly roguish bent, and of a plot to destroy the singularity.

Like Kim Newman's "Anno show more Dracula" series, there are a number of cameos from various historical periods and myths that pop up; I won't ruin the surprises or fun of spotting them, but it definitely adds a dimension of enjoyment to the book trying to figure out who these turn out to be.

In the end, the novel reads like a condensed trilogy, and it certainly was written with the hope that there would be sequels; not all threads are tied up, and the close of the story finds Crassmor embarking upon another adventure; one, sadly, we are never destined to discover. show less

Sir Crassmor, an exiled, irresponsible knight, finds himself in the chaotic "Beyonds," a nexus of different realities, where he encounters strange beings and invaders from countless worlds, becoming the unlikely center of interdimensional trouble as he tries to survive and navigate this fantastical realm.

Possibly the most beautifully described world in science fiction or fantasy. Tapestry is a wonderful book.