Rating: 4/5
*This book was gifted to me upon request by the publisher (Orbit Books) in exchange for an honest review*
I've aways been really into young adult fantasy, but as many of you may have noticed, I've been trying to get more into adult fantasy. I started with the A Song of Ice and Fire series (what's published at least), but I needed more. When I saw this title in Orbit's upcoming releases I knew that I NEEDED to read it. Quite frankly, I'm happy I did because it was a really good book. Let's get into it.
Synopsis from the back of the book:
"Fortune favors the bold. Magic favors the liars."
Ren in a con artist who has come to the sparkling city of Nadežra with one goal: to trick her way into a noble house, securing her fortune and her sister's future.
But her masquerade is just one of many. And as corrupt nightmare magic begins to weave its' way through the City of Dreams, the poisonous feuds of its nobility and the shadowy dangers of its impoverished underbelly become tangled...with Ren at their heart."
The absolute number one thing that I have to say positively about this book, is the impressive, careful world-building. This book is high fantasy, so the ability to mold and create the world is one that is very important to the genre. The authors achieved this so incredibly well. The amount of culture and history that was interwoven into the story was fantastic. The world-building was a key part of this book because it was very important to understand the dynamics between the nobility and the poor. Because the Vraszenians were invaded by the Liganti, and even though they reached a tenuous pact some hundreds of years ago, they have been oppressed ever since. This oppression is really just blatant racism more often than not. Having the main character be half Vraszenian and half Liganti helps to see the difference between the two worlds. Though she moonlights as a Vraszenian, she also uses the fact that she can pass otherwise to her advantage. In this, she is able to understand the opposite sides of the coin. This, coupled with her past as a "river rat" on the streets of Nadežra also really speaks to her character.
Speaking of character, the story and world itself are very well-developed, but so are the characters. Many of these characters are the epitome of morally-grey and it was shown incredibly well. Grey Serrado for example, is the morally upright Vraszenian captain of the very corrupt Vigil (its like the police force, it's controlled by the nobility in the Caerulet seat). Vraszenians are often the ones who are treated poorly by the Vigil, so while he is trying his best to keep people safe, his people feel as though he's a traitorous hawk. This means that he has to do things that he doesn't want to do, in the name of his job. It's for the greater good, but it doesn't always turn out that way. The same goes for Ren, she's trying to con her way into this failing noble house. Her reasons for wanting to do so are based on spite for nobility, but also a need to protect herself and her sister. But her conscience does begin to weigh on her at times. The characters are just all wonderfully complex and well-written. The story itself felt fresh and new, it didn't feel like a bunch of recycled tropes just dumped into a story. It felt like something I was genuinely experiencing for the first time. And the information in the book isn't spoon-fed to you either. Nor is it dumped on you all at once. The information is all throughout the book, in a way that you have to read to understand. And the end? It's just mind boggling, it's such a flurry of motion that it feels like you're really being pulled by the tide of the story. It isn't an easy read, at times it feels like you're learning a new language (in some ways you are, luckily there's a glossary in the back), but it's really worth it.
But I did only give it a 4/5, so there must be some problems as well. There are some real problems, namely that some aspects of the story are incredibly over-complicated. By some aspects, I mean the magic system. It was based on numbers, geometric patterns, astrology, Liganti gods, and the rotation of the Earth I think? In short, I still barely know how it works. It was so incredibly hard to grasp that I just kind of let the book lead me wherever and I tried not to think on it myself, because it just gave me a headache. Another downside to the book, is that the amazing world-building really does take its toll. The book doesn't start to get really interesting until the halfway point. After that point it kills somebody off and breaks your heart. So, be aware that while the books amazing, it feels like you're drowning for a minute while you struggle to understand all the new words being thrown at you from the very beginning. A much smaller problem that I had has specifically to do with one sub plot. There is a subplot that exists in Grey's POV, that is regarding him investigating the recent deaths of some street children. Well, that subplot is pretty much abandoned right away. It doesn't come back until like 400 pages into the story. At that point, I had already forgotten that it existed. I guess I just wish that it had been better incorporated into the plot as a whole.
In all, this book was an amazing read, definitely my favorite of January. It's set to be the first in a trilogy, so I want to make some predictions. First, I think that we're going to get a lot more background on Vargo in the next book (which is good because I NEED it). I also think that next book is going to focus more on Ren's father. We still don't know who he is and I think we might start to learn. Those are my two big predictions with the next book, and I hope I'm right. (Also I Stan Vargo, I don't care if anyone else doesn't, I just love a bad boy that does what he wants). I also have a request, please Orbit and/or the authors of this book, can you include like a short synopsis of this book in the sequel? I just know that by the time the next book comes out, I will have completely forgotten the contents of this one. I just want a short "here's what you missed on The Mask of Mirrors" like TV shows do. I don't think enough books do this and it's very unfortunate. Anyway, I'm rambling. My final thoughts are that this book will make a fantastic addition to anybody's fantasy collection. It starts slow, but it's all worth it in the end. The Mask of Mirrors is currently available for purchase! Thank you so much to Orbit Books for sending me this ARC! It was fantastic!