Customer Reviews

The Water Mirror (Dark Reflections)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think this is the same book as "The Flowing Queen" but with different covert art and title. The author writes in German, so this is a translation. In an alternate reality, we have a story set in Venice during medieval times, with its many canals and bridges. The Egyptian Empire is using its incredible mummy warriors to invade the city, after having conquered most of the rest of the known world. The spirit of the water, the Flowing Queen, has kept the city safe so far. Two orphan teen girls are made to apprentices to a mysterious man who makes real magic mirrors. They soon discover a plot to capture the Flowing Queen by traitors in the city, leaving Venice vulnerable for the first time in 36 years. And why are city officials holding the flying lion as a prisoner, when he can help save them?

Venice and the world portrayed by the author is full of fantasy and horror, and plot twists at every turn. From stone lions that walk, scary mermaids that live in the canals as pull the gondola boats as slaves to the humans, terrifying mummies, a demonfrom hell, and magic mirrors, she has created a unique world for the reader to visit.
I found the book to be full of enjoyable characters, courage, and inspiration. Kids that are 10 years old and up should enjoy this book as well as adults. My only complaint was that it is too short, but it is the first book in a series.

As a fan of the fantasy genre, I was very happy to read this innovative book, which finally breaks free of the tired conventions authors have been following for years.

From the very start, the setting (a magical Venice, in the early 1900s) is a change from the standard Middle Earth ripooffs and medieval castles. Main character Merle is a well-rounded character who acts quite a bit more like an actual person than any heroine in recent memory. And the supporting cast is no slouch, either; in this well-crafted universe, even standard archetypes have been transformed into fresh new personalities.

As is required for any magical world, the fantasy Venice is sprinkled with all kinds of mythical objects and creatures, from stone lions and mummy warriors to "mirror phantoms" and mermaids. All of these are described in a way that makes them seem like they could really exist.

The constant stream of unique ideas only helps to drive an intriguing plot. Since this is the first in a series, the ending leaves plenty of loose ends for readers to ponder until the translation of book 2.

This book's pretty cover art drew me in, but its strong plot hooks and great writing will keep me coming back until the series concludes.

When fourteen-year-old Merle is sent to be apprenticed to the mirror maker Arcimboldo, she's thrilled; she will finally escape the horrors of the orphanage. Besides, the mysterious master craftsman is rumored to be a magician of sorts --- how exciting to be that close to magic, even if it does mean relocating to the ominous Canal of the Expelled at the dead end of one of Venice's famous waterways.

Joining Merle as one of two new apprentices is Junipa, blind since birth. Merle is impressed by Junipa's heightened abilities to hear noises and sense feelings, and she's even more impressed when Arcimboldo cures Junipa on their first night in his home. The master replaces Junipa's own pupils with flat mirrors, enabling the girl to see even better than her friend.

Merle has a mirror secret of her own; set adrift on a Venetian canal as a baby, Merle was left one present by her absent parents. She is the possessor of a magical "water mirror," a hand mirror whose surface is water and whose watery depths are warm and inviting. The mysterious hand that grasps Merle's own inside the mirror and Merle's own dreams lead the girl to believe that she might have a secret connection to the Flowing Queen, the elusive power that has protected the city of Venice from the menacing Egyptians who have taken over much of the rest of the world. When the Flowing Queen is threatened, can Merle and her allies help save the city --- and even the whole world?

THE WATER MIRROR is full of richly imagined characters who seem familiar and yet strange. Marauding mummies threaten cities, soldiers patrol on stone lions, and mermaids seem more like sharks than sirens. In addition to these vivid fantasy images, Kai Meyer has created engaging and admirable heroines readers will be compelled to follow.

Fortunately, they will have a chance to do so, because THE WATER MIRROR is the first book in a trilogy. Like Cornelia Funke, Meyer, a bestselling author in his native Germany, will certainly find audiences in this country as well.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

Waiting for this book for over two months was not easy,but when I finally got it I was satisfied.
When Merle and her friend Junipa are found a job in the mirror shop of the famous Arcimboldo, by the the orphanage, they are excited as never before.When they arrive they right away are introduced to a mysterious woman named Eft, who covers the lower portion of her face with a mask.
Fourteen year old Merle posses a strange mirror whose surface is made of water.Merle can stick her whole hand in the mirror and not get wet.Then Junipa, who has been cured of blindness, sticks her face into the mirror and looks into the dark with her "mirror" eyes.When she emerges she tells Merle to never ask her what she saw.Amoung that are the rival weaver boys across the canal, and Merle befriends the leader, Serafin.Serafin is later captured by the rival egyptians and the flowing queen,protecter of Venice is taken from the waters but saved by Merle.Together the two must erect peace and save all of Venice.
This is a great book that can be enjoyed by many.I recomend ages twelve and up and say it is about on an eighth grade level. You will not be dissapointed.
~KEL 13, U.S

The cover is what drew me to this book because of the dark colors and the scary looking mermaid on the back. I was not sure what to expect when I began, but I found it to be unique and imaginitive. Talking stone lions, Egyptian mummies attacking Venice and creatures from Hell-what more can one ask for in an adventure. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series.

