Sorcerer to the Crown

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The characters were interesting and I loved the setting and concept, but the plot seemed like three half-plots that were loosely related.

This is a pleasant, diverting, and competently written story suitable for passing the time on a journey. It's compared by some to [b:Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell 14201 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Susanna Clarke https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1357027589l/14201.SY75.jpg 3921305], but this book is much shorter, lighter, and easier to read. If you like, you could consider it as the children's version of [b:Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell 14201 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Susanna Clarke https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1357027589l/14201.SY75.jpg 3921305].The story is set in the Napoleonic era, and establishes that English society was both patriarchal and racist (which of course it was). It introduces a hero who is a young-adult black-African orphan, and a heroine who is a young-adult half-Indian orphan: both severely disadvantaged in English society, you'd think. However, the hero is magically talented, and the heroine turns out to be magically super-talented, so basically the world is their oyster and this is a transparent wish-fulfillment fantasy.In order to have a story at all, of course they encounter some opposition and difficulties, but all opposition and difficulties are illusory, because in a world of magic the author can overcome all such problems with a suitable spell whenever she chooses.This is an occupational hazard in writing magical fantasies. If the author wants to make readers believe that difficulties are real, she has to work at persuading us that magic has definite rules and limitations, and cannot be deployed at whim to defeat anyone or anything that gets in the way. In this story, it's vaguely suggested that magic may have some rules and limitations, but we don't know what they are, and it's not very convincing.I found the book pleasant and readable, but unsatisfying. Will I ever read it again? I don't know; at the moment I feel that once is enough.

CAWPILE SCORE
C-9
A-9
W-10
P-9
I-8
L-8
E-9
TOTAL-8.86/10

This is an Amazing Book. It surprised me a little bit starting with Zacharias instead of Prunella, but it was everything i was expecting and more. The magic while being a soft system, fit perfectly in this world and never felt out of place or confusing

This one took a while to grow on me. For, probably, the first third to half of the novel, I wasn't really enjoying myself. Some other people in the reviews say that it's a bit of a slow burn, and I agree. Stick with it though, and you'll find yourself a really charming Victorian England novel – with magic.

The world is a bit of an alternate history/alternate universe Victorian era, where magic is commonplace (if restricted), and upbringing and reputation is everything. Zacharias is the Sorcerer Royal for England by merit of being chosen by the previous Sorcerer Royal, though not without protest from other magicians and aristocracy in London. With an ever-deepening problem involving the flow of magic into England, he by chance meets Prunella, an orphaned girl at a school for witches. She has the unfortunate fate of being extremely talented in magic in a society that frowns upon and shuns sorceresses. Prunella, fearing her fate of being locked away in an inconsequential life and wanting more for herself in London society, schemes her way to London with Zacharias. From there, friendship amidst hardship develops, and Prunella and Zacharias both have to confront the past that brought them to where they are now.

It's an interesting premise, and I'm not doing it justice through summary, I'm afraid. There's a lot more to it, involving the fairy kingdom, some assassination attempts, some political machinations, and dragons. Despite the plot seemingly tackling a lot of things at once, I feel like it does so fairly well. It was a fun romp in magical Victorian England that I'm glad I stuck with. The writing style is a bit wordy, and I noted one reviewer comparing the style to a Jane Austen novel, which I can totally see. I thought it lent the story some charm and fun. There's a bit of a feeling of Anne of Green Gables in some places as well, if Anne did magic (can you imagine?). I really did feel like the language lent the book some humor and charm, and was appropriate for the tone the author was going for.

My only real quibble was Prunella's character. Her motives felt all over the place, and in some places her character really annoyed me. By the end, though, I felt like the author had more or less decided where to go with Prunella, and I really did like the ending between her and Zacharias.

I really recommend this book for anyone who's willing to stick through the (appropriate) stuffy language and a bit of a slow start and experience a really fun magical adventure.

