Customer Reviews

Midnight Never Come

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1588, England flourishes under the rein of Queen Elizabeth, but deep in the hidden catacombs beneath London, a second queen reins: Invidiana, the cruel, cold-hearted ruler of faerie England. Above ground, Deven enters Elizabeth's court while below ground, Lune is cast from Invidiana's court, and when the two are drawn together they must discover the secret bond that joins the two monarchs--and break it. Midnight Never Come is a historical fantasy which takes full advantage of both parts, spinning out a vivid story of faerie magic which is intimately bound by English politics. Intelligent, skillfully written, but a bit tied up in research, this is a solidly good book that never quite manages to be exceptional. I recommend it.

Brennan has done a remarkable job researching and conceptualizing her England, where human and faerie courts mirror each other--but thorough research is at once a strength and a weakness as Midnight Never Come becomes somewhat tied up by history. Infrequent flashbacks, many of which recount real events, seem like welcome historical background--but most of them are unnecessary deviations that carry the reader away from the book's plot and towards a greater historical arc. The omniscient narrative voice is already rather distant and cold; compounded by these deviations, Midnight Never Come drifts further and further away from the emotional heart of the book: that is, the characters. As a result, the historical setting is authentic and the faerie court is realistically conceived within it, and so setting and plot are strong. But these large aspects eclipse local aspects, and so the characters remain underdeveloped.

Limited emotional impact aside, Midnight Never Come is an intelligent, enjoyable, and constantly strong book. Brennan's voice is somewhat distant, but it also eloquent, spelling out noble, fluent sentences which work alongside history to build the book's setting and tone. Her faeries are grounded in mythology, and have both realistic faults and otherworldy appeal. Midnight Never Come's plot ranges from historical to fantastical, a balance of courtly intrigue and faerie magic, dotted by a few character cameos from historical England. Events are pleasantly overshadowed but the plot stays a few steps ahead of the reader so that there are always twists and turns to keep it interesting. Best of all, the historical and magical elements flow smoothly into one another such that--even with an underground faerie court, even with a somewhat unwelcome deus ex machina--the book is a plausible, convincing whole.

I read Brennan's journal, but this was my first chance to read one of her books--and I'm glad I did. If the concept of faeries within Elizabethan England intrigues you as it did me, then I certainly recommend Midnight Never Come. With a lovely writing style, realistic characters, and a brilliantly imagined plot which meshes faerie and historical England with nary a seam, Brennan delivers on the potential that her book promises. It never quite manages to become exceptional and the characters are distanced, but all told Midnight Never Come is a solid and enjoyable read. I recommend it, and look forward to Brennan's other novels--especially those which combine the faerie world with human history.

London 1554 - Elizabeth is in the tower awaiting Mary's decision regarding her protestant beliefs, when she gets a visit from Invidiana, a Fairy!

Midnight Never Come is a "what if" kind of book. What if Elizabeth's decisions and entire political career were influenced by a Fairy Queen? A fairy queen who rules Fae London in the Onyx Hall, which exists just below the streets of London itself.

Invidiana is the Fae Queen in question who strikes a deal with Elizabeth that is supposed to aid both of them in their quest for the throne and their reigns as Queen. But something goes wrong, and the pact they make isn't all it is cracked up to be. Lune, a courtier of Invidiana, is assigned the task of living as a human amongst the mortals to gain knowledge of the goings on in Elizabeth's court. During her stay she meets and falls in love with Michael Devin, a human. Together with the help of some very interesting fae creatures and very unique mortals, they discover the origins of Invidiana & Elizabeth's pact and the trouble it is about to bring to both of their worlds. Their mission is to set things right.

What I liked: The characters were very well developed and the descriptiveness of old world England and Fairy England was wonderful. I felt like I was right there in the book while I was reading. I have a special appreciation for Queen Elizabeth and Elizabethan England, so I enjoyed reading a supernatural spin on the story. Amongst the history and politics resides a love story.

What I didn't like: The beginning of the book was a little slow, but once things picked up, I couldn't put the book down.

