Scan barcode
A review by calamity_mary
Prospero Lost by L. Jagi Lamplighter
3.0
Prospero Lost is a more than a retelling of “The Tempest” (that well known play of mr. Shakespeare), it is a telling of what could have happened if the events of the Tempest were actually true. In this book Miranda and Prospero are very much alive and their family is somewhat extended – 7 more siblings and an enormous crew of wind spirits bound to them as slaves..err...servants. On top of that, they run Prospero, Inc, a multinational company that relies on the biding on the eight winds and copious amounts of sorcery to run and control most business of the supernatural world. Prospero Inc, basically is our only shield against destruction from mythical beings. Suffice to say they are very big shots and super loaded. Oh, they are also immortal since Miranda is consecrated to Eurynome, a godlike entity that grants immortality to her Handmaidens – by giving them the water of eternal life - among other gifts. So yeah, it’s good being a Prospero.
The story begins with the disappearance of the family head – Prospero – and the finding of a mysterious note by his favourite daughter - Miranda – telling her to beware of “The 3 shadowed ones”. Apparently, Prospero made a mistake and released 3 demons that are now after the several staffs owned by her and her siblings, which are the source of most of her family power. To help all this mess, Miranda has no clue where most of her siblings are, since for the most part of the last centuries they have become estranged and in some cases even hostile toward each other. To help her solve the mess her father made and warn her several siblings, Miranda has the help of Mab, one of the many air spirits that are bound to her family for one thousand years, against their will.
The book is filled with tons of mythical references and for a myth nut like me that’s what made me love the book. There are endless nods at several mythical beings and legends and we even get to see the characters interact with several of them. The mysteries provided by the story plot are also yummy and made me crave to know the answer to all of them.
However, there are several things that annoyed me.
First and foremost, the writing is not stellar and most characters are downright annoying and lack some depth.
The amount of flashbacks is enormous to the point of being silly; making it plain that the only way the author found to tells us the back story of Miranda and her family was by making her reminisce every 2 pages or so. Since she’s 500 years old, you can understand the amount of memories she has to share and thus, nothing in the book happens without Miranda remembering some bit of her life that is somehow related to the present.
Miranda herself is selfish, arrogant and cold, fancying herself above normal humans just because she can outlive them and has some magical powers. She values her immortality and obedience to her father above anything else, even if that means putting someone else in mortal danger. Not once it occurs to her to defy her father’s wishes. Ever. However, if she didn't come off as a self-righteous virgin sorceress she might actually be likable.
Mephisto, her insane brother is embarrassing most of the times, reminding me a cartoon version of a crazy person and most of the scenes the author have intended to be amusing or funny seemed kind of awkward and forced to me.
Mab, the detective air spirit that wants to look like a 40’s detective tries too hard, becoming a stereotype - trench coat and a fedora hat included.
Ferdinand, the long lost fiancé is just a stupid pastiche of what the author seems to think a Latino medieval gentleman knight should be. He keeps his time slobbering after Miranda, showering her with praise and then disappearing to whatever thing he has to do next.
The mysteries themselves are not answered at all in this first part and the book just serves the purpose of rising tons of questions, letting us glimpse some clues that might begin to answer some of them. More than anything this book is an introduction to Miranda’s life and problems making it clear that we will need to keep on reading the other books if we want to get some answers.
Nontheless, as I said, the universe created here is splendid and the mysteries are juicy enough to make me want to keep on reading.
The story begins with the disappearance of the family head – Prospero – and the finding of a mysterious note by his favourite daughter - Miranda – telling her to beware of “The 3 shadowed ones”. Apparently, Prospero made a mistake and released 3 demons that are now after the several staffs owned by her and her siblings, which are the source of most of her family power. To help all this mess, Miranda has no clue where most of her siblings are, since for the most part of the last centuries they have become estranged and in some cases even hostile toward each other. To help her solve the mess her father made and warn her several siblings, Miranda has the help of Mab, one of the many air spirits that are bound to her family for one thousand years, against their will.
The book is filled with tons of mythical references and for a myth nut like me that’s what made me love the book. There are endless nods at several mythical beings and legends and we even get to see the characters interact with several of them. The mysteries provided by the story plot are also yummy and made me crave to know the answer to all of them.
However, there are several things that annoyed me.
First and foremost, the writing is not stellar and most characters are downright annoying and lack some depth.
The amount of flashbacks is enormous to the point of being silly; making it plain that the only way the author found to tells us the back story of Miranda and her family was by making her reminisce every 2 pages or so. Since she’s 500 years old, you can understand the amount of memories she has to share and thus, nothing in the book happens without Miranda remembering some bit of her life that is somehow related to the present.
Miranda herself is selfish, arrogant and cold, fancying herself above normal humans just because she can outlive them and has some magical powers. She values her immortality and obedience to her father above anything else, even if that means putting someone else in mortal danger. Not once it occurs to her to defy her father’s wishes. Ever. However, if she didn't come off as a self-righteous virgin sorceress she might actually be likable.
Mephisto, her insane brother is embarrassing most of the times, reminding me a cartoon version of a crazy person and most of the scenes the author have intended to be amusing or funny seemed kind of awkward and forced to me.
Mab, the detective air spirit that wants to look like a 40’s detective tries too hard, becoming a stereotype - trench coat and a fedora hat included.
Ferdinand, the long lost fiancé is just a stupid pastiche of what the author seems to think a Latino medieval gentleman knight should be. He keeps his time slobbering after Miranda, showering her with praise and then disappearing to whatever thing he has to do next.
The mysteries themselves are not answered at all in this first part and the book just serves the purpose of rising tons of questions, letting us glimpse some clues that might begin to answer some of them. More than anything this book is an introduction to Miranda’s life and problems making it clear that we will need to keep on reading the other books if we want to get some answers.
Nontheless, as I said, the universe created here is splendid and the mysteries are juicy enough to make me want to keep on reading.