Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

[lightreads]

Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal Novel, A)

4/5. Napoleonic fantasy. The tale of the black man who finds himself, unwillingly and infamously, at the head of British magic, and what happens when Prunella comes into his life. Prunella being – well, rather indescribably marvelous.

Oh gosh, you guys, just go read this. It is witty and indulgent, in the way period fantasy must be. But it is also about the victims of imperialism, living their lot every day from the inside. It has balls and dragons and complicated families and faeries and the quiet, subtle slipping into love of two very alone people, and that crackle of wonder and mystery of magic. And Prunella, who is the best.

This delighted me, and entertained me, and occasionally upset me, in exactly the right proportions and the right ways.

Highly recommended.

Comments

[norah]

Just bought it on Audible, thanks for rec!

[lightreads]

Oh, yes, Jenny Sterlin reads it very well. I always enjoy her.

[ravurian]

I really enjoyed this too, even if I did think that there was a notable air of authorial panic about 2/3 in, when ALL THE IDEAS EVER arrived to overwhelm things a bit. I mean, an over-abundance of ideas is a state profoundly to be desired in authors generally speaking, but I do wish that someone had said BREATHE (and maybe save X and Y for a sequel). On the other hand, it was a very very good debut, I thought, and genuinely inventive and lovely. And yes: PRUNELLA.

Also very good recently was Aliette de Bodard's 'House of Shattered Wings'. Have you run across it?

[lightreads]

Yeah, I had the same thought, only somewhat backward -- I wish she'd put a bit more kerplooey into the first 2/3 and not saved it all for the last third. Still, it's a trilogy, apparently, and I do get the impression she's the sort with plenty of kerplooey left to spend.

I haven't tried de Bodard yet, though she's been on my list for a while. Soon!