Peter M. Last

RANTS AND RAMBLES

• • • DISCLAIMER: When I review books, weaknesses and inconsistencies tend to dominate my discussion; therefore, I will emphasize that any particular rant (and, yes, they can be long-winded) does not have special bearing on my unified opinion of the book. For this, please refer to my overall star rating. Additionally, this review is my personal opinion, intended to help like-minded readers navigate the plethora of available options. Use it as a tool but do not assign undue importance to it (i.e. feel free to disagree with me).
    • This review is somewhat abbreviated as it is the second in a series and I did not feel like belaboring points already made previously. Please check out my review for Dealing with Dragons if you want a more in-depth discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the series.
    • Mild Spoilers: I love that the author is able to take magical items in the same book and make one feel mundane and relatable while another embodies the charm and mystery of magic as we know it. The magic carpet is as mystical to us as a car would be to the people of this make-believe world, yet Patricia makes it ordinary and mundane in two ways. First, it is very utilitarian in nature: it does the same thing as a car, getting the user from point A to point B. Second, it is over the hill and unreliable, breaking down at the most inopportune moments, a feeling familiar to anyone who has owned an old car (a beater, not the restored Corvettes in collector’s showrooms). On the other end of the spectrum is Mendanbar’s sword, a powerful weapon, linked magically to another place, and with a host of possibilities for its use which the bearer does not fully comprehend. This feels like the limitless potential we usually associate with magic. It is a statement to Patricia’s skill that she is able to meld these concepts to make the magical world feel consistent and magical yet strangely grounded all at once.
    • Mild Spoilers: Patricia’s ability to commit to the world she has built is uncanny. I love the idea that Rumpelstiltskin isn’t a bad dude but makes deals to spin straw into gold for firstborns because it is the “family tradition.” He can’t seem to get anyone to guess his name, so he gets stuck with the children and none of the gold. He even changed his name to Herman to make it easier to guess, but still no luck. And of course, the responsibility of raising a bunch of kids is getting to him financially since he can’t spin gold for himself. This side story is brilliantly executed from start to finish when Mendanbar proposes hiring a lawyer to set up a scholarship fund for which Herman could spin gold, a fund which would pay the fees Herman could charge for his “boarding school for lost heirs” (since most of his children are just that).

            “I bet a really good lawyer could design one that would get around the spell’s restrictions so you could spin for (the scholarship fund).”

            Cimorene nodded. “A good lawyer can get around just about anything.”

      Brilliant.