It seems Venice has become a hot commodity in children's literature ever since Cornelia Funke's "Thief Lord" appeared. But Kai Meyer gives the ancient city a new, dark twist in "The Water Mirror". Filled with sharp-toothed mermaids and flying stone lions, the "Water Mirror" is a satisfying begginning in this new series.

Merle and Junipa are two orphan girls who live in an alternate Venice, one which is under seige by the powerful Egyptian Empire and its mummy armies. Magic is not unusual in this Venice, as mermaids swim through the canals and the city is patrolled by flying stone lions. But only the Flowing Queen, who is said to be the very water herself, can truly protect Venice from the Empire.

One day for reasons unknown to them, Merle and Junipa are whisked away from their orphanage and apprenticed to the mysterious magic mirror-maker, Arcimboldo. Here is where their adventure starts, and Merle learns that her water mirror, the one she's had since she was a child, is mysteriously linked to the Flowing Queen. Soon, Merle along with her new neighbor boy Serafin, learn of a plot in the Venetian Council to betray the Flowing Queen to the Pharaoh. If Merle has any hope of saving Venice, she knows she must first save the Flowing Queen.

"The Water Mirror" is an exciting fantasy, richly detailed and interesting. The characters are believable and the magic is enticing. Venice is the true star of this story. The city is alive with magic and detail, yet there is also an extremely atmospheric foreboding about its fate. Meyer manages to keep the reader interested long enough with mermaids, flying stone lions, and political intrigue until they reach the ending where the story truly picks up. The book ends in mid-adventure hinting at more to come, but Meyer skillfully leaves the reader wanting more by revealing a bigger plot at plan than what was originally shown before.

While stopping in mid-adventure, "The Water Mirror" is still an interesting and magical read. It's the most original story I've read in a while, and the sudden new plot details revealed in the end left me and I'm sure will also leave readers wanting more. Highly reccommended, "The Water Mirror" is not to be missed if you are looking for high fantasy with a dark twist.

Will Merle be able to rescue the Flowing Queen from the Venetian traitors? Merle was a teenage orphan girl until she became an apprentice for Arcimboldo a magic mirror maker in Venice. She quickly became good friends with a blind girl about the same age named Junipa. Arcimboldos rival, Umberto, the weaver across the canal from him, has an apprentice named Serafin who Merle starts to like. During a festival Merle goes off with Serafin to see what some of the city councilors are discussing in their secret meeting. When they get to the meeting place they find somewhere to hide where they can still see and hear what is going on in the meeting. The city councilors were about to give the essence of the Flowing Queen, the only thing that had protected Venice from the Egyptian Empire taking over, to a representative from the Egyptian Empire. Merle and Serafin bust in the room and save the vial with the Flowing Queens essence in it. During their escape the councilors catch Serafin, but Merle makes it back to Arcimboldos factory to tell him about what had happened to her that evening. After she tells her story she is taken to a tower to free a stone lion that can fly and talk. She then rides this lion away from Venice to find somewhere where she might be able to find someone willing to help her save her country and the Flowing Queen from the Egyptian Empire. I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good book to read.
I can relate to Merle because she is like a normal teenage girl in many ways. Merle quickly develops a strong friendship with another girl named Junipa when they became apprentices for Arcimboldo. Merle has a big sense of adventure and shows it by going off with Serafin to find out what the city councilors are doing on their secret meeting. Merle doesn't just get what she wants; she has to work for stuff.
The relationships in the book are described very well. The bond between Merle and Junipa is that of two best friends who can practically read each other's minds they know each other so well. The competition and hatred between the weaver's apprentices and the mirror maker's apprentices is obvious by the way the apprentices act toward each other. Serafin and Merle also develop a strong friendship and this is shown by how concerned they are about each other when the councilors notice that the teenagers were spying on them.
This is a well thought out fantasy book. The city guard rode around patrolling Venice on living stone lions. The canals were filled with mermaids, whose mouths split their faces from one ear to the other and were filled with small sharp teeth. The warriors for the Egyptian Empire, who were trying to take over Venice, were mummies that had been put under a spell to fight.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good fantasy book to read. This book is very well thought out and excellently written. The characters seem so real that anyone reading the book can relate to how they feel about things. The characters and events in the book are described well and can be understood easily.
-V. Newberry

Not being an avid fan of fantasy I couoldnt help but pick up this book like other readers because of its unqiue artwork. I know the old adage "never judge a book by its cover" but in this case I took a gamble, one that paid off.

