Customer Reviews

College of Magics

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Having just read the delightful but incredibly difficult to find "Sorcery and Cecelia," which Caroline Stevermer co-wrote with Patricia Wrede ("Mairelon the Magician;" "Magician's Ward"), I was eager to read more by this author. Imagine my joy, then, when I learnt that Ms. Stevermer had written another book in the fascinating sub-genre of Historical Fantasy.

While "Sorcery and Cecelia" is set in 1817 Regency England, "A College of Magics" catapults us a hundred years further, to approximately 1908 in Edwardian Europe. The story follows Faris, the young Dutchess of Galazon (which, one presumes, is supposed to be located somewhere east of Austria and west of Romania) as she spends three years at Greenlaw University before returning to reclaim her place in politics. The catch? She's just found out that she's the Warden of the North - and that she must mend the rift her grandmother made in the fabric of this reality.

Ms. Stevermer writes in a language much akin to the literature of the time (cf. E. M. Forster, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, etc.) - complete with random moments of insight, liberally strewn metaphysical poetry, snips and snatches of song and culture, and occasional forays into the world of subconscious or "sensation" writing. However, perhaps because of this attention to the time period, perhaps for some other reason, the story suffers several major flaws:

The plot is rather dreamlike and...strange. Often new plot lines will be introduced without explanation or reason - and then just as quickly dropped. The Wardens of the World are explained only in their existence but never fully in their capacity. Characters are introduced, given a place of prominence, and dropped after a few chapters. Places are never given an exact location except by general reference (with the exception of their time in Paris). And the ending debacle is so surrealistic that one can hardly make hide nor hair of how Faris ascended the stair, or how she closed the rift, or very much of anything. The closing is also unsatisfactory, with no "happily ever after" but a sort of vague continuing that feels as though it ought to be significant.

Again, one must commend Ms. Stevermer in her ability to so replicate the disjointedness of Eduardian literature - the attempt to show life as it is and not as it ought to be - however the result is a strangely concocted novel that never quite comes together as a whole.

Those interested in Eduardian Literature, or Historical Fantasy will find "A College of Magics" interesting. Those searching for an encore to "Sorcery and Cecelia" would do better investing in Patricia Wrede's Regency Fantasies.

"A College of Magics" is for Jane Austin fans who are also fond of fantasy. The magic is not the Harry Potter 'swish and flick' variety, but something altogether strange and beautiful. Most of the time the heroine, Faris Nallaneen does not even realize she has done anything magical.

The setting is an early 20th-century alternate world, where young ladies are sent to Greenlaw College (in 'real' life, the Benedictine Abbey of Mont St. Michael!) to learn Greek, Latin, Deportment, and Magic. Faris Nallaneen is heir to the small Middle European dukedom of Galazon. Her uncle, who rules Galazon until Faris's majority sends her kicking and screaming off to Greenlaw until his other secret plan for her future matures. Naturally Faris resents this, but she slowly begins to make friends at school and also acquires one mortal enemy, a distant relative named Menary.

Menary is one of the more interesting students at Greenlaw College. She possesses a wild magic, whose source is unknown to her teachers. She is also fond of anything in trousers, but very unfortunate things happen to her lovers. She is finally expelled on the morning after Faris's magical vigil, after turning Faris's friend, Tyrian into a tomcat. Our heroine loses her temper and sets Menary's hair on fire:

"It was not natural fire, Faris realized...It blazed pale gold and green, Menary's wild halo. In its own way, it was beautiful, as cold and strange as the northern lights."

Naturally, after this breach of etiquette, Faris is also asked to leave Greenlaw College. She sets out on a mission to Paris with her friends Jane, a professor at Greenlaw, and Tyrian, who has been restored to his former shape.

This would turn out to be a very proper, Edwardian excursion to the City of Lights if it were not for repeated attempts on Faris's life. She and Jane still manage to get in a bit of clothes shopping, and then Faris meets the man (or ghost) who interprets the results of her all-night vigil of magic, and points her toward her true destiny.

Meanwhile, there is a tangled web of Middle European politics to be gotten through, including the discovery of Faris's uncle's plot, more unexpected magic--Jane transforms a bomb into a hat and proceeds to wear it, thrones to be won and lost, and a love story.

"College of Magics" (1994) is a very unexpected and satisfying fantasy for fans of magical alternate history novels, and for those of us who also love a good comedy of manners. The sequel to this book, "A Scholar of Magics" was published in 2004, and I will definitely be reading it.

