Customer Reviews

Melusine

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Sarah Monette's _Melusine_ is a fabulous debut fantasy novel, about a pair of unlikely heroes in a richly imagined world. Felix Harrowgate is a wizard of the Mirador, powerful and respected until a long-held secret is divulged which drives him back to his evil master, Malkar, and into insanity. Meanwhile, the thief Mildmay the Fox is drawn into intrigue when he meets Ginevra, a beautiful shopgirl who wants him to steal back some items from her former lover. Eventually, the separate stories of Felix and Mildmay combine into one, as they form an unlikely partnership.

The real triumph of _Melusine_ is in its language and voice. Monette tells the story in three separate voices -- Felix's haughty sanity, Felix's insane delirium, and Mildmay's slangy thieves' cant -- and she handles them brilliantly, never losing her grasp for an instant or letting the reader be confused about who's narrating. Along with the narrative voices, the language is simply lush and vivid, utterly suitable to the richness of the setting; the city of Melusine is particularly well described in Mildmay's sections of the narrative.

As far as the characters go, I preferred Mildmay's narrative to some extent, as he's the more immediately sympathetic character, with unsuspected depths of feeling. Felix falls into madness so quickly that it was a little difficult for me truly to enpathize with the change in his circumstances, as there had been so little time to get to know him before his fall. Still, the vivid, present-tense passages where he's delirious and mad are emotionally compelling, simply for the horror of what he endures.

I should say here that I think the publishers of _Melusine_ did the book a terrible disservice by failing to mention anywhere in the book (even on the last page) that it is the first of two books; there is an upcoming sequel, due out next summer, currently titled _The Virtu_. If I hadn't known before I started _Melusine_ that there would be another book, I would have been very disappointed in the lack of any real resolution to the plot. As it is, I was able to revel in the rich setting, languages, and characters, and now I can look forward to rereading _Melusine_ when _The Virtu_ is published.

I just finished reading "Melusine" and am in the process of tracking down its sequel, "The Virtu." It is very seriously one of the best books I've read in a long time. From world-building to language-use to characterization to plot, it displays a very high level of authorial skill and was an absolutely compelling read. I've read a number of the other reviews here and must admit to being mystified that so many people find the book so very confusing.

Yes, it begins in the middle of the story, which is a pretty common technique used by other authors for hundreds of years. Yes, it has its own slang and an intense inner knowledge of the world given out in little bits throughout the narrative and from two differently educated first-person POVs. Yes, the wizard character is pretty unlikable, but so what? So was Dostoyevsky's Underground Man and nobody denies "Notes From the Underground" was a good book.

This book respects the reader and expects the reader to be smart enough to put a grand vision of the world together from the clues they're given. It assumes you have some basic background knowledge of language, so that you'll be able to make the not very hard translation from words like "nelly" to "molly" or notice that many of the terms being thrown up have giant cluephone base words in them so you can clearly tell what the term means within the world of the book despite nobody handing you a travel dictionary.

If you want a book where you've seen everything before and everything is spelled out for you in very plain English and don't want to have to think about it, this isn't the book for you. But your expectations as a reader aren't the fault of the book or an indication of poor world-building, language use or confusing plotting as several of the reviewers have implied. "Melusine" requires the same sort of attention as Tolkein, though with far fewer characters, it's less confusing than that.

And, like in real life, some characters are important for a short time and then wander off to do their own thing or, as somebody said, "are discarded" by the author. So, do you still know every detail about every person you've ever met in your life? Or do some of them wander in and out of your life at different times? Why would an author who is giving us a first-person story follow minor characters beyond the knowledge of the POV characters? First-person POV is limited POV. It is the style of the narrative. A good author keeps the book knowlege limited to what characters could possibly know. A sloppy author tells the reader all kinds of information the POV character wouldn't have access to.

Clearly some reviewers here just wanted to be reading some other kind of book than the one they bought. Again, it's not the fault of the author nor does it indicate lack of skill or a new author's oversight.

I'm fairly shocked at several people remarking that they disliked Mildmay as well as Felix. Mildmay is one of the most compelling and likable characters I've seen in a novel in a good long time. He seems very real and very much a decent guy in a bad situation trying to make his best decision among not very promising options. Melusine is a dark world, and there's nobody in it that isn't marked by the darkness, but the mark of a character is what he chooses to do. And Mildmay's choices are very interesting. Even Felix, unlikable as he is, has an interesting story. Interesting things happen to him. You don't have to like a guy to find his story compelling.

