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orchidity's review
3.0
I genuinely enjoyed this book. It has all the elements of the type of book I love—strong female protagonist not solely motivated by romance, alternate world, magic, steampunk (in theory). The talking plant, Mug, was absolutely delightful, and was easily one of the best parts of the storyline.
Although the world building was solid in the beginning, it would have been wonderful to explore it more in depth throughout the book. The different nationalities and relationships between them could have been explored more as a foundation, as I found myself wondering what separates the Alons from the Eryans from the Phendelits (and why I should care), aside from the developments rooted in the dialogue.
Meralda, the main character, is strong and obviously intelligent. She spends the majority of the book in her lab, with a few breaks here and there to visit the Tower and go home to sleep. However, I didn't feel invested or connected to her character at all—we definitely know how often she ate and visited the water closet, but I would have loved to see some more character development. She felt a little two dimensional.
The inanimate objects with personalities were absolutely a highlight—the Tower and Mug added so much to the storyline. The staves were interesting, but seemed to be a means to an end with easy conflict resolution, which brings me to another point—the conflict resolution felt slightly abrupt, as another reviewer previously mentioned. I was reading the end, saying, wait, that was it? That's all it took?
Overall, my nitpicks are fairly small. It was an enjoyable, engaging read. I'll definitely pick up the sequel, as well as explore some of Mr. Tuttle's additional titles.
Although the world building was solid in the beginning, it would have been wonderful to explore it more in depth throughout the book. The different nationalities and relationships between them could have been explored more as a foundation, as I found myself wondering what separates the Alons from the Eryans from the Phendelits (and why I should care), aside from the developments rooted in the dialogue.
Meralda, the main character, is strong and obviously intelligent. She spends the majority of the book in her lab, with a few breaks here and there to visit the Tower and go home to sleep. However, I didn't feel invested or connected to her character at all—we definitely know how often she ate and visited the water closet, but I would have loved to see some more character development. She felt a little two dimensional.
The inanimate objects with personalities were absolutely a highlight—the Tower and Mug added so much to the storyline. The staves were interesting, but seemed to be a means to an end with easy conflict resolution, which brings me to another point—the conflict resolution felt slightly abrupt, as another reviewer previously mentioned. I was reading the end, saying, wait, that was it? That's all it took?
Overall, my nitpicks are fairly small. It was an enjoyable, engaging read. I'll definitely pick up the sequel, as well as explore some of Mr. Tuttle's additional titles.
eugthinks's review against another edition
3.0
Fun--but fluffy--fantasy story. Also it was amusing for about ten seconds that the mysterious, exotic race from across the sea is straight up stereotypical Chinese. We're talking short, tawny skin, slanted eyes, chopsticks, magical tea, egg rolls, almond chicken, sweet and sour pork, and a strange little grain called rice.
justasking27's review
4.0
An exciting steampunk fantasy with a strong female lead and all the things I like about good YA fantasy - developing characters, exciting plot, light romance, and the fate of the world in the balance.
kristamccracken's review
3.0
Enjoyable light fantasy with a female read. I enjoy this book overall though I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I had some problems with the characterization - a supposedly strong female mage but she is continuously being saved by males and there is a bit of unnecessary swooning thrown in as well.
myrhial's review
4.0
I really like the characters in this book, especially Mug. The story had me interested from start to finish. As a reader I felt I was always there in the background, observing Meralda as she takes on this nearly impossible task the king set out for her. Luckily she's got the support of some good friends, and her own smarts too.
brookepalmer796's review
2.0
This book kept being recommended to me and it was cheap so I decided to try it out.
The story was okay, a little slow at first, but it got better. The world building needed a hand. It seemed like the author had a good idea but then couldn't get it off the ground so he borrowed a lot from the present (i.e. newspaper names, cultures, accents, food, history). It was set on Earth, but not Earth.
Meralda is okay, but her relationship with the king is odd. She works for him, but has no respect for him even though he comes across as a decent guy.
