kblincoln's review
4.0
3.5 stars, actually.
Let me preface this with the caveat that I received a free ebook in exchange for an honest review, and that the ebook I received was an Advanced Reader Copy still undergoing some editing.
So your mileage may vary quite a bit once the finished product goes live :)
This is the second in The Klaereon Scroll series and I did not read the first book. That said, it wasn't too hard to get up to speed in this story with the different characters. The story takes place in a European world where there are families/clans who each have some kind of magic. The Klaereon's magic seems to stem from a deal an ancestor made with demon-like beings humans for millenia have interpreted as Egyptian gods-- Ra, Khun, Isis, Osiris, Anubis, etc. Certain members of the Klaereons are born as "Binders" or with the ability to be attached or attach themselves (that part wasn't entirely clear to me as most of the book revolves around characters who have experienced problems with that attachment) to the god and thus wield magic.
The story starts with Carlo Borgia (of poison fame) coming back to the Klaereon estate to check on the ladies of the family (Octavia and Lucy) after encountering Octavia's husband, Drusus, in exile. Drusus is having troubles with his binding to Khun. Lucy is having trouble with Ra. And Octavia and Drusus have children, boys, who everyone wants to keep out of trouble.
Carlo is pretty entertaining. He's my favorite character, earnest, responsible, caring, poisonous. He and Lucy get to have a nice romance complicated by the dastardly doings of another magic family. There's going back and forth between Druat (the shadow world) which may or may not be the same thing as the Abyss, and allegations of murder Octavia must navigate.
There is a formality to the language and manners of the folks in this story that evokes Austen/Bronte, etc, but sometimes also was so uniform that it left the characters without as much unique personality showing through (except for the villain Galt, his dastardliness shone through nicely).
Fans of Egyptian mythology or steampunk/Austenesque fantastic fiction should check this out, although its probably best to start with Vessel of Ra, the first in the series.
Let me preface this with the caveat that I received a free ebook in exchange for an honest review, and that the ebook I received was an Advanced Reader Copy still undergoing some editing.
So your mileage may vary quite a bit once the finished product goes live :)
This is the second in The Klaereon Scroll series and I did not read the first book. That said, it wasn't too hard to get up to speed in this story with the different characters. The story takes place in a European world where there are families/clans who each have some kind of magic. The Klaereon's magic seems to stem from a deal an ancestor made with demon-like beings humans for millenia have interpreted as Egyptian gods-- Ra, Khun, Isis, Osiris, Anubis, etc. Certain members of the Klaereons are born as "Binders" or with the ability to be attached or attach themselves (that part wasn't entirely clear to me as most of the book revolves around characters who have experienced problems with that attachment) to the god and thus wield magic.
The story starts with Carlo Borgia (of poison fame) coming back to the Klaereon estate to check on the ladies of the family (Octavia and Lucy) after encountering Octavia's husband, Drusus, in exile. Drusus is having troubles with his binding to Khun. Lucy is having trouble with Ra. And Octavia and Drusus have children, boys, who everyone wants to keep out of trouble.
Carlo is pretty entertaining. He's my favorite character, earnest, responsible, caring, poisonous. He and Lucy get to have a nice romance complicated by the dastardly doings of another magic family. There's going back and forth between Druat (the shadow world) which may or may not be the same thing as the Abyss, and allegations of murder Octavia must navigate.
There is a formality to the language and manners of the folks in this story that evokes Austen/Bronte, etc, but sometimes also was so uniform that it left the characters without as much unique personality showing through (except for the villain Galt, his dastardliness shone through nicely).
Fans of Egyptian mythology or steampunk/Austenesque fantastic fiction should check this out, although its probably best to start with Vessel of Ra, the first in the series.
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