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A review by bethanycrowepowell
Breath of Earth by Beth Cato
4.0
A compact, fascinating alternate history with a heroine who has devastating powers that are going to make all the difference in San Francisco's earthquake disaster.
(This review brought to you by a free advance copy!) Breath of Earth is a fantasy set in the time of the great San Francisco earthquake--but in a world where seismic activity fuels magicians and technology.
Igrid works as an assistant to one of these "geomancer" magicians, who is a father figure to her--and knows she has more power than any of the male-only geomancers. She chafes in being sidelined while less powerful men look down on her. When disaster strikes, though, she finds out her power is greater than she could have imagined--and more dangerous.
I loved the concept of this alternate history--the idea of earthquake activity as a source of power shifts the world's politics and the technology just far enough to feel excitingly different to explore.
I also thought one of the best elements of it was not erasing the social injustices and racial enmities of the time and place. Instead they were given new roles that make sense in this context.
Ingrid herself is not white, though it’s not clear what her father’s background is. This plays into how she is viewed, and this both affects how she acts, and how she thinks. She was raised in a household of a Japanese man, and is surrounded by people from all over the world--this book is a great example of using the diversity of the real world in a way that’s organic, even in historical fiction.
I was a little sad that we don't find out exactly what it is that gives the heroine her unique abilities. The book is being marketed as a stand-alone but seems to have room for follow-up, both in that area, and in the things left undone by the end of the book.
I am also curious why only men were geomancers. Ingrid seems to be something else entirely, so that doesn't really make a strong argument against it as merely a societal norm. If there's a follow-up I'd love to see that addressed, too!
The romance was an interesting bit for me--I was along for Ingrid's attraction, and enjoyed that she was pretty clear about it. At the same time, I thought the emphasis on her physical attraction rather than an emotional one was a little ambiguous. Is she non-romantic? I was left with some questions about that, and wanted a bit more to make me sure it wasn't just an unevenness in treatment, but an intentional choice.
Aside from that, the glimpses of fantastical creatures that exist were tantalizing, and well-enmeshed with the rest of the worldbuilding. The book pulled me in and kept me reading even as heavy world-building was going on--and it was a very tactile, fully-fleshed world of magic and reality entwined.
(This review brought to you by a free advance copy!) Breath of Earth is a fantasy set in the time of the great San Francisco earthquake--but in a world where seismic activity fuels magicians and technology.
Igrid works as an assistant to one of these "geomancer" magicians, who is a father figure to her--and knows she has more power than any of the male-only geomancers. She chafes in being sidelined while less powerful men look down on her. When disaster strikes, though, she finds out her power is greater than she could have imagined--and more dangerous.
I loved the concept of this alternate history--the idea of earthquake activity as a source of power shifts the world's politics and the technology just far enough to feel excitingly different to explore.
I also thought one of the best elements of it was not erasing the social injustices and racial enmities of the time and place. Instead they were given new roles that make sense in this context.
Ingrid herself is not white, though it’s not clear what her father’s background is. This plays into how she is viewed, and this both affects how she acts, and how she thinks. She was raised in a household of a Japanese man, and is surrounded by people from all over the world--this book is a great example of using the diversity of the real world in a way that’s organic, even in historical fiction.
I was a little sad that we don't find out exactly what it is that gives the heroine her unique abilities. The book is being marketed as a stand-alone but seems to have room for follow-up, both in that area, and in the things left undone by the end of the book.
I am also curious why only men were geomancers. Ingrid seems to be something else entirely, so that doesn't really make a strong argument against it as merely a societal norm. If there's a follow-up I'd love to see that addressed, too!
The romance was an interesting bit for me--I was along for Ingrid's attraction, and enjoyed that she was pretty clear about it. At the same time, I thought the emphasis on her physical attraction rather than an emotional one was a little ambiguous. Is she non-romantic? I was left with some questions about that, and wanted a bit more to make me sure it wasn't just an unevenness in treatment, but an intentional choice.
Aside from that, the glimpses of fantastical creatures that exist were tantalizing, and well-enmeshed with the rest of the worldbuilding. The book pulled me in and kept me reading even as heavy world-building was going on--and it was a very tactile, fully-fleshed world of magic and reality entwined.