Doris Egan

I really liked this book. I have been really depressed lately, and have struggled to finish a lot of Sci-fi and Fantasy books on my reading list, but this one was really accessible and relatable. I really like the main character Theodora, she is a fish out of water, struggling to understand a new world. She is paired up with Ran who, due to his own shortcomings is magically and emotionally crippled. He is set against his brother, Elin who is likewise crippled, albeit in a more traditional sense because he can't walk, and he is jealous that he is not a sorcerer. Theodora immediately identifies Elin as a Loki-type, meaning that he is going to be the antagonist, but that doesn't mean that she loses empathy or compassion for him. She understands where both brothers are coming from, and she is caught in the middle. When the conflict is over she is forever changed.… (altro)

Theodora is a great character and the plots are pretty twisted. A fun ride. There are a few character continuity problems, like when Theo practices kata with a staff for months in the first book, then never does it in the other books and even starts as a beginner in hand-to-hand training. But those are only noticeable because the rest of the story flows so well.

I wish there were more of these, but the author is a busy TV writer now.

If you are bothered by the unresolved questions at the end of the third book, you should read this post by the author with some notes about some things that would be in a fourth book, if were ever written: http://tightropegirl.livejournal.com/15388.html

Not in the Palo Alto library, but available in the Mountain View library as soon as I return it.
… (altro)

I've had this book on my shelf for years. I generally pass right over it when deciding what to read because I can't remember a thing about it. But every once in a while when I'm looking for a good thick book to reread, I pull it down and remember, oh yes, it's that one. And it rereads pretty well.

It has a science fiction feel to it even though the use of magic, or sorcery, is absolutely central to the book. This is because the viewpoint character, Theodora, is not native to Ivory, the only planet on which magic functions. Theodora was raised on Pyrene and educated on Athena, planets which are characterized by utter pragmatism and intellectual academia, respectively, so her viewpoint reasonably matches those of a modern reader. Although virtually all the action occurs on Ivory, Theodora travels through a variety of Ivoran microcultures in the course of the stories, so that too gives it an SF feel.

It's not a great epic; the stories are told on a personal rather than galactic or societal scale. But it's a pretty good story.

(And now, I'll find out whether the act of writing a review for this book will nullify what I said above about not remembering a thing about it. I hope not! - that's part of the fun of rereading it.)… (altro)