Reviews with content warning for Death - The Mask of Mirrors

“Oh yes. And Alta Renata has been very careful to leverage that interest. You’re not as innocent or naive as you pretend to be, little bird; you know this crowd. Half of them should be carving her to the bone with their tongues, especially when she’s absent. But no, everyone loves her. It’s obnoxious.”
Then, softly and without as much vitriol, Sibiliat added, “And it worries me.”

It took me a long time to get through this book, and every second was worse it. It's a long, complex read with multilayered worldbuilding and plenty of colorful characters. At the heart of it, we have the story of Ren's long-term con to infiltrate a noble family and secure money and safety for herself and her sister Tess. But there's so much more going on from the start. The entire city of Nadezra comes alive around Ren, full of splendor and secrets. Every character in the cast brings something special to the table and is interesting to follow. Initially, some plot threads seem to be hardly related to the main story at all, but by the end of the book, everything gets masterfully woven together, leaving just enough questions to set the scene for the next installment.

The pacing is relatively slow (up until the very last part when things positively snowball into action), and it really works for this kind of story. I loved familiarizing myself with Nadezra and getting hints at the wider world around it. There are a lot of descriptions here, and I never wanted to skip a single one. I predictably loved how casually queer the setting is: plenty of LGBTQ+ characters turn up on the page, and there's never a big deal made of their orientation or gender.

I really enjoyed the magic system, too (or should I say, systems; there's more than one type here), and how there's a lot of divination grounded in the real-world practices like Tarot cards and astrology, but also with plenty of quirks that make it really fit into the secondary world setting. And then there was that part with dreamscapes that just had me on the edge of my sit the whole time. Talking about it more would be a total spoiler, but seriously, that part. Definitely my favorite.

A lot of the plot can be summed up as "figuring out the people behind masks." There's Ren's fake identity-based con. There's Rook, the mysterious vigilante looking out for the city's common people. There are all the nobles and criminals and other actors who constantly play games and weave intrigues, their intentions and motivations often unclear and mutli-faceted. It creates an immensely interesting landscape, almost a labyrinth, where the moment you think you have the latest mystery or political intrigue figured out, someone pulls a new card out of their sleeve—a card that has been there all along, one that you've already glimpsed as a reader, but its meaning was so carefully muddled.

All in all, I absolutely can't wait for the next book in the series. Not least because it's going to be my excuse to re-read this first one before I delve into the sequel—you know, just so I can make sure I can keep all the facts straight. I imagine there are a lot of details I've overlooked on the first read that will be fun to spot the second time around!

Content Warnings

tachyondecay's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

You all know how much I love me a good confidence story, as much as I love a good heist story. Throughout the years, fantasy has handed us many such wonderful stories and lovable rogues—some of which I have read, some of which I haven’t. The Mask of Mirrors will doubtless be compared to the most popular and celebrated of these, with merit and good reason. I’ll eschew such comparisons as de rigeur then, and get right into why this book is my first 5-star read of 2021. Under the pen name M.A. Carrick, authors Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms have created a stunning work of storytelling, characterization, and world-building.

After losing her mother at an early age, Ren grows up as a member of a gang of street thieves overseen by a ruthless crime boss. The novel opens with a whirlwind flashback to this life, in which Ren poisons the crime boss to allow her and her chosen sister, Tess, to flee the city of Nadežra for a better life. Fast forward to the present day: Ren has returned to her home city as Renata, playing the role of the daughter of an estranged branch of House Traementis. She plans to get into the good graces of Donaia, the head of the house, and in this way, scam and take the nobility of Nadežra for all she and Tess (who takes on the role of her long-suffering but seamstressly-gifted maid) possibly can. However, Ren/Renata is not the only one with plans upon plans for this city. Soon, magic and mischief collide to result in twists, turns, and tragedies that I didn’t see coming.

The Mask of Mirrors is what I can only describe as a sumptuous book. If it were a room, it would be decorated lavishly, extravagantly, yet it would contain cozy nooks and comfortable furniture. As every chapter unfolds, Carrick adds new layers—to the mysteries at the heart of the plot, and to the city of Nadežra. Like any good fantasy novel, Nadežra takes on a kind of character of its own—although, lest I get too far drawn into fantasy review tropes, let me emphasize that this is mostly about the cultures that clash within this metropolis.

