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A review by xeni
Lord Darcy by Randall Garrett
4.0
This first part contains: The Eyes Have It, A Case of Identity, The Muddle of the Woad, and Too Many Magicians.
The second part contains: A Stretch of the Imagination, A Matter of Gravity, and The Bitter End.
The third part contains: The Ipswhich Phial, The Sixteen Keys, The Napoli Express, and The Spell of War.
Overall: this was a fun collection of tales. At times they got very repetitive, a bit tedious. However I really dig this alternate-Europe, and Lord Darcy is pretty cool. I wish it was more personal and you could really dive into their characters more, however I imagine that's a clear product of its time.
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First part review: I really love these stories. They are long enough to be read in multiple settings, but not so long that you lose the thread or can't hold all the clues in your mind. For the most part I feel I am not familiar enough with this modern world of magic and reconceptualized countries / empires, but learning about that while also trying to solve the mysteries works.
Lord Darcy is a more affluent and somehow more interesting Sherlock Holmes. He still shows a lot of that Holmesian aloofness, but I also feel that could be explained away by his aristocratic background, which Lord Darcy does not distance himself from. My favorite bit was how he pulled all the players of a murder case into the same room (very typical of the 'reveal' stage of murder mystery stories) and everyone started asking why the hell they were all gathered together. That bit of self-awareness makes for a much funnier story.
Instead of a (forensic) doctor, Darcy's trusted sidekick is a licensed forensic sorcerer, which, lets admit it, is way cooler. I dislike how Sean O'Lachlan is always referred to (even after multiple times in the same story, again and again) as 'the tubby sorcerer'. We get it, Randall Garrett, he's overweight in a society that generally isn't.
Too Many Magicians also contained my most favorite bit of spellwork I've come across in any fantasy book to date: the spell Sean puts on his carpetbag to always find its way back to his side without anyone really noticing. People realize 'this doesn't belong here' and take it just as far as their normal duties would have them carry it - unaware that they are moving it about, or even remembering it.
Specifically to Too Many Magicians: this story was quite a bit longer than the others so far, but I didn't mind it at all. It was a perfect locked-room murder mystery, with a lot of other convoluted players. One of the better murder mysteries I've read!
I can't wait to read more of these stories and learn more about this world, Lord Darcy, and most of all solve more mysterious murders!
----
Second Part Review: A Stretch of the Imagination, A Matter of Gravity, and The Bitter End
These stories were more mellow. I felt Lord Darcy's genius was not as showcased (and isn't that why we read these Sherlock Holmes-lite tales?) Essentially the first two are locked-room murder mysteries. The last one was more interesting because 1. the room was always open, full of people, and the victim was always visible and 2. Lord Darcy wasn't present for most of it. I was really hoping Sean would have a chance to show off some deductive skills, or some other characters would have a chance to shine (similar to how Lord John Quetzal seemed he could), but I guess this is not that kind of story.
Right now these are more like a bit of popcorn between the longer novels I'm reading - fun, interesting, but not very satisfying.
The second-to-last story (Murder on the Napoli Express) has been my favorite so far. If only because we get to see Lord Darcy take a more back-seat role, it harkens back to the [b:Murder on the Orient Express|853510|Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot, #10)|Agatha Christie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1486131451l/853510._SY75_.jpg|2285570], but still subverts what happens there. This story wasn't too short or too long.
The very last story was a return to Darcy and O'Lachlan's youth, as soldiers in the war. It was pretty great to see their beginnings, honestly. I almost wished the book had started with these two, however it did end on a high note for me.
The second part contains: A Stretch of the Imagination, A Matter of Gravity, and The Bitter End.
The third part contains: The Ipswhich Phial, The Sixteen Keys, The Napoli Express, and The Spell of War.
Overall: this was a fun collection of tales. At times they got very repetitive, a bit tedious. However I really dig this alternate-Europe, and Lord Darcy is pretty cool. I wish it was more personal and you could really dive into their characters more, however I imagine that's a clear product of its time.
---
First part review: I really love these stories. They are long enough to be read in multiple settings, but not so long that you lose the thread or can't hold all the clues in your mind. For the most part I feel I am not familiar enough with this modern world of magic and reconceptualized countries / empires, but learning about that while also trying to solve the mysteries works.
Lord Darcy is a more affluent and somehow more interesting Sherlock Holmes. He still shows a lot of that Holmesian aloofness, but I also feel that could be explained away by his aristocratic background, which Lord Darcy does not distance himself from. My favorite bit was how he pulled all the players of a murder case into the same room (very typical of the 'reveal' stage of murder mystery stories) and everyone started asking why the hell they were all gathered together. That bit of self-awareness makes for a much funnier story.
Instead of a (forensic) doctor, Darcy's trusted sidekick is a licensed forensic sorcerer, which, lets admit it, is way cooler. I dislike how Sean O'Lachlan is always referred to (even after multiple times in the same story, again and again) as 'the tubby sorcerer'. We get it, Randall Garrett, he's overweight in a society that generally isn't.
Too Many Magicians also contained my most favorite bit of spellwork I've come across in any fantasy book to date: the spell Sean puts on his carpetbag to always find its way back to his side without anyone really noticing. People realize 'this doesn't belong here' and take it just as far as their normal duties would have them carry it - unaware that they are moving it about, or even remembering it.
Specifically to Too Many Magicians: this story was quite a bit longer than the others so far, but I didn't mind it at all. It was a perfect locked-room murder mystery, with a lot of other convoluted players. One of the better murder mysteries I've read!
I can't wait to read more of these stories and learn more about this world, Lord Darcy, and most of all solve more mysterious murders!
----
Second Part Review: A Stretch of the Imagination, A Matter of Gravity, and The Bitter End
These stories were more mellow. I felt Lord Darcy's genius was not as showcased (and isn't that why we read these Sherlock Holmes-lite tales?) Essentially the first two are locked-room murder mysteries. The last one was more interesting because 1. the room was always open, full of people, and the victim was always visible and 2. Lord Darcy wasn't present for most of it. I was really hoping Sean would have a chance to show off some deductive skills, or some other characters would have a chance to shine (similar to how Lord John Quetzal seemed he could), but I guess this is not that kind of story.
Right now these are more like a bit of popcorn between the longer novels I'm reading - fun, interesting, but not very satisfying.
The second-to-last story (Murder on the Napoli Express) has been my favorite so far. If only because we get to see Lord Darcy take a more back-seat role, it harkens back to the [b:Murder on the Orient Express|853510|Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot, #10)|Agatha Christie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1486131451l/853510._SY75_.jpg|2285570], but still subverts what happens there. This story wasn't too short or too long.
The very last story was a return to Darcy and O'Lachlan's youth, as soldiers in the war. It was pretty great to see their beginnings, honestly. I almost wished the book had started with these two, however it did end on a high note for me.