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The Tourmaline

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The Tourmaline

Other readers have outlined what happens in this second installment of four, in Paul Park's Princess of Roumania series. I will add only my version of what is arresting about it. First, the language, beautiful and potent at the level of sentences. Second, individual scenes, exquisitely drawn, comprised of impeccably imagined particulars, whether simple or elaborate. Third, the endings of scenes: graceful, tapered, while at the same time being apogees of dramatic tension, every one. Fourth, the uncompromising existence of that which has been depicted. There is no way to subsume this narrative into one's own imaginary, to force it to comply with one's designs or expectations as a reader. It is captivating, demanding, wholly other. Fifth, what a magnificent tale it is. I haven't read a lot of science fiction and/or fantasy; for others like me, I will say that A Princess of Roumania and now The Tourmaline remind me a bit of Isak Dinesen's short stories, which, like these books by Paul Park, offer a rigorous, unfamiliar pleasure, to be relished.

The Tourmaline continues Paul Park's new fantasy series that began last year with A Princess of Roumania. (There will apparently be at least two more books.) This is proving to be a fascinating extended work, with odd and original characters (including some very interesting tormented villains) and written in a fairly distinctive voice.

The basic conceit is that our world is a construct, made by a Roumanian sorceress to protect her young niece, Miranda Popescu. Miranda may be the "White Tyger," the great hope for a return to glory of Roumania, and for protection against their agressive German neighbors. But when Miranda's uncle is framed for treason and murdered, and her mother imprisoned in Germany, her Aunt creates an alternate world (ours) and places her in present day Massachusetts to grow up. The first book tells how the Baroness Ceausescu, her aunt's enemy, manages to find and destroy the book "containing" our world, returning Miranda (and two companions) to the wilds of lightly inhabited North America in the curious alternate world of her birth.

The Tourmaline opens with Miranda having magically made her way to Roumania, but five years in the future. The Baroness, who thinks she herself is the White Tyger, is now the head of Roumania's puppet government after a German occupation. Miranda's two companions, a boy named Peter Gross who is now mostly a man, Pieter de Graz; and a girl named Andromeda who now alternates between being a dog and being another man, Sasha Prochenko (yet who is still also somehow Andromeda); are marooned in America but soon find a strange way to Turkey. The Elector of Ratisbon, the enemy of both Baroness Ceausescu and of Miranda, has been confined to his home in Germany, but he still holds Miranda's mother and the Baroness's son, and he remains a powerful sorcerer. The book follows Miranda's struggling realization of her possible destiny as the White Tyger, and her halting attempts to begin a resistance. At the same time, Peter and Andromeda, in their various forms, try to find a way to Roumania. The Baroness holds the tourmaline, Kepler's Eye, which has the power to make people love her, and she tries to balance her need for German support of her position with her hate for them -- scheming among other things to import nuclear material from technologically advanced Africa. And the Elector tries to restore his power base in Germany, while magically keeping track of Miranda. Indeed, everyone, one way or another, is after Miranda, who escapes again and again by accident, destiny, and magic.

It remains a truly fascinating world, with a subtly revealed background, consisting of the odd magical system (to some extent based on Hermes Trismegistus), of such geographical changes as the fact that England has been destroyed by earthquakes, and of the different religions: one based on King Jesus and his Queen, Mary Magdalene, who are believed to be the ancestors of the Roumanian royal house (including Miranda), another based on ancient Greek myths, and so on. In The Tourmaline, Miranda becomes a more interesting character as she begins to take a modicum of control of her life. The Baroness Ceausescu is an affecting villainess, for example spending much of her time composing an opera in her head. The other characters are also odd and quite believable. It must be said that the book, as with many middle books, does not so much come to an end as simply stop -- we must wait for the concluding books for full satisfaction. But I will certainly be looking for the rest of the series.

If you were as enchanted by Paul Park's magically strange and compelling alternate history A Princess of Roumania as much as I was, The Tourmaline's continuation and expansion of the story is not to be missed. Imagine if you suddenly discovered that the world you grew up in was not the real world after all, but a time and place created by your aunt, a powerful mage who needed a place to hide you from your enemies because in the real world, you are heir to the throne of Roumania. Imagine that your best friends turn out to be faithful retainers from this world, and together you have to figure out what the truth is in your quest for justice. To say more about this story would be a spoiler, but this second book in the Tourmaline quartet is a testament to a writer whose skill and power continues to unfold, revealing extraordinary depths with each new book.

Park's prose is elegant, poetic, subtle, and layered with meaning. His imagination is limitless. Symbolic, mythic, and metaphysical connections are woven throughout, building into larger psychological and political meanings. His characters are powerfully drawn--at times ambiguous and full of contradictions, just like people in real life. The evil Baroness Nicola Ceaucescu is one of the most unforgettable villains I've ever read. The heroes are reluctant, the villains are complex and vulnerable, and the settings vivid, sensual, and surreal. In The Tourmaline, dream worlds become accessible, revealing inner landscapes that reflect happenings in the real world.