If you want a shining hero on a white horse fighting guys in black hats, read a different book. If you want superior and challenging storytelling, this would be a great choice.

One of my problems with "Melusine" is that it seems that rape is used as shorthand. We know Malkar is bad because he rapes Felix, we know that Felix is kind of bad but not totally because he intends to rape a prostitute but doesn't. It stuck out especially as Monette is an incredibly strong writer, so shortcuts like this really brought me out of the moment of the book.

That aside, this is a fantastic book. Monette is ace at world building and mythology, at crafting religion and schools of magic, at setting up different ethnicities of people with different socio-political structures. We skim the surface of a fully realized world, never quite dipping all the way into it (God save me from ever having to figure out the calendrical system Mildmay uses. Yes, I can figure it out in the context of the book, but using it every single day? Man.), but catching glimpses of just how rich and real that world is.

Monette is also fabulous at capturing two very different voices. "Melusine" is told from the point of view of two extremely different characters, Mildmay and Felix. Mildmay is a Second Story Man, a "kept thief" as he puts it. He is ignorant, although not stupid, and fairly coarse. He is, to put it bluntly, common. He's also fairly kind and surprisingly compassionate, a gifted storyteller, and an all around cool guy. Felix, on the other hand, is clever and well educated, bitingly sarcastic, not very likeable, and very very fancy. He is selfish and egotistical and much more fragile than Mildmay. And it only takes a few sentences to convey this information about them.

"Melusine" is one of those books that are almost infinitely re-readable, and also one of those books that I loan out to people. "Melusine" (and its sequel, "The Virtu") is a fantastic, poetic read. It's extremely flavorful and highly recomended.

I would have loved this book had it not been for Felix Harrowgate.

Monette's descriptions of her created city were wonderful. She had an innovative system of nobility, and interesting thief circles. I loved the the thief Mildmay, who was very complex and believable.

The main character, Felix Harrowgate, ruined the book for me.
In the first scene, as he runs off blindly into the night because someone called him a lowly prostitute, I thought "Here is a character I'm going to hate." I was right; I did hate Felix. He was a flat mixture of passive agression, self-loathing, and stubborness. Through the entire book, all he did was get himself into stupid situations and then whine about them. The author justified his behavior by saying that he was abused in childhood. Sure, wonderful plot device, except for one thing: so was Mildmay, and he never crawled off to go whine about it. Even in Felix's insanity- another shallow plea for pity- I didn't sympathize with him at all. I also hated his treatment of Shannon, his lover.
The ending, when Felix regained his sanity, was worse. He turned into an arrogant brat.

It's worth reading this book for the city and nobility, but don't expect to love it unless you can sympathize with a whiny, submissive protagonist.

It's a difficult book to like, a first novel, and very much a first novel even to my limited point of view. And yet, there is much in this book that I did enjoy, highly.

Set (at the beginning) in the titular dark fantasy city, Mélusine is the story of two people, wizard Felix Harrowgate, and cat burglar Mildmay the fox, who at a first glance probably have no links or ties in common, and yet turn out to have a bond that neither guess at. Events push them, unknowingly toward each other, and then depending on each other as they flee the aftermath of the ill use of Felix's powers.

Dark themes involving rape and forced sex with magic, two protagonists who are difficult to sympathize with and get a handle on, and an often depressing atmosphere work against the novel, as does the unpolished feel of the book. Plotlines and story threads early in the book violate Chekov's Law, since they don't go off in the third act, and are in fact, dropped. Felix's fall from grace was a little too precipitous, for my taste, even if it was necessary to put him into a position where he could be manipulated by the book's main antagonist. The fact that Mélusine is clearly a piece, perhaps a half of a book, and is not advertised as such works against the book, too.

On the other hand, there are things to enjoy, here. The city is a dark, gritty world that Monette brings to life convincingly. Sure, its not Sanctuary, or Lankhmar, but Monette does pretty well by any reasonable standard, and a lot better than some other fantasy city settings that I've encountered. Monette also does a good job in describing, using the alternating first person viewpoints, just what madness looks like both from the outside, and the inside. Irregardless of the dark issues involving some of the use of the magic, I was interested in the magic systems, and the various types of practitioners that we see. And, although they are difficult to like protagonists, Felix and Mildmay are interesting protagonists, much more than cardboard cutouts. They have complex, interesting pasts which are slowly revealed throughout the novel which are useful lens on their actions, reactions and feelings in the present.

