Beckett, Galen - The Magicians and Mrs. Quent

[oyceter]

This is a very confusing book. It starts out as a bit of an Austen pastiche: three sisters live together in a house with their mother, who desperately wants to marry them off to rich men, as the house will be entailed when she dies. It'll go to their smarmy cousin, of course. One of the sisters (Ivy) has no delusions about her family, and is beautiful and witty and carries herself well in higher society (she is our heroine, of course), while one is silly and flighty and given to melodramatic piano playing. They meet two bachelors and sparks fly.

But as this goes on in an imaginary version of England called Altania, we also get hints of magick, a mysterious warning given to Ivy by her father, who has been incapacitated by magick.

And then, suddenly, we are in Bronte-land, and instead of being Elizabeth Bennet, Ivy is now Jane Eyre, complete with a huge house, a position as a governess, a possibly evil housekeeper, disobedient children, and Altania's version of the moor. There's even a switch to first-person POV.

And after that, we go back to a non-Austen fantasy in which the fate of the world is at stake!

My favorite portion of the book was the Gothic one, as the atmosphere Beckett invokes there is really creepy. Plus, I feel too many people try to do Austen poorly, and I've read entirely too many romance novels set in Regency England to be much interested in it, no matter how much magic there is. Ivy also pales in comparison to Elizabeth Bennet and Jane Eyre; I never got a good sense of who she was through the book because I was always comparing her to much more interesting heroines.

On the other hand, the grand mystery (as this book seems to be the first in a series) is interesting, and I particularly like the system of luminals and umbrals—the world gets uneven periods of day and night, so the sun could be out for four hours then set, then be out for fourteen the next day. I'm just not going to think about how that works out astronomically, although astronomy does feature in the book. Oh, and there's unrest in the kingdom, a revival of magic, highwaymen, rebels, dark and sinister forces, and balls.

I'm not sure at all if the worldbuilding all holds together—it feels more like pieces of several different books put into one—but so far, it's interesting enough to get me to read the next book.

Comments

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

I was flipping through a friend's copy of this on the train and it sounds exactly how it looked. I find that somehow encouraging.

[oyceter]

Heh, I was fooled by the cover copy! There's a bit in the author blurb that says something about magical reasons for the constraints in women's lives at the time that sounded vaguely like a Regency version of Tooth and Claw, but so far, nothing...

[swanjun.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is some kinda Austen rip-off there at the beginning!

[oyceter]

I mean, I think it is very deliberate, but it was still too close to the source for my taste. Ivy also gets sick at one point and has to stay over at the house of her romantic interest, like Jane Bennet.

[swanjun.livejournal.com]

Wow. Are there snide sisters to contend with when she gets there? :)

[oyceter]

Alas, no!

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is an interesting review. I hadn't thought much of the book, because the title and cover made me think it was a rip off of 'Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell', but now I might have to check it out.

[oyceter]

It's... very odd. I'm not sure if all the parts hold together, and some are too imitative and not transformative enough, but it was still fun while I was reading it.

[maeve-rigan.livejournal.com]

Your review is very welcome. I almost bought this book the other day, but just couldn't bring myself to do it, as it seemed likely to disappoint, but maybe it won't be too bad after all. I confess that I couldn't finish Jonathan Strange..., but maybe I just wasn't in the mood at the time.

[oyceter]

I actually haven't read the Clarke, so I don't know how it compares. Um. This book... I am not sure I'd rec it, just because it's so uneven, but it was an interesting read.

[sarahtales.livejournal.com]

I was describing this book to all my friends as 'the adventures of elizabeth eyre.' *beams*

[oyceter]

It is so true! With magic!