Last word: If you like reading historical fiction as I do from time to time, this book is for you. It blends all the majesty of Queen Elizabeth's England with the fantastical, beautiful and sometimes mischievous fae.

Reviewed by Christel

Midnight Never Comes combines romance, intrigue and fantasy into an enchanting spell that grabs your attention and refuses to let go.

Marie Brennan's third novel shows her taking a different turn in her writing, and it's one that suits her. This novel is thoroughly researched, multi-faceted, expertly plotted, and very effective.

I'm not a big historical fantasy reader, and was afraid my lower familiarity with the period would detract -- instead, the novel was inviting and explained enough of the context to allow me to follow the plot through to its rewarding completion.

With her latest book, Brennan has moved from more traditional sword & sorcery to intricate historical fantasy. Anyone wanting or expecting more of the same might be disappointed. I was not.

Set in the late 16th century, Midnight Never Comes opens with a pact between two women who will soon become the most powerful rulers in England: Elizabeth the Virgin Queen, and Invidiana, faerie ruler of the Onyx Court below London. The Onyx Court is a dark shadow of the city above, a secret place of cruelty and deception. One member of Invidiana's court, a faerie named Lune, struggles to regain the favor of her queen by spying on events above. Lune's counterpart is the human courtier Michael Deven, who has been tasked by spymaster Francis Walsingham with finding the hidden player influencing Queen Elizabeth. As Lune and Deven discover the secrets behind Invidiana's power and the true nature of the faerie queen's pacts, they must choose whether to work together, risking everything to try to break Invidiana's rule.

Lune was a more appealing character to me, in part I think because her stakes were higher. Whereas Deven starts out trying to secure a position in Elizabeth's court, Lune serves a more temperamental and dangerous ruler in a court that makes human politics look as simplistic and straightforward as the squabbling of preschoolers. Watching Lune navigate that court, seeing her fall and struggle to rise again, leaves Deven feeling a little bland by comparison.

I confess to being a poor historian, but even to my eye it's clear Brennan has done a great deal of research for this book. Every detail is meticulous and precise, evoking not a generic English fantasy setting but a very real and concrete place and time. Brennan blends historical detail with the fantastic so smoothly I barely noticed the seams.

This is a book that invites you to slow down and savor. Broken into five acts, each act builds more tension, moving from a relatively leisurely introduction toward a much more focused struggle in the final act. By the end, I had a hard time closing the book, and lost quite a bit of sleep as things came to a climax.

If you're looking for nonstop action and excitement, this may not be the book for you. But if you want rich worldbuilding and a story you can truly immerse yourself in, I'd recommend picking this one up.

We won't go deeply into the details of this book...
dear lovers of faerie lore and fiction,
... you can read that in the other reviews, except to say it is a historical "fantasy" involving a pact between Elizabeth I, and the Faerie Queen of England, Invidiana, and the court politics and intrigues that evolve therefrom.
We love this book, it is beautifully written and, while historically accurate, as far as these elves can tell, concerning Elizabeth reign, and the faery lore of that time, it is also a very insightful and creative view of the faerie world and an intelligent understanding of faerie politics. We highly recommend it.
kyela,
the silver elves

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A little bit of history and a little bit of fantasy. Definitely romance, but no sex. If you accept this world, the events are believable. The characters were well rounded, fully developed, even the secondary ones. Based upon this one book, I will look for other books from this author.

(4.5 stars)

This story takes place during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in London. The world is as we know it at that time, but there are also Fae people living among mortals, some even closer than you think. The main character, Lune (a Faerie) is out of favor with her Faerie Queen Invidiana who also happens to be cold and merciless ruler. She rules the Onyx Court which resides under London and the Fae of all of England fear her. Lune along with Michael Deven, a mortal, try and uncover the mystery behind Invidiana and the Onyx Court and try to restore peace between the two worlds.