Reading very much as if Georgette Heyer decided to write fantasy, this book was charming and fun, full of flowery language and round about way of saying simple things that require you to read dialog twice to make sure you're understanding what characters say to one another. Great to have POC main characters, but annoying how obsessed the narrative was with how “other” they were, given the author is also POC. I don't feel we learned anything with this preoccupation other than in order to break free, one must be audacious and assume success until proven otherwise.

will review later when i feel less vitriol for the time spent reading this

An engaging mixture of Regency Romance and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (but lacking a little in the depth of the latter), this was an enjoyable romp. A little slow to get going but a refreshing change. It's nice to read a tale in this oeuvre with two main characters who are non-white. Most enjoyable, would recommend.
4.25 Quills.

3.5 While I'm into Manglish, it's a dragging chore to wade through stilted, pompous fantasy-speak. On top of that, referring to the female of the species so insistently is eminently irritating. It's hard to stomach fantasy when one creates a world of dragons and fairies and magic, but then replicates the same oppressions. It's unfair when Prunella is to be lumped with the servants or thought a strumpet, not because she questions class structures, patriarchal control, religious hypocrisy, imperialism, etc., but because she's not one of them. Having two protagonists of colour alone (although it's mentioned multiple times how light-skinned Prunella is and how she can pass by candlelight) isn't enough to overturn this genre. Is it mandatory for fantasy characters to be Mary Sues? Why does the omniscient narrator have to be racist and sexist too? I'll still read book two though.

(Original, DNF review to follow.)

This was another book that I tried reading previously and gave up on. Well, in my effort to be truly fair and give some of my DNF books another shot, I decided to try this one again. I only read the first 30 pages the first time around - and they were probably the best, because this book got worse the longer it went on. Truthfully, I should have DNF'd it and left it that way, and only made it all the way through it due to sheer stubbornness. (And, I really, really wish I hadn't tried to finish it. On the other hand, it's already November and I got my first 1 star read of 2018! So, yay me!)

This is less a review and more a collection of notes that I made on my phone while reading this.

Honestly, if it hadn't been called satire by some of the blurbs, I would have thought it was just a racist, misogynistic pos. As it is...I don't believe satire is for me. (And I still firmly believe this is just a racist, misogynistic pos.)

If women are more strongly magical than men, and non-white women the most strongly magical of all...how did we ever find a country ruled by white men?

Zacharias is okay, though he sounds more like a man of seventy than twenty-four. Prunella...is a super speshul snowflake and the only women that can do anything. She's also, for some strange reason, fancying herself in love with Zacharias.

And don't even get me started on the romance. No, I mean it. Don't get me started on it, because it is pointless, the story would have changed none without it, and it's inexplicable. They also have NO chemistry. None.

Also, the use of ‘Oriental' for race is...disquieting. Especially coming from someone born in Malaysia.

Also, in the space of 30 pages, Prunella ‘makes' two ‘moue's - one that is ‘pretty' and one that is ‘of discontent.' What is up with that? (Oh, isn't that lovely, Prunella's so super speshul, she has a ‘pretty pout.' What, saying that makes her sound too childish?)

Honestly, I thought several times that I I should finish it, but then I go ‘I've already read over 200 pages, I should just finish the thing. Anyway, check out this review for what was pretty much my thoughts, summed up better than I did: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1833528960?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1.

(But, honestly, don't read this book if you want ‘modern sensibilities' because while Zacharias is pretty modern, his adopted ‘parents' are pretty racist (they bought him when he was six or younger but didn't emancipate him until his thirteenth birthday? His delightful father figure could have bought his parents at the same time, but only wanted the boy because...he shows magical abilities.) and the rest of the populace of England is as bad. Worse, with the whole ‘ritual murder' that is only cleared because he's black. And Prunella is every single ‘modern' woman in a historical. Every. Single. One. Just - ugh - this book was terrible.)

