Heart and Soul (Magical British Empire) [Kindle Edition]

Sarah A. Hoyt (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This lush but too-pat conclusion to Hoyt's alternate history trilogy (after 2008's Soul of Fire) plays out the implications of British adventurer Nigel Oldhall's choice to save the universe with magic jewels instead of handing them over to Queen Victoria so she could restore her empire. Oldhall now attempts to return the gems to their African home, but he runs afoul of exiled Chinese were-dragons who seek his prize. Ambitious Chinese minister Zhang wants to seize power from the opium-addicted emperor, while the emperor's sister, Red Jade, wishes to protect her brother and his throne. Oldhall must navigate treachery from all sides to help an unexpected ally and achieve his goals. Hoyt tosses in an appealing cross-cultural romance and the conflicting pressures of loyalty and honor, but cuts them short with an overly neat ending. (Nov.)
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Review

“Lush.”—Publishers Weekly


From the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 351 KB
• Print Length: 466 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0553589687
• Publisher: Spectra (October 28, 2008)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001FA0KUE
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #287,420 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

I was born in Portugal far more years ago than I like to admit to, in a -- then very small -- place called Granja (lugar da Granja -- lugar possibly transtating roughly as hamlet -- but literally translating as "place") in the freguesia (allegiance/fiefdom) of Aguas-Santas (Holy Waters) in the Conselho (council) of Maia in the district of Porto.

All those designations are changed now, but as I like to tell people I grew up somewhere between Elizabethan England and Victorian England with just a little of the twentieth century thrown in.

This might be exaggerating -- not much -- but the truth is that I did go to a village school and learn to write with a quill pen. Though I used ballpoint pens at home. I penned my first "novel" with ballpoint at around the age of six. And since it was pretty easy -- all twenty pages of Enid Blyton rip-off -- I abandoned what I (by then) suspected was an unattainable aspiration of becoming an angel when I grew up. I decided instead to be a novelist.

Once this was decided, of course, it didn't take all that long at all. Only some... cough... twenty years, during which I acquired a degree from the University of Porto (where we didn't use quill pens), found that employment for English majors was at best scant, moved to the US, changed my name, got married, worked at a variety of jobs from multilingual translator to retail clerk, had two kids and a varying and scary number of cats and read far more than is good for any human being.

So, now I live in Colorado with my husband, two teen sons who are both taller and stronger -- and far more handsome -- than I and four indoor cats, plus a variety of Not-Our-Cats(tm) who beg food at the kitchen door and for whom we provide facilities summer and winter. But who are not... cough... our cats. Ever.

I've been telling lies for fun and profit since 1994 (I did it for free long before that.)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The last part is the best part-- a real jewel, November 23, 2008

By 

Walt Boyes "Walt Boyes" (Aurora IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Heart and Soul (Mass Market Paperback)

Sarah Hoyt's trilogy about an alternate reality world, in which Charlemagne had a flunky steal two magic jewels from an idol in Darkest Africa and gave himself and his descendants magical powers comes to a smashing conclusion in Heart and Soul.

Having retrieved the Heart of Fire and the Soul of Fire, the principals must now return them to the African idol from which they came, and set the world right again.

We meet an unknowing earl, who threw away his priviledged life for love, an evil dragon, an evil tiger, some loyal foxes and a wild trip through the Chinese underworld where justice and mercy are tempered with fine good humor.

And in the end...well, you're just going to have to read the book for the ending.

Sarah Hoyt's writing just gets better with every book.

Walt Boyes
Associate Editor
Jim Baen's Universe
www.baens-universe.com

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars All too short a resolution, May 25, 2009

By 

Lisa J. Steele (Bolton, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heart and Soul (Mass Market Paperback)

Heart and Soul is a romance set, as described by others, in an alternate history. It is the third in a series, resolving a quest to return two gems of magical power to their home in Africa.

The story alternates between various viewpoint characters, skipping from China to Cape Town to Hong Kong, then into various points within China, as well as into the Chinese afterlife. It may, in fact, move far too quickly and easily between various points -- making trips that would be long and difficult on modern jetliners into quick and relatively effortless flights for the major characters, diminishing a sense of scale for the world.

The resolution of the story comes far too quickly. It seems to be building to an epic confrontation between Oldhall, Red Jade, Jade's brother Wen, and Wen's Third Wife, vs. Zhang and his British allies, but the confrontation fizzles anticlimatically and is followed by a series of seemingly pro-forma short chapters resolving the various romantic plots and the fate of the gems. Those who have followed the series for the past two books may be disappointed with how quickly and easily everything seems to neatly wrap up.

For a romance, the relationships between Wen and Third Wife, and between Oldhall and Jade seem surprisingly uncomplicated and lack much tension. It seems clear where things will end up, and it is just a matter of getting past the obstacles thrown up by the plot.

In short, read it for an interesting setting and the journey into the Chinese afterlife, but not as much for the plot or any depth of character.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars superb urban historical fantasy, November 1, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heart and Soul (Mass Market Paperback)

Charlemagne stole the ruby the Soul of Fire from its avatar shrine in the heart of Africa; he used it to bind the world's magic to him and his descendents. Nigel Oldhall was to obtain the rubies and turn them over to his boss, but learns instead the worlds are splitting out from this earth until eventually the realms implode. Nigel changes his mission to return the rubies to their rightful original locations in order to save the world he knows.

Before he can complete his quest, Zhang, the second in command to the True Emperor of All Under Heaven, steals one of the precious gems because he wants to be the new ruler instead of Wen, an opium addict. Wen depends on his sister Red Jade to rule behind the scenes. Jade and Wen's third wife known as the Third Lady go on separate missions to save the Chinese throne from the usurpers. Whereas Third Lady escorts Wen to the underworld to fight to regain his power stolen by Zhang, Jade goes after the rubies disguised as a dragon. When she and Nigel encounter one another, they each realize the mission has morphed out of control as has their hearts.

In the Hoyt vision of the Victorian Age, magic is controlled by the nobles of Europe; aging Queen Victoria wants to use the rubies to regain her youth and to bind the world's magic to her and her legitimate offspring. Originally Nigel was doing her bidding, but he concludes the rubies need to return to their proper place even if magic trickles down to the commoners; to do otherwise could destroy the earth. Nigel has grown since he started his quest) see SOUL OF FIRE and HEART OF LIGHT), but like Jade is unable to reveal his deepest regard for her (or him in her case). Sarah A. Hoyt delivers a first class urban historical fantasy filled with HEART AND SOUL.

Harriet Klausner