First of all, I enjoyed this book. It should offer an enjoyable "read" for those who like historical fantasy. (Although reviews refer to it as Victorian or Regency, it is actually Edwardian: the novel itself refers to the reign of King Edward.) I found myself wishing I knew more about Edwardian Europe--I'm more at home with the nineteenth century, so I couldn't place all of the cultural references. True history buffs may fair better, and may enjoy picking up references to poetry and novels.

However, as reviews have mentioned, the work has flaws. I didn't feel that the use of magic was explained very well, particularly with regard to the education offered at Greenlaw. Exactly what does having a vigil do: it gives students power, but how? How is it that students can go without being taught any magic at all until their third year of Greenlaw, then pass their vigil and suddenly be capable witches? Faris is halfway through her third year, but leaves without knowing much of how magic works, while Jane, only a year ahead of her, is a capable witch. How exactly are students like Eve-Marie, Odile, and Jane supposed to learn so much, so quickly? Stevermer may have an intriguing take on magical education in mind (magic as taught at Greenlaw is quite different from the usual school of magic or apprentice system, and she deserves credit for that), but it's just not clear _how_ witches of Greenlaw are produced, nor is it clear how magic works outside Greenlaw, except that it's harder to work. Perhaps some of this is cleared up in _A Scholar of Magics_, but it seems to be a flaw in this work. Likewise, as others have mentioned, it isn't clear what Faris's responsibilities as Warden of the North will consist of now that her initial task is done. If the Wardens are there to keep balance, how exactly do they do this? Why is it necessary?

The ending seems to offer possibilities which aren't pursued (perhaps, as one previous review suggests, Stevemer intended a sequa about Faris that she never got around to writing). The result is unsatisfying. I don't want to reveal any details, but it's unclear where the relationship between Faris and her beloved will go-- if she's not going to marry him, will they be lovers on the sly (hardly socially acceptable in that time period) or will they just be "friends" and co-workers? It's as if the author grasped at a solution to Faris's romantic dilemma, but then let it go.

Overall, I do recommend this for fans of historical fantasy, particularly those who like less flashy magic and witty dialogue. I do NOT recommend it for those who are looking for a Harry Potter substitute: Greenlaw is nothing like Hogwarts, and the magic here is nothing like the magic in the HP books, or even in most Diana Wynne Jones novels. A better comparison might be the more recent and more successful _Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell_.

In her book Caroline Stevermer takes a well known plot line (girl is normal ordinary, not very special, girl finds out she's magical and has to save the world, girl falls in love) and puts her own distinct twist on it. Stevermer's writing style is subtle. She doesn't shove details under our noses, she lets the reader figure out what's going on, and paints the world with hints dropped throughout the book. While some people may find this book difficult to understand at times, I thought that Stevermer's writing style was a kudos to intelligent readers out there.

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to be heir to the throne? What emotions might flow through you like a river? What sea of troubles might you get into? Well here is a brief look at just that. Faris Nallaneen may seem like your 18 year old, ill-tempered Princess. (But all in all she is definitely not out of the ordinary.) If you push her to the limit your head might burst into flames or you could be pushed off a sleigh.
The story takes place at Greenlaw College, but everyone majors in magic. You learn it, not practice it. Her reaction when she first gets there is pretty good, but she is a slacker.
The story starts when Faris is trying to claim her throne without getting killed first. Then learning she has a different destiny. The main characters are Faris Nallaneen, Jane Brailsford (best friend), Menary Pegan (enemy), Uncle Brinker, & Tyrain. Faris falls in love with one of the characters and another saves her life countless times.
Personally I really liked this book because of all the action and unexpected twists.

Faris Nallaneen is a diamond in the rough so to speak, in the unenviable position of saving the world. She has however more capable than she realizes, and even when her gift of erratic magic manifests itself, she does not comprehend it. It is a sort of coming of age story of a girl who is almost accidentally pushed into the position of the warden of the north, and is entrusted to mend a rift in the balance of the worlds created by her grandmother. Faris is endeared to readers when as she struggles to do her duty, she is still heart-breakingly human.

