Ponder: A Conjuring of Light (3 of 3)

Having devoured the first two books of the Shades of Magic trilogy by V.E. Schwab, (posts dated 4/28/22 and 5/21/22) I immersed myself in the third and final book, A Conjuring of Light ©2017. It was quite lengthy but worth it.

I will admit, when I picked the novel up from the library and saw the thickness, my heart sank just a bit. Each book in the trilogy grew in length. To read all three at 401 pages, 514 pages, and 624 pages was a time commitment.

Book three had all the same favorite well developed characters: Kell the Antari, Rys the prince, Lila the thief, Luc the noble pirate, and the villain Holland who just possible turns into a good guy. The overall tone and mood was dark however with the appearance of a powerful evil presence, a godlike villain Osaron. Osaron invades from White London, exerting his magical powers to overturn the reign of King Maxim of Red London and claim the region as his own. A grey fog-like mist hovers over the kingdom infecting the masses and killing any one who refuses to bow to Osaron's power. The blood of an Antari acts as a vaccine of sorts and those who are anointed with just a speck of the blood become immune. Although A Conjuring of Light was copyright in 2017, it parallels so closely the events of the COVID -19 pandemic, that I was somewhat spooked. The ending chapters seem abrupt, but they do provide satisfying closure as to the future of the familiar main characters.

Although great characters, an intricately depicted plot, and an ominously portrayed setting worked together superbly, my enjoyment of the book was somewhat diminished by my discomfort level with the COVID similarity. But then, I never was one to enjoy being frightened in a haunted house; nor do I like the nightmares that follow after watching a horror movie. I rate A Conjuring of Light four stars.

★★★★☆ Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience

Ponder: A Gathering of Shadows (2 of 3)

Having recently completed the first book in the Shades of Magic trilogy by V.E. Schwab (post dated 4/28/22) I eagerly checked the next two out of the library. Her second book, A Gathering of Shadows ©2016 kept me engaged as I fervently turned each of its 512 pages. Anyone who enjoyed reading about the Triwizard Tournament in the fourth Harry Potter book, The Goblet of Fire, will enjoy the pageantry and competition among magicians in the Elemental Games, a set of duels calling upon creative use of the fundamental magic elements of water, earth, fire, air, and metal. For example, water can be scattered, frozen, and used as a barrage of ice daggers.

A Gathering of Shadows brings back the favorite characters from the first book: Kell – an Antari (one endowed with powers who uses the magic flowing within his own blood to invoke a spell), Rhy Maresh – the prince, and Lila Bard – a thief. Schwab introduces another strong character, Alucard Emery – a pirate. His swashbuckling adventures on the high seas, which also involve Kell and Lila, add to the charm and energy of this book. From the back cover of A Gathering of Shadows:

Unlike Red London, Grey London has no magic.There is some philosophical discussion in Grey London, comparing magic and god that I found interesting. One must have faith to believe in god because he is intangible. But magic? Magic you can feel and touch. In Red London, a bustling Night Market full of magical wares, creatively adds to the atmosphere of the Element Games. These scenes are on a par with the imagination that must have gone into the bar scene in Star Wars or the Diagon Alley setting of Harry Potter fame. Obviously in 512 pages a lot more happens, but I choose not to retell it here. In short the villains are dastardly villainous, and some of those secondary characters for whom the reader gains an attachment, abruptly and sadly perish.

I surmise that those who liked the first book in the series will not be disappointed in the second. There is lots to discover. Because of its length and because I feel my immense enjoyment was boosted by my familiarity with the first book, I rate A Gathering of Shadows four stars instead of the five I rated the first book. That slight drop in rating will not however, deter me from reading the third book!

★★★★☆ Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience

Ponder: The Maid

 The Maid by Nita Prose ©2022 is a delightful story, enjoyable both in the writing style and in the tongue in cheek murder tale it tells. Molly is on the housekeeping staff of the Regency Grand Hotel, "a five-star boutique hotel that prides itself on sophisticated elegance and proper decorum for the modern age". Molly describes her role succinctly in the novel's prologue.

Molly is fastidious. She is a neatness freak who possesses extreme attention to detail. A such she makes an excellent maid. In striking contrast to those traits she is also unique in her cluelessness when it comes to reading people's actions and expressions. She reminds me of a housekeeper version of Dr Shaun Murphy who is a young autistic savant surgical resident on the ABC TV show The Good Doctor. A well-portrayed cast of characters – her wise grandmother, a fatherly doorman, a hardworking dishwasher, a charismatic bartender, a patient boss, two maid friends – round out her daily interactions. A wider circle of co-workers look upon her with disdain or disgust because of her odd social behaviors. 

Two key plot points drive the story and happen early on in The Maid. First, Molly lives in a small fifth floor walkup apartment with her grandmother who raised her. Her grandmother passes away from cancer and Molly is alone. Second, while cleaning a penthouse suite, Molly comes across the body of the client, dead in bed. Her attention to detail is helpful to the police, but her cluelessness and misplaced trust in people allows her to be framed for the murder. Many of her interpretations of the actions and intents of people are misguided; her naive responses, when I read them, brought a smile to my face or a slight giggle to my lips. It is refreshing in its simplicity yet clever in its plot twists. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and rate it five stars.

★★★★★ Great! Read it!

I am reminded about the following grook by Piet Hein. A grook (Danish: gruk) is a form of short aphoristic poem or rhyming aphorism, created by the Danish poet, designer, inventor and scientist Piet Hein, who wrote over 10,000 of them, mostly in Danish.

NAIVE

Naive you are

if you believe

life favors those

who aren't naive.