The Glass Magician, by Caroline Stevermer
MacMillan-Tor/Forge - April 2020
Fantasy
E-book
Fantasy
E-book
Hrs:min / Page count:
Awards and Honors if applic.
Thank source if applicable
Awards and Honors if applic.
Thank source if applicable
* I received this digital ARC courtesy of MacMillan-Tor Forge, via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. This does not influence the following opinions which are my own.
A fun cross-genre book combining elements of YA, historical fantasy, and murder-mystery.
Set in the New York of the early 1900's, society is divided into Solitaires - non-magical people, and Sylvestri - magical people. Thalia - a solitaire, is a successful stage magician with a popular show. Her partner is the man who cared for her and raised her after she was orphaned.
One night the act goes wrong, and she nearly dies - a sudden manifestation of magical ability is all that saved her. It turns out that she is not a solitaire after all, but a trader - a sylvestri. The arrival of these new abilities puts her in danger from Manticores - beasts who feast on uncontrolled magic and those who have it. Around this same time that Thalia discovers her magic, her fiercest rival is killed while performing an act that the two rivals had been competing for. The man who is her business partner and who raised her, is now accused of murder. Her only hope for survival is to learn how to control her new magical abilities before the manticores catch her; and her partner's only hope lies with Thalia, as only she can clear his name while he is jailed.
Overall this is a good story. The characters are likable, and the mystery helped propel the reader through the story. But while Stevermer does a fairly good job of blending multiple genres into one tale, in doing so she seems to have missed shining too brightly in any single one of them.
Set in the New York of the early 1900's, society is divided into Solitaires - non-magical people, and Sylvestri - magical people. Thalia - a solitaire, is a successful stage magician with a popular show. Her partner is the man who cared for her and raised her after she was orphaned.
One night the act goes wrong, and she nearly dies - a sudden manifestation of magical ability is all that saved her. It turns out that she is not a solitaire after all, but a trader - a sylvestri. The arrival of these new abilities puts her in danger from Manticores - beasts who feast on uncontrolled magic and those who have it. Around this same time that Thalia discovers her magic, her fiercest rival is killed while performing an act that the two rivals had been competing for. The man who is her business partner and who raised her, is now accused of murder. Her only hope for survival is to learn how to control her new magical abilities before the manticores catch her; and her partner's only hope lies with Thalia, as only she can clear his name while he is jailed.
Overall this is a good story. The characters are likable, and the mystery helped propel the reader through the story. But while Stevermer does a fairly good job of blending multiple genres into one tale, in doing so she seems to have missed shining too brightly in any single one of them.
Happy Reading,
Christine
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