(Note about my original review: I did my proper research this time. I thought it would be a comeuppance for all the white supremacists in this book. It wasn't. The narration tacitly supports the racism running rampant. Well, at least when it's directed towards Zacharias. There is little racism directed towards Prunella (whom, if I understand rightly, had a black mother and a white father. Hmm... That doesn't have bad connotations. At all.) instead, she is subjected to sexism that the narration goes out of it's way to discredit.) Anyway, I'm just going to stop now. My blood pressure is rising and I'm so done with this book.


Original review:

DNF - PG 31

Why?

You know, from the synopsis I should have suspected. I really should have suspected. But I didn't. I was distracted by the cover, (that's simply lovely) all the accolades this book has gotten, (however, I usually dislike whatever books NPR likes, so, yeah) and the promise of diversity. (Okay, so it has diversity, but he's disrespected, called a ‘woolly Afric' and proclaimed to have ‘native savagery.') And, the little tiny part of me that did suspect figured that given the tone of the synopsis, it would be a parody of itself and, you know, poke fun in a harmless manner at the fact that he's not a gentleman and that women don't do magic. Instead, I was treated to racist, sexist bigotry. (Sure, the ‘hero' isn't like that, but, beyond some of the supporting characters, the whole society is bigoted. And, considering we have magic and some mysterious place called ‘Fairyland,' tell me how humans sill remained so ignorant. Actually, don't. I don't want to know. The simple fact is, yes, it happened/is happening. I could read plenty of books that deal with bigotry in all it's forms, as well as historical novels that stay distressingly true to life. I don't want to deal with it in such an unpleasant manner when I read spec fiction. I just don't.) Add that to the writing style that I was trying to decide if it was head hopping or third person omnipotent until I realized that it borrows very heavily (too heavily for me) from the writing style that was common during the time the book is supposed to take place. (Which means two things: all those people that compare it to Pride & Prejudice is right on and it's third person omnipotent.)

I just... There's nothing encouraging me to keep reading and plenty of things that I don't like making me stop.

(And I read a review that proclaimed that the story is about inequality and integration and segregation. Honestly, I rather wish I'd found that review BEFORE I bought this book - because I could have figured it was not for me. So, my dislike and DNF of this book is totally on me for not doing my proper research.)

Fun, fairly quick read. The dialog between Zacharias, Prunella and Damerell were probably the best parts of the book, with Damerell stealing any scene he was in. Zacharias is immensely likable. But as a whole I felt like too much was left unexplained.

The use and acquisition of familiars was both vague and horrifying. Zacharias describes their hatching from eggs as having the mind of an infant, for some unexplained reason a person from fairy deciding to reincarnate themselves in the mortal realm. Are they pets? Slaves? Friends? Are the sorcerers their slaves in turn? Apparently it's ok to marry one, as in the case of Midsomer and Lorelei, but they don't have any of them same rights and privileges of a human person, considering that Prunella feeds one of hers to another with no consequence but a few shed tears. This was murky and not adequately explained, I was honestly left wondering why anyone would want a familiar at all. For a moderate boost in power?

The main plot is about England running out of magic but it doesn't seem to impair the magic users in any way- the book is full of examples of Prunella and Zacharias casting spells with no difficulty.

It is apparently verboten for ladies to practice magic because they are too delicate - except for any occasion in which a lady feels like doing a bit of magic would be convenient.

Can almost everyone do magic? It is mentioned many times how useful maids, farmers, laborer etc find doing spells to aid their everyday work, so I was left with the idea that almost everyone in England must be able to do a bit of magic.

What does the Sorcerer Royal do? Zacharias mentions attending to his duties and being very busy, but doesn't say what he is doing. He can't flee Midsomer because he can't leave his duties, but I could not figure out why since he mainly seemed to be teaching Prunella and collapsing in pain at intervals. And much is made of the Sorcerer Royal's magical staff - but what does it do? I can't remember any instance of explanation of where it came from or what it actually does.

