This book is a travesty. I hardly know where to start. It might be best to start with the claim on the front and back covers, from Jane Yolen, that this book is superior in all respects to Harry Potter. I'm not sure what yardstick she's using as a comparison, but it certainly isn't plotting, characterisation or reader engagement. Perhaps it's the dubious claim that this book is better written, which is a nebulous claim in any circumstances, and seems to be levelled here because she can't think of anything else to say about it that would also get her name on the cover of a book she didn't write. This was written ten years after the book's initial publication, in time for the international boom of Potter, but it's clearly intended for the same average reading group.To start with, the title and the Potter comparison are wildly misleading. Faris spends no more than a quarter of the book at Greenlaw College, and most of that is abstract and infuriatingly poorly constructed. There is a mysterious yet ineffectual and distant Dean and a half-assed rivalry between the heirs to imaginary Western European countries, there is some kind of unspoken agreement about 'magic' (it gets taught, but it doesn't get taught, if you catch their meaning. No? Funny, me either) and a rah-rah English boarding school air to the late night study sessions and the sharing of foods sent from home. It's a copout to tell us they study hard when we don't go to classes with them. It's also a copout to say 'there was so much work to do, none of them went to even half their classes' when we don't see them doing any work. What's the point of setting a book in a school if we don't see any of the schooling, let alone the magic? This is not, even a little bit, like Harry Potter.Then there is some highly hush-hush time when each girl is sent a note from the Dean and told that tonight is her 'Vigil'. Girls who come back from this are never the same, and most of them suddenly 'know' magic and that's that. I was reminded, vomitacularly, of the random scene in The Magicians where for no reason anyone can quantify (it's a magical secret!), the entire fourth-year class is turned into geese and have to migrate to the South Pole to resume their schooling for the year.My beef with this vigil sums up the entire experience of this book: until Faris's friend gets called up, we have never heard of the vigil. In any half-decent story building environment, such an integral part of the Greenlaw experience would have been built up so that we, and Faris, are anticipating her note to the detriment of everything else. We should be curious, fearful, wondering. Instead, much like Faris, we drift through her story, superficially in control of things, but really allowing events to take us where they will, with some very little interjection, wandering from plot point to plot point with nary a hint of what came before, or what might happen next. It is beyond frustrating. Stevermer could have benefited monumentally from some solid plotting and some training in foreshadowing. And so on and so on for the rest of the book, ad infinitum. Faris's life is in danger! Faris is the warden of the North! Faris has to mend the rift! Apparently, she has feelings about all these things, but we don't hear about them until Stevermer remembers, usually directly before the important thing happens. Most all the characters are massive, if enjoyable, cliches. Faris, the fiery-tempered redhead with fierce loyalty to her little Duchy; Jane, the blue-blooded English daughter with a no-nonsense head for magic and a fearsome way with servants; Brinker, the skulking uncle 'looking after' Faris's land until she comes of age, imposing some unexpected taxes; Tyrian, he of the romance-novel name and the romance-novel looks, the strong silent protector who never forgets his place... You get the idea.They're all pleasant enough to spend time with, but really, I could also be spending my time looking at plain white walls or a pretty green field and get the same result. Certainly not worth 500 pages of my time.I'm sorry I spent so long reading this book before realising it wasn't going anywhere. I should have stopped, but I'm getting tired of all the half-finished books laying around my house, so I struggled on. When I first found a lot of these old 90s fantasy book, I wondered why they had fallen out of print and the reading consciousness. I think I can safely answer that question, and posit that this book is only slightly older than Harry Potter now (1992 vs 1997), and it's certainly not a coincidence that the enjoyable, well-plotted, exciting and richly-characterised one of the two has endured. Whatever faults you may find in J.K. Rowling's writing, she recognised the hunger for detail and description of magic that exists in the hearts of most fantasy readers - we sit through Harry's classes with him, we sympathise while he tries to juggle homework, friends and a dark magical legacy, we laugh at the Weasleys, we grind our teeth at Malfoy. There is none of the engagement here, none of the feeling that we're getting the whole story. A total, total miss. Don't waste your time. Go back to your childhood bookshelves and read Harry Potter again.