People who have read and enjoyed the likes of Anne Bishop and Jacqueline Carey probably will like Mélusine. Others, as I warned above, might be turned off by the content. A couple of years ago, I probably wouldn't have liked this book and wouldn't have finished it, but my friends have broadened my horizons and allowed my tastes to evolve, and I am glad, because it would have been a shame for me not to read this. I wouldn't recommend this book as a broadening agent, though, this book is firmly within its sub genre, and that's all right, it plays that octave quite well.

Everything I always hated in books, this book has nullified:

1) POVs: I actually put off reading this book because reviews warned this was a POV style. Let me tell you, these type of POVs can keep on coming. They are like two streams, so different you have to admire the sheer genius of the writing. You can actually feel their different voices. It works.

2) Magic: it's mysterious, elusive and it's keeping me guessing still as I tackle the second book (The Virtu).

But what makes this book great is the sheer, awesome power of the word. Sarah Monette CAN write. I read a lot, and because I can't write I have an almost unhealthy respect for someone who can. This lady can take you places. Mildmay may be a favourite (the character is awesome..his languague makes him so), but Felix is no less amazing. I find myself disagreeing with most reveiwers. To me he is the one I symphatize with most. Mildmay's voice is just amazing, but there is something to be said for Felix. Then again, I'm always for the underdog :)

I just finished Melusine and tomorrow will dawn and I will open up The Virtu. Life is looking good.

Melusine has some definite issues as a first novel. It's setting doesn't feel quite fully fleshed out--even if one gives the author the benefit of the doubt and believes things are left unanswered for plot purposes and are "to be revealed later". If that's the case, the reader could have done with a bit more revelation early on, especially with regard to the politics which drive so much of the characters' motivations. Without that background, their actions run the risk of seeming arbitrary just for the sake of plot. Some of the side plots/characters get dropped or resolved a bit too abruptly, as do some of the major actions, again even given consideration for the sequel. And the language moves too often between imagined-word-speak and modern slang.
That said, there is much to be enjoyed in Melusine and the book rewards the reader who is willing to overlook a few of these flaws and let the book lure him/her in. Most of the book is set in the city of Melusine, protected by a cadre of court wizards and a magical talisman (the Virtu). Felix Harrowgate, a magician whose up-from-the-streets secret background has just been revealed, runs to his brutal mentor who uses him in a sadistic and relatively graphic rape scene to destroy the Virtu. The rape and destruction of the talisman leaves Felix mad and this, along with a magical compulsion not to reveal what happened, leads to his imprisonment.
Meanwhile, in the less aristocratic parts of the city, Mildmay the master burglar takes on a job that gets him first into an unlooked for romantic relationship and then into more trouble than he had planned. Eventually, the two main characters are both forced to leave the city and their two personal quests bring the two of them together in the latter half of the book.
The book's plotting may be the weakest part. Some of it seems overly convoluted, some too unexplained (such as the background politics/geography) and some too arbitrary (such as supposedly experienced wizards not noticing or thinking to look for a compulsion). And parts that should have been drawn out for tension (such as an evil spirit discovered late in the book) end more with a whimper than a bang. The plot holds interest despite these flaws, but more for atmosphere and character than actual events.
The characters, on the other hand, are the strong suits here. Both main characters have their own distinctive voice and each has an engrossing back and present story. They're also a nice shade of grey, allowing for more complexity in their actions/motivations and the readers' response to each. Just as importantly, the secondary characters, no matter their importance to plot, length of life, or species, also are fully dimensional and capture one's interest.
In the end, the book drew me in fully despite its annoyances of plot and language so that if they didn't go unnoticed, they stopped pulling me out of the reading experience. One assumes the next book (and be clear on this--this book has a sequel and can't be read without it) will improve in those areas. Good recommendation for Melusine and expectations for a better one for its sequel

Sarah Monette. Remember her name. Now go buy Melusine. Here's why.