Really liked this!! I haven't read much fantasy of manners since the [b:His Majesty's Dragon 28876 His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, #1) Naomi Novik https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1376392909s/28876.jpg 726205] series, but I like it. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but I was really delighted to realize that it was in that genre (basically Regency fiction with magic/dragons/fantasy elements). Prunella is a wonderful character and so full of life, and even minor characters had vivid personalities and were easy to distinguish (which is sometimes hard in an audiobook, since you can't really flip back to earlier pages). The plot got a little convoluted at times, but the end left me grinning. I can't wait to read the further books in the series!(Bookriot Read Harder 2016 Challenge: #14 Read a book that is by an author from Southeast Asia)

I'm really glad that I got out of my comfort zone to read this. On the surface it sounded similar to Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell which I hated (Regency London, English manners, wizards). Also, dragons, witches, sorcerers and other fantasy staples have not been my usual fare since my Great Fantasy Overload of the late 90s (wherein I ticked off all of LeGuin, Tolkien, Dragonlance and various lesser D&D offshoots... don't judge). Zen Cho's online personality had really charmed me though and I wanted her to have some of my money.

And what a good decision that was! This book is hilarious, impressively written, well paced, entertaining and very, very satisfying (actually, it's downright righteous as hell!).

Read if you're partial to fun & feminism, definitely avoid if you think that white dudes being in charge of everything is the best idea.

See my full review at The Emerald City Book Review. I was not as enchanted by this Regency-era fantasy as many other reviewers, but I did enjoy it on the whole. It's extremely difficult to do something original in this genre by now without undue strain, but Cho's contribution does bring something new to the party with the titular sorcerer, a former slave who's been vaulted by circumstance into the highest magical post of the realm. Even more fun is the apprentice who forces himself upon him, a mixed-race orphan who's trying to escape from a life of drudgery and unfold her magical powers (which as a mere female she's supposed to keep strictly under wraps). In spite of the appealing verve and energy of the writing, there were some derivative echoes of Temeraire and Strange & Norrell, and times when the author's narrative skills didn't keep pace with her ideas. I hope that as she matures as a writer we may find the sequels an improvement.

It has been quite a few years since I last read Susanna Clarke???s massive fantasy Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I have some very fond memories of reading it: late weekend nights slowly turning over the pages, letting myself sink into Clarke???s language, taking the time to read the footnotes as thoroughly as possible, since one of my friends had hinted that the footnotes were especially important in understanding what was happening in the novel. (This is very true, but I will not say how, in case the reader of this review hasn???t read Clarke???s book yet.)

However, it is the farthest thing from an easy read - especially if one is not comfortable with the style of such writers as Dickens, Austen, and Wharton. Many potential readers have been put off by both the heft of the book and Clarke???s language, but readers who persevered were rewarded with a deep and rich story that included memorable characters, rich world-building, and an intriguing (albeit somewhat slow) plot. Many now consider Clarke???s novel a classic, one that has opened the way for such series as Naomi Novik???s Temeraire books and Mary Robinette Kowal???s Glamourist Histories.

So, when Zen Cho???s novel Sorcerer to the Crown was announced, accompanied by a steady stream of hype, I was intrigued - not least because much of that hype was coming from authors whose books I loved and whose authority I trusted. My interest deepened when comparisons were made to Clarke???s novel: it was the kind of thing I enjoyed, after all, and since I was coming off the disappointment of Ann Leckie???s Ancillary Mercy, I believed I deserved something that would just work.

Fortunately, Sorcerer to the Crown really does work, though not necessarily in the way Jonathan Strange does. Some of the comparisons drawn between the two are justified, but Sorcerer to the Crown is the very farthest thing from ???a second Jonathan Strange??? - particularly since it does some things much better.

Set in the early 1800s, Sorcerer to the Crown opens with Zacharias Wythe, England???s Sorcerer Royal, pondering the question of why English magic seemed to be running dry. However, that is not the only problem Zacharias faces, for he is a black man leading a society of white men, and his position as Sorcerer Royal is precarious at best. He is aware that it won???t be long until someone comes along to topple him from his place for no other reason than that he is black, but in the meantime, he has his duty, and he will do his duty to the best of his ability while he can.