Though some of the language reminds me of Venice, Nadežra itself feels like Istanbul/Constantinople. Ren belongs to an ethnic group known as the Vrazenians, who view Nadežra as a holy city, even though it was conquered centuries ago. Now the Vrazenians are a minority, oppressed by the ruling Liganti, mostly shunned to live in the most impoverished areas of the city. Ren’s heritage is at the forefront of the story: she conceals it as Renata; brings it to the fore when playing Arenza, a card-reading fortune-teller; and her connections to her people and her birthright influence how magic interacts with her. From the beginning, it’s clear that Ren might indeed be able to get into the good graces of House Traementis, but she can never be one of them. This is an anti-assimilationist narrative, one that Carrick leaves tantalizingly unresolved at the end of the book, and I am so intrigued to see what happens next. Similarly, I appreciate that while Carrick has been influenced by various real-world cultures in creating the Vrazenians, Liganti, and others, they are also careful not to create cookiecutter fantasy countercultures as seen in the works of, say, Jacqueline Carey. In so avoiding that, Carrick can explore ideas of ethnic strife and oppression without inadvertently making inappropriate comparisons to what has happened in actual history. The result is a complex tapestry of society that feels a bit like ours yet has a rich and complex history all its own.

Ren herself is such a great protagonist. She’s clever, but she isn’t a Mary Sue. Carrick deals her plenty of setbacks—some that I thought would surely sink her con—and much of the fun of this story is watching Ren and Tess adapt to the cards they get dealt. There are several intense climaxes to the early and middle acts of the book that result in sharp turns for the plot. (As I transition, I now better appreciate the pleasures of more than one climax!) Ren must pivot her con, somehow preserving its central purpose while also adapting to the new threat posed by House Indestor’s machinations. Along the way, she makes mistakes that ultimately contribute to people losing their lives, and this is something she is going to have to live with.

Some other great tropes here—“unlikely/reluctant allies” abound, from Ren’s interactions with the Rook to Renata’s flirtatious partnership with Derossi Vargo. (As an aside, figuring out the Rook’s secret identity is pretty much the only thing in this book I saw coming—although I like that Carrick implies there is some supernatural force powering the Rook’s crusade.) As the book winds down towards its resolution, Carrick sets up the board for the next chess game. I love the ambiguity of certain relationships and the calculated coldness of others. (I am being deliberately vague here to avoid spoilers.) Let’s just say that while flirtation and romance exist in The Mask of Mirrors, it was not particularly important to the story. Also, lots of normative queerness going on, which I appreciate!

As far as magic and worldbuilding goes, Carrick’s approach is refreshing. (I like this word better than “original,” because I agree that originality is a fraught concept in fantasy literature—but “refreshing” indicates that the approach, if not novel, is a welcome departure from the ideas and tropes currently in vogue.) Light on exposition, we’re left to fill in a lot of the blanks or understand that anything mentioned merely hints at a richer history and collection of cultures and nations, which I love. They don’t even really care to explain much of the rules of numinatria either—we get some really basic concepts, but so much is left to be guessed or inferred. In particular, the nature of Vargo’s relationship with Alsius is so intriguing yet never quite made explicit, and I adore this ambiguity.

The Mask of Mirrors is a book that lives up to its title. The story itself feels like many layers of masks reflected in the mirrors that are the characters Carrick creates. Everyone in this book has an agenda, is out for themselves, has a goal, and the conflicts are so compelling right from page one. If you like refreshing fantasy, if you like confidence games, if you like stories of tough-as-nails women rising above inequities created by class and ethnicity, then do yourself a favour and pick up this book. Reading this over a weekend made me feel so energized, and the fact that the book is thicc reminded me of my youth spent reading doorstopper fantasy.

Finally, Carrick manage the difficult feat of wrapping up the loose ends of this book’s plot while setting up for the sequel in a way that leaves me both satisfied and wanting more.

Kara like. Kara like a lot.

Originally published at Kara.Reviews.

Content Warnings

azrah786's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

[This review can also be found on my BLOG]

**I was gifted a copy by Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**

CW: violence, death, death of a parent, grief, poverty, child abuse, kidnapping, substance abuse, xenophobia

Don’t you just love when a book that was not even on your radar absolutely blows you away!

The Mask of Mirrors welcomes us to Nadezra, the City of Dreams – a place laced with magic and full of manipulative nobles, crime lords and vigilantes – through the perspective of Ren, a con artist and her sister. They have returned to the city of their childhood to trick the elite members of society and secure a fortune for themselves. However, it’s not long before they get caught in the web of the family feuds, political power play, dangerous magic and machinations of the city.

First things first this book is slow paced and when I say slow I mean s l o w… but personally I loved it. The world-building and magic within this story are impressively extensive and rich. From the awe-inspiring outfit descriptions and entangled character relationships, to the excursions to the various nooks and crannies within the city, the pacing delicately immerses you into the setting and story.

We’re introduced to a vast number of characters, two intriguing magic system and their accompanying terminology, which to begin with are a tad overwhelming, but they painstakingly shape the discordant communities that form Nadezra. An annexed land rooted in xenophobia, we get a glimpse of how history and culture have pieced it together.

