33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A gem for the serious reader, July 14, 2008
This review is from: A Magic of Twilight: Book One of the Nessantico Cycle (Hardcover)
Let me first address some of the above reviews whose writers have apparently been deeply offended by this book. It is true that, for most people, this book is not a "leisure" book. That is, it's not one of the quarterly, mass-produced formula books that we now expect from such writers as Mercedes Lackey, Robert Jordan, et al. Most of the reviewers above appear to have gotten halfway through 'Magic of Twilight' before realizing that this book was not what they wanted. However, if any potential reader bothers to peruse the book before purchasing or reading, they will notice a foreword describing the various cultures and languages that influenced the setting, as well as an appendix with a glossary explaining all the names and places that are supposedly unpronounceable (unless, of course, you know anything about any European languages (and why do so many people seem to be bothered about the pronounceable-ness of a word that they don't actually have to say out-loud?)).
Anyhow, my point here is that if you look before you leap into a book, you're much less likely to be overwhelmed or caught off-guard. If you do find yourself in the position of the above reviewers, it's more helpful if you say "I was expecting X, but discovered Y" instead "God this sucked and it was boring and I can't be bothered with nomenclature!"
Now, on to the actual review:
Simply put, I loved this book. As has been said before, it is not a Tolkeinesque fantasy world of elves and dwarves, but instead one populated entirely by humans. What I really loved about it (and other people seemed to hate, I suppose) is that the world was well thought out and detailed. While I was reading this book, it felt like I was traveling to another country. The various European influences, in nomenclature as well as cultural affections, theology, architecture and more, are easily seen and masterfully woven to give the reader a real sense of what it means to be a part of this society.
The author facilitates this by presenting each chapter through the viewpoint of a different character. Of course, the main characters receive several chapters while more minor characters receive only one or two chapters. This mechanism does wonders for the "tourist" effect of the book, ensuring that you get a chance to compose your own viewpoint of the world from various elements of each character's view.
This technique also facilitates the twisting of the plot. It's exhilarating to turn the page to the next chapter and find that it's "told" by a character who has so far appeared to be antagonistic, inscrutable, evasive, or otherwise intriguing. Farrell also uses this to good effect by establishing the motives or allegiances of characters that would otherwise be questionable, and therefore harm the integrity of the story.
One of the things I liked best about the book was the main locale, the city of Nessantico. Reading the book, you can tell that Farrell has put a lot of effort into making the city feel like a living entity, almost in the way that Joss Whedon envisioned the spaceship Serenity as "the 10th character" on the much-mourned Firefly television series. Reviewers who complain that the main character, Ana, is boring and uninspiring are really just missing the point: Nessantico is the main character, not Ana, nor anyone else.
'Magic of Twilight' brings in enough magic and fantastical elements to fulfill my appetite for escapism, but not so much as to make the suspension of disbelief a chore. It focuses on theo-political intrigue to really engage me mentally, while including just enough of the life-or-death adventure and action to make it viscerally appealing. This whole well-balanced system is set in a world that is lovingly detailed and thought out, making it a solid, cohesive story. In this way, at least, Farrell is like Tolkien, who knew much more about his world than could be written before he even wrote about it. Nothing contradicts, and everything is believable within the setting.
'Magic of Twilight' is like the love child of a political intrigue novel and a history textbook, whose nursemaid was a fantasy adventure. I mean that in the best possible way. It combines all my favorite elements from each of these sources.
One last thing that I imagine turned off more than one reader, however, was the sense that the story was incomplete. Of course. The story of a history is never finished, and this installment leaves the reader on the cusp of a breakdown of Nessantico's long rule over the surrounding region. There is so much about the world that we don't yet know.
Luckily, there are more Nessantico books coming. I can't wait.
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28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The New Same Old Stuff, June 30, 2008
This review is from: A Magic of Twilight: Book One of the Nessantico Cycle (Hardcover)
Back in the day, "formula fantasy" meant something quite predictable. It meant dwarves, elves, wizards, orcs, and dark lords bent on world domination. It meant magic swords and rings, heroic quests, swordfights, narrow escapes and the like. An expert fantasy reader could guess the major events in any novel with extreme precision. Chapter 3? This is when the quest will start. One third of the way in? Time for the princess to be kidnapped. Half way through? This is when the wizard will appear to be killed, only to reappear later with more powers.
That was then. Now we're seeing a new formula emerge, modeled on George R. R. Martin's
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)Dwarves, elves, and orcs are out while human beings are in. Quests and sword-fights are out, while politics and intrigue are in. But while the formula is different, it remains a formula. The astute reader can see the punches coming just as easily.
S. L. Farrell's "A Magic of Twilight" may well be the prime example of the new formula fantasy. It has all the characters: the elderly monarch, the arrogant prince, the rebellious lord, the young girl caught up in palace intrigue, and the foreigner who pulls the strings for his own mysterious ends. Specific plot events come down the line at specific times. For instance, we expect the old queen to die about a third of the way through. She goes right on schedule.
I won't bother with a plot summary. There are a bunch of factions, lots of maneuvering, some fighting, blah, blah blah. The problem with this novel is that it seems organized around the goal of imitating every other fantasy novel. For instance we get lots of torture, for no apparent reason except that everyone else is writing torture. We need a scene in a classy whorehouse because everyone has that, too. Political marriages, prison breaks, the young girl getting framed for a crime, backstabbing, it's all there.
S. L. Farrell is a perfectly competent author. His prose is crisp, his dialogue is steady and realistic, and is descriptions are decent. What's lacking in this novel is any special zing. George R. R. Martin brings his books to life by making everything distinctive. Every person, every place, and every event stands out as something special. In "A Magic of Twilight", by contrast, everything just blends together. It's a struggle to remember which character is which. This problem is exacerbated by the names, which are packed with apostrophes and impossible to pronounce.
So to summarize, the problem in this book is not with the little things but with the big things. Fantasy is supposed to be fantastic, ground-breaking, invigorating. It should explore new world and new ways of life. Too many authors, however, are getting stuck in a rut, writing the same old stuff over and over again. We do not need yet another run through the standard maneuvers in a quasi-medieval world. We need authors who are willing to break the mold, but we're not going to get that here.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Decent, April 21, 2008
This review is from: A Magic of Twilight: Book One of the Nessantico Cycle (Hardcover)
The book is decent. The story has a great premise and it does have its shining moments.
It also has its cons, The writer insisted in creating new titles and ranks for EVERYTHING. Once you get used to these ranks it becomes easier except that throughout the book everyones title rank and name is constantly repeated. Instead of calling the main character Ana (her first name) it is constantly written O'teni Cu'serante which can be confusing since there are multiple people with similar ranks and surnames (o'teni,e'teni,cu',ca', ce' and the list goes on). IT also makes scenes with multiple family members extremely confusing because they are all addressed with the same name. The last thing I found aggravating is that the main character is boring and uninteresting, It's obvious the writer wanted her like that since characters are constantly mentioning it.
Overall it was a decent book that I can see people becoming big fans of, unfortunately I don't see myself as one of those big fans but I do plan on reading the rest of the series when I get the chance after Its release
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