In his quest for answers he meets Prunella Gentleman, a young woman with a mysterious background and a wellspring of power even he does not fully comprehend. When their paths cross they find themselves on a journey that will bring immense changes to both English magic, and English society.

On the surface, Sorcerer to the Crown and Jonathan Strange are very similar: the storyline regarding English magic is remarkably similar in both books, as is the role and qualities of Fairyland (the font of magic in both novels, populated by denizens who do not necessarily have humanity???s interests at heart). The language is also rather similar, though Cho trends more towards Austen than Dickens.

But that is where the similarities end, for Sorcerer to the Crown is an entirely different beast from Jonathan Strange. One key difference is a sense of lightness: where Clarke???s novel is ponderous (some would say plodding), Cho???s moves along at remarkably fast clip. It does get bogged down from time to time, but it doesn???t do so often, and even those slower moments in the plot are enjoyable for the insight they give about the world, or the characters, or both.

A great deal of the charm of Sorcerer to the Crown comes from its characters, and the way Cho has built those characters to go against the reader???s initial expectations. In the beginning it seems clear to the reader that Zacharias is the hero of the novel. As a black man in a position of power, in a world where racism clearly holds sway, he appears to make a most interesting main protagonist, with the potential for all kinds of thematic commentary on race, power, and class relevant to the novel???s setting.

However, it soon becomes obvious that he is not the main protagonist at all - not in the traditional sense, at least. He is shy, retiring, and does not enjoy being in the spotlight: in fact, he admits that the position of Sorcerer Royal, so coveted by those around him, feels more like a burden than a privilege, as this excerpt shows:

???Zacharias,??? said Prunella. ???Did not you want to be Sorcerer Royal????She sounded astonished, as if the alternative had never crossed her mind before.???I have found that opportunity brings with it its own set of chains,??? said Zacharias, after a pause. ???That power generates demands which cannot easily be gainsaid???as you are learning now, I think.???

In many ways, the true star of Sorcerer to the Crown is Prunella. Not only does she engineer her own escape from a life she despises, but she sets ambitious goals for herself - and then proceeds to find ways of achieving those goals using methods that Zacharias finds scandalous, but which undeniably work. In this, Prunella, more than Zacharias, shows the dash, daring, and fortitude the reader would expect from the more traditional (white, male) ???intrepid hero??? generally found in novels with plots similar to Sorcerer to the Crown.

But what makes Prunella even more fascinating (and even more enjoyable to read about) is that she applies those qualities in pursuit of more ???feminine??? things, such as coming-out in London society and gaining the approval of the ton: things generally considered the purview of ladies and effete society dandies. Far from being dismissive of them, Prunella clearly views them as a way of getting ahead in the world, despite her skin colour and questionable origins:

Prunella took to the ballrooms of London in the spirit of ruthless calculation of a general entering a battlefield. Within a week she had marked out the Lady Jerseys and Countess Esterh??zys of the world, who wielded the most influence among the ton, and she laid herself out to please them. She took no notice of the numerous gentlemen who promptly lost their hearts to her.???I shall not soon stop being pretty and saucy,??? she explained, ???so I need not worry about losing the interest of the gentlemen. But I must have the good opinion of the women, for their word is all the capital I have, and I am lost if they take it into their heads to disapprove of me.???

Note how Cho describes Prunella???s approach to society as ???a general entering a battlefield???: a description that might usually be ascribed to a male character, doing ???manly??? things, but in this case applied to a young woman, doing ???feminine??? things. The contrast is small, subtle, and will probably go unnoticed by some readers, but in my opinion it is these small details and little inversions of convention that make Sorcerer to the Crown such a delightful read.

Indeed, Cho ascribes many characteristics to Prunella, such as ambition and ruthlessness, that are often considered deplorable when they are displayed by women, but which are considered praiseworthy in men. Take, for example, this excerpt:

???Your amoral ingenuity in the pursuit of your interest is perfectly shocking,??? said Zacharias severely.???Yes, isn???t it???? said Prunella, pleased.