Kai Meyer's weaves a tale of magic, intrigue and danger. Merle, a young orphan girl and her friend Junipa have been apprenticed to a magic mirror maker. Life is hard in their city of Venice, town filled with Magic, gondolas drawn by mermaids and beseiged by a beligerent Mummy warriors from the evil Egyptian empire.

Her apprenticeship brings her in contact with mny fantastic people and starts her off on an amazing journey. She has to help her friends, learn about the mysterious Flowing Queen which protects Venice and learn about herself in the process.

A great book and a quick read! Recommended!!

Fourteen year old merle is an orphan, abandoned when she was only a few days old. She was placed in a wicker basket and placed in a canal, but she wasn't the only thing inthe basket. There was a mirror, a mirror with a surface of water. Merle lives in the city of Venice in an orphnage. All this while her great city is at somewhat of a war. The only thing protecting this great city is the flowing queen that protects this wonderful city. every citizen hopes and prays this will be enough defense against the Egyptian. Merle and her friend Junipa are orphans, but one day they found out that they were going to apprentice at acrimboldo's mirror shop. This is not a surprise because Acimboldo always picks orphans to apprentice. When they get there Merle finds out that the Housekeeper is a mermaid. Soon they find they are at their own war with the apprentices across the canal and she meets serafin. Her and serafin find out that the city councillors are traitors and helping the Egyptians seize the city of Venice. I would recommend this book to readers who love a great fantasy.

I liked tyhis book because the fantasy it brings. In the book there are great stone lions that walk the streets and some rule the sky. Guards ride on the backs of the lions patrolling the city. In this city their are mermaids but thay are not like the ones in the little mermaid. These mermaids have hideous mouths thet go from ear to ear and they are filled with many rows of razor sharp teeth.

This book has lots of suspense. When Merle and Serafin were running from the flying stone lions and had to hide. When Merle and Serafin were listening to the city Councillors give the essense osf the flowing queens to the Egyptins and the floorboards were breaking.

You would like this book if you like fantasy and suspense in a book. This book will keep on the edge of your seat and keep you turning the pages.
A.Johnson

The Water Mirror is a strong start to a series that gives a small sense of resolution at the end but really ends mid-adventure. Before it ends though it has introduced enough characters, plots, and teasing hints that the reader is left wanting much more. It's certainly one of the better beginnings out there.
The setting is an alternate Venice whose canals are filled with sharp-teethed mermaids, whose streets are patrolled by stone lions (a few of which can fly), and whose people are protected by the mysterious Flowing Queen, who has kept them safe for 30 years while they are besieged by the Egyptian empire and its mummy armies that have seemingly conquered nearly all of the world save Venice and Hell. Yes, it turns out Hell is a real place, discovered some years ago, and its ruler is offering Venice aid against the Egyptians (merely a pinprick of blood for all Venetians is the cost).
Into this context come two young orphan girls, Merle (who has the eponymous magical water mirror) and Junipa (who is blind), newly apprenticed to Arcimboldo, maker of magic mirrors. Soon after their apprenticeship Junipa is given silver mirrors for eyes, allowing her to see, and Merle meets Serafin, a young weaver's apprentice and master thief. Soon, all of them, along with Arcimboldo's housekeeper Eft, are caught up in the political and military chaos: Hell's ruler is getting impatient with the Venetian Council's stalling with regard to his offers of alliance, some on the Council have decided to sell out to the Egyptian ruler and the Flowing Queen has lost her ability to protect the city and been captured in a vial of water. And there's also a centuries old flying stone lion to be freed, though he may or may not be sane. Though Merle is the main character and the one who takes on the major quest to save the city, the others also have their roles to play, some more mysterious than others'.
The setting is nicely detailed and atmospheric. The history is concisely but credibly conveyed. The characters are well-constructed and developed enough so that one wants to know more and see more with regard to them all. The plot is swift-moving, suspenseful, and engaging and Meyer does an excellent job of revealing just enough to pique the reader's interest, whether it be with regard to Hell or Egypt or Merle's magic mirror or Junipa's eyes, etc. Mirror is a rich read, with much to like and almost nothing to complain about. A quick and engaging read whose only disappointment is the wait until the next book comes along. Strongly recommended.