The amount of detail and thought behind everything in this story is truly remarkable. One thing, as someone not familiar with anything tarot or spirit related, that I did have some difficulty with though was fully understanding the magic system. However, as the seeds of plot and political intrigue started to trickle in I found myself not too bothered about that and I became totally engrossed with everything to do with this world.

Just as intricate as the world are the protagonists. Along with Ren there are two other leading narrators – Grey Serrado, a captain of the city’s police force following a lead of missing children and then Derossi Vargo, a notorious crime lord and businessman determined to climb into the ranks of the nobility. Other than it seeming a little too farfetched that Rin was able to uphold her array of identities under her circumstances for as long as she did, I thoroughly enjoyed all three storylines. Along with a handful of other subplots, they are continually entwining and it gets more and more interesting with each page!

Now I don’t know what more to say without giving stuff away but honestly if you are able to be patient with it, this book reaps the rewards. I’m just mad now that book 2 is nowhere in sight because I was nowhere near ready to leave these characters and be thrown out of this world after being so absorbed into it, particularly after THAT ending… I have a mighty need!!!

All in all I really enjoyed this book and I guarantee if you love intricate fantasy stories and misfits getting tangled into more than what they bargained for, then you will too!!
Final Rating - 4/5 Stars

Content Warnings

lennie_reads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for my ARC.

'may you see the face and not the mask'

I don't even know where to start with this book.

Whatever I say will be inadequate to describe the complexities of this incredible new fantasy world and the stunning myriad of morally ambiguous characters.

Think Six of Crows meets Game of Thrones and yet nothing like that. There are multiple POV's that flow flawlessly, very fleshed out characters who always keep you on your toes and a unique, yet understated magic system.

Our *main* character is Ren, who escaped from a street gang as a child with her 'sister' after seeing her 'brother' murdered as a punishment for something she did. As as adult, and pro con artist, she comes back to Nadezra to trick a rich family into believing she is an estranged relative, with the help of her 'sister' Tess. There is also a magical masked vigilante called The Rook, who is a Robin Hood esque figure. And in her various personas, Ren crosses paths with The Rook often; one of the main mysteries of the book being the identity of The Rook.

There are a lot of politics and world building which at times can be confusing, especially as there are different ways to tell the time, different amount of days in a week, different amount of months etc. The magic system is also very complex. However, the different cultures and traditions are fascinating.

Whilst this world is arguably still racist and frequently mentions racial tensions caused by people stealing land, the queer side of things is much more positive. Same sex marriage is completely normal and acceptable, including adoptive heirs being fully legitimate. We also have a lot of trans rep in the book.
My only issue with *some* of the trans rep is that it is mentioned that in some cultures in this world, people adopt a different gender to inherit leadership titles. Which, in a world that has no issue with same sex marriage, adoptions, trans people etc, felt a bit off.
I'm not trans but I felt that it could come across as insensitive to say that some people choose to be trans to aid their situation when a lot of people struggle with coming out, being diagnosed, receiving medical assistance etc and in the end, being trans isn't a choice.

Overall though I really really enjoyed it. It's a gritty, deep, wonderful, intricate, layered, mysterious fantasy featuring found family and moral ambiguity and I'm desperate for book 2.

~

CW: sex trafficking, death, violence, murder, drug use, drug trafficking, neglect, homelessness, sex work

Content Warnings

bookforthought's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What a ride this book was! I mean, only by reading the blub I knew this was a book for me: a con artist, a vigilante and crime lord, plus magic? Count me in for the ride!

Ren was an absolute joy as a main character and I loved, loved, loved following her. She definitely has everything it takes to pull off such an elaborate con: she's incredibly smart and knows how to manipulate people, using her knowledge, beauty and talent for disguise to their full effect. She's also fiercely loyal, and I adored her relationship with her sister Tess. Multiple POVs alternate throughout the book, and I think that worked extremely well.

I ended up feeling really invested in all the key characters. Each of them had their share of dangerous secrets, and they were all extremely well-rounded and multilayered. Special shoutouts to Vargo, a crime lord trying to work his way into local nobility, and Serrado, the conflicted captain who wants to use the guards' resources to benefit the lower classes instead of the rich. I loved these two so much!

But this is just scratching the surface. In this book there are so. many. characters! The cast is extremely varied and diverse, and it got to the point where I really struggled to remember who everyone was (especially when some of the names look quite similar). I did find out that there was a character list at the end, which I hadn't realised up until I got there (joys of reading the e-arc version!), and I would have definitely consulted it frequently if I had! There was also a glossary, which again would have been very useful had I noticed its existence before getting to the end of the book, since I struggled with remembering a lot of this world's vocabulary. Definitely won't make that mistake again!

