A Star Shall Fall.
Apr. 14th, 2011 11:24![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starladyHappy Birthday, oliviacirce!
Brennan, Marie. A Star Shall Fall. New York: Tor Books, 2010.
Disclaimer: The author is a friend of mine.
I liked the first of the Onyx Court books, Midnight Never Come, well enough, but I think the second, In Ashes Lie, and this third book in particular are even much better. A Star Shall Fall is also, quietly, a terribly clever book, and not in the sense of preciousness but in the sense that there are a lot of really cool ideas deployed in the book, so much so that one almost doesn't notice how interesting each of them are individually. But they're there, and they're pretty awesome; the Calendar Room in particular is wonderful--and terrible.
This book's main action takes place in 1758 and 1759, when the Onyx Court is ruled by Lune still but in conjunction with a very young Prince, one Galen St. Clair. A Star Shall Fall takes place mostly from Galen's viewpoint, as well as from that of Irrith, the lady knight of the Onyx Court who returns to London on a whim and is sucked into the battle for its survival, mostly willingly--and who makes several vital contributions to that battle. The baroque plot structure of In Ashes Lie feels more organic here, or perhaps better integrated; in any case, I don't sharerushthatspeaks's quibble about Galen, namely that, in an era of so many great minds, he really is rather young and undistinguished. I think, for me, that's what makes Galen interesting; his struggle to become Prince of the Stone in truth as well as in name is a central part of the book, and it wouldn't be half so meaningful if Galen were a truly notable figure. There are plenty of the notable figures of the time floating around the edges of the story--Benjamin Franklin (or Benny F., as those of us from Philly like to call him), Samuel Johnson, Elizabeth Carter--and I enjoyed seeming them intermingling with such characters as the Hag of the Fleet and Magrat the church grim from "And Blow Them at the Moon," who now makes her living dealing information out of a tavern-cum-gin-joint and is, in other words, thoroughly sarcastic and awesome. I also enjoyed spending time with Irrith, who in some ways is as young as Galen, or younger, despite her immortality--and who obviously isn't bound by the gender roles of the period, which as a reader I appreciate, though even female characters who are are not inhibited thereby in terms of being awesome.
The book's title actually comes from Sir Isaac Newton's alchemical notes, which is fitting for a book that, for all that it's set in the Georgian period, feels oddly backward-looking in some ways: one of the many clever ideas in the book is its taking classical theories of natural philosophy as the basis for fairy science, and no one, perhaps, was a better alchemist than Newton. The juxtaposition makes for a compelling contrast, and a compelling story. I'm very much looking forward to With Fate Conspire later this year.
oliviacirce!Brennan, Marie. A Star Shall Fall. New York: Tor Books, 2010.
Disclaimer: The author is a friend of mine.
I liked the first of the Onyx Court books, Midnight Never Come, well enough, but I think the second, In Ashes Lie, and this third book in particular are even much better. A Star Shall Fall is also, quietly, a terribly clever book, and not in the sense of preciousness but in the sense that there are a lot of really cool ideas deployed in the book, so much so that one almost doesn't notice how interesting each of them are individually. But they're there, and they're pretty awesome; the Calendar Room in particular is wonderful--and terrible.
This book's main action takes place in 1758 and 1759, when the Onyx Court is ruled by Lune still but in conjunction with a very young Prince, one Galen St. Clair. A Star Shall Fall takes place mostly from Galen's viewpoint, as well as from that of Irrith, the lady knight of the Onyx Court who returns to London on a whim and is sucked into the battle for its survival, mostly willingly--and who makes several vital contributions to that battle. The baroque plot structure of In Ashes Lie feels more organic here, or perhaps better integrated; in any case, I don't share
rushthatspeaks's quibble about Galen, namely that, in an era of so many great minds, he really is rather young and undistinguished. I think, for me, that's what makes Galen interesting; his struggle to become Prince of the Stone in truth as well as in name is a central part of the book, and it wouldn't be half so meaningful if Galen were a truly notable figure. There are plenty of the notable figures of the time floating around the edges of the story--Benjamin Franklin (or Benny F., as those of us from Philly like to call him), Samuel Johnson, Elizabeth Carter--and I enjoyed seeming them intermingling with such characters as the Hag of the Fleet and Magrat the church grim from "And Blow Them at the Moon," who now makes her living dealing information out of a tavern-cum-gin-joint and is, in other words, thoroughly sarcastic and awesome. I also enjoyed spending time with Irrith, who in some ways is as young as Galen, or younger, despite her immortality--and who obviously isn't bound by the gender roles of the period, which as a reader I appreciate, though even female characters who are are not inhibited thereby in terms of being awesome.The book's title actually comes from Sir Isaac Newton's alchemical notes, which is fitting for a book that, for all that it's set in the Georgian period, feels oddly backward-looking in some ways: one of the many clever ideas in the book is its taking classical theories of natural philosophy as the basis for fairy science, and no one, perhaps, was a better alchemist than Newton. The juxtaposition makes for a compelling contrast, and a compelling story. I'm very much looking forward to With Fate Conspire later this year.