I really enjoyed this book. Brennan's writing is very light and entertaining. This book focuses mostly on fantastical elements, but I still found that Brennan's research of the time was good. Nothing stuck out at me as being wrong, but maybe I was too into the story to care. This book turned out to have one quite good mystery going and I was surprised to see how much thought Brennan put into it. It tied into real history well.

My only negatives about this story is that I had wished on more than one occasion that Brennan explain the different types of Faerie creatures more thoroughly because I'm not particular familiar with all of them. Also, there was one or two very small lose ends I would have liked to see tied up. Other than that, I really enjoyed this book. I recommend it any who like historical fantasy or stories involving faeries.

This book is followed by the sequel, In Ashes Lie.

Marie Brennan doesn't disappoint in her third novel, which is a bit of a departure from DOPPELGANGER and WARRIOR AND WITCH. Instead of a secondary-world fantasy, she's written a very subtle and nuanced historical fantasy. Seeing the "secret" faerie influence behind the throne of England makes for a novel full of intrigue and wonder. My one complaint is that I felt at times removed from the two queens of the book; I wanted more interaction with them by Lune and Michael Deven. There is a "sequel" scheduled for publication in 2009, so I'm hoping I at least get to see more of Lune and Michael, who make for a convincing romantic couple.

Elizabeth rules England above, below there is Invidiana, Queen of the Onyx Hall beneath the City of London, ruling over a cruel and dangerous fae Court. She has made a pact with Elizabeth, helping Elizabeth to the throne and to survive threats while drawing power to build her dark mirror Court and make herself Queen of all the fae in England.

A strong narrative thread is nearly absent in the first part of the book where the pact is set up, but the rest is seemingly composed of vignettes going back and forth in time and from the point of view of various characters, which sets the scene somewhat, but more confusingly than otherwise. But two main characters eventually emerge: Lune, once a fae in Invidiana's favor, but recently cast out due to arranging a treaty the Queen found unsatisfactory. She has to negotiate the treacherous court and find her way back to favor or literally risk death. The other is Michael Deven, who is also trying to make his way, but in the slightly less lethal Court of Elizabeth. The glimpses into the positions and courtlife is rich in historical detail (I enjoyed reading about it, anyway). However, I was still missing a strong plot thread and greater character development.

Fortunately, things pick up towards the end, when the two courtiers of the two courts come together to solve a threat to both the fae and the humans that touch on both of the Courts and the Queens.

Flashbacks and scenes with minor characters conintue, sometimes adding to the tale, but also still diluting any pacing and emotional attachment to the characters, but less so than in the first part. Quite a bit of action takes place off-screen. I didn't quite feel that the eerie darkness of the fae court was as well realized as it could have been, and there was also some lack of magic in depiction of Elizabeth's court.

Although Lune's desperate attempts to make her way through the pitfalls of the Onyx Hall created enough sympathy and suspense, Lune herself, as many other upper-class fae, I suppose, remained cool and next-to-heartless. Deven, more human, still didn't reveal much character until the end.

Both Elizabethan England and the Courts of Faery are well-trodden in the fantasy genre, so perhaps my expectations are higher than they ought to be. This was still a good book with a fascinating take on Faerie and its denizens, and the depiction of Elizabeth's court was also intriguing--so that the bits and pieces left me wanting more. The writing was good, I just would have prefered perhaps a little different handling and a bit more actually being shown. It was still an enjoyable read.

While I read it in a day and enjoyed it, the book didn't quite live up to the awesomeness that a romantic Elizabethan fairie spy novel suggested. The descriptions, world-building, and historical aspects were fascinating and Lune's myriad dangers were emotionally and intellectually engaging. The problems were Deven, who was nice but bland and spent much of the book listening to more interesting minor character, and the romance, which seemed to exist because the author said so.

The three stars is the average of Lune's parts and Deven's. I'm glad to have read it, but I don't think I'm keeping it. There's just not enough solid emotion and personality to lure me back, which is probably why I realized upon finishing that I'd rather read all the author's worldbuilding for the next book instead of the story (seriously, a fae history, please?).