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A review by akadras
The Two Doctors Górski by Isaac Fellman
2.5
A short and fascinating book exploring topics such as academic abuse, mental illness and the morality of psychiatric magic, The Two Doctors Górski tells an unsettling story of graduate student Annae, whose life ends up intertwined with the infamous magician Marec Górski once she starts studying under him.
The main positive I have about this book is the writing style - gorgeous and evocative, which is sadly one of the only aspects of this book that made me yearn for more. Yet I did somewhat feel that it wasn’t descriptive enough for me during a few specific scenes, where I was left feeling slightly confused as to what had just happened. I had a very hard time actually picturing the bigger events that took place, they very much felt glossed over to instead focus more on the characters’ inner experiences even though in those certain moments I was hoping for the opposite.
I did really enjoy the conversations surrounding mental illness and Annae’s field of study exploring the idea of removing fear/anxiety from people’s minds, including the repercussions and after effects of going through with it. Annae’s reasoning for wanting to work on this experiment makes for a very interesting discussion.
As far as characters go, I can appreciate the concepts of Annae, Marec and Ariel, but they again left me wanting for so much more. Especially when it came to Marec and Ariel - the concept of making a separate person from the undesired traits and aspects of yourself is so intriguing. It didn’t feel as if the characters themselves were in any way connecting.
While the blend of science and magic is intriguing, I got absolutely no sense of it whatsoever. I don’t expect or need it to be completely spelled out for me, especially since this is a shorter novella, but I could not tell you any type of explanation or description as to how this magic functions at its core. How do people become magicians? Is it inherited or learned? What are the limits of this magic? Can magicians bend it to do whatever they desire? It seemed as if the magic can do basically anything and everything for the convenience of the plot, no boundaries.
Alongside everything I just mentioned, I simply can’t quite pinpoint what about this book didn’t do it for me, but it’s as if an integral piece is missing. The pace and flow of the story felt very strange because there was no sense of anticipation or build up to anything, which in conclusion didn’t make for an impactful read.
I am however interested in picking up more of Isaac Fellman’s works in the future, hopefully they will be more to my taste.
Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for providing me with an e-ARC of this book!
The main positive I have about this book is the writing style - gorgeous and evocative, which is sadly one of the only aspects of this book that made me yearn for more. Yet I did somewhat feel that it wasn’t descriptive enough for me during a few specific scenes, where I was left feeling slightly confused as to what had just happened. I had a very hard time actually picturing the bigger events that took place, they very much felt glossed over to instead focus more on the characters’ inner experiences even though in those certain moments I was hoping for the opposite.
I did really enjoy the conversations surrounding mental illness and Annae’s field of study exploring the idea of removing fear/anxiety from people’s minds, including the repercussions and after effects of going through with it. Annae’s reasoning for wanting to work on this experiment makes for a very interesting discussion.
As far as characters go, I can appreciate the concepts of Annae, Marec and Ariel, but they again left me wanting for so much more. Especially when it came to Marec and Ariel - the concept of making a separate person from the undesired traits and aspects of yourself is so intriguing. It didn’t feel as if the characters themselves were in any way connecting.
While the blend of science and magic is intriguing, I got absolutely no sense of it whatsoever. I don’t expect or need it to be completely spelled out for me, especially since this is a shorter novella, but I could not tell you any type of explanation or description as to how this magic functions at its core. How do people become magicians? Is it inherited or learned? What are the limits of this magic? Can magicians bend it to do whatever they desire? It seemed as if the magic can do basically anything and everything for the convenience of the plot, no boundaries.
Alongside everything I just mentioned, I simply can’t quite pinpoint what about this book didn’t do it for me, but it’s as if an integral piece is missing. The pace and flow of the story felt very strange because there was no sense of anticipation or build up to anything, which in conclusion didn’t make for an impactful read.
I am however interested in picking up more of Isaac Fellman’s works in the future, hopefully they will be more to my taste.
Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for providing me with an e-ARC of this book!