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Galen Beckett is able to bring a fresh voice to the fantasy genre by echoing the voices of the Brontes, Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, and a little bit of Daphne du Maurier. Here is a comedy of manners, mixed in with a tale of horror and imagination. Magic and witchcraft, class conflicts, and conspiracies are mixed into a concoction that is a true pleasure to read.
Rich characters come alive but no one moreso than the intrepid Ivy Lockwell. She is the catalyst of the story and while she knows her place in society, is also remarkable in her strength and character. Equally memorable are the charming Rafferdy and the hapless Garritt. Beckett is able to create a universe that is both familiar and fresh (it is a world with days and nights of varying lengths that require careful attention to almanacs).
While the first section of the book takes hints from Austen and Wilde, there is always an undercurrent of foreboding that really pays off in the second section with its sampling of the Brontes and du Maurier. Here you will find trecherous highwaymen, children in peril, a bleak yet majestic country estate, a distant and gruff land baron, a stern and mysterious housekeeper, a naive young governess, and ancient and sinister woods filled with secrets and unimaginable dangers.
The final section is the payoff as conspiracies, magic, and political intrigue twist upon themselves and place our main characters in grave peril. All disperate plot points are woven together as it gallops to its conclusion, but leaving room for more adventures in the upcoming follow-up, "The House on Durrow Street."
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The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett
Frank Tagader, January 3, 2009
Galen Beckett is able to bring a fresh voice to the fantasy genre by echoing the voices of the Brontes, Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, and a little bit of Daphne du Maurier. Here is a comedy of manners, mixed in with a tale of horror and imagination. Magic and witchcraft, class conflicts, and conspiracies are mixed into a concoction that is a true pleasure to read.Rich characters come alive but no one moreso than the intrepid Ivy Lockwell. She is the catalyst of the story and while she knows her place in society, is also remarkable in her strength and character. Equally memorable are the charming Rafferdy and the hapless Garritt. Beckett is able to create a universe that is both familiar and fresh (it is a world with days and nights of varying lengths that require careful attention to almanacs).
While the first section of the book takes hints from Austen and Wilde, there is always an undercurrent of foreboding that really pays off in the second section with its sampling of the Brontes and du Maurier. Here you will find trecherous highwaymen, children in peril, a bleak yet majestic country estate, a distant and gruff land baron, a stern and mysterious housekeeper, a naive young governess, and ancient and sinister woods filled with secrets and unimaginable dangers.
The final section is the payoff as conspiracies, magic, and political intrigue twist upon themselves and place our main characters in grave peril. All disperate plot points are woven together as it gallops to its conclusion, but leaving room for more adventures in the upcoming follow-up, "The House on Durrow Street."
(0 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)