I bought this book solely by chance because the plot at the back of the novel seemed interesting. The first time I read it, I did not finish it. The plot is too amorphous, too out of touch with reality. This book introduced me to the world of a world that is an amalgamation of fantasy and real world, something I was not used to. I was disappointed in the book for not being a pure fantasy novel. That is what makes this book so special. I only found what a rare treasure this book is when I read it for the fourth, or even sixth time. It has everything, from mystery to school-girlish adventures, to romance and magic. Even some of the "academic" side of magic begins to make sense after a couple of reads.

This book requires patience and a few more reads than one. It is one of my favourite books now.

Set in the early twentieth century, A College of Magics is pleasingly peopled and carefully plotted. Faris, the young duchess of Galazon, is simply delightful, as are her 'menial paramour,' dastardly uncle, and malevolently beautiful arch nemesis. These characters, far from being mere caricatures, are often humorous and lively. Clever dialogue and many surprises abound.

If you enjoy this type of quasi-historical fantasy, also try Patricia C. Wrede's Snow White and Rose Red, set in Elizabethan England and Mairelon the Magician (and its sequel, Magician's Ward) set in quasi-Jane Austen England. For excellent reads from the Victorian era, try Teresa Edgerton's Goblin Moon. Lastly, Caroline Stevermer has written two other books well worth reading: The Serpent's Egg (again, set in Elizabethan times) and her collaboration with Wrede-- Sorcery and Cecelia.

My attention was caught by the claim of a cover critic that this book was better than the Harry Potter novels. Not true, but not a good comparison either because this book is not even remotely similar to those works and it is certainly not written for children. (Not that it contains `adult' material- it doesn't at all- but it would likely be of very little interest to most children who like Harry Potter because of slower pace and more difficult language.)

Since much of what I'll be saying about `A College of Magics' is going to be a bit negative, I do want to mention that, overall, I do think it is quite an interesting fantasy novel. Even though it is designed to appeal more to women, after I got past a few of the duller sections it held my attention quite well to the end. And the end itself is quite good in its avoidance of the obvious cliche's.

Here are the things I DON'T like about the book:

* The title is very misleading. While there is certainly `A College of Magics' in the novel, it is probably less interesting than most schools of dentistry. It really plays no major role in the book and, with a few minor alterations, could have been left out completely. It is a definite disappointment to someone like myself who was actually interested in reading a book about a college of things magical.

* I could bring myself to care about the main character but she was entirely too reactive. If the author's intention was to portray Faris as a symbol of strong, independent womanhood, she failed utterly in that. When she does something it is always because she is provoked and the much vaunted Greenlaw school seems to help very little in letting her gain self control.

* The character of her companion Jane is alternately overly competent and annoyingly insipid. `Overly' competent because she does things it would have been better left to Faris to do to show more of her capability throughout.

* A minor character, Odile, is used for a specific purpose in the book and dropped from the story completely after that. She was far more interesting and would have made a companion of much better contrast than Jane.

* And last, but certainly not least, was the annoyingly cliched use of a sexually active woman as the villain. Ladies, could we get a grip here and try not to perpetuate the kinds of Patriarchal attitudes I'm sure you really dislike?

After reading the book, rather than comparing it to Harry Potter, I would tend to say that it bears some similarity to the Deryni books of Katherine Kurtz. I love the Deryni books but I do hope Caroline Stevermer can avoid the kind of excesses in multiple pages of clothing descriptions that sometimes clutter them.

There is really no need to compare this book to other works as it stands nicely on its own. With all its flaws, it still manages to draw you in and make you care about what happens until the end.

"Be careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." - Yogi Berra

"A College of Magics" is a fantasy with some intelligence, occasional cleverness and sporadic literary brilliance. It's downfall is inevtiable, however; the author never seems to have decided what it's all about. For sure we have a main character, Faris, heir to the magical dukedom of Galazon in central Europe. The plot is quite standard for a fantasy. A sinister relative his scheming to steal her throne, a ragtag team of friends and allies aids her in a cross-continental journey, and a grand destiny unfolds for her right at the expected moment. The awkwardness comes, rahter, in the plot details. A lot of stuff happens without apparent purpose.

Consider. Faris spends the first hundred pages at the titular institution, where the social life is brushed over and the course of study is murky. Stevermer can't even decide whether students at the place actually study magic or not. We get a quick dash of magical theory, something to do with four wards controlling all magic power on Earth and immortal wardens who guard them. For the rest of it, though, we have barely a clue as to what Faris and the other students are doing there. One slice of conversation tells us that all paths of study eventually lead to magic, but after that the subject is dropped. The remainder of the book never clarifies what the purpose of the school is or what went on there.

