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A review by _cecilie_
The Mislaid Magician; or, Ten Years After by Caroline Stevermer, Patricia C. Wrede
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
While the second instalment of this trilogy was set right after the two couples (Cecelia/James and Kate/Thomas) were married, this novel takes place ten years after the fact and shows the heroines and their respective husbands in married bliss with a gaggle of children. Honestly, I have no idea how many exactly there are or which children belong to whom since they’re at the same place doing not that much for the bulk of the story. But they were sweet, I guess.
The last sentence is probably the driving thought I had while reading this novel. It’s sweet, I guess. It’s much a lot better than the second one because the text is made up purely from letters again and there’s not much double narration of the same occurrence. Also I thought it was nice that they included some letters from the husbands as well, showing their friendship with each other apart from their wives. The plot was fine, I enjoyed the inclusion of locomotives which are able to shift lay lines, that was quite fun, as was the wizards being turned into dogs – different breeds that fit their personality. That felt like a distinct Wrede plot point. The rest of the writing style lacked some distinctiveness however and I sometimes was not entirely sure whether we were following Kate or Cecelia at the moment. There also remained some world building issues which annoyed me but which aren’t exclusive to this third book. Firstly, if men and women had the same possibility of mastering magic, why are the gender roles as rigid and restrictive as in our world? Why is the British Empire basically unchanged as is the beginning industrial revolution and the class system? I know that this trilogy doesn’t concern itself with these questions, but they bother me all the same and make the setting appear as a kind of pretty but superficial drapery.
Also what’s with the over the top racism regarding the Irish? I get that they wanted to be ‘historically accurate’ but was that really necessary?
The last sentence is probably the driving thought I had while reading this novel. It’s sweet, I guess. It’s much a lot better than the second one because the text is made up purely from letters again and there’s not much double narration of the same occurrence. Also I thought it was nice that they included some letters from the husbands as well, showing their friendship with each other apart from their wives. The plot was fine, I enjoyed the inclusion of locomotives which are able to shift lay lines, that was quite fun, as was the wizards being turned into dogs – different breeds that fit their personality. That felt like a distinct Wrede plot point. The rest of the writing style lacked some distinctiveness however and I sometimes was not entirely sure whether we were following Kate or Cecelia at the moment. There also remained some world building issues which annoyed me but which aren’t exclusive to this third book. Firstly, if men and women had the same possibility of mastering magic, why are the gender roles as rigid and restrictive as in our world? Why is the British Empire basically unchanged as is the beginning industrial revolution and the class system? I know that this trilogy doesn’t concern itself with these questions, but they bother me all the same and make the setting appear as a kind of pretty but superficial drapery.
Also what’s with the over the top racism regarding the Irish? I get that they wanted to be ‘historically accurate’ but was that really necessary?