In
this alternate world novel, it's 1906 and very much a man's
world and fueled by magic. The United States has joined with
Japan in an effort to achieve world domination. Ingrid Carmichael
is a creature who should not exist: a woman with the powers
of a geomancer. In fact, she may be the most powerful geomancer
the world has ever known. But when nearly everyone she knows
is assassinated, it's up to Ingrid and some unusual new friends
to save San Francisco, and possibly the world. I love fantasy
novels set in the early nineteen hundreds as it was an interesting
and sometimes horrific time. Ingrid is a dynamic and interesting
character, but I believe the greatest strength in the novel
is the secondary characters: Ingrid's mentor Sakaguchi, whose
secret keeping seemed logical and sensible -- something we
often don't see with characters who keep secrets from other
characters; Ingrid's new friend Cy, who comes across as noble
without being annoying; her old friend Lee, who feels as if
he will be unfolding as a character long into the future;
and Fenris, who is just a funny, unpredictable delight. I
loved the revelations about Lee and Fenris that unfolded in
the story, and look forward to how those characters and secrets
will play out in future books. The romantic elements with
Ingrid and Cy felt a little forced, especially early on, but
they didn't distract overly much. I enjoyed the world building
in this novel, especially how real it felt and how cleverly
it explored real issues of sexism and racism. The magic element
was also interesting and should be fascinating to follow in
future books. Overall, this was a solid launch to a new series
by a skilled storyteller. Enjoyable and intriguing.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
Call
of Fire #1
|