First, the world of Melusine: there is so much here to like from the varied dark wonders of the eponymous city to the vast suggested (but thankfully never quite exposited) backstory. It's a world bounded by a seemingly medieval political structure but informed by nineteenth-century sensibility and, to a certain extent, technology (Mildmay has a pocket watch).

Second, the characters: Mildmay and Felix are whole characters, equally capable of nobility, rank seflishness and bald fear. The ancillary players are delightfully rendered with an economy of exposition and characterization that, frankly, makes me jealous. The book would be worth reading if only for the note-perfect scansion of Mildmay's gutter speech.

The ending left me hanging, but Melusine is the first of a pair of pairs. The Virtu apparently completes the tale of Melusine, while The Mirador and Summerdown flesh out a larger tale of this world. I am loath to obligate myself to another fantasy series, but this is just about too much to resist.

Highly recommended.

The main story is about two men, Felix Harrowgate, and Mildmay the Fox. Both had a similar childhood, but each attained a different place in the fictional world of Melusine. Felix is a Cabaline Wizard, who lives at the palace of Mirador in splendor, and is involved in the court of Lord Stephen. Mildmay lives in the poorer part of the city, and is a cat-burglar/assassin by trade.
Through a series of events, Felix is literally driven mad by an evil wizard named Malkar. Using bad magic, Malkar uses Felix to shatter the Virtu. An important and vital part of the Mirador is shattered, Felix is to blame, and this begins the mad journey of Felix, and the meeting of the two-half brothers.
I really liked this book because I became fascinated with the characters, and the fictional world that Sarah Monette created. From the very first page I was hooked, and I hated to put the book down. I didn't find it difficult to understand the descriptions of places, social order, or language. I have read Fantasy/Historical fiction books where I have been completely lost in the jargon, but not with this book.
This book does not have a map or a glossary to refer to, but I noticed that on the authors website, sarahmonette.com, that she posted a map there. I don't know why I had no difficulty with getting used to the world of Melusine, but I found the authors descriptions very good and concise.
As to the characters of Felix and Mildmay. I noticed that other readers thought that certain elements of the book were too raw or graphic. I feel that without those elements, the reader wouldn't be able to understand the situations that have shaped Felix and Mildmay into who they are.
If you are looking for a story where everyone is basically good, and maybe have an occasional bad day, then this book isn't for you. There were many times where I found that I didn't like Felix, or his treatment of Mildmay, but always lurking beneath is the vulnerability that underlies Felix's character. I also like the supporting characters as well.
The description of the madness of Felix was also compelling, making me glad that I have never suffered any mental illness. This is an unforgettable story that shows all sides of the human character, good and bad, which is how all humans are.
Since this is the first in a series of books, it would be best if you read this one before the others, so that you are able to follow the plot. There are lots of references to this book in the rest of the series.
I would recommend this book to anyone. It is a unique story that I am glad that I read.

I didn't want to put Melusine down, and it isn't easy to hide that you're reading a hardback book when you're supposed to be paying attention to other things.

But Melusine is wonderfully immersive and takes you into a world that's far away from quest fantasy and Hollywood-Medieval stage sets. There are overtones of Revolutionary France, but rather than creating a historical pastiche Ms Monette has brought into existence a fully realised second world with its own history and mythology. Then she populated it with real people and mysteries - I'm fascinated by the labyrinths and the ghosts. For once, instead of magic simply appearing when a wizard waves his wand, it permeates the city and world as surely as the history and politics do. I never buy those 'history of' companion volumes but if Ms Monette wrote one for her world I believe I would queue to do so.

The heroes of her story are products of that world. Felix, raised from a brutal existence in the gutters to navigate the glittering but equally vicious life of a hocus at Court. Mildmay the thief, whose abilities have bought him respect and a precarious security in Melusine's underworld. Both of them discovering just how easily they can lose all they have, including love, and that when your world falls apart there's still the next day to get through.

If you like richly built worlds which skip shoving the history book at you in favour of taking the guided tour with an expert. If you prefer people who're being human to the interaction of symbolic chosen ones representing the forces of Good and Evil. If you like bad boy heroes who probably wouldn't turn into angels even with the love of a good woman. You'll love Melusine.

Yes, it's fairly plainly the start of a series, but rather than being left unsatisfied I am keen to rejoin Mildmay and Felix for their further adventures.