A thoroughly enjoyable conclusion, the trilogy satisfyingly complete yet perfectly set up for future extensions.
Final installment (The Paradox, 2015, etc.) of Fletcher’s rich and splendid Victorian gothic fantasy trilogy, and once again independently intelligible.
For centuries the Oversight of London has guarded the border between the natural and magical realms and kept hidden the deadly dangerous magical Wildfire. But now the black hats have learned of the Wildfire’s whereabouts. The ghastly Citizen has made a pact with the seemingly immortal Elizabethan magician, Dr. Dee, to seize the Wildfire and release it into the mirror-maze. Viscount Mountfellon, the malign scientist-wizard, needs the Wildfire to realize his megalomaniacal dreams. But will the Templebane clan, sworn enemies of the Oversight, try to take advantage? What of the ancient race known as the Sluagh, now almost allies? Elsewhere, freelancer Caitlin Sean ná Gaolaire arrives in America with her apprentice, Lucy Harker, but the local Oversight, who call themselves the Remnant, prove independent-minded and reluctant to cooperate. Worse, the Remnant’s being duped by a powerful somebody via the mirror-maze, as we readers but not the characters themselves immediately grasp. Wayland Smith journeys to the remotest corner of the Scottish Hebrides—but why, and who will he meet there? Will the mad Ghost of the Itch Ward fullfill her desire to kill Mountfellon, and will we learn why? Can poor abused innocent Amos Templebane learn how to control his gifts and find redemption? Yes, Fletcher keeps us intrigued by posing questions we want to know the answers to, and he drives this impressive array of plot strands along with panache and dexterity—again, it’s easy to forgive the occasional flaw, so rich is the characterization and surprising the narrative. And in terms of the trilogy’s sources and backdrop, it’s certainly the most persuasive fictional use of British folklore since Robert Holdstock’s remarkable Mythago Wood.
A thoroughly enjoyable conclusion, the trilogy satisfyingly complete yet perfectly set up for future extensions.Pub Date: March 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-27956-7
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Orbit/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
Although this sequel doesn’t break new ground, it will appeal strongly to fans of the first book.
More steampunk adventures of a samurai prognosticator, his clockwork octopus, and his human lovers.
Five years after her charming debut novel, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street (2015), Pulley brings back the main characters for another scramble through the dangers and consequences of clairvoyance. Readers of the first book already know the big reveal: that Keita Mori—the eponymous London watchmaker—has an unusual memory that works both backward and forward. (Readers new to the series should put this book down and start with Watchmaker.) This time Pulley sets the action principally in Japan, where Mori; Thaniel Steepleton, a British translator and diplomat; Grace Carrow Matsumoto, a physicist; and Takiko Pepperharrow, a Kabuki actress and baroness, are working together to foil a samurai’s power grab and turn away a Russian invasion. At least, that’s what Mori’s doing; the others are rushing blindly down paths he’s laid out for them, which may or may not get them where he wants them to go. But if Mori knows what’s coming and what steps they can take to change the future, why doesn’t he just tell them what to do? The answer is half satisfying (because, as in any complicated relationship, communication isn’t always easy; because the characters have wills of their own and might not obey) and half irritating (because if he did, there wouldn’t be much of a story). Pulley’s witty writing and enthusiastically deployed steampunk motifs—clockwork, owls, a mechanical pet, Tesla-inspired electrical drama—enliven a plot that drags in the middle before rushing toward its explosive end. Perhaps more interesting than the plot are the relationships. The characters revolve through a complex pattern of marriages of passion and convenience, sometimes across and sometimes within genders and cultures, punctuated by jealousy and interesting questions about trust.
Although this sequel doesn’t break new ground, it will appeal strongly to fans of the first book.Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-63557-330-5
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
The open-ended nature of the ending suggests that the clan war is not yet over; it’ll be interesting to see what course Lee...
Two clans fueled by the magical power of jade battle for control of an analog of mid-20th-century Hong Kong.
Clan soldiers have a specific genetic affinity for jade not shared by most outsiders, which grants them strength and shielding, among other magical powers. Kaul Sen, the former Pillar (head) of the No Peak clan, has retired, and the new Pillar, Kaul Lan, doesn’t quite inspire the fear and loyalty garnered by his legendary grandfather or his late war hero father. His younger brother, Kaul Hilo, is an effective Horn (chief enforcer), but he’s also rash and impulsive. Sensing weakness in her rival, Ayt Madashi, the ruthless Pillar of the Mountain clan, begins a campaign to destroy No Peak and take total control of the island nation of Kekon. The setting suggests that this crime-thriller/fantasy might find inspiration in history and fiction about the triads, and perhaps it does, but it also clearly leans heavily on elements drawn from The Godfather. Some examples (beyond the general plot of crime families battling for supremacy): an adoptive member of the Kaul family is kidnapped by the Mountain to serve as intermediary; the Mountain wants to sell drugs and initially seeks No Peak’s help with the business; the character of Hilo bears some similarity to Sonny Corleone, while the third Kaul grandchild, Shae, traces part of the path of Michael Corleone (she’s spent years outside the clan pursuing her own interests but her loyalties drag her back when tragedy strikes). Despite those beats, Lee's (Exo, 2017, etc.) novel has its own story to tell; an intriguing confluence of history, culture, and biology shapes both the characters and their fates.
The open-ended nature of the ending suggests that the clan war is not yet over; it’ll be interesting to see what course Lee charts next.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-44086-8
Page Count: 600
Publisher: Orbit
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2017
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