Note: This is the original German edition of the first instalment of the Dark Reflections trilogy. It is also available in English. I especially love the bind-up’s cover: Isn't it beautiful? You should totally read it. I know you want to. And no, I'm not getting paid to advertise this book ;).I just finished re-reading this old childhood favourite and it was a pleasure to revisit the world. I’m glad to be able to say that I still enjoy is as much as back then.The world Kai Meyer has created with this book is utterly fascinating – vivid, unique and amazingly creative. This first instalment of the Dark Reflections trilogy is set in Venice – a Venice similar to the one we know, yet completely different. Magic is still alive in this other Venice, and it is full of mysterious creatures. We have mermaids, enchanted mirrors and whispers of a parallel world that is accessible through them. There are flying stone lions, black Egyptian magicians who besiege the city with their armies of mummies and scarabs, hellish messengers willing to pact against them and above all the Flowing Queen, who is the essence of the lagoon’s waters and fiercely protects her city.Meyer manages to add something of his own to every single one of those aspects, and although the mixture of Egyptian legends with mermaids and magic mirrors may sound strange at first, it is exactly what makes this novel so special to me. It is different than any other book I’ve read before (and I’m proud that I can still say this almost ten years after it was released and I first read it).Another aspect of this novel I love is its atmosphere. It is somehow melancholy and sad, bittersweet yet hopeful. Meyer certainly isn’t opposed to letting his characters suffer, and with him, you can never be sure if they will get their happy ending or not. Every character has his or her own story; and those stories are more than often sad and burdensome. Yet they make those characters complex and compelling, and show that everything in life comes at a certain price. I can’t really choose which one of those stories within the story is my favourite – it’s a close draw between Eft’s and Vermithrax’s. Yet, my favourite character is – and will remain – Merle (love that name, by the way). She is fierce and loyal, brave but not without fear. I love her banter with the Queen and how she doesn’t back up just because she’s speaking to someone treated like a goddess by her people. I like how she tentatively develops a friendship to Serafin and how protective she is around Junipa.That being said, I will now continue re-reading Merle’s story; probably with small breaks in between. Can’t wait to re-discover all the small details (and probably bigger details, too, concerning how forgetful I can be).This trilogy is clearly Meyer’s best and I would recommend to everyone – luckily it’s available in English!
Impressive. The worldbuilding was excellent, with strong Venetian cultural touches - I also loved the brief mention of the Czarist people protected by "the Baba Yaga." The book had all the inherent tension of any story of a pocket of resistance in a mostly-conquered world, and the Egyptian conquerors made great villains, with their scarab swarms and undead armies. The darker aspects of the book were a little surprising sometimes, but fascinating.I forgave the occasional awkwardness in the writing - which was otherwise rich with unexpected but strong imagery - because the book was translated from German.I did sometimes take issue with the characters a bit. Junipa annoyed me with her smirking wisdom, as did, sometimes, the Flowing Queen. Serafin wasn't developed much, and he was kind of obvious as the romantic interest for Merle. Dashing young member of the rival apprentices, mischievous yet honorable? Yeah, saw it coming. Plus, I'm not a huge fan of the fact that he was a master in the Thieves' Guild before becoming an apprentice at the age of thirteen. Just not sure I buy it, especially given that Serafin doesn't seem all that wily or anything. And like a couple of other characters, he has an occasional touch of obnoxious smugness.I was okay with Merle, though not hugely drawn to her. I kind of wished she'd protest a little more at being bossed around and used by the Flowing Queen. It seemed like what her character would do, especially when the Flowing Queen started using Merle's mouth to talk, including to present a plan that seems to involve alliance with Hell, which Merle is strongly against. It also seemed to me that the author was trying too hard when he went way out of his way to tell us that Merle didn't follow Serafin into adventure for any reason other than that she wanted to. "I'm not antifeminist, really!" It wasn't even that I thought Merle WAS antifeminist, just that it was a little awkward how strenuously the author denied it.I said it before, but I loved the world. Living stone lions! Scary mermaids! Venetian masks and mirrors! Egyptian sunbarks! And the whole story of the Ancient Traitor was pretty neat.This is the first of a trilogy. I think I'll see if I get find the others through inter-library loan, but they're not on my must-buy list.