The story was okay, a little slow at first, but it got better. The world building needed a hand. It seemed like the author had a good idea but then couldn't get it off the ground so he borrowed a lot from the present (i.e. newspaper names, cultures, accents, food, history). It was set on Earth, but not Earth.
Meralda is okay, but her relationship with the king is odd. She works for him, but has no respect for him even though he comes across as a decent guy.
whimsicalmeerkat's review
4.0
Who knew a book with so little sleep and so much potential for tragedy could be so cheerful?
laurafigueiredo's review
4.0
Lately I've been reading some steampunk-ish novels, and most of them had been a disappointment: Unnecesarily complex setups, non-plausible plots or too plain ones in which the focus seems to be the fancy gibberish they use.
This one is completely different though.
Tuttle creates a very well rounded story.
Something is happenning in every chapter, the story moves at a good pace but the reader is not overwhelmed. Really good.
I personally did not like Meralda Ovis. She's some sort of Mary Sue: genius young woman who is soooooo much smarter than everyone else - and she knows it. Her superiority complex makes her a bit boring.
I did not like her love interest either, he was meant to be mysterious but also felt a bit marysue-ish.
I don't think they ruin the novel at all, but I would have liked it all better if these characters were a bit less silly.
But I really did love Mug.
Mug is such a great counterpart! His dialogues are some sort of glue for this story - no, he does not play an important role, but he makes you want to keep reading from one chapter to the next one. Lovely creature.
I think I'll be reading more by this author.
This one is completely different though.
Tuttle creates a very well rounded story.
Something is happenning in every chapter, the story moves at a good pace but the reader is not overwhelmed. Really good.
I personally did not like Meralda Ovis. She's some sort of Mary Sue: genius young woman who is soooooo much smarter than everyone else - and she knows it. Her superiority complex makes her a bit boring.
I did not like her love interest either, he was meant to be mysterious but also felt a bit marysue-ish.
I don't think they ruin the novel at all, but I would have liked it all better if these characters were a bit less silly.
But I really did love Mug.
Mug is such a great counterpart! His dialogues are some sort of glue for this story - no, he does not play an important role, but he makes you want to keep reading from one chapter to the next one. Lovely creature.
I think I'll be reading more by this author.
carol26388's review
4.0
An ice cream sundae of fantasy reads; sweet, flavored with familiarity, a variety of pleasing textures. Tuttle has created a heroine I wish I could have found at fourteen, a more self-reliant one than Aerin in [b:The Blue Sword|407813|The Blue Sword (Damar, #1)|Robin McKinley|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1286927812s/407813.jpg|2321296]--no kidnapping or aging paramour warrior kings necessary. Meralda is an eighteen-year-old mage who uses logic, math, courage and persistence when confronting an array of challenges, both human and occult.
Meralda is the youngest mage and the first woman to be appointed to the post of Royal Thaumaturge in the kingdom of Tirlin. The king has given her an almost impossible job, to (re)move the shadow of the seven-hundred year-old mages' Tower that will be shading his historic speech to the Accords. This is the year the Accords are held in Tirlin, a ceremonial and political event that occurs every five years. Unfortunately, there's a number of life-changing surprises in store.
As usual, I enjoyed the writing style. Tuttle builds an interesting world without information overload, allowing plotting and characterization to flourish over lengthy descriptions of scenery or sewerworks. I particularly enjoy his subtle development of atmosphere, ranging from exhausting marathon research sessions to sunny days in the park, to the intimidating puzzle of the Tower. Initial scenes in the Tower were particularly ominous:
"But here, in the windowless belly of the Tower, she felt as if it were the smallest hour of the longest, darkest night. 'It's quiet, all of a sudden,' said Tervis, in a whisper. 'Isn't it?'"
"Meralda played the lamp around the hall. Shadows flew. Some, she thought, more slowly than others."
