Shearin, Lisa: Magic Lost, Trouble Found
Magic Lost, Trouble Found (2007)
Writer: Lisa Shearin
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 345
This was one of those books that I'd heard good things about but had a feeling I wouldn't care for. Regardless, curiosity got the best of me but rather than spending any money on the book, I stuck it on a Christmas list and decided I'd read it only if someone else got it for me. And got it for me, someone else did.
The premise: Raine Benares isn't exactly a powerful sorceress, but she's good at her job. When a good friend of hers gets into trouble after stealing a powerful amulet, she steps in to protect him and hide the amulet. What she doesn't realize is that by putting on the amulet, she's created a bond between herself and the magical artifact it leads to. It increases her powers, but it'll also steal her soul. And if that's not enough, Raine's got elves and goblins alike after the amulet. She'd be happy to take it off and get rid of it too, if not for the fact the amulet will kill her if she tries.
Spoilers ahead.
Picture Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora. Now populate that world with elves and goblins (sexy goblins that look like elves, mind you) and tons of mages. Now make your protagonist a girl with a chick-lit voice and modern attitude and you'll have something resembling this book.
Not that it's a knock-off or anything. Far from it. But the setting reminds me a bit of Lamora, and Raine's family's trade of thieving and piracy also reminds me a bit of Lamora. Don't ask me why. It just does.
The book didn't work for me. For starters, the POV and voice was a huge distracting factor. You've got a clearly medieval/stereotypical fantasy setting but you've got a modern chick-lit voice. That in and of itself isn't bad, but sticking in modern euphemisms like, "Saved by the ship," or "I bet him a glare and he raised me a smirk" (I'm paraphrasing that one, but not the gambling terminology) and you've got one distracted and annoyed reader. I was having a hard enough time figuring out why these characters had to be sexy goblins and elves to begin with, as they all acted human (some just had more magical powers than others, but that's not limited to elves), but the voice just pushed me over the edge. There's also a tendency to over-explain everything that's going on or has happened, which can be frustrating for readers who are reading it in few sittings. It'd be a fast read if it weren't for all the over-explanation and the chick-lit/romance-genre tendency to over describe things that don't need it, like every single detail of the costumes the narrator and her friends are wearing to the costume party.
I should make it clear that I'm not bashing the chick-lit or romance genres. I just don't understand why such over-description needs to bleed into a book that isn't even a romantic fantasy. If it were, I'd understand, but it's not and I'm feeling grumpy. Fantasy writers have a bad habit of over-description anyway, so I can't completely fault the author, but I'm still annoyed and the extent the over-description applied.
There's that, and the book just didn't keep my attention. The heroine's too familiar, and everyone who's not related to Raine seems to be in love with her or worships her in some way, even the bad guys. The beginning was really rough, because I felt the narrator was talking in circles, and it took me more than a few pages to realize she wasn't helping her thief-friend Quentin (who turns out to be nothing but a MacGuffin) but rather watching him instead.
Meh. The story is far from complete, as it's pretty obvious Raine's adventures continue in sequels. It's not something I normally mind, because it's a common thing to set up a series and to pull your reader into the next book, but I wish this one had felt a little more complete.
Oh, and randomly speaking: Raine's horrible fear of water pretty much amounts to nothing. What's the point of angsting over your greatest fear if it's not going to be used as a physical and psychological barrier in the climax? Boo! :)
My Rating
Wish I'd Borrowed It: if you're a reader who likes a modern, almost urban fantasy/chick-lit voice to your traditional fantasy, you're going to eat this one up. It's a light book with plenty of humor that doesn't take itself too seriously. If you're a reader who sometimes likes such books, read the first couple of pages before you invest in this one. I might be a fan of Maria V. Snyder's Study series, which certainly has a light, somewhat more modern tone in a traditional setting, but Shearin's usage didn't work for me at all. I was completely distracted from the plot and characters, which made a book that should've been a fast read almost unbearably slow. Oh, and the tiny print didn't help either.
Next up:
At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost
Also, look for the Top Ten Reads of 2008, a mini comic-book review, and maybe, if y'all are nice, a giveaway! :)