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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
I very much enjoyed this. It was short and felt like an introduction to a series rather than a complete story in itself but I'm looking forward to more.
I haven’t read much steampunk and I have to say, this story didn’t really inspire to pick up more. It wasn’t that it was bad, it was pretty well written and the story sounded interesting, it just fell pretty flat for me. I was never very immersed in the story or felt like I just had to know what happens next. Maybe a full length novel, with more time to flesh out the characters and plot would have been better, but as it was, this was only okay.
Brother’s Ruin by Emma Newman is the first installment of a new gaslamp fantasy series. In 1850 England, Charlotte Gunn is leading a double life. Not only is she a successful illustrator under a male pseudonym, but also a mage who has yet to be discovered by the Royal Society of Esoteric Arts. She works hard to hide what she does and what she is, lying to most everyone but her brother. When she finds that her father owes a great debt, and her brother may also be a mage, she must guard her secrets even more carefully than before—while working to make sure her brother receives the best offer from the magic colleges.
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Read more here
I picked this book up at the library on a whim.
I love stories where industry is magical and young magicians are whisked away into training. I love stories where women defy the rules to do what they want to do with their lives, in pursuit of their own happiness. I love stories that have intrigue, mystery, and conspiracy. I love when stories combine all three. Brother’s Ruin by Emma Newman does just that.
Set in 1850, Brother’s Ruin is the story of Charlotte Gunn and her desires to have a successful career of her own choosing, have a happy marriage to the man she’s engaged to, keep her family whole and hale, and to keep her darkest secret. Of course, in her quest to accomplish all that very little goes her way. (It wouldn’t be fun to read any other way, now would it?)
Being found as a Latent and forced to join the institution of magicians, called The Royal Society in Brother’s Ruin, is a frightening fate for many, including Charlotte and her family. Magi aren’t allowed to do any of what Charlotte hopes – no careers outside of what they decree, no marriage, and while her family would be compensated for her absence she wouldn’t consider it whole.
Where The Paper Magician by Charlie Holmberg has all the same elements, Brother’s Ruin is darker, less peppy and hopeful, and less lovesick. The story is fun and compelling and I can’t wait to read more!
Thankfully, Brother’s Ruin is the first in Emma Newman’s gaslamp fantasy series Industrial Magic. The second book in the series Weaver’s Lament is slated to hit shelves October 17, 2017.
I love stories where industry is magical and young magicians are whisked away into training. I love stories where women defy the rules to do what they want to do with their lives, in pursuit of their own happiness. I love stories that have intrigue, mystery, and conspiracy. I love when stories combine all three. Brother’s Ruin by Emma Newman does just that.
Set in 1850, Brother’s Ruin is the story of Charlotte Gunn and her desires to have a successful career of her own choosing, have a happy marriage to the man she’s engaged to, keep her family whole and hale, and to keep her darkest secret. Of course, in her quest to accomplish all that very little goes her way. (It wouldn’t be fun to read any other way, now would it?)
Being found as a Latent and forced to join the institution of magicians, called The Royal Society in Brother’s Ruin, is a frightening fate for many, including Charlotte and her family. Magi aren’t allowed to do any of what Charlotte hopes – no careers outside of what they decree, no marriage, and while her family would be compensated for her absence she wouldn’t consider it whole.
Where The Paper Magician by Charlie Holmberg has all the same elements, Brother’s Ruin is darker, less peppy and hopeful, and less lovesick. The story is fun and compelling and I can’t wait to read more!
Thankfully, Brother’s Ruin is the first in Emma Newman’s gaslamp fantasy series Industrial Magic. The second book in the series Weaver’s Lament is slated to hit shelves October 17, 2017.
This is very clearly an Emma Newman book in the style of her Split Worlds series. If you liked those, this will work for you as well. Charlotte and Cathy are certainly different characters, but you can feel the women chafing at the patriarchal bonds of society interwoven with protagonist chafing at the larger bonds of magical society in both.
My biggest annoyance is that this feels like the first third of a novel rather than a self-contained narrative. I want to know more!
My biggest annoyance is that this feels like the first third of a novel rather than a self-contained narrative. I want to know more!
3.5+ stars
This was good although it was a bit too short. It reads like an introduction to the world and the characters, perhaps a prequel that sets up the premises going forward.
Tor could have done a better job of copy editing it, but I've seen worse. The story was easy to follow and the world was interesting, but I'm so blithering bored with youngster MCs who are only learning where their spines are and how to use them.
This was good although it was a bit too short. It reads like an introduction to the world and the characters, perhaps a prequel that sets up the premises going forward.
Tor could have done a better job of copy editing it, but I've seen worse. The story was easy to follow and the world was interesting, but I'm so blithering bored with youngster MCs who are only learning where their spines are and how to use them.
This has been lying around on my kindle for a long time (I'm a sucker for Gaslamp fantasy and steampunk, and the words "Royal Society for Esoteric Arts" pretty much convinced me I need to read it).
Overall, I enjoyed the worldbuilding and the archaic writing style, but the plot itself was completely uninteresting, and a large number of characters were downright boring, if not irritating. I'll try out the next in the series, but not going to read it anytime soon.
I recommend this only if you already like Gaslamp fantasy / books set in Britain during the era of the Empire.
Overall, I enjoyed the worldbuilding and the archaic writing style, but the plot itself was completely uninteresting, and a large number of characters were downright boring, if not irritating. I'll try out the next in the series, but not going to read it anytime soon.
I recommend this only if you already like Gaslamp fantasy / books set in Britain during the era of the Empire.
I would probably actually give this book 3.5 stars. It was charming and sets things up nicely for a sequel, which I will probably read.
It was like watching the pilot of a new TV series. You learn about all of the characters and the world in which the book takes place. It ends with setting up the next book in a series of indeterminate length while tying up the main thread in this episode.
I like Emma Newman. She does a great job with character development. Even though this is a novella, she is able to make you like and care about the people in the story. She has whetted the appetite for more adventures in this world. I worry a little about a love triangle (a doomed one), but we will have to wait and see.
I like Emma Newman. She does a great job with character development. Even though this is a novella, she is able to make you like and care about the people in the story. She has whetted the appetite for more adventures in this world. I worry a little about a love triangle (a doomed one), but we will have to wait and see.