The humor is delightful, varying from absurd (the plant's epithets are fun), to overt banter, to subtle world details (such as mention of a former history text "Trout and Windig's A History of Tirlin and Erya and Environs, With Generous Illustrations Throughout.") Meralda's wizardly familiar is a potted dandyleaf plant who provides sarcasm and concern in equal amounts:
"I'll stay right where I am. It's a good place in which to worry oneself sick. Lots of room to drop leaves and shrivel."
The Guards' Captain also has a number of fun lines, particularly in his wry assessment of character:
"'You do love surprises, as I recall.' Meralda half-turned as she climbed and lifted an eyebrow at the captain. 'I detest surprises,' she said. 'Quite right,' said the captain. 'My mistake.'"
Characters are nicely done and have individuality even in brief appearances. There's the honorable, fatherly Captain, a coachman with a tendency to swear, a pair of former mentors and court wizards pretending to dodder around in the background, a pair of twin guardsmen assigned to Meralda and more. I appreciate--oh, how do I appreciate--that Tuttle doesn't describe Meralda's body anywhere in the first third of the book. Pardon me, but as I've read several otherwise decent writers making this mistake (Daniel O'Malley, The Rook), I think it's also worth noting when one gets it right. Although he mentions her brown eyes and fly-away hair, we really have limited physical description, with a similar minimal time spent on clothes. Don't misunderstand; Tuttle gives enough description to build a sense of a Victorian-like time period with slightly less cumbersome fashion (my historian friends, correct me if needed), but it is not chick-lit-esque with detailed descriptions of her boots, bodice or speshul necklace/hairpiece with mystical powers. She does, in fact, have a black bag:
"She frowned suddenly. 'I've got a bagful of sorcerous implements sufficient to fell the west wing, but I don't have a hairbrush.'"
You have to love a fantasy heroine that wields fierce math skills:
"'Mathematics,' she said, rising. 'The biggest part of magic. Not the stuff of epic legends, I know, but the stuff of magic nonetheless.'" Can you believe she mentions trigonometry?
Perhaps my one quibble--because there's always one, that's just the kind of person I am--is that despite being a fantasy world, the Yang seem oh-so-very Chinese-based, which creates a dissonance between comparing the fantasy version with the real one and testing for accuracy. My world of advice would have been to pick one; either make it rooted in real or not, because otherwise world building comes into question and distances the reader from story.
Despite that, the second read held up very well. I was no less captivated by the story, wanting to finish again before writing the review. Had I been fifteen, I would have loved this unreservedly. It reminds me of [b:The Raven Ring|169881|The Raven Ring (Lyra, #5)|Patricia C. Wrede|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1312021929s/169881.jpg|164042] in its focused, independent heroine armed with common sense, determination and fearlessness. But despite a mildly jaundiced eye, this was an extremely enjoyable read. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a straightforward fantasy complete with happy ending, and wouldn't hesitate to gift this to my niece, and when the next Meralda book is released, I'll be buying it as well.
Four and a half stars.
Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/09/14/all-the-paths-of-shadow-or-a-path-to-delight/
Meralda is the youngest mage and the first woman to be appointed to the post of Royal Thaumaturge in the kingdom of Tirlin. The king has given her an almost impossible job, to (re)move the shadow of the seven-hundred year-old mages' Tower that will be shading his historic speech to the Accords. This is the year the Accords are held in Tirlin, a ceremonial and political event that occurs every five years. Unfortunately, there's a number of life-changing surprises in store.
As usual, I enjoyed the writing style. Tuttle builds an interesting world without information overload, allowing plotting and characterization to flourish over lengthy descriptions of scenery or sewerworks. I particularly enjoy his subtle development of atmosphere, ranging from exhausting marathon research sessions to sunny days in the park, to the intimidating puzzle of the Tower. Initial scenes in the Tower were particularly ominous:
"But here, in the windowless belly of the Tower, she felt as if it were the smallest hour of the longest, darkest night. 'It's quiet, all of a sudden,' said Tervis, in a whisper. 'Isn't it?'"
