What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
This topic is about
The Ruins of Ambrai
SOLVED: Adult Fiction
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SOLVED. Fantasy book, really long, matriarchal society, told from many different viewpoints. [s]
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Courteney
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Dec 05, 2014 08:34PM
The book I'm looking for I read about 5 years ago, I don't think it was new then. It was either really really long or it was an edition with a whole series of books in one, I think I remember there being 3 distinct sections. It's about a world where some people have magic and others don't, a matriarchal society where women are the primary rulers and generally respected more than men. The book is told from many different points of view, one being a boy/girl set of twins who are polar opposites but powerful in magic and important. Another POV in the book is that of the twins mother, a powerful figure in the government. The over-arching story line seemed to be about making the sexes more equal which was a political stance not supported by many. One thing I remember vividly about the book was a piece about a young man going to a gym/sauna type thing and talking to another character and this young man was married to a woman older than him who was important in some way and rich and she was abusing him. No one could prosecute her though because there was no definitive proof and he wouldn't say a word against her. I believe she ended up killing him "accidentally" and getting away with it. I wish I could remember more, it was a good book.
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this book also would have been set in what would be our past but with modern technologies. sort of steampunk but not in an outright way.
Courtney, would you say the book was aimed at adults, or more YA/middle grade? Do you remember anything about the cover?You mention that the book is told from many different points of view; was there only one chapter from each POV, or did it shift back and forth (e.g., one from the mother's POV, then one from the twins, then the mother again, then the twins again)?
Do you call anything about what kind of magic people had? Like, were they born with it, or could anyone learn it?
I would say the book was more aimed at adults honestly, and the points of view switched back and forth. With the magic it wasn't learnable, you had to be born with it.
unfortunately I don't remember the cover beyond it being a hardcover book with a dustcover.
The book may have been labeled as young adult but I would find it hard to imagine anyone under the age of 18 being entertained by it. I'm not entirely sure how old the title "Young Adult" targets but the book was heavily focused on politics and changing social stigmas.
Unfortunately no, but that is one I want to read. The book I'm looking for isn't set in an earth as it is today type place. Its not on another planet necessarily but its got different names for its cities and countries and things, like a totally made up world.
bump, hoping someone will recognize this
No twins, but The Memory of Earth by Orson Scott Card?
that's not it but that one sounds really good.
It has been awhile since I read it but some plot points from your description sound like this one: The Ruins of Ambrai.
Laura, that's it! Thank you! I can't wait to read it again, and now it's in my read shelf I won't have to worry about forgetting the title again!
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http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
That one took 3 years to solve.
Wow, looks like I got lucky then!
Courteney wrote: "Laura, that's it! Thank you! I can't wait to read it again, and now it's in my read shelf I won't have to worry about forgetting the title again!"Glad to help. It is part of a trilogy. The final book has not been written yet. The second one is The Mageborn Traitor. The author has written another series that I enjoyed as well. The first book is Dragon Prince.
Seeing how big the second book is and that it's split into three sections I might have only read that one and thought it was a trilogy because it was so long. I know I read the second one, upon seeing it I remember the cover and everything. I need to go back and read book one, re-read book two and read the third one whenever it comes out. The other series of hers looks good as well.
What's the Name of That Book???
Books mentioned in this topic
The Mageborn Traitor (other topics)Dragon Prince (other topics)
The Gate to Women's Country (other topics)
The Ruins of Ambrai (other topics)
The Witching Hour (other topics)