Faris is the heir to a small dukedom, but while she is a minor her uncle rules in her stead. As she approaches her majority, he sends her far away to attend a prestigious finishing school where she is taught lessons, social graces, andthe school's specialtymagic. Just before graduation, Faris is swept away into a whirlwind journey of politics and magic which leads her ever closer to the very foundation of the world she lives in. A College of Magics is intelligent and clever, realistic and fantastic, set in an intriguing alternate Edwardian-era Europe, skillfully plotted with a genuinely satisfying conclusionwhile the magic would benefit from further development, on the whole this is simply a wonderful book. I highly recommend it.A College of Magics is difficult to summarize because the titular aspect makes up a mere fraction of the bookbut to discuss more would be to give too much away. Safe to say, the College of Greenlaw is only the beginning of Faris's journey through friendship, Europe, political intrigue, family feuds, andalwaysmagic. All the same, the book never deviates too far from the college: skillfully plotted and arrayed, it always comes back to where it begin and what Faris learns at school. These factors are augmented by a cast of lively, brilliant, and realistically faulted characters and a period setting that is almost a character itself, Edwardian-era, balancing the wonders of magic with politics and human lives. Stevermer is as clever as her brightest character, and her narrative flows smoothly, keeping the reader engaged and amused and up until the satisfying conclusion.Perhaps the only complaint about A College of Magics is the magic itself. Stripped of wand-waving and spells, magic is rendered a force of mind and willand is less flashy and entertaining as a result. Stevermer never describes the rules and workings of her magic, and the reader is left unsure what is possible or why. The book might benefit from more magical exploration, and more time spent with Faris at school. The conclusion, however, makes up for this absence: it is so easy for a book of great politics and magic to fall into a middling end, but the conclusion of A College of Magics is a feat of magic of the soul and mind. It is meaningful, appropriately sized to the lead-up that precedes it, and by far one of the better endings that I've read.While this is not the best or most memorable novel, I was consistently amused and impressed throughout reading it. Witty while meaningful, political while magical, A College of Magics is skillfully written and conceived. It dances on the edge of humor, always entertaining but never mindlessly comical, and the characters are brave, ill-tempered, and slightly larger than life. I would have liked to see more how and why of the magic, but on the whole I find little to complain about. I hugely enjoyed this book, and I recommend it to all readersalthough young women and fans of alternative fantasy may be the best audiences.
What do You think about A College Of Magics (2002)?
I had no idea that Caroline Stevermer had written adult fantasies, so I was excited to encounter this vintage title in a used bookstore.A College of Magics is an alt-history gaslight fantasy, part school story and part Ruritanian romance. In blending genres, Stevermer takes structural risks that almost made me put down the book. The first several chapters are largely narration, and the story develops very organically and episodically.I kept reading for Faris. The young duchess of Galazon, gawky, headstrong, and equal parts self-assured and self-conscious, she is a splendid, unforgettable character. The other highlight here is Stevermer's confidence with her source material—she has an incredible command of the language and culture of early twentieth-century Europe, with just a subtle twist of magic and whimsy for flavoring.Despite the slow start, the tension ratchets up as the book progresses, and the last third is exciting and well-plotted (and features one of the funniest examples of a Chekhov's gun that I've encountered in fiction). It's a pleasure to encounter a novel that delivers on all its narrative promises.Definitely a quirky book, but some serious talent behind it - on the whole, a pretty excellent light fantasy read.ETA: Apparently when they reprinted this, they marketed it as YA and as a "better than Harry Potter" magical school story. OH NOES. Older teens would enjoy this book, but stylistically it is really not YA at all.
—Becky
From the title and the back blurb, I expected a book about the typical magical school. What I got was a story about a young woman coming to terms with and taking a hold of an unexpected responsibility. Yes, there is a college for the first hundred pages or so. However, during that time, there is little magic. When the main character, Ferris, asks, she is told that magic is something that must be discovered by yourself.Faris Nallaneen is the heir to the dukedom of Galazon. While she is too young to rule, her Uncle Brinker runs in her stead. He insists on sending her to Greenlaw College, a woman’s finishing school known for producing witches. The book starts with Ferris arriving, reluctantly, at Greenlaw.At Greenlaw Ferris makes a friend of Jane, an amazingly competent young witch, and an enemy of Menary, a girl with dangerous and unknown powers.The quote from Jane Yolen suggests that the book is reminiscent to Harry Potter – that would be inaccurate. This is a story of a young woman dealing with a very different sort of magic somewhere around 1900. The magic in this book does not involve words or spells. Ferris’s magical abilities are mainly subconscious – things happen without her direct intention.The book has also been repackaged as young adult, which I also don’t feel is wholly accurate. There isn’t any specific adult content, but the book didn’t have the tone or feel or many of any of the recent young adult books. Also, the main character is college aged – most YA books feature teen protagonists. While this can be read by younger readers, I don’t think I would have appreciated it as much if I read it at the marketed age.A College of Magics did a fantastic job on female characters. Well, wouldn’t a book set partly in a women’s college have to? Ferris interacts with and is friends with other female characters, and both she and Jane are worthy heroines. Throughout the story, they show their skill, capability, and intelligence.I would suggest this book to people looking for well written female characters, a more surreal magic system, or a fantasy set just after the Victorian age. The book has a whole is well written and engaging, even though I found the beginning a bit slow going. By the end, I was sad it was over.Cross posted at The Illustrated Page.
—Coolcurry
(Fantasy 1998) This is a delightful book that is the first of this series, although I guess I forgot to put it in here after I read it. Faris Nallaneen is the heiress to a small country (in Europe, perhaps?) and is at odds with her caretaker and uncle, Brinker. As she waits to come of age to rule by herself, she is sent to Greenlaw College, which is a women's college of magic. She meets friends and foes, and learns about herself as well as her powers. I don't want to give away anything, but it was a fun read.
—Cathi95
