From /tmp/sf.4146 Tue Aug 9 02:08:41 1994 Xref: liuida rec.arts.sf.reviews:608 rec.arts.sf.written:65282 Path: liuida!sunic!EU.net!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!postmodern.com!not-for-mail From: schulman@michael.nmr.upmc.edu (Christina Schulman) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews,rec.arts.sf.written Subject: _A College of Magics_ by Caroline Stevermer Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 16 Jun 1994 00:20:42 GMT Organization: Bellona Volunteer Fire Dept. Lines: 66 Approved: mcb@postmodern.com (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Message-ID: <2tiacc$3pe@usenet.srv.cis.pitt.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: remarque.berkeley.edu Originator: mcb@remarque.berkeley.edu _A College of Magics_ by Caroline Stevermer What if Jane Austen had written _The Prisoner of Zenda_? If the idea appeals to you, I strongly recommend _A College of Magics_ by Caroline Stevermer, a witty, genteel fantasy set in the early years of an alternate twentieth century. Faris Nallaneen, duchess of Galazon, has been packed away to finishing school at Greenlaw College by her usurping uncle Brinker. Greenlaw is unusual in that magic is a mandatory part of the curriculum; unlike Latin and deportment, its practice is forbidden to students, but a graduate is entitled to be called a scholar of Greenlaw to her face and a witch of Greenlaw behind her back. Faris vacillates between periods of immersing herself in her studies and ignoring her schoolwork in favor of trashy three-volume novels. (_A College of Magics_ is, of course, a three-volume novel.) The pacing of the book while Faris is at Greenlaw is episodic; she spends two years at school until a whirlwind of events culminates in her rushing off to save the world, accompanied by her best friend, the excruciatingly English Jane Brailsford. Along the way, they attempt to rescue Galazon from the clutches of her wicked uncle while becoming embroiled in the messy politics of the neighboring kingdom of Aravill. Faris's Europe in 1909 is not very different from our own, except for the existence of magic and a few extra independent duchies in Eastern Europe. They have motorcars, pistols, railroads, and bombs. It's a wonderful antidote to the current trend of generic medievaloid fantasy. This book may not appeal to those who like constant swordfighting, car chases, and general mayhem, but it will delight readers who enjoy unfailingly clever dialogue. "Dry work. I'd hate to miss the spectacle but I'm perishing for my tea. Just sit with me for a moment while I drink a cup and then let me come along to watch you murder Menary. Though of course, we'll have to queue up for the privilege. She does love to do an ill turn when she sees the chance." "Do you speak so highly of all your friends?" asked Faris, coldly. "Menary doesn't have any friends. She doesn't want any. She's more interested in servitors. I merely asked her a few questions. And don't snipe at me for my shocking geography," Jane added. "If it isn't the Empire, it's all the same to me: Galazon, Aravill, Graustark, or Ruritania. You really can't expect me to keep all those little countries straight. I'm not ignorant, just English. Milk? Sugar?" _A College of Magics_ has everything: a wicked uncle, an evil blonde, obliging highwaymen, an exploding hat, and attempted murder on the Orient Express. It certainly won't be to everyone's tastes, but it's one of the best books I've read this year. %A Stevermer, Caroline %T A College of Magics %I Tor Books %C New York %D March 1994 %G ISBN 0-312-85689-X %P 380 pp %O hardcover, US$22.95 -- Christina Schulman Pittsburgh NMR Institute schulman@michael.nmr.upmc.edu From /tmp/sf.4146 Tue Aug 9 02:10:25 1994 Xref: liuida rec.arts.sf.reviews:619 rec.arts.sf.written:68960 Path: liuida!sunic!trane.uninett.no!eunet.no!nuug!EU.net!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!postmodern.com!not-for-mail From: dani@telerama.lm.com (Dani Zweig) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews,rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Caroline Stevermer: A College of Magics Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 11 Jul 1994 19:48:31 GMT Organization: Telerama Public Access Internet, Pittsburgh, PA USA Lines: 80 Sender: mcb@postmodern.com (Michael C. Berch) Approved: mcb@postmodern.com (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Message-ID: <2vpj2u$al5@terrazzo.lm.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: remarque.berkeley.edu Originator: mcb@remarque.berkeley.edu "A College of Magics" is a delightful book -- a good reworking of bad cliches. The first (and best) section of the book begins with the arrival of Faris Nallaneen at Greenlaw College: Faris is the true heir to the Duchy of Galazon, but her wicked uncle has sent her off to finishing school to get her out of the way. (I did mention the cliches, didn't I?) Greenlaw students acquire an unusual finish, as the college is best known for teaching magic. (In most respects, the setting is a turn-of-the-century Europe, albeit with a slightly different mix of petty kingdoms, but this is a world of some magic, as well as technology.) For most of the first section we see little magic (till the end), but rather the obligatory round of study and socializing and of rivalry with the obnoxious girl from the next kingdom but two. This can be fun to read if it's done right, and Caroline Stevermer does it right. "You