Tag Archives: gaslight fantasy

New Fantasy Romance Duologies: The Geomagicians and This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me

31 Mar

The Geomagicians
by Jennifer Mandula
The Geomagicians is an intriguing debut novel by Jennifer Mandula. In the novel, Mary Anning isn’t any regular paleontologist, she is a geogmagician. In this historic fantasy world, magic can be stored and drawn from artifacts, the most powerful of which are fossils. Because of sexism she faces she struggles to support herself, even though she is responsible for many spectacular finds. Sometimes in period fantasies the prejudices at the time have been wiped away and though this can provide a sense of cozy escape to our current woes, it sometimes takes me out of the story to see something so far from what the reality would have been that the societal interactions seem less believable than the magic. I liked that this book actually explores how a woman during the era would have to overcome issues of prejudice and thus it makes her successes feel more earned. It also weaves in views on religion with magic in a very unique way. Mary Anning who the character was based on was a real life fossil collector in Lyme Regis who lived from 1799-1847; I think she would have been pleased with Mandula’s charming account. This story will appeal to those who enjoy rivals to romances and those looking for a unique new take on period Fantasy.

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me
by Ilona Andrews
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me is the intriguing new novel by Ilona Andrews. One day Maggie wakes up to find that she has been magically transported into Kair Toren, a city that she believed existed only in her favorite (but unfinished) fantasy series. Unfortunately for Maggie this fantasy world is not a cozy one, imagine being dropped into one of the city’s from Game of Thrones and its grimdark conniving politics. Maggie must use her knowledge from the books to make her way in the dangerous and yet magical world. I liked that Maggie is aware of portal fantasies and even mentions truck kun, the notorious delivery truck in isekai anime’s that sends so many unsuspecting teens to magical lands. Her self awareness adds another interesting element to the story. Learning about Kair Toren from the book makes this feel like a story within a story. This book will appeal to fans of The Magicians and those who have wondered what they would do if they were dropped in their favorite story. This is the first in a duology and after finishing this one which ends on a cliffhanger, I’m eagerly awaiting the sequel.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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Fantasy Romances Inspired by Classic Literature: Without a Summer and Defy or Defend

4 Nov

Although mashups of classic literature with monsters such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Emma and the Vampires had a moment, some authors rather than simply splicing in elements of fantasy, instead take the source material as a place for inspiration, weaving in their own unique characters. In her afterword for Without a Summer, Mary Robinette Kowal thanks Jane Austen from who she says, she “stole three sentences and the essential character arc of Emma.”  In her Author Afterthoughts, Gail Carriger notes, “Before you ask, Defy or Defend is indeed an ode to the fantastic Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons.”  Both stories may have been inspired by classic works, but they have their own unique twists and I highly recommend them.

Without A Summer
I was intrigued by Without a Summer first because of its setting during an unusually cold year in 1815 during which crops failed worldwide and snow even fell in New York in June.  This was notable for keeping Mary Shelly inside during a house party when she wrote her novel Frankenstein.  The cause is suspected to have been from the eruption of Mount Tambora in April in what is now Indonesia and another smaller eruption that had happened the year before in the Philippines. 

In Without A Summer though Cold Mongers who can use ether to provide cooling breezes and sometimes even make ice are suspected of a nefarious plot which is causing the climate change.  A match making sister, Jane, who along with her husband have been hired to create a Glamural in a ballroom for a wealthy family becomes caught up in this political intrigue.  Unlike regular murals a glamural is not simple painted, but magically comes to life.  I thought the fantasy elements were well integrated into the historic setting.  The book is third in The Glamourist Histories.  You can check it and the first novel in the series Shades of Milk and Honey out from eBCCLS.

Defy or Defend  
Gail Carriger is one of my favorite authors and I’d say this rates amongst the whimsical best of hers that I have read.  Defy or Defend is the second novella in her Delightfully Deadly Series set in the 1860s, which are a spinoff of her Finishing School Series, all of which takes place in the Parasolverse an whimsical gaslight fantasy look at the past that merges humor, romance, and often a bit of mystery. The Finishing School Series unlike the rest of her work was written for Young Adults and was set at school for spies.  Although Defy or Defend follows up with an adult version of Dimity, it is not necessary to have read The Finishing School Series beforehand (though you should read them since they are enjoyable for adults as well as teens). 

In Defy or Defend Dimity’s mission is to find out why a vampire hive has gone “Goth” and to see if she can turn things around before it is necessary to exterminate the problem.  The romance between Dimity and Crispin is sweet. Dmity’s efforts to bring some color in to the lives of the dark and gloomy vampires is a fun romp and if you enjoyed the book or terrific film version of Cold Comfort Farm as I did, you will want to check this out. 

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Head of Information and Digital Services

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