The first woman ever admitted to a prestigious order of mages unravels a secret conspiracy that could change the practice of magic forever, in this standalone dark fantasy from the author of The Sword of Kaigen.
“Powerful, thought-provoking. . . . Fans of R.F. Kuang’s Babel will find much to admire here, from the intricate magic system to the unflinching exploration of societal issues.”—Booklist
AN ELLE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
For twenty years, Sciona has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry at the University of Magics and Industry.
When Sciona finally passes the qualifying exam and becomes a highmage, she finds her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues are determined to make her feel unwelcome—and, instead of a qualified lab assistant, they give her a janitor.
What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was not always a janitor. Ten years ago, he was a nomadic hunter who lost his family on their perilous journey from the wild plains to the city. But now he sees the opportunity to understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the privileged in power.
At first, mage and outsider have a fractious relationship. But working together, they uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever—if it doesn’t get them killed first.
TRIGGER WARNING:
ATTEMPTED RAPE, VIOLENCE, the hidden warning relates to the final sentence of the review, read at your own risk
Review:
Dear M.L. Wang,
This book was a book club pick which I attended. I loved the discussion it generated. I am really not sure how to review it. While I was reading the book I thought that my main problem with it was that the conflict was lacking nuance. When I finished reading, I thought that ending was very fitting and that main character at least had enough shades of grey for me to be less annoyed with her and she even had a character arc and all I hope for was that the author would never make this a series. I know stand alone books rarely appear in this day and age, but I keep hoping that this is one of them.
The blurb gives you a good set up. Sciona is a dedicated scholar who spent all her life studying, hoping to become a High mage and get into institution where no woman had made her way in before. Women in this society are allowed to study magics but none of them so far passed this exam (with 99 High mages being men is it really shocking?).
Sciona is truly brilliant, she is an innovator, so she does pass the exam, but as the blurb hints a lot of her troubles are just beginning. I actually was so happy when I was reading the description of the tests at the examination, because the description of the magic system was fascinating. I felt as if the magic was treated as code writing maybe? Of course in the middle of the book when one learns just how much ugliness serves as a fuel for the magical system I was not so fascinated anymore, but the beginning was fascinating.
So Sciona starts her work in the Ministry and she is so eager to continue to innovate and improve, but the sexism she faces from her male colleagues is horrifying. Sciona is determined to overcome though as she did all her life, because she knows that she is one of the best Mages ever (if not the best). Yes she has a healthy ego as all of her male colleagues do and yes, she is very good at what she does, so I had zero problems with her ego.
Her lovely colleagues give her a janitor as an assistant and Sciona decides to take him rather than back down to them. Her acquaintance with Tomil and their growing friendship leads to her discovering many ugly truths in how her city is being run and trying to do something about it.
We know that in Titan, Tomil’s people are being treated horribly, as a second class citizen (or third, or fourth). Unfortunately during the course of the story we discover that they are being treated *worse*. As I said Sciona discovers that, realized that she is complicit too, and eventually decided to do something about it. I will leave it to you readers to judge her actions. I will say that while Sciona and Tomil clearly end up liking each other and attracted to each other, I am very hard pressed to call their changing relationship a full blown Romance, but yes it made clear that they end up in love.
THE ENDING IS NOT A ROMANCE ENDING BEWARE.
Grade: B-
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Sirius
Sirius started reading books when she was four and reading and discussing books is still her favorite hobby. One of her very favorite gay romances is Tamara Allen’s Whistling in the Dark. In fact, she loves every book written by Tamara Allen. Amongst her other favorite romance writers are Ginn Hale, Nicole Kimberling, Josephine Myles, Taylor V. Donovan and many others. Sirius’ other favorite genres are scifi, mystery and Russian classics. Sirius also loves travelling, watching movies and long slow walks.