There are scenes in this book that read like short stories in and of themselves, such as when Miranda's friend Peter is imprisoned by a colorful Turkish magistrate and integrates the memories and talents of his dual identity and some unexpected help from Andromeda to escape. The dialogue is pitch perfect and laugh-out-loud funny.

The author addresses the nature of evil, power, and the moral and political challenges inherent in trying to do good with perceptive brilliance. This book resonates with the archetypal power of the best fairy tales, but with a strong, literary sensibility. I look forward to the next two books in the quartet and am recommending A Princess of Roumania and The Tourmaline to all who love great, literate, fantastic fiction.

The Tourmaline is the sequel to A Princess of Roumania, and follows the adventures of Miranda Popescu, her friends, and her enemies (Paul Park's villains are sometimes deeper and more compelling than the protagonists) in the real Europe. Our world is an elaborate, imaginative construct, destroyed when its magical history is thrown on a fire, transporting Miranda and her two friends into a world in which England was torn apart by a natural disaster, Rome is in ruins, and an ancient Greek pantheon competes with the religion of King Jesus and Queen Mary Magdelene (the cross is still the symbol of Jesus, for he crucified the vanquished Roman generals). Miranda and her two friends struggle not only with the trials of this new world, but with the tension between their old New Jersey identities and their "real" Roumanian identities. For example, Miranda's friend Andromeda, who once shopped at Victoria's Secret, is also the Roumanian male general, Sasha Proshenko (and somehow also a were-dog).

I'll be honest-I'm used to more approachable fantasy, and I definitely wouldn't these to someone who wanted to escape into the world of Dragonlance. That said, I read fantasy to discover new worlds, and in the Roumania series, Paul Park has created an amazing new milieu to explore.

_The Tourmaline_ is the second book in Paul Park's fantasy series that began with _A Princess of Roumania_. It picks up immediately following the events of the first novel. Overall I found the book to be disappointing. I thought that the first book had some problems but that the setting had such promise the author might overcome these difficulties in the second novel. Alas, for me at least, it was not to be.

First of all I would like point out the positive aspects of this book. I still like the setting after having finished the novel, as it is our Earth but with a number of interesting changes; the British Isles were destroyed in some sort of cataclysm, apparently France was devastated as well, so the major powers of the world are Germany, Roumania, Turkey, and Russia, that Europe was once inhabited by an aboriginal race that appear to be Neanderthals (and who still exist in the deep woods or on reservations), that the nations of Africa are the most advanced technologically at least (and have a self-imposed embargo of many materials to the warring nations of Europe), oh, and magic exists, including vampires, ghosts, shape shifters, and a visitable realm of the dead known as tara mortilor (well, it can be visited by magic).

I still like the idea that Miranda, Andromeda, and Peter were hidden in a book that contained a whole world - our world, with our history - and that once they made their way to the "real world" of the novels, have to contend with a blending of the personality they had in the United States in our world with the person they were back in the real world. With Peter, who was Peter Gross in Massachusetts, student, and Pieter de Graz, soldier, wrestler, man of action in the real world, it is especially well done and interesting.

I like the stranger in a strange land aspect, particularly of Miranda, of her trying to puzzle out life, society, and the rules of the game of this alternate Europe with magic, comparing things she encounters to the world she grew up with.

The character of Nicola Ceausesca is still an interesting, well drawn character, one that is hard to predict (even by her admission within the novel, as she is famously impulsive), and by no means a typical villain, given to quick, impulsive actions that might hurt her as much as help her, of delighting in giving small wounds to those she likes, and then regretting it later, of really believing she is a good person and has the best interests of innocent people and her country at heart, all while committing murder, doing black magic, and collaborating with her country's conquerors.

However, the negative aspects of the book are to me just a bit too much to overcome. Much like the first book, it can be hard to follow the action sometimes. It almost feels when I read it like some of the dreams I have had, as actions just suddenly happen, points of view change with absolutely no warning, even in the space of a paragraph or a sentence it seems. I find myself leafing back in the pages to find out when something happened, such as when someone gets shot for instance. It just feels like an odd way to write.

The players and their plans are often still less than clear. Part of that maybe due to the fact there are some complex politics in the book and we often get the viewpoint of Peter, Andromeda, and Miranda, who are still learning some of the most basic aspects of the world, but even when we get chapters from the point of view of true natives of this "real world" it is still sometimes hard to puzzle out things. I still don't know what Miranda for instance is supposed to do, as she doesn't appear to have special powers as far I can tell. She basically seems to be a figurehead, someone for others with a cause to rally around, a symbol. Miranda herself seems puzzled by her destiny, why everyone is after her or going out of their way to follow her and her command.

It doesn't help that particularly with Miranda whenever one of the people from our world tries to ask a question, to have some fact of life, motivations of a prominent individual, the history of something explained the others act impatient, don't want to talk about it, assumes she knows all about it, and just generally act irritated.

One odd aspect of the world is that as far as I can tell time flows differently on different continents. When the three main characters journeyed from North America to Europe, five years and a few odd months passed. What?