The world itself was beautifully built, with its complex society and history. I particularly liked that characters came from different backgrounds, and seeing the world through their eyes made it easier to understand the ethnic, religious and class conflict in the book. The local traditions were especially interesting, and so crucial to the plot, that it was a great pleasure to just learn more about them. The descriptions were quite detailed, which often was nice, but sometimes felt just a tad too long, and didn't really help the pace.

Now, the pace was where my biggest issue with this book was. I often have this problem with adult fantasy books, so it's most likely a case of "it's not you, it's me", but for a large part of the book it just felt as if I was stuck in a loop: it didn't matter how much I read in a sitting, I just wasn't moving forward. As I said, I loved the characters and I enjoyed spending time with them, and the plot was engaging, full of twists and turns and danger and revelations, but still... somehow the pace felt off. Again, this is most probably me rather than the book itself, but it took something away from the experience for me.

Overall, though, The Mask of Mirrors was a really great read. Filled with engaging characters, a complex world, lies, danger, magic and a gripping plot, it's the perfect companion in these long, cold winter days. I'll take the rest of this trilogy now, please and thank you, I need to know what Ren gets up to next!

For this and more reviews, visit Book for Thought.

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Content Warnings

llamareads's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Wow, this book is a ride. It’s a twisty political fantasy with an emphasis on found family and origins, and while it takes a bit to get there, the journey is very enjoyable.

“My grandfather—yours too, I suppose—he used to say, revenge will make you whole. The way Grey’s been behaving… I’m afraid it will break him.”
It didn’t break me, she wanted to say. But that wasn’t entirely true. Coming back to Lacewater made that all too clear.”

House Traementis – Donaia and her children Leato and Giuna – are nearing financial ruin, and the last thing they expect is the appearance of Renata Viraudax, Donaia’s previously unknown niece. Renata’s stated purpose is to reconcile the break between her mother and Donaia, but that’s not quite true. Renata is actually Ren, a Nadežran river rat who hopes to con her way into the family in order to secure financial security for herself and her sister, Tess. But she’s not prepared for the murky quagmire of Nadežran politics, inimical magic, and the echoes of her past that keep threatening to come to light.

“I have my compass, my edge, my chalk, myself. I need nothing more to know the cosmos.”

You definitely can’t accuse this book of info dumping. In fact, besides the excruciatingly slow pace, that would have to be my biggest complaint. I love the challenge of being immersed in worldbuilding and forced to figure out what’s going on, but this strained my limits. Nadežra is a conquered city, meaning there’s two separate naming styles, religions, and magic systems to contend with – the Liganti conquerors, and the Vraszenians, who still trace their heritage back to their clans. You can’t be, “OMG, Ren, that’s so Sestian!” because honestly I have no idea what a Sestian would do. There’s also a plethora of characters, all with multiple names or titles. Once I got the hang of it, though, I thoroughly enjoyed the worldbuilding and the tensions between the two different cultures. While I found the Liganti numinatria magic system interesting, my personal favorite was the Vraszenian pattern deck, loosely based on tarot cards. Ren has a special affinity for reading the deck, thanks to her mother, and it becomes an important plot point as the book goes on. No matter what she does, Ren can’t seem to escape her roots.

“Ren had limits. Vargo, it seemed, did not. It chilled her a little, but also made for an odd sense of camaraderie; they were not so different, the two of them.”

The story is told from multiple POVs, though the main characters are Ren; Grey, a Vraszenian captain in the Vigil mourning the death of his brother; and Vargo, a rich crimelord attempting to come clean. Ren and Grey were my two favorites, though Vargo provided a nice foil for Ren. Ren has two rules for her cons – she’ll go as far as it takes, but no killing and no whoring. Vargo, on the other hand… There’s also the Rook, a shadowy vigilante folk hero figure who Ren encounters soon after she arrives back in Nadežra. Ren soon finds herself trying to worm her way into the Traementis’ good graces while being distracted by the identity of the Rook, forming and discarding multiple guesses. There’s also Tess, Ren’s sworn sister, who’s absolute magic with sewing and embroidery, and is masquerading as Ren’s maid. And that’s not even counting the Traementis family! None of the characters are what they appear on the surface – or what Ren initially categorizes them as – and sometimes good-seeming characters make bad choices for all the wrong reasons. I especially felt for Grey and his attempts to navigate a corrupt police force full of nepotism and disregard for Vraszenian customs while being denigrated by the same citizens for selling out.

While the pacing is slow, it did add a sort of tension and immersion to the book. The ending was exquisite, and I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in the series in hopes of having some of my lingering questions answered. Overall, an easy 4.5 stars from me.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Content Warnings

erin_lovell's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

More...