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A review by calamity_mary
The Spirit Lens by Carol Berg
2.0
I’ve decided to read this book after reading a few good critics praising the freshness and the marvellous world built by Carol Berg where magic and science were pitied against each other. Indeed it seemed like a refreshing topic, a universe where both fields exist in a flimsy balance.
The book starts with Portier Savin-Duplais, a failed student of sorcery and reserved librarian being asked by his distant cousin Phillipe (who also happens to be the King of Sabria) to investigate a strange murder attempt on his life. To do this, the king lends him Illario, the queen’s knight and brother (also know for being one of the biggest fools in the realm) and since the murder attempt was of a magic nature, Portier recruits also Dante, a rogue master mage with powers no other sorcerer in the land can match and a short temper to go with it.
Despite having a good premise I cannot give this book more than 2.5 stars.
I did like the story on the whole but was left with the feeling this book could be so much more than what it actually gives us. First of all the writing was stuffy and meandering. The author seemed to want to show how well she could use her writing skills. This is the first book by Berg that I’ve read and people do say it’s not her best (which I tend to believe), but after braving chapter after chapter of intricate descriptions and paragraphs that only seem to be there just to show us her prowess with a dictionary, I really don’t feel like reading anything else by her. This was written in a very roundabout fashion, which mainly hinted at mysteries and answers and seemed to never give you a straight answer about the simplest of plot points.
Then, I didn’t like most of the characters. Portier was too self pitying, Illario was so big of a fool that I couldn’t help to feel from the start that it was all for show. And I was right. Dante was just too disagreeable, Maura was half a character, Michel de Vernasse was a too obvious villain and in the end not even the mystery of “who dunnit” worked that well, mainly because after 400 pages we still don’t know who did it…not for sure. The only thing that still intrigues me is what the hell is wrong with Dante, but since that question was left unanswered in this first book I think I’ll never know as I’m left with no energy to finish this trilogy.
The stars I give this book are mainly because I acknowledge that Berg does have a way with words and it was a good effort to create a mystery novel with interesting characters. Alas, for me it failed short.
The book starts with Portier Savin-Duplais, a failed student of sorcery and reserved librarian being asked by his distant cousin Phillipe (who also happens to be the King of Sabria) to investigate a strange murder attempt on his life. To do this, the king lends him Illario, the queen’s knight and brother (also know for being one of the biggest fools in the realm) and since the murder attempt was of a magic nature, Portier recruits also Dante, a rogue master mage with powers no other sorcerer in the land can match and a short temper to go with it.
Despite having a good premise I cannot give this book more than 2.5 stars.
I did like the story on the whole but was left with the feeling this book could be so much more than what it actually gives us. First of all the writing was stuffy and meandering. The author seemed to want to show how well she could use her writing skills. This is the first book by Berg that I’ve read and people do say it’s not her best (which I tend to believe), but after braving chapter after chapter of intricate descriptions and paragraphs that only seem to be there just to show us her prowess with a dictionary, I really don’t feel like reading anything else by her. This was written in a very roundabout fashion, which mainly hinted at mysteries and answers and seemed to never give you a straight answer about the simplest of plot points.
Then, I didn’t like most of the characters. Portier was too self pitying, Illario was so big of a fool that I couldn’t help to feel from the start that it was all for show. And I was right. Dante was just too disagreeable, Maura was half a character, Michel de Vernasse was a too obvious villain and in the end not even the mystery of “who dunnit” worked that well, mainly because after 400 pages we still don’t know who did it…not for sure. The only thing that still intrigues me is what the hell is wrong with Dante, but since that question was left unanswered in this first book I think I’ll never know as I’m left with no energy to finish this trilogy.
The stars I give this book are mainly because I acknowledge that Berg does have a way with words and it was a good effort to create a mystery novel with interesting characters. Alas, for me it failed short.