Regardless, things don't improve much after Faris and her entourage take to the road, or rather the track, heading across France and the Alps. For one thing, the author is apparently unaware that characters should react to what happens around them. Faris learns that she has a huge and rather unpleasant task to accomplish. She also narrowly survives about four assassination attempts. Neither event fazes her, or brings out any reaction at all. Once home in Galazon, Faris must cope with more unpleasant surprises and manage with her uncle's intrigues. However, this part of the novel just never comes across as real. Stevermer's dialogue doesn't sound like real people; it's stiff and slow-paced and often more formal than it needs to be.

To her credit, Stevermer's ending is what we would have called 'bang-up' back in my high school days. Not that it makes much more sense than the rest of the book, but it's fast-paced, big on action, features some keen insight into European politics, and brings Faris some distance towards developing as an intelligent and determined yong woman. For all that, though, it's too little, too late as far as rescuing the book. To much unexplained stuff happens during the first two thirds. What are we to make, for instance, of the sock-drying scene, or the singing in the garden? What about the never-explained attack on Gunhild, and what exactly was Menary's relationship to the sailor? And what's the deal with the magic rug, anyway?

(And let me not forget to wrap up with a standard complaint about the editing. It's not the worst case I've ever seen, but "A College of Magics" has its share of poor grammar and misplaced commas. Perhaps this isn't a big deal, but I've always thought that publishing companies should take pride in their products. Get a real editor, one who rereads until all the mistakes are gone.)

The front cover of this book has the quote "A large step up... from Harry Potter" and initially I thought that this book was indeed a Harry Potter with female heroine book. That thought was wrong on many counts; firstly, the book is copyrighted 1994, a year before the first Harry Potter and therefore not deriving from that series, and secondly the magical college section accounts for less than half of the book. Greenlaw college is nothing like Hogwarts and Faris Nallaneen is certainly no Harry Potter. This book is entirely different and probably appeals to a very different readership.

Faris is a Duchess who isn't yet old enough to rule her province (Galazon) which is currently being looked after, on her behalf, by her evil Uncle Brinker. He sends Faris off to Greenlaw school in France to keep her out of the way - she will stay there for three years and then presumably graduate as a Greenlaw Witch, able to use magic, before taking over her Duchy.

The first third of the book describes Faris's time at Greenlaw. She is massively homesick most of the time but also makes good friends including Odile and Jane and also a significant enemy, Menary Paganell. There isn't that much discussion about the lessons at Greenlaw and her three school years pass pretty quickly in the book - most of the attention is on her interactions with her friends and the mysterious blond man who appears to be a bodyguard sent by her Uncle. He steps in and rescues her on a couple of occasions and she finds out that his name is Tyrian.

However, before Faris is able to take the final exams at the school to qualify properly her Uncle sends for her to return to Galazon; at the same time the Dean of the College tells her that she has a more significant future role as a Warden of the earth (there are four of them that keep the world in balance, although something went wrong many years before). She has to visit a man named Hilarion in Paris in order to find out more than this and she goes, in company with her friend Jane, with Tyrian and with a family retainer named Reed to meet Hilarion. Events happen on the way and she finds out a lot of strange things and that her place in the world might be more than just being Duchess of Galazon.

The third section of the book takes place back at home in Galazon and then visiting the King's palace in Aravill, where the rift in the Warden's powers is situated. Another reviewer has commented that the ending was sad - I didn't find this particularly, although I did make the mistake of reading the last few pages before I'd finished the book and so it rather spoiled a surprise that was in the latter part of the book (don't make that mistake yourself!)

This isn't your usual fantasy book - at least not for me. The action shifts to different places - the sedentary, quiet world of the College to the busy world of Paris and then the kingdom of Aravill with all the strangeness of magic there. Magic actually doesn't play much of a part in this story - no-one lets fly any Abracadabras, it's all about feelings and impressions that the magic produces (and the ability to change the weather or turn people into animals). It's the story of an 18 year old girl growing up into a 21 year old woman who has more of an understanding of her responsibilities as well as the beginnings of love, the understanding of duty and the importance of friendships.

Although I enjoyed the book and I was keen to keep reading it, it didn't really entirely grab me. It was well written and probably just as enjoyable for an adult as a teen but somehow it didn't quite scratch where I itched in this story. Mind you, I haven't enjoyed the last 3 Harry Potter books so I thought it was better than those!