What do You think about The Water Mirror (2005)?
I really wanted to like this book. It's a fantasy that takes place in Venice and has a fun cover. It had everything going for it. But I just didn't like it, for the most part. I actually listened to it, so, subconsciously, that could have been one of the reasons I didn't like it. But I don't think so.One of my main complaints is that the book has no ending. It is the first of a trilogy, and if I want to have any sense of closure or gain any sort of understanding about what anything meant in the first book, I have to read the other two books. Which I am not going to do - at least not right now. I also felt like there were way too many things going on in the book. One would think that the water mirror would be pretty important since that's what the title of the book is. But it plays a pretty minor role in the grand scheme of things (unless maybe the next books reveal that things that didn't seem important in this book actually are). There is just too much going on, and nothing seems to be related. There are mermaids and stone lions that fly and envoys from Hell and a Floating Queen and bad people ruling Venice and strange phantoms who live in mirrors and a magician and a girl with mirror-glass eyes and an army of Egyptian mummies that wants to take over Venice and some strange other world that exists inside the water mirror... and the list can go on and on. I felt like I was meeting one strange creature/person after another, and each seems to have its own story and set of problems. I suppose the next two books must pull everything together, but I just don't have the interest to read them right now.I did like some of the characters. Merle (the female protagonist), Serafin (her male friend from across the canal), the mirror-maker to whom Merle is an apprentice, and Vermithrax (a flying, talking stone lion) are all interesting characters that I would have liked to know more about. But I just don't have the patience to deal with all the other stuff in the books. Maybe someday I will change my mind and read the other two books. And then maybe I will love the trilogy as a whole. But right now, I'm not such a fan.
—Treasa
In an effort to clean out my bookshelves, I am rereading some books that I can't remember, but I know I read at some point. I vaguely remembered bits and pieces of this one as I read it. It was a quick read as it is an older juvenile/younger side of young adult fantasy. It was definitely a fun little romp through an alternate Venice where stone lions patrol the streets, mermaids swim in the canals, and orphans are taken in by magic mirror makers. War has broken out between besieged Venice, the Egyptian empire and Hell itself which makes for an interesting plot even without the myriad of interesting characters. Meyer does a great job turning some old ideas on their heads. It is entertaining and leaves a lot of wonderful possibilities open for the next two books. While there are some fantasy stereotypes blended together, there is plenty of fresh material as well so I am looking forward to zipping through the other two in the trilogy that I picked up from the library yesterday.
—Kelcey
In an alternate world, Venice has been under siege for 38 years from the Egyptian force that has, with their magically revived undead army, destroyed (so far as they know) every other land on earth. All that has saved Venice is a mysterious entity known as the Flowing Queen, who inhabits the canals and keeps back the Egyptians. (Also inhabiting the canals are enslaved mermaids with shark teeth.) In this crumbling world lives Merle, an orphan recently apprenticed to a magic-mirror maker. She has a magic mirror of her own; a mirror made of water that never gets her wet, and in which she can feel--but not see--something comforting. She will need that comfort as Venice's situation grows more dire. The Egyptians are closing in, the Flowing Queen is in danger, and the Venetians' only other possible ally is Hell itself, which is sending emissaries. Is there any hope? Doesn't seem like it.The two stars here are for how much I didn't really enjoy the book, not for the writing. It's well-written, with interesting and original fantasy concepts and vivid descriptions, and Merle is a strong character. But it's just not really a fantasy. It's a dystopic fantasy-horror-supernatural mashup, and that's just not my genre. The flying stone lions are cool, the horribly mangled emissaries from hell are not, and the fact that it ended on a double cliffhanger with nothing even remotely resolved or explained I find just irritating. So...not my thing.
—Rebecca
