Helpful Score: 2
This is a combined anthology of Mairelon the Magician and Magician's Ward.
Anyway, the two books have been pushed at me by Amazon for years, and I found this in a used bookstore for a buck, so I figured why not?
And its not bad...
The basic story of Mairelon the Magician concerns the adventures of one Kim that start when she is asked to burgle the cart of a market magician for way too much money. Did I mention that its Edwardian England with magic? Including a Minstry of Wizards? Oh dear...
Anyway, from that inauspicious start, Kim is plunged into a deep game that's also a romantic comedy. There are scenes in this book that would be wonderful up on the stage or on screen and they're funny.
Magician's Ward is the sequel and takes up one year after the events of Mairelon the Magician have wrapped up. Kim is learning many things and about to plunge into the Season in London. After a half baked attempt at burglary on their townhouse, things get mysterious and magical.
Now, did I like the books? Yes, I did. They're not bad books, not great, but decent (yes, I know, I'm daming with faint praise but I don't have a lot of great books). The characters are well drawn and keep the attention, interest and concern of the reader. The setting is familiar enough (Regency England) that you don't need worldbuilding, so it doesn't hog the spotlight. The magic doesn't even creep out from behind the curtain until the second book, and then its magical - not the systematic stuff you see in most RPGs (and some novels).
Kim makes an excellent viewpoint character for the reader, by being enough in the world to convey its flavor, but outside it (by growing up in the poorest neighborhoods in London) to help the reader along and explain the setting. Particularly to comment on the insanity of the "Toffs."
If anything, I'd have grittied the novel up a bit. But that's me - after all, I like The Flashman series and at least the first six books of The Sharpe series.
I'd recommend this to parents who want a reasonably non-offensive and safe YA book for their kids, or themselves.
Anyway, the two books have been pushed at me by Amazon for years, and I found this in a used bookstore for a buck, so I figured why not?
And its not bad...
The basic story of Mairelon the Magician concerns the adventures of one Kim that start when she is asked to burgle the cart of a market magician for way too much money. Did I mention that its Edwardian England with magic? Including a Minstry of Wizards? Oh dear...
Anyway, from that inauspicious start, Kim is plunged into a deep game that's also a romantic comedy. There are scenes in this book that would be wonderful up on the stage or on screen and they're funny.
Magician's Ward is the sequel and takes up one year after the events of Mairelon the Magician have wrapped up. Kim is learning many things and about to plunge into the Season in London. After a half baked attempt at burglary on their townhouse, things get mysterious and magical.
Now, did I like the books? Yes, I did. They're not bad books, not great, but decent (yes, I know, I'm daming with faint praise but I don't have a lot of great books). The characters are well drawn and keep the attention, interest and concern of the reader. The setting is familiar enough (Regency England) that you don't need worldbuilding, so it doesn't hog the spotlight. The magic doesn't even creep out from behind the curtain until the second book, and then its magical - not the systematic stuff you see in most RPGs (and some novels).
Kim makes an excellent viewpoint character for the reader, by being enough in the world to convey its flavor, but outside it (by growing up in the poorest neighborhoods in London) to help the reader along and explain the setting. Particularly to comment on the insanity of the "Toffs."
If anything, I'd have grittied the novel up a bit. But that's me - after all, I like The Flashman series and at least the first six books of The Sharpe series.
I'd recommend this to parents who want a reasonably non-offensive and safe YA book for their kids, or themselves.
