10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
James Bond and Bond Street! What fun!, November 8, 1999
This review is from: The Shadow of Albion (Carolus Rex, Bk 1) (Hardcover)
This regency/alternate earth collaboration by Norton and Edghill, which looks to be the first of a series, is a winner! Is it perfect? No. The last half of the book is a bit rushed and the use of magic is uneven. Even so, I believed in the characters; their dilemmas are real and not easily resolved. The dialogue is appropriate to the setting and I loved Sarah taking over the rifle and shooting down the French troops, to the amazement of her so-reluctant husband - right before they fly away in a hot-air balloon! This is a merry-go-round of a book with pretensions to be a carousel.
Playing in an alternate earth is always fun: lots of name dropping occurs as real historical figures turn up in new walks of life. Beau Brummell finally finds his proper niche as a valet, while John Adams still loves his wife! This book deserves a sequel - there's lots of room for more intrigue, romance and magic in this world - or in an alternate Carolinian earth! I'm looking forward to our English Prince meeting his Danish bride; Wessex and Sarah consummating their marriage (I don't believe they got that far at the end of this book) and Wessex getting over the "honor" and spying question...Let's enjoy all the benefits of a Regency/Scarlett Pimpernel romance and alternate history scifi whirlygig next time.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Scarlet Pimpernel it isn't, June 6, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Shadow of Albion (Carolus Rex, Bk 1) (Hardcover)
The Shadow of Albion has a lot of promise. Wessex is a fascinating character, a member of a secret spy organization and carrier of such interesting gadgets as a pocketwatch/pistol. And Sarah, although annoyingly perfect as fantasy heroines too often are, manages to be slightly likeable. The little in-jokes are nice, too, especially the Orczy one. Really, I enjoyed the book most of the way through, until the ending. A subplot which had been heavily developed in the middle of the book was suddenly resolved in a flippant chapter I only half understood. Instead of closing the book with a satisfied smile, I felt frustrated and cheated. Additionally, the lack of explanation of how magic works in the world was frustrating. Magic was a convenient device used only to further the plot, while if magic existed, it would certainly affect the undercover operations Wessex takes part in far more than shown. Still, I wouldn't mind reading another book about Wessex and his good-natured partner Ilya. If Sarah has to come along too, then so be it.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Maryland Tomboy in King Henry's Court, March 26, 2003
This review is from: The Shadow of Albion (Carolus Rex, Bk 1) (Hardcover)
The Shadow of Albion (1999) is the first novel in the Carolus Rex series. This story takes place in an alternate reality in which magic is very possible. In England, Charles II has proclaimed his lawful marriage to Mistress Waters and has accepted Charles, the Duke of Monmouth, as his heir. Upon the death of his father, the Duke became King Charles III and the Stuart dynasty has since reigned over England. The American colonies have remained reasonably content with Stuarts on the English throne, although the thirteen colonies are blocked from expansion by the French lands to their west.
In this novel, it is 1805 and Napoleon Bonoparte rules in France. Sarah, Marchioness of Roxbury, is dying of galloping consumption and Dame Alecto Kennet arrives to confront Roxbury with her dereliction of duty, for she has no heir. They look into the timelines for one to take her place and find Sarah Cunningham from Maryland sailing to England. Roxbury rides to the Saracen Stones to effect the change.
Sarah Cunningham is a child of the new Republic, spending her childhood years between Baltimore and the deep woods. She has grown up among the Cree indian lodges, hunting, fishing, and cooking the game on an open fire. Then, when she is 25, her parents die of cholera and she is taken in by a distant cousin of her mothers.
Sarah Cunningham is aboard ship because a Madame Alecto Kennet has come to America as an agent of the Dowager Duchess of Wessex and Sarah is called to England to right a wrong done to her family. Unfortunately, Madame Kennet dies at sea. Sarah leaves the ship at Bristol and catches the mail coach to London. On the way, they colllide with a strange spidery chariot driven by herself. Sarah falls through the coach window and loses consciousness.
When Sarah again becomes aware of her surroundings, she finds everyone treating her as the Marchioness of Roxbury. She also discovers that she is betrothed to Rupert St. Ives, Duke of Wessex. Gradually, she find out that her fiance is a secret agent of the White Tower and then things start to become really exciting.
This novel is a Regency romance in a timeline that has no Regency. However, it does have Napoleon Bonaparte, Talleyrand, and a strangely effective, but still cruel, Marquis de Sade. Moreover, it does have magic, both white and black.
Recommended for Norton fans and anyone who enjoys romantic adventure in a fantasy setting.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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