really can't expect me to keep all those little countries straight. I'm not ignorant, just English." The second section of the book sees Faris return home to her beloved country and her wicked uncle, a trip marked by obligatory melodramatic trappings such as assassination attempts and brigands. There's also a more fantastic problem: Faris appears to have inherited an obligation to save the world by undoing a spell unleashed by her grandmother. With the help of Jane Brailsford, good school friend and competent witch, she returns home to confront her wicked uncle. Her first attempts to find out what he's plotting fail. Again, cliche is piled upon cliche, but Stevermer pulls it off with good writing and charming characters. "Your hat is ticking." The third and last section is the weakest -- not enough to ruin the book, but enough to disappoint. Jane and Faris and her uncle travel to Aravill, the next kingdom but two, which also happens to be the country that has a claim to Galazon and also happens to be a country to which Faris has a claim and also happens to be the location of the spell Faris must undo and also happens to be the setting for her uncle's plan. (Convenient, isn't it?) Fortunately, the section is over a hundred pages long, which is about right for the necessary socializing and spying and disguises and midnight chases and desperate strategems and romance. (Did I mention that this book runs in well-worn tracks?) Unfortunately, the humor of the earlier sections fails here somewhat, leaving the silliness and arbitrariness of the plot inadequately cloaked. The romantic subplot, for instance, is wooden and contrived, and ends a bit too conveniently. The uncle's plot turns out to have considerable potential to harm him, and little or none to benefit him, which makes it nothing but a tool for driving the plot in the desired direction. The difficulty of undoing the spell (as opposed to finding it) was not reasonably foreshadowed, and the cost of undoing it seems unreasonable. (Unreasonable? Well, this is a fantasy, so the cost is completely up to the author, and what the author chose was precisely what would maximize angst.) In other words, the book does not end nearly so well as it begins. But it begins well enough that it is well worth reading. Like "Sorcery and Cecilia" (which may or may not take place in the same world), this book uses silly genre conventions to good effect, and the result is fun to read. "Thank you for rescuing me." "You're welcome. May I claim a reward?" Faris felt unaccountably breathless. "Certainly." Tyrian leaned close and murmered, "Tell me where we're going." %A Stevermer, Caroline %T A College of Magics %I Tor %C New York %D March 1994 %G ISBN 0-312-85689-X %P 380 pp %O hardcover, US$22.95 ----- Dani Zweig dani@netcom.com dani@telerama.lm.com 'T is with our judgements as our watches, none Go alike, yet each believes his own --Alexander Pope From rec.arts.sf.written Thu Jan 19 18:16:20 1995 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!liuida!sunic!uunet!spool.mu.edu!caen!crl.dec.com!crl.dec.com!pa.dec.com!hildy!rcrowley From: rcrowley@hildy.dec.com ("Rebecca Leann Smit Crowley") Newsgroups: rec.arts.books,rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Caroline Stevermer, _A College of Magics_ Date: 18 Jan 1995 20:24:09 GMT Organization: Evil Blondes' Save the World Club Lines: 38 Message-ID: <3fjtd9$mv2$1@usenet.pa.dec.com> Reply-To: rcrowley@zso.dec.com NNTP-Posting-Host: hildy.zso.dec.com X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.books:108734 rec.arts.sf.written:86894 I read Stevermer's _Serpent's Egg_ last year, and the first section of this book, which was/is on Tor's home page. While _Serpent's Egg_ had a lot in it to appeal to me (strong female characters, a limited amount of comic relief/sense of humor, several intertwining subplots, a lot of stuff about manners, and so on and so forth), it didn't (I'm thinking because it didn't have enough humor and had a bit too much angst or something). I was told by a variety of people (including Christina Schulman) that this Stevermer's most recent book is far superior and I really should run right out and read it. So I did, once it came out in paperback. And it is, much better, and in fact, I liked it a lot. The first third has some of the same problems _Serpent's Egg_ had, but this book has what I consider all important in genre fiction: style. People doing slightly outrageous things quite calmly, for very good reasons, and other people reacting with. . .outrage. Bujold's Cordelia returning from her "shopping" expedition with a present for Aral is, of course, an example of this without parallel, but Stevermer's Faris similarly beats the crap out of a variety of people in the course of the book, for good reason, and to good effect. I quite liked it. The vague familiarty of some of the character names (notably Villette and Brinker) kind of got to me; I wonder how many I don't recognize that have stepped out of a 19th century novel. Good stuff. It looks like it would be possible for Stevermer to write more in this universe, but if she decides to do it, I hope she chooses to focus on other characters. The magic in this fantasy is low-profile and has infiltrated an otherwise similar early 20th century alternate earth rather thoroughly. Good stuff; I strongly recommend it. -- Rebecca Crowley standard disclaimers apply rcrowley@zso.dec.com You don't really own anything you aren't carrying at a dead run.