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I almost gave up on this book. The first fifty or so pages are a pedestrian, awkward attempt at a Regency society novel, with mentions of mysterious magicians shoehorned in. The main character, Ivy, and her family are clearly the Bennets from Pride and Prejudice, right down to their grasping cousin Mr. Collins, er, Wyble. The Mr. Darcy stand-in, Mr. Rafferdy, disappointed. But then Rafferdy and Ivy's friendship blossomed, and against my will I found myself drawn into the story. I tore through t
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Fascinating and frustrating alt-Victorian fantasy, à la Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell…except really nothing like that at all. Beckett uses two of the most famous 19th century novels, Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre, as a jumping off point for an epic fantasy set in an alternate England in which magic is a common-enough aspiration for lords, but which cannot be (or is forbidden to be?) performed by women. There are some very cool ideas at play here—I love the eerie touch that in this worl
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One part Jane Austen, one part Charlotte Bronte, one part Dickens. Throw in a soupcon of Lovecraft, a dash of fantasy, and a sprinkle of gender weirdness. This debut novel has some serious flaws, especially as to pacing, but the charm of the characters and the novelty of setting make it worth reading if one finds 19th-century literature entertaining. Just don't try to hard to make it all make sense.
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An interesting mash up of a fantasy and Jane Austen, a la Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. This one is not as skillfully done: he uses actual situations, characters and even dialogue from Austen, Dickens and even the Brontes, but where the book really shines is when he lets go and does his own thing, which causes it to be a bit uneven. Still, I'm excited for the next one. It's a fascinating world, and I love the characters . . . although I'm still hoping that one of them will die so that the ot
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Initially I gave this a four. On re-read a year later, I'd say it's more like a 3 or 3.5. It is deliciously readable as Austen/Brontë/Lovecraft pastiche/homage. However, some of the motivations and actions of the characters (mostly those dealing with relationships) are not fully believable.
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In which a witch infiltrates the highest circles of government through marriage.
Many things in the political sphere are obscure. The government is repressive, possibly with good reason, some of its foes resemble the Trickster's followers from Thief. Magicians pursue their own agendas. BUT, the emotional heart of the book is nothing to do with these things, is quite clear and quite enjoyably sad.
There are nods to various well known literary works throughout, picking out the references becomes an ...more
Many things in the political sphere are obscure. The government is repressive, possibly with good reason, some of its foes resemble the Trickster's followers from Thief. Magicians pursue their own agendas. BUT, the emotional heart of the book is nothing to do with these things, is quite clear and quite enjoyably sad.
There are nods to various well known literary works throughout, picking out the references becomes an ...more
I liked this book quite a bit, although the book I ended up reading was not the book I started out reading, in many ways. It starts out as a sort of alternate-universe Pride & Prejudice, and ends up more alternate-universe Northanger Abbey, only the gothic stuff was real and not in anyone's imagination. I did enjoy the world-building, and I'm interested to read the next book in the series.
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Jul 23, 2008
Bette
marked it as to-read
Jul 30, 2008
Holly
marked it as to-read
Jan 09, 2009
Morgan
marked it as to-read
Sep 03, 2012
rachelish
marked it as to-read
Dec 30, 2012
Destiny
marked it as to-read
Sep 19, 2022
Christine
marked it as to-read
