Wednesday, September 4, 2013
-
Fantasy
,
Magic
,
YA
No comments
Fantasy
,
Magic
,
YA
No comments
The Universal Mirror
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Version: eBook
Author: Gwen Perkins
GoodReads
Summary:
On
the island of Cercia, the gods are dead, killed by their followers and replaced
with the study of magic. Magicians are forbidden to leave their homeland. Laws
bind these men that prevent them from casting spells on the living-whether to
harm or to heal. Quentin, a young nobleman, challenges these laws out of love
for his wife. His best friend, Asahel, defies authority at his side, unaware
that the search for this lost magic will bring them both to the edge of reason,
threatening their very souls. The Universal Mirror shows how far two men are
willing to go for the sake of knowledge and what they will destroy to obtain it
Review:
This was a very
light, YA-fantasy read, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The story’s main characters
are Asahel, Quentin, and Catherine (Quentin’s wife) and they are all native to
Cercia. The town obeys the laws of a caste system, meaning that the
civilization is divided by ranks of labor and power.
When it comes to
the caste system, Asahel is a very complicated fit. He is born under a merchant
family (one of the lowest ranks), but also possesses the ability of a magician
(something that is reserved for the upper class). Being the misfit that he is,
Asahel goes through a torturous university life, which sadly carries on into
his adulthood. This is especially noticeable whenever Asahel finds himself
around others. It seemed that he was always feeling incompetent and unsure of
himself. It probably didn't help that his “best friend” Quentin, never allowed
Asahel to visit his home, meet his wife, or even speak in public together to
satisfy social standards. It can also be inferred that Asahel is extremely
powerful. He has a much higher capacity of control and summoning power when it
comes to magic than to any mentioned in the story.
Speaking of
Quentin, he is an upper-class magician who was “bought” – as the book puts it –
by his wife’s father. Quentin’s family,
though respected and powerful, ran out of money. He operates under the assumption that
Catherine hates him for the first half of the book and learns the truth towards
the end (I won’t say what that truth is). Asahel and Quentin’s friendship developed
during their university years when Quentin ignored the social class and stuck
up for Asahel. Yet, why that doesn’t extend to the present, I’m not too sure
about.
I don't have much
to say about Catherine, except that I don’t really understand why she acted the
way she did.
I could also
bring up Felix, but there’s not much to say about him either, besides the fact
that he is a “friend” of Asahel. By friend, I mean that he never teased Asahel,
but he also never came to his defense.
Now the rule
within Cercia is that magic cannot be performed AT ALL on any human (living or
nonliving). Also, magicians’ are not allowed to leave the island. The reasons
for this are revealed in the book. If one were to violate these rules, the
punishment would be either death or severing of the hands. The latter
punishment can also be seen as death, because a magician controls magic solely
by his hands. In fact, it’s revealed that most commit suicide after
dismemberment. You can now see the
danger Quentin and Asahel face when I reveal that they are casting magic on dead bodies. However, they have
a good reason to be doing so. Read the book and find out why!
There were a few
twists that I didn't expect, and you’ll immediately know what I’m talking about
when you read the book J. Something that is important, but I would
like to mention, is that the name Cercia sounds pretty awesome.
Also, I do prejudge books by their cover's. This book I was very leery about, however if you're like me, don't let it fool you! It seriously surpassed all my expectations.
0 comments :
Post a Comment