There are many other scenes in which Zacharias shows displeasure and discomfort in Prunella???s ability to put aside ???finer feelings??? if it means she will achieve her goals, but the above excerpt is the one that most clearly shows Prunella???s own opinion on the matter: she does not care, and will do what she needs to do in order to achieve what she feels she needs to achieve. This all comes to a head in the novel???s climax, when Prunella has to make a very hard decision, but it is a decision she clearly makes with her head, not with her heart. It is not often I find female characters who display such tendencies, and moreover, whose ruthlessness and ambition are portrayed as good qualities to have; seeing Prunella have such qualities while still being what might be considered a ???good??? person is a pleasure indeed.

Another major difference between Sorcerer to the Crown and Jonathan Strange is how it treats English history during the time period they are set in. Jonathan Strange is intensely insular, focused on England itself; the fact that England was building a globe-spanning empire is not the novel???s central focus, and issues of race and colonialism remain on the periphery, or are ignored entirely.

Sorcerer to the Crown however, is different: it is entirely aware of England???s history of colonialism, and this is put front and centre in the novel. But what is interesting, and quite pleasing, about Cho???s approach to the matter of colonialism, as well as to issues like racism, classism, and feminism, is that she does so with a relatively light touch. Sorcerer to the Crown deals with such things overtly, but in tackling these issues Cho does not sacrifice the overall plot, or its overall speed. The clearest instance of this would be that the protagonists are not part of the establishment (Zacharias is an emancipated slave, while Prunella is a half-Indian orphan), but there are also other, smaller moments throughout the novel wherein Cho tackles these issues head-on - most of the time in a humorous manner, but there are moments when it can turn remarkably poignant. Take, for instance, this excerpt, where Zacharias considers how to answer Prunella???s question regarding why he hasn???t tried to go looking for his parents, even though he now has the means to do so:

???What might [Zacharias???s] life have been, with a father and mother? It could not have cost Sir Stephen very much to purchase them as well???certainly not enough to strain his ample resources. How could his benevolence have extended so far as to move him to free Zacharias, but no further?But it had been impossible to ask these questions of Sir Stephen or Lady Wythe, whose affection could not be doubted. That Zacharias???s own love for them was leavened with anger was best left unsaid; he tried not to know it himself.???Very probably I would have been separated from my parents in any event,??? he said. ???What assurance can I feel that my parents were not in time separated from each other, against their will, and they powerless to prevent it????The answers to those questions were too painful to pursue to their conclusion, even in thought. They had only ever served to increase the complicated unhappiness that lay in wait whenever he thought of his parents.

In this excerpt, Cho tackles the effects of England???s slave trade on its victims while at the same time deepening Zacharias???s characterisation, and in doing so intertwines a particularly dark period of history with an emotionally complex character backstory - a trick that few writers can accomplish with the same ease Cho does.

Overall, Sorcerer to the Crown is a delightful read: one that is entertaining and funny, while still dealing with weightier issues the reader might encounter in more serious science fiction or fantasy novels. Cho addresses those issues with a light, but not condescending, touch, ensuring that her plot continues to move at a fairly quick clip, rarely slowing down until it reaches the climax. The language may take a bit of getting used-to, especially if one is not entirely familiar (or comfortable) with the conventions of Austen and Dickens, but it is no great hurdle to overcome once the plot really gets going.

But if the novel has any true highlight, it would definitely have to be the characters: funny, endearing, and loveable in unexpected ways - after all, readers do not expect themselves to think fondly of a lamia, of all things, and yet it is highly likely they will find themselves siding wholeheartedly with one by the time they are halfway through this novel. I certainly did.

Once in awhile, I read a book that I appreciate immensely yet do not enjoy reading immensely. Objectively, I admire its wonderful qualities, yet it???s missing that special spark that keeps me eagerly turning the pages. Sorcerer to the Crown is one of those books, and I'm rather mystified as to why I didn't love it because there is much that is really well done.

Complete Mini Review: http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2015/11/mini-review-of-sorcerer-to-the-crown-by-zen-cho/