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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
In a word Phenomenal, August 7, 2008
This review is from: Warrior (Mass Market Paperback)
What a refreshing spin on the world of magic! I loved every minute of reading it! As soon as I was done, I went out and bought the sequel at a bookstore so I wouldn't have to wait for shipping. Just in case you're not aware of it, there are 4 books similarly related. "Warrior" is the first in the series, followed by "Witch". "Doppelganger" is the same as "Warrior", and I'm assuming that "Warrior and Witch" is the same as "Witch" they seem to have renamed the books. On the back of the book cover are a couple of sentences that caught my eye and made me want to purchase "Warrior" It reads: "When a witch is born, a doppelganger is created. For the witch to master her powers, the twin must be killed. Until now..." This book is not what I would call a non-stop fast paced book, but it kept me enthralled just the same. Marie Brennan breathes life into her characters that gives them substanance. Although some of her "side-line" characters aren't as developed as her core, they are still believable and "warm." Welcome to a world of magic and two strong-willed women. Mirage is a Hunter (think more like a bounty hunter for hire, sometimes a detective, assassin, or even a bodyguard). She has worked and trained all her life to become the best in her trade, and she is. With speed and reflexes beyond her counterparts she hates magic and distrusts the Witches who wield it. Her year-mate (school-mate) has offered her part in a commission. What Hunter assassinated the Witch Tari, and who is behind the assassin and why? Will she survive the commission? If she does, can she survive who's behind it? Miryo is a the daughter of a witch. She has studied since she was 5 to become a full-fledged Witch. Finally on the day of her testing, she passes, only to find that she is incomplete. Her doppleganger lives! While Mirage still lives she does not have the control or focus to wield her magic. Try a spell as simple as lighting a candle and she could succeed or she could turn into a human torch! She is told to become whole again she must find and kill her doppleganger, but can she do it? She has never killed before. Will she stay with centuries of tradition and kill her doppleganger to make herself complete, or will she see Mirage as a person and not an "it" and search for the Goddess' help for another path? In the end, "Only one can survive..."
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A/K/A Doppelganger, December 30, 2008
This review is from: Warrior (Mass Market Paperback)
This was a painful read in the beginning. This book started out extremely slow. Several times I came back to read the Amazon reviews, to make sure I didn't make a mistake and get the wrong book. The beginning was extremely slow and approaching the middle of the story I started to lose hope but things picked up a bit. What kept me reading was the concept and originality of the book. I'm strictly an urban fantasy reader and found the middle and ending of this book enjoyable. The book has a good amount of action and intrigue. I am even going to read book two. Hopefully that won't be as painful.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
promising, December 23, 2010
This review is from: Warrior (Mass Market Paperback)
I picked up Doppelganger (Warrior) because Marie Brennan is a graduate student at Indiana University where I also went to grad school, so I felt a connection there. (How she's managing to write novels while in grad school, I'll never know!) Overall, Doppelganger is a good debut. At first the story follows the separate lives of Mirage, a kick-butt warrior who has recently graduated from warrior school and makes her living by being commissioned for various dangerous tasks, and Miryo, a witch who has been in school and has just failed her "final exam" because of the existence of Mirage, the doppelganger. Every witch has a doppelganger who is supposed to be killed while they are babies so that the magic power can be controlled by the witch. Because Mirage was not killed, Miryo must hunt her down and kill her. Meanwhile, Mirage and her friend Eclipse (he's also a warrior), have just taken on a murder investigation that ends up uncovering the plot of some rogue witches to let the doppelgangers live. Eventually, Mirage's and Miryo's paths cross as each woman sets out to meet her own goals which end up colliding with the other's. Doppelganger was well-written and Marie Brennan has a good ear for dialogue. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of both Mirage and Miryo in their respective school programs. It was obvious to me that Ms Brennan is using her own grad school experience because I've been through the exact same thing. The way she talked about Mirage and Eclipse, as year mates, being like brother and sister was right on; I likewise had a male year mate who was like a brother to me during that ordeal. I could totally relate to that, and to the other aspects of school (advisors, qualifying exams, studying) that she described. The story was interesting, but I had some issues. First of all, it annoyed me when characters didn't ask some obvious questions of their advisors or the people they worked for. As one example, why didn't Miryo ask her advisors why she had to kill the doppelganger herself? She had no travel or fighting experience and the witches had the resources to hire others to do this sort of job. At first I thought this was a plot hole and was surprised at what seemed like a graduate student's lack of logic. But, later this question was answered logically and reasonably, but I still wondered why Miryo didn't think to ask it at the beginning. One other thing that I felt needed improvement was the description of the major characters. I had been assuming, based on the cover of the book, that Mirage had long hair, but I was surprised to find out half way through that she had "cropped" hair. Also, Eclipse was never well-described which disappointed me because, as the only "good" male character in the novel, I would have liked to have been able to visualize him. The villains (Ice, the bad witches, Wraith) could have been deeper and more impressive characters with a bit more description of their looks and mannerisms. Despite these issues, I think Marie Brennan writes well (which is more than half the battle won) and therefore, this is a good debut from a promising new author.
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