Also bothering is the character of Andromeda. She out of all them seems to have had the least trouble growing into a blended personality as it were, merging her our world persona with this "real world" persona. However, she is at times a dog, at times a girl, and I think (not clear again) at times a man. There are no rules given why she changes shape and when or to what end. At times the dog form of her seems quite aware of the plans she had as a person and understands her friends, but at other times (such as a single chapter told from the Andromeda-as-dog's point of view) it is pretty clear she doesn't know except in a very general way who her friends are when she is a dog, let alone any complex plans.

Also there was a vampire, an individual by the name of Codreanu. I am fine with the idea of a vampire being different than our idea of a vampire, but except for the name and from what I gather a long lifespan and a fierce reputation, failed to see what made him a vampire. Most confusing!

This book seamlessly picks up where A Princess of Roumania ends. The characters are intriguing--they continue to develop, becoming more complex, more real. I can't get enough of the baroness and the elector, both villains, both superbly drawn. Miranda's journey also captures my attention. She transforms, and propels the white tyger into her place in Roumanian mythology. She's on the path to heroism, and just in time. Roumania needs her.

I'm impressed by the depth of the plot and the twists of the story. The novel is full of absorbing ideas and wild turns. It zips along, plays with fascinating concepts, and doesn't skip a beat. At times, I wish the book were interactive so I could find out even more about the ghoul imprisoned by Queen Mary Magdalene, time tunnels, and dead bugs in empty Berkshire houses. I can't wait for more of this story.

The Tourmaline delivers spellbinding characters, a rich plot, and more. In surprising, delightful ways, it weaves together pieces of diverse mythologies: Roumanian and Romanian lore, fairy tales, ancient gods, and altered Judeo-Christian images, just to name a few. The blend works wonderfully, smoothly creating an ecumenical realm that mirrors some of the problems in our world, and enhances the story. The book also deals well with loss, change, uncertainty, and terror.

This series is one to read often, lend to friends, and grow with. I highly recommend picking up these books and starting the journey.

Not all alternate history is of the classic mold. You know the drill. Lee wins at Gettysburg, and the world is different because of it. Varus' legions aren't slaughtered by the Germanic tribes, and Rome continues on and on. The Spanish armada conquers England, and Shakespeare turns out to be a hero to the oppressed English.

The Roumania novels are definitely different. The first novel, a Princess of Roumania, started ordinarily enough, with Andromeda, Peter and Miranda slowly discovering that their modern day New England world was in fact, an illusion, an artiface. The real world is very different, where Roumania is a major power with magic at its command, and a vicious conflict between Germany and Roumania only part of the complicated politics.

The second novel takes up from the first and continues the stories of Miranda, Andromeda and Peter as they start to learn their real identities, and their destinies, in Roumania. Throw in one of the most complex and multi-sided antagonists I've read in fantasy, the Baroness Ceaucescu, a slow reveal of more of what this alternate "real" world is like, and mix well.

It's certainly not everyone's cup of tea. Its been a while since I read the first novel, and like when I read the first novel, it took me a while to get used to Park's dream-like style and characterizations. You really have to pay attention to the prose, and go with it, and even then, things aren't always crystal clear. And I am pretty sure its a feature, not a bug.

I certainly would never start the series with this book. But those who liked the first novel should and will likely enjoy the second.

This is the second in the Princess of Roumania series and all I can say is: I hope there are many more. I enjoyed this one even more than I enjoyed the first one. If this series keeps on unfolding this way, I will have found another all-time classic for my library.

The story is complex, the writing is so clear I found myself pulled by my own remembered and imagined experiences; the imagery evokes the reader's participation and carries you along on this powerful adventure. The characters become known to you, the atmosphere tangible and sensual. The answers to the mysteries start to sort themselves out slowly but surely. The only problem is that I have to wait for the next volume... so maybe I will start from the beginning and see what bits I missed the first time around.

In Great Roumania, sorceress Aegypta hid her niece Miranda Popescu on an alternate plane in a place called Massachusetts to keep her safe from rival factions loyal to Baroness Nicola Ceausescu. Aegypta and Nicola know that young Miranda is the prophesized "White Tyger" who is expected to save their people from the German onslaught. However, with Miranda vanished, Nicola claims she is the White Tyger even as she searches for the youngster to eliminate the potential threat.

However, Nicola finally "finds" her rival and soon the teen is whisked back to her home realm accompanied by her best friends Peter and Andromeda who join her quest; whereas Peter transforms into de Graz, Andromeda shape-shifts into a canine. However the malevolent Baroness composing her opera THE TOURMALINE and the apprehensive German Elector seek her out to destroy the upstart who is guided by the spirit of her Aunt Aegypta's ghost.

The sequel to the delightful A PRINCESS OF ROUMANIA is a fabulous alternate history fantasy that uses a different realm where magic, the paranormal and the supernatural exist and Africa is the superpower. The fast-paced story line is driven by the rivals with the heroine coming of age as she learns her only hope of winning and surviving reside in learning to use magic while her adversary wants her dead. Though perspectives can become difficult to follow as the four key support cast and several tertiary characters play major roles, fans will enjoy this coming of age middle tale with a confrontation to go.