A review by melindamoor
Echo in Onyx by Sharon Shinn
3.0
"In the Kingdom of the Seven Jewels, many of the highest nobles are attended by one or two or three echoes—creatures who look exactly like them, who move with them in perfect synchronicity, but who have no thoughts or volition of their own. They are considered gifts from the triple goddess, who created them generations ago when war and murder put every noble’s life in danger; when assassins could not be sure which identical body was the true lord or lady, many fewer deaths occurred. Now, echoes are primarily a symbol of wealth and status."
Whenever you take a Sharon Shinn book, you can be sure of the following literary trademarks:
- great writing
- detailed & unique world-building with well-defined politics, religion and geography
- intriguing plot (no armageddon or epic quest, though)
- believable, solid romance(s) that are not all-consuming (thankfully).
In general [b:Echo in Onyx|42206191|Echo in Onyx (Uncommon Echoes, #1)|Sharon Shinn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552939137l/42206191._SX50_.jpg|65821417] delivers on all fronts. While IMO it does not compare to my favourite Shinn novel, [b:Troubled Waters|7908762|Troubled Waters (Elemental Blessings, #1)|Sharon Shinn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1270247367l/7908762._SY75_.jpg|11180191] and I had some issues with the book, it provides intrigue & entertainment in spades.
The overall backstory to plot: there is unrest in the Kingdom of the Seven Jewels, a friction between East & West. The 3 Western provinces (Orenza, Empara, Alberta) are always plotting, possibly to break away & form a separate Kingdom.
In order to appease them, King Harald decides to break off the engagement between Crown Prince Cormack & Lady Vivienne from Thelleron (an Eastern province) and sends his son to visit all 3 Western provinces and invite eligible ladies of high noble families to the capital where he might choose on of them to marry.
Lady Marguerite from Orenza (with 3 echoes of her own, just like the Prince) is among the invited ladies and a very strong candidate for Cormack`s attention. Too bad that she is far from willing as she seems to have a secret lover.
The story is told from the POV of Marguerite`s faithful & devoted maid, Brianna. And while I understand the literary reason why Sharon Shinn chose her restricted, 1st person POV to make it more personal & so as not to give away everything at once and to make the plot more dramatic this way, I couldn`t help feeling that it could have been done differently. But maybe it`s just that I personally don`t like when stories only offer a 1st person narrative. (Yes, I should get over that.)
As Marguerite, accompanied by her 3 echoes and Brianna, is travelling to the royal city of Camarria, calamity strikes and they have to act and make decisions that will not only change their lives, but may bring death to them all.
They need to conceal a crime and the fact that Brianna is courted by Nico, apprentice to the King`s Inquisitor, the infamous & dreaded Malachai makes it all the harder for them.
I found the concept of echoes superweird in some instances
Spoiler
although here it`s only hinted at, the notion that if their "originals" have sex with somebody, so should their echoes ... UGH. Maybe I`m just too conservative, but if the echoes are not supposed to have thoughts/volition of their own, then why the need to imitate their originals in something as personal and intimate as this.Still, there is a nicely buit-up pattern of the 3 books in the series now.
In this one, we are offered the POV of a character who has no echoes herself, but by a series of accidents, ends up impersonating an echo for her mistress.
In Book 2, [b:Echo in Emerald|42206213|Echo in Emerald (Uncommon Echoes, #2)|Sharon Shinn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552940508l/42206213._SX50_.jpg|65821442], we'll be given the POV of a main character, having echoes and Book 3 [b:Echo in Amethyst|42206227|Echo in Amethyst (Uncommon Echoes, #3)|Sharon Shinn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552940835l/42206227._SX50_.jpg|65821468] will be told from an echo's POV.
The History and the People
The Kingdom of the Seven Jewels consists of seven provinces, each signified by a particular gemstone.
The seven provinces and their gemstones are:
Sammerly: garnet
Banchura: sapphire
Thelleron: citrine
Pandrea: opal
Alberta: amethyst
Empara: emerald
Orenza: onyx (red, black, white)