"Meralda played the lamp around the hall. Shadows flew. Some, she thought, more slowly than others."
The humor is delightful, varying from absurd (the plant's epithets are fun), to overt banter, to subtle world details (such as mention of a former history text "Trout and Windig's A History of Tirlin and Erya and Environs, With Generous Illustrations Throughout.") Meralda's wizardly familiar is a potted dandyleaf plant who provides sarcasm and concern in equal amounts:
"I'll stay right where I am. It's a good place in which to worry oneself sick. Lots of room to drop leaves and shrivel."
The Guards' Captain also has a number of fun lines, particularly in his wry assessment of character:
"'You do love surprises, as I recall.' Meralda half-turned as she climbed and lifted an eyebrow at the captain. 'I detest surprises,' she said. 'Quite right,' said the captain. 'My mistake.'"
Characters are nicely done and have individuality even in brief appearances. There's the honorable, fatherly Captain, a coachman with a tendency to swear, a pair of former mentors and court wizards pretending to dodder around in the background, a pair of twin guardsmen assigned to Meralda and more. I appreciate--oh, how do I appreciate--that Tuttle doesn't describe Meralda's body anywhere in the first third of the book. Pardon me, but as I've read several otherwise decent writers making this mistake (Daniel O'Malley, The Rook), I think it's also worth noting when one gets it right. Although he mentions her brown eyes and fly-away hair, we really have limited physical description, with a similar minimal time spent on clothes. Don't misunderstand; Tuttle gives enough description to build a sense of a Victorian-like time period with slightly less cumbersome fashion (my historian friends, correct me if needed), but it is not chick-lit-esque with detailed descriptions of her boots, bodice or speshul necklace/hairpiece with mystical powers. She does, in fact, have a black bag:
"She frowned suddenly. 'I've got a bagful of sorcerous implements sufficient to fell the west wing, but I don't have a hairbrush.'"
You have to love a fantasy heroine that wields fierce math skills:
"'Mathematics,' she said, rising. 'The biggest part of magic. Not the stuff of epic legends, I know, but the stuff of magic nonetheless.'" Can you believe she mentions trigonometry?
Perhaps my one quibble--because there's always one, that's just the kind of person I am--is that despite being a fantasy world, the Yang seem oh-so-very Chinese-based, which creates a dissonance between comparing the fantasy version with the real one and testing for accuracy. My world of advice would have been to pick one; either make it rooted in real or not, because otherwise world building comes into question and distances the reader from story.
Despite that, the second read held up very well. I was no less captivated by the story, wanting to finish again before writing the review. Had I been fifteen, I would have loved this unreservedly. It reminds me of [b:The Raven Ring|169881|The Raven Ring (Lyra, #5)|Patricia C. Wrede|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1312021929s/169881.jpg|164042] in its focused, independent heroine armed with common sense, determination and fearlessness. But despite a mildly jaundiced eye, this was an extremely enjoyable read. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a straightforward fantasy complete with happy ending, and wouldn't hesitate to gift this to my niece, and when the next Meralda book is released, I'll be buying it as well.
Four and a half stars.
Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/09/14/all-the-paths-of-shadow-or-a-path-to-delight/
frankvanmeer's review
5.0
What an absolutely wonderfully written novel. I could find nothing wrong with it.
Edit.
Well, I said there was nothing wrong with it, but there is a minor thing that always bugged me.
If Meralda is crucial for the plan to activate the Vonat spell in tandem with her own shadow moving spell, then why the attempts at her life? If she's dead, she can't do that, can she? It's a minor thing and I suspect the two assassination attempts are simply a device to have ome action in the plot. Still, it bugged me.
I'm always very picky when it comes to magic in my books, and this one has such an interesting method. Yay for science :)
Edit.
Well, I said there was nothing wrong with it, but there is a minor thing that always bugged me.
I'm always very picky when it comes to magic in my books, and this one has such an interesting method. Yay for science :)