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The Tourmaline (Princess of Roumania #2)
by
Paul Park
The sequel to Park's stunning fantasy debut, A Princess of Roumania. Teenager Miranda Popescu is at the fulcrum of a deadly political and diplomatic battle between conjurers in an alternate fantasy world where "Roumania" is a leading European power. Miranda was hidden by her aunt in our world. An American couple adopted and raised her in their quiet Massachu...more
Mass Market Paperback, 432 pages
Published
November 27th 2007
by Tor Fantasy
(first published 2006)
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It's been a while since I read A Princess Of Roumania, and my memory of what happened in that books is a bit sketchy, but I remember enjoying it enormously, so I'm delighted to have the next three books in the series to dive into. Miranda Popescu grows up in a small town in America, only to discover that she is, in fact, in a hiding place. Our world is merely a conjuring designed to keep her safe from her enemies. She is, in reality, a princess of Greater Roumania, and when our world vanishes, s...more
I enjoy the plot of this series a great deal. I found the writing in this second installment much improved over the first. I very much enjoy the use of magic in these books, it's a far less complicated sort of magic than what is described in many fantasy novels. The magic in these books is more of an instinctual sort of magic, without a lot of explanation required. Something about the way these stories are structured, the natural quality of the magic, and the use of "spirit animals", r...more
After finishing this book, the second of a series of four, I honestly didn't have any enthusiasm to continue. Partly this is due to the fact that the author split up into four books what is essentially one. The separate books don't have individual story arcs, just another series of confrontations that the protagonists feebly struggle against. I can't help but think of this book like a soap opera. Conflicts are not overcome so much as new ones supersede the old ones. Bleh. This was even more frus...more
Paul
added it
Not all alternate history is of the classic mold. You know the drill. Lee wins at Gettysburg, and the world is different because of it. Varus' legions aren't slaughtered by the Germanic tribes, and Rome continues on and on. The Spanish armada conquers England, and Shakespeare turns out to be a hero to the oppressed English.
The Roumania novels are definitely different. The first novel, a Princess of Roumania, started ordinarily enough, with Andromeda, Peter and Miranda slo...more
This book continues the tale begun in A Princess of Roumania in which a young woman named Miranda Popescu learned she was hidden away in our world but is a princess caught amidst political intrigue in an alternate *real* world where Roumania is one of the world's superpowers and is busy fighting off the advances from Germany in a Victorianesque era. The goings-on get even stranger in this second book (of a quartet) and we follow the exploits of Miranda and her friends Peter and Andromeda. Pete...more
I tried to not like it. Probed it for the standard weaknesses of the middle books (and it's hard to believe now that there are two more rather than just one). But I really enjoyed the way the magic and the plot and the characters unfold and the mysterious muddledness of the whole thing which could be annoying for some; I find it compelling, even charming. Miranda Popescu and Baroness Ceaucescu (and there are moments still when I anger and awe at the audacity of Park's treatment of history) are f...more
If you take a peek at what I said about A Princess of Roumania, it holds true here. A bit confusing, in a dreamlike way, but nevertheless fantastic; things are holding together better than I thought they would, and I feel like I'm getting the hang of this universe, growing to understand what rules Paul Park plays by. Lovely.
Peter
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People with a lot of patience who like alternate history
Shelves:
alternate-history,
fantasy
I enjoyed A Princess of Roumania a lot; the sequel -- not so much. While it has many of the features of the previous volume -- a complicated, slowly-unfolding plot, interesting magic, a clever alternate history that is revealed in a fairly naturalistic way (ie no huge infodumps) -- the characters this time around pretty much lack any kind of agency -- they are pushed around by Fate (or, really, the Author's thumb) which they experience as a sort of waking dream. This can be used to good effect, ...more
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See review for Princess of Roumania
Suffers less from the pacing problems of A Princess of Roumania; I especially like the character development of Peter and Andromeda in this volume. I am looking forward to reading the last book in this trilogy.
JG (The Introverted Reader)
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
fiction,
read_in_2007,
reviewed,
3_stars,
covers_i_like,
author_american,
setting_romania
This was a follow-up to A Princess of Roumania. I liked it about as well as that book. They're not my favorite fantasy, and they move a little bit slowly for me, but they are definitely worth reading.
Why can't I stop reading these books? They're not that good!
2008 Tiptree Award Honor List
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Tracey
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Paul Park (born 1954) is an American science fiction author and fantasy author. He lives in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, with his wife and two children. He also teaches a Reading and Writing Science Fiction course at Williams College. He has also taught several times at the Clarion West Writing Workshop.
Park appeared on the American science fiction scene in 1987 and quickly establi...more
More about Paul Park...
Park appeared on the American science fiction scene in 1987 and quickly establi...more
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