A Marvellous Light

Reading this book felt like watching straight porn, which is ironic to say, given, you know (gestures at the main romance). By which I mean I was about 99% sure I wasn't gonna enjoy this particular genre going into it, but still wanted to really make sure. Turns out my gut instinct was correct.

I don't wanna spend more time on this than I have to, but just know that this is a book about rich British men that have rich British problems and also there's magic in the background. Our two leads have no chemistry and the romance feels unearned. This almost certainly was some form of Harry Potter fanfiction in its earliest drafts and somehow ended up actually getting published after being given a paintjob to cover up the more obvious bits.

Really the most memorable thing about this book is that around the 50% mark I distinctly remember thinking, "I miss reading for fun."

A MARVELLOUS LIGHT is about Edwin and Robin, initially in each other’s company through a bureaucratic mistake. Robin had been cursed when he was unable to provide unknown assailants with information his (missing) predecessor had also denied them. Edwin was supposed to be liaising with whomever held that office, and instead proceeded to try and remove the curse. The actual plot is pretty straightforward, with only a few more twists after that. The action is solid (especially the bit in the maze) and I like several of the secondary characters, but the heart of this is absolutely Edwin and Robin’s relationship as they’re continually in each other’s company.

The rapport between Edwin and Robin slowly builds, lagging behind the intensity of each man’s buried attraction to the other. Robin adjusts pretty quickly to the existence of magic (a situation made much harder to ignore by the harsh nature of his introduction). Edwin’s focus is on trying to remove Robin’s curse, initially thinking of their acquaintance as very temporary and somewhat reversible. Much of the book is spent on Edwin’s family’s estate, with his siblings whose pranks range from frustrating to cruel. 

The worldbuilding is pretty subtle about placing the era, the setting is one where magic exists within the otherwise real history of the British Isles. Since I wasn't trying very hard to place it I was content to know it's a while ago, but after the invention of cars. I'm sure there are clues to place it more precisely if I looked hard, but the story wasn't trying to trouble me with those. It did more with the ways that magic could be secret, and the key seems to be that (in England, specifically), it's tied up in old money and old families since magic is passed through bloodlines. 

I enjoyed this immensely and will definitely read the rest of the series. The ending sets up a clear idea for the arc of the series, and I'll happily read more in this setting even if Edwin and Robin don't stay as the protagonists.

So good! The basic premise is that magic exists but is secret, and a non-magician in Edwardian England (probably sometime between 1908 and 1914) accidentally gets appointed to the government office that's meant for someone part of that world; he's immediately plunged into a deadly conflict he knows nothing about, with only his prickly magical liaison for help.

The deuteragonists are Robin, a baronet who nevertheless needs to work at a ministry post to support himself and his younger sister, and Edwin, the younger son of a magical family who nevertheless has very little ability to do magic himself. They're very much foils, with Robin having a certain amount of self-assurance and Edwin being used to his role as family buttmonkey (not a quote from the book), and it's quite satisfying to watch them each find out that the other is gay and slowly initiate a relationship; of course there's a separation in the last third, but we need one in order to have a reconciliation. This is very definitely coming out of the slash tradition, and I love it. Fandom is frankly better at writing nuanced and indulgent romance than non-fandom.

The non-romance part of the plot is a bit less compelling to me. The business that Robin gets dropped into is that someone is searching for a macguffin they think Robin knows about, and they half kill him trying to get it; the identity of the guy in charge is kept hidden until close to the end, but I realized who he was relatively quickly, because Edwin's older brother was set up as the monster of his childhood but never really appeared on the page apart from one brief dinner. This macguffin is also part of a plot that will let the baddies take over all English magic, which is perfectly fine in and of itself, but is it just me or does this kind of fantasy-historical story always involve someone trying to magically take over the country?

The other characters are pretty well-drawn. The second tier of characters is largely female, and while they lean a little toward being Awesome Ladies, they're not too much so. Said ladies are Maud, Robin's younger sister, who wants to go to university but it's never quite clear to me why; Miss Morrisey, his secretary, who is half-Indian and extremely competent at her job; and Mrs. Sutton, an elderly magician with an intriguing estate built on ley lines. Maud is the heroine of the sequel, which promises to be an f/f romance so I am looking forward to that - and I'm hoping that she'll feel a bit less like a "headstrong chit from the schoolroom" stock character when we get to inhabit her head.

Marvellous Light is a fun and queer, magical Edwardian romp. Edwin and Robin are unlikely allies; Edwin’s reserved, some might say frosty, manner is the complete opposite of Robin’s friendly aristocratic diplomacy. Edwin comes from a magical family but barely has any power of his own. The magic in this universe is cast using precise hand movements, and Edwin uses string to assist him, like a cat’s cradle.

As Edwin and Robin try to find out what exactly was killed for, and where it might be, the two become closer, from reluctant colleagues to friends to more. It doesn’t take them too long to find out they have the same inclinations towards men. In a time where homosexuality is illegal, they have their subtle ways of knowing. Whilst they could get into a lot of trouble for their relationship, this never felt like it was the focal point. It’s more warm and fuzzy than that. Maybe the magical community is just a bit more understanding than the general population.

Books are at least somewhat less likely to hurl insults at one. It is one of their major appeals.

I haven’t read much set in the Edwardian era, it’s on the edge of modernity. There are cars, but they’re a bit of a novelty and not really considered when magicians are setting up their wards. There are nice period touches like the William Morris wallpaper being trendy. The women in the story are overlooked in their roles, but that ends up what giving them their edge. They are still mothers, widows, secretaries in the eyes of the men who run the world.

My feelings towards sex scenes are similar that to fight scenes; fine if it furthers the plot or relationships but I tend to skim when they go on too long. I felt the balance most mostly OK here but there did seem a pointless sex scene towards the end when everything was wrapping up. I guess if you approach this as a steamy romance then you know what you’re getting, but it might be a bit of a surprise to those thinking they’re picking up a regular historical fantasy.

I loved how the magic was handled and the mystery was intriguing all the way through. Edwin and Robin are kind of an adorable couple too, both with their family hang-ups but deep down good eggs.